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More facts about the 70s. Coming soon - the 1980s.
==1972==
*April 1972: The SVR Holdings Company is floated as a public company under the presidency of Viscount Cobham.
*September 1972: 61994 The Great Marquess (LNER 3442) arrives on 9 September.<br>
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*January 1973: Four locomotives, 4141, 5164, 7819 Hinton Manor and 4930 Hagley Hall, all arrive on 6 January.
*March 1973: **Three more locomotives arrive; 78019 from Barry on 12 March, 7714 on 29 March, and 75069 on 31 March.**The MP Sir Gerald Nabarro leaves the company. Nabarro was an influential figure in the early days of the SVR and spearheaded the fund-raising of £110,000 to acquire the line to Bewdley.*November 1973: 5764 is involved in the filming of the BBC children's serial "Carrie's War".
*December 1973: 42968 arrives on 14 December. WD 193 operates all the Santa services. <br>
Locomotives used during the year and the mileages recorded were as follows:
*March 1974: The Light Railway Transfer Order is granted to extend the line from Hampton Loade to Bewdley.
*April 1974: Services Easter weekend sees services begin between Hampton Loade and Highley. The first passenger service is the 09:30 from Bridgnorth with GWR Railcar 22, followed by the 12:45 steam service hauled by No 600 Gordon. The weekend sees 16,000 passenger journeys.*May 1974: The line is opened from Highley to Arley and Bewdley. GWR Railcar 22 operates the first round trip between Bridgnorth and Bewdley, while the first steam services are hauled by No 5764 from the new MPD at Bewdley and No 43106 from Bridgnorth. Daily running during the summer season is extended to five weeks.*July 1974: 46521 becomes the SVR's first Barry restoration to enter service.*August 1974: 2047 Warwickshire makes a guest appearance in steam at the Town & County Show at Stoneleigh. Remarkably, the locomotive covers 8½ miles on a temporary track only 40 ft long!<br>
Locomotives used during the year and the mileages recorded were as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
==1975==
The 1975 timetable included 118 running days between March and October, with 554 trains in each direction.
*Spring 1975: Locomotive news is that Invicta has been sold and will be leaving the SVR. Also 4110 will not be coming to the SVR as planned, but will go to the WSR instead. However Railcar 22 will remain on loan from the Great Western Society for another 5 years.
*May 1975: Arley Loop is opened on 25 May, allowing a Spring Bank Holiday 45 minute service from Bridgnorth to Bwedley with 4 train sets, instead of the existing 90 minute service. 46521 and 43106 are the first trains to pass at Arley.
*June 1975: The SVR membership tops 5,000.
*July 1975: German 2-6-2T DB 64.305 arrives on 17 July.
*August 1975: Four SVR engines attend the Rail 150 celebrations at Shildon. 600 Gordon travels to Shildon under its own power, later followed by 48233 and 43106 in convoy. 813, which has been cosmetically restored for the event, goes by road.
*August 1975: 2857 and 9303 arrive from Barry on 13 August.*September 1975:**¾ of a mile of the old Stourport branch is relaid. The section will be used in the filming of Universal Pictures' "The Severn Per Cent Solution". A number of the SVR's locos will take part in the film.<br>**Enthusiasts Day sees 11 locomotives in steam, with 10 hauling passenger services and DB 64.305 shunting. Two of the locos are Austrian Railways 2-6-0 locomotives in Furness Railway red livery with flared stovepipe chimneys and huge brass domes - 46443 and 46521 are ready for their starring roles!<br>*December 1975: Christmas services are between Bewdley and Arley, due to engineering work on the north of the line.<br>
Locomotives used during the year and the mileages recorded were as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
==1976==
The 1976 timetable included 118 running days between March 6th and October 31st, now with 735 trains in each direction. As they year opened, negotiations with BR were in progress over the proposed Kidderminster Terminus. The SVR was also negotiating with BR for the SVR to become an approved steam depot for main line running. *March 1976: Construction of the loco shed at the Bridgnorth MPD begins. This will take around a year to complete using parts of the former Portskewett and Heaton Mersey Sheds acqiuired for that purpose.*April 1976: 7812 Erlestoke Manor arrives on 23 April, having previously been at the Dowty R.P.S. site at Ashchurch.<br>Construction *May 1976: A busy day at at Bewdley MPD, as 'the big lift' sees the lifting of 5 boilers and 2 frames in a single day.*August 1976: The 'long hot summer' of 1976 causes problems as SVR volunteers fight dozens of fires along the railway. A spare Hawksworth 4000 gallon tender is filled and taken to Spring Grove to help the county fire briade, assisted by SVR volunteers, fight a nearby forest fire which takes 2 days to extinguish.*September 1976: The first Autumn Enthusiasts Weekend (as opposed to day) sees the first "top-and-tailed" steam services to Foley Park. 7 Locomotives are in steam (815 having failed on the first day).*November 1976:**The pits are being dug for the new Bridgnorth loco shed at .**The first outgoing railtour takes place. A photo in SVR news Edition 43 later shows Paddington Arrivals Information board on 13 November 1976 displaying the arrival of a service originating from Bridgnorth MPD begins during 1976. This used the SVR's rolling stock and was hauled by a BR Western Class diesel locomotive. <br>
Locomotives used during the year and the mileages recorded were as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
==1977==
For the first time, the SVR ran limited services in January and February, on Sundays between Bewdley and Arley.<br> *Spring 1977: **Over the winter, intense cold followed by heavy rain results in the line at Sterns dropping 2ft 6" and moving 4ft nearer the river. Work on Borle viaduct is suspended while this is resolved, and through services over the viaduct are 3 weeks late staring as a result. , A large part of front car park at Bridgnorth has also collapsed.**on the good news front, 6960 Raveningham Hall arrives.*March 1977:**The frames of the new Bridgnorth loco shed are erected**Viscount Cobham dies. A staunch supporter of the SVR, he was the first President of the SVR during the public floatation of the Holdings Company in 1972.*April 1977: **Bridgnorth Loco shed is completed.**11 SVR coaches are used on a main line trip to Chester. 48773 hauls the service from Bridgnorth to Bewdley, other motive power during the day includes the locomotives ''King George V'' and ''Princess Elizabeth''.
*September 1977: Grand opening of the cast iron gentlemen’s toilet on Bewdley’s island platform, following its relocation from Melrose in Scotland.<br>
45000 arrived on loan from the NRM during 1977.
*April 1978: A naming ceremony is held for WD 193, which is given the name ‘Shropshire’.
*May 1978: 70000 Britannia returns to steam after 12 years, and is renamed on 20 May by Mr R A Riddles, the locomotive’s designer.
During 1978 Pannier 3612 was purchased from Barry for spares.
==1979==
*March 1979: Major work is again required to stabilise the line at Sterns, an area of the line prone to subsidence.
*May 1979: BR has agreed to allow through excursions onto the SVR. The first such excursion, oganised by the Monmouthshire Railway Society, arrives at Bewdley from Cardiff.
*June 1979: 2857 is steamed for the first time since restoration; the first Churchward 2-8-0 to do so.
