Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2006
This page details events on the Severn Valley Railway in 2006. During the year, Kidderminster Town station saw the concourse roof and third wing of the station building completed, and construction of the Engine House begin at Highley. No Diesel Gala took place.
Passenger numbers for the year were 245,771, a reduction of 2.5% from the previous year's record. Footfall was affected by three months of roadworks outside Kidderminster station during the peak season, while new water pipes were laid.[1]
January 2006[edit | edit source]
The Railway had been considering proposals to re-organise the Railway's organisation in order to obtain charitable status. A working party had failed to obtain the support of a majority of the Directors for a scheme involving the setting up of a new charitable company, while an alternative which would have seen the Guarantee Company seek charitable status failed to meet the requirements of the Charity Commission.[note 1] In the course this, it had become increasingly apparent that the management structure, as it had grown up over the years, was in need of overhaul. On 28 January a meeting took place between the Directors of SVR(H) and the Guarantee Company. They agreed to the setting up of a Joint Board, initially consisting of all the Directors of both companies, but with future consideration given to reducing the number of Directors allowed by the Companies' Articles of Association.[2].[note 2]
February 2006[edit | edit source]
Building work was under way at Kidderminster to erect the canopy over the concourse and complete the remaining wing of the station building. The views below show the work in progress during the month.
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5 February 2006 -
26 February
The annual 1960s Transport Day took on Saturday 18 February.
March 2006[edit | edit source]
Construction of The Engine House began.[2]
The Spring Steam Gala took place on 18-19 March. Titled "Branch Line Gala - A festival of Steam", it was advertised as "An intensive service of trains using some of our smaller locomotives, re-creating the branch line scene of a bygone era." It featured guest GWR Collett 5101 Large Prairie No 5199 from the Llangollen Railway.
April 2006[edit | edit source]
The Members & Shareholders Weekend took place on 1-2 April. Open areas not normally accessible to the public included signalboxes, the Bridgnorth MPD, and Kidderminster Carriage Shed including the new carriage washing plant. The DMU operated a "shuttle" service between Kidderminster Town station and the carriage shed.
May 2006[edit | edit source]
The Railway held 'Day out with Thomas' weekends on 6-7 and 13-14 May.
Alun Rees retired as General Manager on 31 May, a position he had held since 1993. He was succeeded by Colin Binch.[2]
June 2006[edit | edit source]
6024 King Edward I visited the line between 16-19 June for a “Big Engine Weekend” which also featured one of the last appearances of 60009 Union of South Africa.
The 1940s weekends took place on 24-25 June and 1-2 July.
Autumn 2006[edit | edit source]
John Cameron’s LNER A4 60009 Union of South Africa left the SVR to join his other locomotive 61994 The Great Marquess in Scotland.
The new Carriage Washing Plant adjacent to Kidderminster Carriage Shed was commissioned.[3]
September 2006[edit | edit source]
Two further 'Day out with Thomas' weekends took place on 2-3 and 9-10 September.
On 5 September George Law Ltd, the contactors responsible for the construction of the new building, canopy and concourse at Kidderminster Station, officially handed over the keys to the Railway.[4]
Following the previous year’s “GWR” gala, the 2006 Autumn Steam Gala on 22 to 24 September saw an LMS theme. Visiting locomotives were:
- 49395: LNWR Beames 7F Super D 0-8-0
- 46233 Duchess of Sutherland [LMS 6233]: LMS Stanier 8P Princess Coronation class Pacific
- 46201 Princess Elizabeth [LMS 6201]: LMS Stanier 8P Princess Royal class Pacific
Colin Binch left the position of SVR General Manager after a short reign. He was succeeded by an "Executive Committee" of three volunteers ([[Roger Smith, supported by Mike Ball and Tony Bending) while a replacement was recruited.
October 2006[edit | edit source]
The Classic Car and Bike Day was held on Sunday 8 October.
A Kidderminster Station Festival was held on 14-15 October to celebrate the improvements. The new East wing, also known as "The John Garth Building", was formally opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester on 18 October 2006. It mainly houses 'The Valley Suite', the station's licensed restaurant and buffet and the multiple award-winning King and Castle Pub.
November 2006[edit | edit source]
GWR Small Prairie 4566 made its first moves under its own power since 1995 following overhaul, 8 coach test runs were made between Highley and Bridgnorth when the railway was closed to passengers.
The Board formally adopted a maximum permitted line speed of 40kph (about 25mph). The year had seen the issue of ‘The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006’ (‘ROGS’) in response to an EU safety directive and the outcome of recent high profile rail accident enquiries. ROGS allowed a number of concessions to ‘low risk’ heritage railways, provided they formally resolved to comply with the definition in ROGS and limit maximum line speeds accordingly.
Shareholders in the two companies owning the SVR's Class 50 Diesels, The Fifty Fund and Project Defiance, agreed to a merger. The new organisation, The Class 50 Alliance, assumed responsibility for maintaining and operating the locomotives from January 2007.
See also[edit | edit source]
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