Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1993
 Article under construction This article is currently under construction. Further data will be added shortly.
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This page details events on the Severn Valley Railway during 1993, a year which marked 25 years since the end of BR steam in 1968, and also 30 years since the last train from Bridgnorth. The recession continued to bite; the membership briefly dropped below 15,000 and the management began to review the 'large engine' policy.
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1993 timetable
April 1993[edit | edit source]
The Spring Steam Gala saw a return visit from 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley, standing in at short notice for Flying Scotsman which had failed prior to the event.
Summer 1993[edit | edit source]
Summer 1993 saw 5 SVR engines on hire to other railways. 5764 went to the South Devon Railway, 47383 to the North Norfolk Railway, 80079 to the Llangollen Railway, 46521 to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and 48773 to the West Somerset Railway.
Black 5 44767 George Stephenson paid a short visit to the SVR prior to beginning main line running
June 1993: Pannier 5775 arrived on a 3 month loan from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
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5775 stands at Arley on 27 June. (Geograph)
September 1993[edit | edit source]
On 4 September the SVR was visited by Prince and Princess Michael of Kent aboard a charter consisting of 10 coaches of the VSOE ‘Orient Express’. 600 Gordon provided the motive power for a Kidderminster – Bridgnorth return, being the only SVR locomotive equipped to work with air braked stock.
A special train ran to mark the 30th anniversary of the last BR passenger service to leave Bridgnorth.
The Autumn Steam Gala was the most ambitious to date. It was the first to feature overnight running, and the first to include 3 guests (Pannier 5775, LMS Fowler 4F 0-6-0 no 44422 and GER N7 0-6-2T no 69621). The event included a Bridgnorth-Kidderminster run with triple-headed panniers, while no less than 17 locomotives were steamed on both the Saturday and Sunday.
December 1993[edit | edit source]
The SVR found out ‘by chance’ that landlords BR were planning to auction the 7.6 acre site on which the SVR’s Kidderminster station was built (in 1984 the SVR had bought the line to Kidderminster, but could only afford to lease the land for the station itself). Contact was hastily made with BR, who agreed to an offer of £450k to secure the site without an auction. The purchase (plus £80k of recoverable VAT) was initially funded by a bridging loan, and inevitably triggered another share offer.
The contract for construction of the New Road footbridge was signed just in time to qualify for a grant from the European Regional Development Fund.
Steam locomotives used[edit | edit source]
A table of steam locomotives used and their mileages (where published) can be found on the Steam Locomotive Mileages page. Locomotives hired out to other railways during the year were as follows:
- 5764: Summer hire to South Devon
- 46521: Summer hire to GWSR
- 47383: Summer hire to North Norfolk
- 48773: Summer Hire to West Somerset
- 80079: Summer hire to Llangollen
See also[edit | edit source]
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Notes[edit | edit source]