Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2000
During 2000, the Severn Valley Railway celebrated the 30th anniversary of running trains, and the commissioning of the new carriage shed, the largest in railway preservation. However 2000 also saw the Railway hit by a 'boiler crisis', leading to a severe shortage of motive power for much of the year and the cancellation of the Autumn Steam Gala. The year ended with a petrol shortage and terrible weather. Despite these problems, passenger numbers for the year reached 227,225, only 785 less than the previous year's record.[1]
March 2000[edit | edit source]
SVR News first reported on the growing boiler crisis, noting that "The current locomotive situation has been causing concern, with some locomotives requiring boiler repairs at a frequency and of a severity not encountered before. An investigation into water quality is under way, and steel quality is also suspect."[2]
During the Spring Steam Gala "Branch Line Weekend" on 18-19 March, 52 trains ran on the Saturday and 4l trains on the Sunday. Seven home locomotives (7325, 7802 Bradley Manor, 45110, 46521, 47383, 48773 and 80079) were in use, to support the two visitors:
'Branch line trains' 1501, 5764 and 7714 were unavailable due to boiler failures.[3]
April 2000[edit | edit source]
On 1 April 'Black 5' 45407 hauled the Severn Stanier rail tour from the Mid Hants Railway through to Bridgnorth. BR Class 37 37055 from Bescot hauled the train and loco back to Kidderminster to save shunting and propelling.[4]
The keys to newly completed Kidderminster Carriage Shed were formally handed to the SVR by the Carillion site manager on 19 April 2000. The same day saw the first rake of carriages propelled onto Road 1.
May 2000[edit | edit source]
The Railway held 'Day out with Thomas' weekends on 13-14 and 20-21 May.
3205 re-visited the Railway, pulling a 30th Anniversary Special dining train on 23 May.
June 2000[edit | edit source]
Laying of track in Kidderminster Carriage Shed by the P-Way staff was completed during the month.
On 10-11 June the Railway staged a "Heavy Horse Weekend" with many shire and other heavy horses in action at various points along the line.
July 2000[edit | edit source]
The 1940s weekend took place on 1-2 July and attracted 7,000 visitors, a record for the event to date.[5] It was the last occasion on which the event was held on only one weekend.
34027 Taw Valley in maroon 'Hogwarts Express' livery worked four days of main line railtours between 8-11 July to publicise the Harry Potter books which were then being published.
The 'boiler crisis' continued, taking two main forms. The first had been a rapidly increasing corrosion rate over the last few years in the steel parts of boilers, tubes, stays, shell plates, rivets, etc., which the Railway had been trying to address with various methods of water treatment. Each of the three principal locomotive water supply points, at Kidderminster, Bewdley and Bridgnorth, had now been fitted with automatic systems to dose the water supply before it reaches the locomotives, although this would not cure existng corrosion and could take some years to prove its effectiveness. The second, possibly unrelated, was serious problems of leakage in fireboxes from tubes, from stays, and from joints. The resons for this were still under uncertain, although the frequency of heating and cooling cycles, coal quality and footplate crew practices were all under review.[6]
On 11 July, GWR 813 was steamed for the first time since being withdrawn in 1994,[7] and as the succession of boiler failures continued, was quickly pressed into service, hauling 4-coach trains on 13 operating days. The railway managed (just!) to include steam on every weekend, but the Diesel fleet was heavily used.
-
2047 on display at Kidderminster on 21 July (Geograph)
September 2000[edit | edit source]
The boiler crisis had become so serious that the September Autumn Steam Gala was cancelled. September also saw picketing of oil refineries and fuel depots in protest at rising fuel prices (unleaded petrol having reached 80p per litre for the first time!).
October / November 2000[edit | edit source]
By October 2000 7802 Bradley Manor and 7325 had also been withdrawn with severely leaking boilers. The operational steam locomotive situation at that time was:[8]
- 46521: In traffic but firebox needing attention
- 80079: In traffic but requiring a full retube over the winter
- 48773: In traffic but plagued with leaking side stays
- 45110: Temporarily out of traffic after its last main line trip, needing remedial repairs before the Christmas services
- 47383: In traffic
The October ‘Thomas’ weekend survived, with Jinty 47383 temporarily repainted in blue assuming the role of 'Thomas' and former resident Peckett 1738 Hams Hall No 4 re-visiting as 'Percy'. During the event, filming took place for the 2001 TV series “ Off the Rails” presented by Vince Henderson.
October and November went on to be the wettest since records began 250 years earlier, with the Severn 22 feet above its normal level. November saw a stream at the top of Eardington Bank burst through its banks, with the resulting flood washing through the drainage in Knowlesands Tunnel. On 5 November this was overwhelmed, causing a major landslip at the Bridgnorth end with 3 lengths of track left hanging in space and the embankment spread across the field below. Repairs started once the stream was diverted, with the line re-connected around 3 weeks later.
Coincidentally 25 November, the first day of through working after the repairs at Knowlesands, saw 8F 48773 involved in collision with a van on Northwood Crossing, fortunately with no fatalities involved. HM Railway Inspectorate later confirmed that the Railway was not at fault, independent witnesses having testified that the driver had passed the flashing red lights when the train was only a few yards from the crossing. Damage to the Astra van was rather more severe than to the 8F.
December 2000[edit | edit source]
Concern at the fragile state of the fleet led to BR Standard 9F 92212 arriving on hire for the Santa Special services. The boiler situation was reported as 'slowly improving'.[9]
Locomotive Mileages[edit | edit source]
A table of locomotives used during the year is shown below. Where detailed mileage records were not published in SVR News, locomotives used in those years are marked 'X'.[10]
| Locomotive | Miles | Comment |
| 813 | 1,190 | Re-entered service mid-year |
| 1501 | 2,562 | Withdrawn mid-year (boiler failure) |
| 7714 | 8,262 | Re-entered service mid-year after bouler overhaul at Crewe |
| 7802 Bradley Manor | 5,308 | Including the Flying Dutchman railtour in January. Withdrawn in August (boiler failure) |
| 7325/9303 | 7,287 | Withdrawn in August (boiler failure) |
| 34027 Taw Valley | X | Mainly main line railtours including 'Hogwarts Express' promotional trains |
| 45110 | 4,829 | Including 3 main line railtours |
| 46521 | 6,370 | Withdrawn at the end of 2000, having recorded a total of 84,031 miles since 1974. |
| 47373 | 2,736 | |
| 48773 | 8,590 | Including the Buxton Peaks railtour in April |
| 80079 | 12,849 | |
| Guests and others | 2,545 | |
| Total | 62,528 |
See also[edit | edit source]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ SVR(H) 2000 Annual Accounts, Chairman's Statement
- ↑ SVR News 132, Spring 2000, Boardroom Notes, p.9.
- ↑ SVR News 132, p.26.
- ↑ SVR News 133, pp.26-27., Severn Valley Bound, Ray Churchill
- ↑ SVR News 133, p.3.
- ↑ SVR News 132, Spring 2000, Boardroom Notes, p.9.
- ↑ SVR News 133, p.3.
- ↑ SVR News 134, Locomotive Notes, p.13.
- ↑ SVR News 134, Locomotive Notes, p.11.
- ↑ SVR News Issue 152, p. 25., SVR Steam Locomotive Mileages 1990-2004 compiled by Graham Nangreave