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add history for 2008
==2008==
'''March 2008''':
:On 10 March, the full length of the line was re-connected for the first time since the floods in June 2007. The last section to be completed was near Borle Viaduct.
:Friday 14 March saw Jinty no 47383 become the first engine to be moved into [[The Engine House]]. Two days later another 6 engines were moved in, numbers 7325, Midland Compound 1000 (on loan from the NRM), 600 Gordon, 4930 Hagley Hall, 80079 and 1501. Space was left for the final exhibit, 8F no 48773 which would be moved in later in the year after retiring from service.
:Easter weekend saw the line fully re-opened. On Thursday 20 March 7812 Erlestoke Manor, newly returned to service for the first time since 1985, hauled a re-opening special. Public services began on Good Friday 21 March, with The Engine House opening its doors on the same day. Guest locomotive Somerset & Dorset Fowler 7F No 88 (BR 53808) from the West Somerset Railway was again present.
'''Spring 2008''': Ownership of 600 Gordon was transferred from the British Army to the Severn Valley Railway. A formal presentation ceremony later took place on Friday 25 July.
'''May 2008''': DMU car M51935 was severely damaged by fire in what was believed to be an arson attack. The DMU group later acquired powered car M50933/53933 as a replacement.
'''June 2008''':
:10 June saw the Railway visited by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Royal Train was hauled from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth by 6024 King Edward 1, as the SVR had no working locomotive equipped to work with air-braked stock. The Bridgnorth MPD had just carried out a successful emergency repair to 6024’s front bogie, so 6021 Princess Elizabeth was also present at Kidderminster as stand-by locomotive.
:GWR 3200 ‘Dukedog’ class No 9017 Earl of Berkeley arrived on the SVR from the Bluebell Railway for a visit which lasted until after the Autumn Steam Gala.
'''July 2008''': Partially completed replica locomotive ‘[[Catch Me Who Can]]’ was steamed in Severn Park at the ‘Trevithick 200 Rally’. A number of other working replicas attributed to Trevithick and his associates also took part. The locomotive also attended an open day at Barrow Hill Roundhouse.
'''August 2008''':
:11 August saw the 40th anniversary of 45110 hauling the ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ to end the use of main line steam by British Railways. The locomotive had been granted a 6 month boiler certificate extension in order to be able to celebrate the occasion, and afterwards saw out the final few weeks running as 45134. Once out of service, 45110 was moved to Barrow Hill Roundhouse for a period on display there.
:An unseasonably wet August put the Railway’s new flood repairs to the test – the infrastructure survived well.
'''September 2008''':
:8F 47383, which had ended service, was moved into The Engine House following a cosmetic restoration.
:Guests at the Autumn Steam Gala were two GWR Small Prairies numbers 5526 and 5542 (both of which worked with Auto Coach W228), and the two GWR double-framed 4-4-0 locomotives ‘Dukedog’ 9017 Earl of Berkeley and 3440 [3717] City of Truro. New build replica 'Catch Me Who Can' had been fitted with its crosshead and ancillary controls, enabling it to operate statically in Bridgnorth yard with the driving wheels jacked off the rails. Hampton Loade’s Paddock Railway celebrated its 21st birthday since construction began with an assembly of 54 live 16mm scale steam locomotives.
'''October-November 2008''':
:The line was closed between Bewdley and Kidderminster for an overhaul of Worcester Road Bridge (Bridge 2).
:The Engine House had received around 60,000 visitors by 3 November, well in excess of the budgeted number of 37,000.
:The frames for new build 82045 returned to Bridgnorth following drilling at Boro’ Foundry in Lye.
The SVR's success in recovering from the storm damage was marked by a number of awards in 2008, including the Transport Trust's 'Preservationist of the Year 2007', the Ian Allen Publishing 'Heritage Railway of the Year 2008' and the Heart of England Tourist Board 'Best Tourism Experience of the Year 2008'.