Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1996

This page details events on the Severn Valley Railway during 1996. Passenger numbers increased by almost 10% to 189,000, helped by the opening of Country Park Halt and a decision to reduce the price of 'Freedom of the Line' tickets.

• 
  1996 timetable

---

February 1996

Major engineering work on the underbridge at Highley meant two separate services were operated; one between Kidderminster and Arley on Saturdays and Sundays, and the other between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade on Sundays only.

March 1996

Members Day took place on 30 March. It again saw an increased service with a 'nominal' £2 charge for members' tickets, and 'behind the scenes' visits at Kidderminster (Carriage Works and turntable), Bewdley (North signal box), Highley (Signal box and footplate rides) and Bridgnorth (Loco works and Carriage & Wagon).

April 1996

Country Park Halt opened on 4 April.

The Spring Gala on 20-21 April was intended to feature 8 GWR locomotives; in the event 46521 (an honorary GWR engine being Swindon-built) had to substitute for a failed 4566. The visiting locomotives were:

• 4277: GWR Churchward 4200 class 2-8-0T (from Llangollen)
• 7822 Foxcote Manor: GWR Collett 7800 Manor Class 4-6-0 (Owned by Peter Best, had been at the SVR for completion of restoration as a contract job.)

May 1996

A 'Heavy Horse Day' was held on Sunday 19 May. This was mainly staged at Kidderminster, where exhibits included an original GWR 'Bristol pattern' single-horse lorry (No. 1120, built at Swindon in 1899, and completely rebuilt in 1990), a Mitchells and Butlers dray from the Bass Museum Collection at Burton-upon-Trent, and a Bradford Street Cleaning Departmment revolving 'sweeper' hauled by "William" which cleaned some of the local Kidderminster roads! 'Mechanical horses' were also on display. Bewdley and Bridgnorth also had exhibits.

Filming of the first series of Oh Doctor Beeching! took place at Arley.

7325 returned to steam following a major cylinder repair including welding and 'stitching, and took part in 'Steam on the Met'.

June 1996

The first 'Day out with Thomas' weekend took place on 1-2 June. One of the attendees was a real Thomas enthusiast and his family who had travelled from Malaysia for the event. A second Thomas Weekend took place on 31 August - 1 September, attended by more than 6,000 visitors.

The SVR's third Forties Weekend was held on 22-23 June.

Around this time, planning permission was received to extend the sidings at Bewdley. The new siding area would be filled with a pile of spoil which had been left at Kidderminster following construction of the new station; a spin-off being that removal of the pile would create space for the proposed 'Diesel Depot' near the Kidderminster turntable.

July 1996

Hampton Loade staged its annual Station Gala. 'Thomas' (686 The Lady Armaghdale) was in steam in the station sidings during the day. At one point the rails were spread (due to the poor state of the rarely used 'inside keyed' track) and one set of 686's wheels were derailed. Re-railing was completed in around 30 minutes, providing visitors with an impromptu side-show. Shortly after that time, the sidings were re-laid with conventional chaired track and new sleepers.

August 1996

The SVR staged its first 1960s weekend on 3-4 August, originally advertised as "recalling that interesting period when pop music came in, and steam trains went out." It featured a mixture of motive power appropriate to the period; 'new' diesels D1013 Western Ranger (in operation for the first time in five years) and D821 Greyhound, and steam locomotives reminiscent of the end of steam in the West Midlands and Welsh Marches in the form of 7802 Bradley Manor, 7325, 46521 and 80079.

September 1996

The Autumn Steam Gala on 21-22 September featured repeat visits from two guests:

• 5029 Nunney Castle: GWR Collett 4073 Castle class 4-6-0
• 6024 King Edward I: GWR Collett 4-6-0 King class (having been shortened in height during a recent overhaul to improve gauge clearance)

October 1996

As announced the year before, the Autumn Diesel Gala on Friday-Saturday 11-12 October featured the home fleet only, with "all available SVR-based diesels, plus the DMU" in use. It included four hired-in milk tankers, to recreate WR scenes of the past. Sunday 13 October saw the annual joint SVR / Worcester Bus Preservation Society Vintage Vehicle Day.

Late 1996

6960 Raveningham Hall left the Railway, following a change of ownership. The locomotive is now one of a number owned by Jeremy Hosking.

A project was announced to build a new Carriage Shed, seeking financial assistance from National Lottery funding.

52044 (L&Y 2F 0-6-0 no 957) arrived on the SVR in December from the KWVR for a planned two year restoration to running order.

Steam locomotives used

A table of steam locomotives used and their mileages (where published) can be found on the Steam Locomotive Mileages page.

See also

• The Severn Valley Railway in preservation

Great Western Railway

George Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922

Charles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941

Severn Valley Railway

Diesel Multiple Unit

The British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic.