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High speed testing

As with other heritage railways, the SVR operates normal services at a maximum speed of 25 mph under its Light Railway Order and Safety case. The SVR and Great Central Railway have permission to operate non-passenger carrying trains at higher speeds under certain controlled conditions.

In addition, several locomotives (such as LNER-designed Peppercorn Class A2 No. 60532 Blue Peter in 2024) have visited for running in and testing at normal linespeed. These visits are not included here.

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Class 175 'Coradia 1000' diesel multiple units 1999-2000

From 1 August 1999 the speed limit was increased to 50 mph to allow commissioning of Alstom's new Birmingham-built units, owned by Angel Trains and destined for First North Western. A special temporary shed with a pit road was built for the purpose outside the Carriage Repair Works at Kidderminster.[1] Prominent notices were in place on rights of way by the previous April to warn the public of the increased speeds.

Three-car unit 175 101 arrived in August 1999, fitted with test instrumentation, and clocked up a few thousand miles of test running. Two-car 175 001 was fully fitted-out. It moved from the SVR to Chester depot behind 47 775 on 10 January 2000.[2]

Testing took place after services had finished and no other trains were in service, with assessed SVR crew driving and guarding under appropriate supervision[note 1].

High speed testing between Bewdley and Kidderminster

In more recent years high speed testing is restricted to the Kidderminster Loop Line between Bewdley and Kidderminster. The railway's policy during high speed testing periods mandates there is no lineside access and restrictions are published in the Traffic Notices, on SVRLive and the SVROnline intranet.

In 2024 Network Rail carried out a ‘curved laser’ survey of the loop line, in preparation for a submission to the Office of Road & Rail for a permanent derogation to facilitate 50mph testing, potentially opening up further sources of revenue from commercial contracts.[3]

Examples of high speed testing undertaken include the following (incomplete list):

  • 2012: Newly overhauled Metropolitan Railway E Class 0-4-4T No. 1 underwent running in trials between 28 and 30 November 2012 in preparation for the 150th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Railway in 2013. Test runs using three Mark 1 carriages were completed at 25mph, 30mph, 40mph and finally 50mph.[4]
  • 2015: LMS Stanier Royal Scot 7P Class 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot undertook running in after overhaul from 9 September 2015.[5]
  • 2016: Recently converted locomotives 73951 and 73952 ran test trains in July 2016 between 1900-2300, after the end of daily services.[6]

Note

  1. ↑ A thread on the private (members only) Unofficial Facebook Group in January 2023 with contributions from those involved relates that SVR crew including Alun Rees, Nigel Hanson and Ray Trantor passed out as drivers, and SVR crew acted as conductors. It also refers to a BBC Look North West programme of 30 November 1999 about the 175s being introduced in that area
  2. ↑ In early 2024 three Network Rail/Bayer weedkilling trains operated by Envu and GB Railfreight underwent contract maintenance and testing between Bewdley and Kidderminster.

See also

Main Page

References

  1. ↑ Train testing.com (Retrieved 20 April 2018)
  2. ↑ Class 175 Chronicles (Retrieved 20 April 2018)
  3. ↑ Branch Lines April 2024
  4. ↑ Buckinghamshire Railway Centre stockbook (Retrieved 20 April 2018)
  5. ↑ SVR Forum
  6. ↑ SVR Forum

Links

Train testing.com
Class 175 on Wikipedia

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Welcome to the Severn Valley Railway Wiki

From this week's featured article
Caledonian Railway Goods Van 2080 was one of the first four wagons to arrive on the SVRSevern Valley Railway post-preservation. It subsequently carried both CR and LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway livery, the latter as seen in 1980 TV drama God's Wonderful Railway (pictured). After some years stored out of use, it left the SVRSevern Valley Railway for a new home in 2016. (Full article...)
Schematic Map of the SVRSevern Valley Railway
BridgnorthEardingtonHampton LoadeCountry Park HaltHighleyThe Engine HouseArleyVictoria BridgeNorthwood HaltWyre Forest LineBewdleyStourport BranchBewdley TunnelConnection to Network RailKidderminsterMaps#Schematic maps of the pre-closure SVRMapandlinks3.png
Click on the map for a
larger interactive version

For 101 years between 1862 and 1963, the Severn Valley Railway formed part of the national railway network, running for 40 miles between Hartlebury and Shrewsbury. Established as a separate company, it was mainly operated by the Great Western Railway (GWRGreat Western Railway) and later by British Railways (BRBritish Rail or British Railways).

The present day Severn Valley Railway (SVRSevern Valley Railway) was established in 1965 to preserve part of the line as a heritage railway. Today it has six stations and two halts and runs for 16 miles along the Severn Valley between Bridgnorth in Shropshire and Kidderminster in Worcestershire, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route. Operations involve a mixture of steam and heritage diesel-hauled services.

This unofficial website is a project aimed to collect information and record events relating to the SVRSevern Valley Railway, both past and present.

For timetables, fare information, and news about special events, please visit the SVR Official Website. Other news and information of interest to members, shareholders and enthusiasts can be found on SVRLive.

In April 2023 the SVRSevern Valley Railway announced the launch of a Survival Fund to enable it to overcome the current financial crisis and implement longer-term plans for its future. Information and details of how to donate may be found on the SVRSevern Valley Railway's Survival Fund page.

Categories of article

History of the Severn Valley Railway

Current events on the SVRSevern Valley Railway

Information about the SVRSevern Valley Railway

Miscellaneous


Query Corner

Unsurprisingly, there are a large number of questions about the SVRSevern Valley Railway, both in pre-preservation days and for a number of historical items since then. Take a visit down to Query Corner to see if you have a recollection relating to some long forgotten event, or know of a reliable source (maybe an early edition of the SVR News?) that might have the information we need!

In addition are a number of stub articles requiring further input.

Adding to this Wiki

This site, or "wiki", is a collaborative effort, and anyone who has any knowledge relating to the SVRSevern Valley Railway should feel free to contribute. Once you have created a user account and logged in, you can modify any page by clicking the "Edit" button in the top right hand corner. For some tips on how to format pages, and some guidelines on how to make this wiki accessible can be found on Tips for contributing to the SVR Wiki.

Alternatively, if you don't feel confident editing this Wiki (although there is no reason you shouldn't!!), each article also has a "Discussion" page, which can be accessed by clicking the relevant button in the top left hand corner. This allows you to make additions, suggestions, or corrections to a page without making any change to the article itself.


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