Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1997
This page details events on the Severn Valley Railway during 1997. Passenger numbers exceeded 200,000 for the first time since 1990, and turnover passed £3m for the first time.[1]
February 1997[edit | edit source]
46521 was officially named 'Blossom' by actor Steven Lewis in a ceremony on 17 February. The locomotive received two newly cast name plates - during filming of the first series last May the locomotive was only ever seen from one side at a time and only one name plate had been cast.[2]
March 1997[edit | edit source]
The annual Members Day took place on Saturday 8 March with the regular format of an increased service and 'behind the scenes visits.
The prototype BR Mark 1 Post Office Sorting carriage W80300 arrived on the SVR on 19 March, in fully restored condition. On Friday 21 March the carriage was presented to the SVR on indefinite loan by EWS in a ceremony at Kidderminster.[3]
-
W80300 at Highley, circa 2001
20 March saw the death of the Revd. Wilbert Awdry, author of the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' books. Revd. Awdry was a regular visitor to the SVR in the early days and had been an SVR member since 1980.[4]
April 1997[edit | edit source]
The application for £6.5M of Heritage Lottery funding for the Kidderminster Carriage Shed was submitted on 30 April. The proposal included a traditional GWR-style brick-built building providing under-cover storage for 56 carriages, and a similarly designed Locomotive Display Building with space for 8 'Duchess-sized' locomotives.[note 1] It also proposed an extension to the Kidderminster Footbridge with two new footbridge sections erected and the existing earth embankment removed, to give access to the site.[5] The scope of the project was later substantially reduced.
The Spring Steam Gala was held on the weekend of 19-20 April, using home locos.
Spring 1997[edit | edit source]
A new mezzanine storage and office area was constructed in Bridgnorth Loco Works.[6] 'Tranter Towers' as it became known was removed in 2014 to provide additional locomotive working space.
May 1997[edit | edit source]
Filming of the second series of Oh Doctor Beeching! took place at 'Hatley' (Arley) throughout the month.[2]
A second 'Heavy Horse Day' was staged on 18 May. Activities included horse-drawn shunting at Highley and chain harrowing in the fields north of Bewdley.[7]
1501, which had been under restoration since arriving in 1970, was steamed on 19 May and successfully ran from Bewdley to Kidderminster and back.[8]
Two more 'Day out with Thomas' weekends were held in the year, the first on 31 May - 1 June with over 9,000 visitors, and the second on 30-31 August with around 7,700 visitors.[9]
Summer 1997[edit | edit source]
H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester became Patron of the SVR. The Duke's first visit to the SVR had been in October 1990 on the occasion of the opening of the new Bridgnorth Boiler Shop.[10]
6024 King Edward I visited the railway between May and September, being used occasionally on normal SVR services.
60009's '7-year' main line certificate expired.
July 1997[edit | edit source]
The annual Forties Weekend was held on 5-6 July.[11] During the 'battle' between the land forces at Highley, the German navy took over the statin and renamed it 'Berlin'.[12]
August 1997[edit | edit source]
The Worcester Bus Preservation Society staged their annual "Midland Red Bus Running Day" at Kidderminster on 10 August. This was a much smaller event in scale than the annual Vintage Vehicle Day but was considered a 'most successful' day.[13]
September 1997[edit | edit source]
During the Autumn Steam Gala on 20-21 September, a total of 13 locomotives were in steam including The Great Marquess which had recently been repainted in BR black livery as 61994, having up to that time been liveried as LNER 3442.[14] During the gala The Great Marquess was posed on Kidderminster's ex-Fort William turntable, which it would have used many times while in service on the West Highland Line. The visiting locomotives were:
- 6024 King Edward I: GWR Collett 4-6-0 King class
- 5029 Nunney Castle: GWR Collett 4073 Castle class 4-6-0 (which had been receiving repairs)
- 9466: BR(W) Hawksworth 9400 class 0-6-0PT
October 1997[edit | edit source]
Stanier Mogul 42968 embarked on a series of 9 rail tours between October and January. Highlights included a climb of Sugar Loaf summit with a gross load of 365 tons (in BR days Class 5 engines were limited to 240 tons!), and the first steam ascent in preservation of the 1:37 Lickey Incline in tandem with 7325.[15]
For a second year, the annual Diesel Gala on Friday to Saturday 10-11 October saw the home fleet in use plus the DMU. Sunday 13 October saw the annual joint SVR / Worcester Bus Preservation Society Vintage Vehicle Day. Activities at Kidderminster spread across three locations, with the main BR car park hosting around 90 buses and coaches, the 'coalyard' car park another 40 buses plus other commercial vehicles, and around 50 classic cars on the nearby market site. There were also the usual 'park & ride' classic bus services to the town centre car park and the 'Bewdley Shuttle' services. Other classic cars were also on display at Arley (20) and Highley (50).[16]
November 1997[edit | edit source]
Class 50 Diesel No 50031 Hood made a main-line debut on 1 November, hauling Past-Time Rail’s 'The Pilgrim Hoover' from Birmingham International to Plymouth and return.[17]
November marked the 21st anniversary of the preservation of D1062 Western Courier by the Western Locomotive Association.[18]
Winter 1997[edit | edit source]
The Great Marquess suffered a failure of the crank axle (used to provide drive from the locomotive's third centre cylinder), the driver's side driving wheel having moved on the stub axle. The problem was considered repairable (contrary to speculation in the railway press at the time), but also costly. As the locomotive was nearly 'out of ticket, newly liveried 61994 joined the 'long term' repair queue.[19]
On Friday 19 December an EGM of SVR(H) approved a Special Resolution enabling the Company to apply for Heritage and other charitable grants. The effect was that shareholders, although still receiving their travel entitlements, would not be able to receive cash dividends in future, or a distribution of assets in the event of the Company being wound up. The change was something of a formality, as no cash dividend had ever been paid up to that time.[20]
The 5 weeks of Christmas services saw over 33,000 passengers, carried, contributing to the record numbers for the year.[21]
Steam locomotives used[edit | edit source]
A table of steam locomotives used and their mileages can be found on the Steam Locomotive Mileages page.
See also[edit | edit source]
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Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Artists impressions showed the carriage shed in the location where it was eventually built, with the locomotve display building on the present-day site of the Diesel Depot building.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ SVR(H) 1997 Accounts, Chairman's Statement
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SVR News 122, p. 14.
- ↑ SVR News 122, p. 5.
- ↑ SVR New 122, p. 78.
- ↑ SVR News 123, p. 7. and 124, pp. 12-14.
- ↑ SVR News 122, p. 29.
- ↑ SVR News 124, p. 11.
- ↑ SVR News 123, p. 5.
- ↑ SVR News 124, General Manager's Notes, Alun Rees
- ↑ SVR News 123, p. 4.
- ↑ SVR News 122, p. 16.
- ↑ SVR News 124, p. 63.
- ↑ SVR News 124, p. 52.
- ↑ SVR News 124, p. 5.
- ↑ Greaves and Norman (2001) p. 15.
- ↑ SVR News 125, p. 34.
- ↑ The Fifty Fund website
- ↑ SVR News 124, p. 17.
- ↑ SVR News 125, pp. 20-22.
- ↑ SVR News 125, p. 4.
- ↑ SVR News 125, p. 3.