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add history for 1989 plus more for 1988
'''May 1988''': A prospectus was issued to raise up to £500,000 for the new boiler shop at Bridgnorth. The two year agreement on day-time open air working would expire in November, and the prospect of increased noise abatement restrictions added urgency to the appeal.
'''June 1988''':: 34027 Taw Valley was re-named at a ceremony on 4 June. The locomotive also entered full service on the SVR, having been running-in since first steaming the previous year.:The Coalyard Miniature Railway opened at Kidderminster.
'''July 1988''': The reduced commitment to main line working gave the SVR the opportunity to loan Jinty 47383 to Swanage and HE 686 The Lady Armaghdale to Crewe Heritage Centre. Both returned in September.
:SVR News does not mention that any locomotive visited for the Autumn Steam Gala. A ‘fully fit’ Taw Valley was mentioned as a big crowd pleaser.
:BR marked the closure of Birmingham Moor Street Station on 26 September by the use of steam on the final day. 46443 was one of the locomotives taking part, working a return service to Dorridge.
'''October 1988''': The latter days of October saw ‘an orgy of boiler smithing’ to clear the area for construction of the new boiler shop, with four boilers all completed in record time.
'''November 1988''': The contract was let for construction of the boiler shop at Bridgnorth, with a target completion date of April 1989.
'''December 1988''': The December Santa trains carried more than 38,000 passengers, while total ticket sales for the year exceeded 200,000 for the first time.
Details of locomotives used during 1988 were published at the end of 1989 and are set out in a table ([[#1989Mileage |below]]).
==1989==
'''February 1989''': Described as a ‘temporary addition to the SVR fleet’, LNER A4 60009 Union of South Africa arrived at the Severn Valley for a heavy general repair and boiler overhaul.
'''April 1989''':
:46443 left on loan to Swanage Railway for the season, returning in September.
:LNER K2 No 61994 The Great Marquess, in LNER livery as No 3442, was re-named by BR Chairman Sir Robert Reid at a ceremony held on 18 April. Although not fully run in, the locomotive would star at the Spring Gala four days later.
:The BR staff newspaper ‘Rail News’ carried an article that a fund had been launched to purchase a DMU for use on the SVR. The railway received many letters of complaint from members, and the Guarantee Company would later undertake a survey to canvass opinion on whether a DMU should be included in the SVR fleet.
'''May 1989''': 34027 Taw Valley made her maiden main line run with a loaded test run from Derby to Sheffield.
'''July 1989''':
:34027 Taw Valley began a season of ‘North Wales Coast Express’ runs between Crewe and Holyhead. The locomotive was using a tender borrowed from 34101 Hartland, as the tyres on her own tender were worn below BR limits.
:4566 departed on loan to the Gwili Railway for 2 months.
:61994 The Great Marquess set off for a fortnight on the West Highland Line between Fort William and Mallaig.
'''August 1989''': 1 August saw the death of [[The Earl of Lindsay]], president of the SVR and owner of 61994 The Great Marquess.
'''September 1989''': The September Steam Gala featured the SVR’s locomotives which had returned after working on the main line or out on hire during the summer. BR requested Taw Valley for a programme of steam from Marylebone between November and the following March.
<div id="1989Mileage"></div>
