Changes

'''Bridgnorth Loco Works''' is the home to [[Severn Valley Railway Engineering Services]] and is the SVR's main steam locomotive maintenance, repair and restoration facility. The Loco Works mainly occupies four buildings, the Loco Shed (ex-Portskewett), the Machine Shop (formerly the GWR Goods Shed), the Paint Shop (ex-Heaton Mersey diesel depot) and the Boiler Shop. There is also a pattern shop, where patterns for castings are made and stored.

When preservation began, the former Bridgnorth goods shed was initially used as a loco shed although it was very restricted in size. In spring 1972 the [[Guarantee Company|SVR Company]] purchased the ex-B.R. Diesel Depot building at Heaton Mersey, Stockport.<ref>SVR News 23</ref> Later that year a large disused building at Portskewett, near Severn Tunnel Junction, was also identified as a possible loco shed building.<ref>SVR News 31</ref>. When the latter building was acquired in 1974, it was planned to begin construction using the Heaton Mersey building, with the Portskewett shed potentially being destined for the [[Stourport Triangle]].<ref>SVR News 33</ref> However when construction of the loco shed began in [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-1979#1976 | March 1976]], it was done using parts of the former Portskewett Shed, with the pits being dug the following November and the building completed in April 1977.<ref>SVR News 44</ref> The ex-Heaton Mersey shed was added in 1978 to the rear of the ex-Portskewett Shed, adjacent to the Goods Shed.<ref>SVR News 49</ref>

The Loco Works’ machine shop is located in the former Bridgnorth Goods Shed adjacent to the loco shed.

Before the boiler shop was built, riveting of boilers was done outdoors. Following complaints by neighbours, Bridgnorth District Council unexpectedly served a noise abatement order on the Railway on 25 March 1986 ordering it to stop riveting boilers in the open air.<ref>SVR News 80</ref> The Railway lodged an appeal, and a Crown Court hearing on 11 July overturned the injunction. At the same time the SVR applied for, and in November 1986 was granted, a two-year [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1980-1989#1989|temporary planning permission]] allowing day-time open air working.<ref>SVR News 81</ref> The SVR launched a [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC#Share_offers|share offer]] in 1988 to raise £500,000 for construction of the new boiler shop, the largest capital project since the first phases of Kidderminster Town station. Reasons for the high cost included soundproofing using brick and breeze block walls and special doors and windows, and pile driven foundations to take the weight of a substantial 30-ton overhead crane.<ref>SVR News 88</ref>

October 1988 saw "''…an orgy of boiler smithing''" as the boilers from 5764, 4566, 42968 and 7802 were all completed and the site then cleared. The contract for construction was let, with work commencing on 21 November 1988 and a target completion date of April 1989. The main contractors were Hickmans of Wolverhampton; the principal sub-contractors were [[David Owen|Rubery Owen Steelwork]] for the frame of the building / crane rails and Davy Morris of Loughborough for the overhead gantry crane.<ref>SVR News 90, 91</ref> Some delays were incurred in construction, but the building was sufficiently complete by the August bank holiday for it to be used as a temporary paint shop for varnishing [[BR 16267 Composite Corridor|BR 16267]]. Boiler work in the shop commenced later in 1989,<ref>SVR News 94</ref>, with the official opening ceremony being performed by HRH The Duke of Gloucester on [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1990-1999#1990 | 29 October 1990]].

Scene of Crime officers from West Mercia Police studied scrapes on the wall, thought to have been caused by a vehicle and footprints in the dust on the floor. They also obtained CCTV footage of a heavily laden vehicle leaving Bridgnorth, with false registration plates. The railway offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen copper, but to no avail, and the SVR's insurers met the cost of the stolen material in full. Following the raid, the SVR moved swiftly to install new security arrangements.<ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1961 SVRA forum thread, " PR: 'Professionals' target SVR in £70,000 copper plate theft", 27 January 2011] (Retrieved 15 April 2018)</ref>.

*In 2018 Engineering Services was awarded a contract to build five new boilers for the Isle of Man Railway. Two were delivered in 2020 and {{As of|2020|312|lc=y}} the first awaited collection, one was ready for hydraulic test examination by construction of the insurance company, one well advanced third and the barrel of number 4 fourth was in worksongoing.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/blapr20 bldec20 Branch Lines, April December 2020]</ref>

*Isle of Man Railway locomotive No. 11 ''Maitland'' arrived in 2014, returning 15 January 2016.<ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3043 SVR Forum 15 January 2014]</ref>.

*Isle of Man Railway locomotive No. 15 ''Caledonia'' in 2018 and No. 4 ''Loch'' started that year.<ref>[http://www.iomtoday.co.im/article.cfm?id=38197&headline=Five%20new%20boilers%20for%20locos%20-%20but%20what%27s%20the%20price%3F&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2018 Isle of Man Today, 24 January 2018] (Retrieved 13 April 2019)</ref> *Penrhyn Slate Quarry No. 'Glyder' 0-4-0WT<ref>SVR News 208</ref>.

*[[Bridgnorth]]<br>