Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2014

2014 timetable

This page details events on the Severn Valley Railway during 2014.

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Winter 2013-14

Over the winter 'Tranter Towers', the storage and office area within the Bridgnorth Loco Works, was taken down to provide more space for locomotive overhauls. Infrastructure projects included track relaying near Sterns, improved drainage near Platform 2 at Bridgnorth and straightening of the main line connection at Kidderminster to increase the speed limit from 5mph to 15mph. The latter was completed in time for an incoming rail tour hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell to make use of it.

February 2014

In mid-February evidence emerged that further subsidence was taking place at Sterns when a significant dip in the line appeared at the north end of the area close to Sterns Cottage. A 'stop and proceed with caution' restriction was put in place until repairs could be completed over the following months.

• 
  Dip in the line seen from the DMU
• 
  Evidence of 2014 repair work is still visible in 2015

March 2014

Mike Little's locomotive GWR 1450 and two Auto Coaches arrived, initially for the 2014 season; pictured on 9 March during crew training:

• 
  1450 and autocoaches at Highley

The Spring Steam Gala on 21-23 March saw four visiting locomotives:

• 1638: BR(W) Hawksworth 1600 class 0-6-0PT
• 6435: GWR Collett 6400 class 0-6-0PT
• 4936 Kinlet Hall: GWR Collett 4900 Hall Class 4-6-0 (on hire, left in early summer)
• 7828 Odney Manor: BR(W) Collett 7800 Manor Class 4-6-0 (7828 had in recent years been running as Norton Manor at the WSR, but reverted to its original name during the SVR visit.)

April 2014

The SVR occupied a new Head Office building at Number One, Comberton Hill, adjacent to Kidderminster station. Long term plans for the Bewdley Station building, the former Head Office, included a new buffet to replace the current portable building. In the event a further temporary building replaced it in 2020.

On 10 April the Charitable Trust raised £62,000 from an exceptional charity fundraiser at Ludlow Race Course, doubled by the Heritage Lottery Fund. A guest from a West Midlands Trust donated a further £106,000 on the day to fund the training of 2 apprentices for 5 years at the newly formed Heritage Skills Training Academy.

On 12 April at a job fair at the Members & Shareholders day over 100 people registered their interest in volunteering and 33 names and addresses were also recorded to go forward for induction courses.

On 22 April D1015 Western Champion hauled D1062 Western Courier from Kidderminster to Tyseley for tyre turning, providing a maroon Western hauling another on the mainline, a scene not seen for decades.

May 2014

Peter's Railway Young Engineers' Centre opened on 24 May at The Engine House explaining more about railway engineering and how a steam locomotive works.

Summer 2014

The 2014 summer hire-in was the Midland Railway Centre Butterley’s BR Standard Class 5 73129, the only surviving Standard 5MT with Caprotti valve gear rather than the normal Walschaerts valve gear. Following spring changes after weighing on arrival, the locomotive proved a popular visitor.

• 
  73129 at Bridgnorth (September 2014)

The Step Back to the 1940s weekends took place on 24-29 June and 5-6 July. For the first time, no 'battle' was staged during the event.

Trials of Welsh steam coal from Ffos-y-fran proved successful, and this became the normal source of supply.

On 14 July Barry Railway Carriage Trust and the SVR made a loan agreement for the presence and future use of Barry Railway Carriage 163.

The total locomotive mileage passed 2 million steaming miles.

Replica locomotive Catch Me Who Can spent 2 months on display at the Dutch Railway Museum at Utrecht as part of the 175th anniversary of the railways in the Netherlands.

• 
  At Bridgnorth just before departure to Holland
• 
  At the Netherlands Railway Museum

A Bridgnorth Conservation Plan was published, as a precursor to the Development Project.

On 16 July a wheel lathe was moved from the Carriage Repair Works at Kidderminster to the South Devon Railway. It had been unused for 20 years due to insufficient power supply.

Despite an extensive television advertising campaign and a leaflet drop the passenger numbers in August were disappointing, with visitors 2,000 below 2013.

The Engine House was newly licensed to conduct Weddings and Civil Ceremonies

September 2014

The 'Fantastic Fares' offer returned with up to 30% off adult and child fares throughout September and October.

On 6 September Chiltern Trains operated a return ‘Silver King’ charter from London Marylebone to Bridgnorth using their modern rolling stock, Bo-Bo 67010 and Driving Van Trailer 82301.

Stepping back to 1965, on 7 September the railway recreated the SLS special of 19 September 1965 to Alveley Colliery. Locomotives Nos. 1450 and 4566 stood in for former classmates 1420 and 4555.

On 8 September a shunting incident occurred at Eardington involving a run through of the points.

On 19 September B&Q donated £8,000 of tools and vouchers for Heritage Skills Training Academy's use, secured by the SVR Charitable Trust.

Autumn Steam Gala visitors on 18-21 September were:

• 53808 [S&DJR 88]: S&DJR Fowler 7F class 2-8-0 (last visit to another Railway before going out of ticket)
• 30053: LSWR Drummond M7 class 0-4-4T
• 43924: LMS Fowler 4F 0-6-0
• 73129: BR Riddles Standard 5MT class 4-6-0 (on hire, took part before returning to Butterley)

• 
  53808 [S&DJR 88]
• 
  30053
• 
  43924
• 
  73129

Access to the Enterprise Investment Scheme, by which new shares issued by SVR qualified for tax relief, ended on 30 September.

Winter 2014

BR Standard 9F 92214 was hired in from the Great Central Railway to help with the Santa Special services.

• 
  92214 with a Santa Special on Safari Park Curve

The total mileages recorded by the SVR's steam locomotives in 2014 were as follows:

Locomotive	2014
1450	2,110
1501	5,128
2857	10,477
4566	5,775
4936	507
7812	9,329
34053	8,220
43106	9,597
73129	3,550
92214	897
Total	55,591

See also

• The Severn Valley Railway in preservation

Diesel Multiple Unit

British Rail or British Railways

Frederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1941-1948

Great Western Railway

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

Severn Valley Railway

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.

Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, jointly operated by the London and South Western and Midland Railways (later Southern and London Midland and Scottish Railways)

Henry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway 1909-1923, and of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1923-1933

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.

London & South Western Railway

Dugald Drummond, Locomotive Engineer, later Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & South Western Railway 1895-1905

London Midland & Scottish Railway

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.

Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering responsible for the design of the British Rail Standard Class locomotives

In reference to the direction of travel means towards the major terminus (i.e. towards Kidderminster on the present day SVR)