Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1990-1999
This page has been created to hold information on 1990 to 1999. It is in course of being populated.
1990
1990 saw the Severn Valley Railway celebrate its Silver Jubilee.
February 1990:
- The heavy overhaul of 60009 Union of South Africa was completed two days inside the agreed 1 year period. The locomotive ran three return test runs in mid-February which were made open to the public, drawing a large crowd. The locomotive rapidly returned to the main line, hauling a VIP special across the Forth Bridge on 4 March.
- The Great Marquess hauled “The White Rose” from London Marylebone to Sheffield on 17 February. The locomotive continued to Scotland to haul a return tour from Carlisle to Skipton a week later. SVRSevern Valley Railway News reported that this was the first engine to work from London to Scotland in steam since Flying Scotsman’s non-stop run in 1968.
March 1990:
- 34027 Taw Valley returned from the winter season at Marylebone, before later setting off on another season of Crewe-Holyhead express working.
- An appeal was launched to build a new footbridge to connect Bridgnorth Station to New Road, between Low Town and High Town. The previous footbridge had been deemed beyond repair and demolished by Bridgnorth Council in 1976.
May 1990:
- 1 May saw the 150th anniversary of the Penny Black postage stamp introduced by Kidderminster’s Sir Rowland Hill. A private Royal Mail / British Rail charter ran from London to Birmingham hauled by electric locomotive 90019, newly named “Penny Black”. Haulage from Birmingham to Kidderminster was by diesel electric 47515 “Night Mail”. On the SVRSevern Valley Railway, BRBritish Rail or British Railways locomotive 47474 was named “Sir Rowland Hill”.
- Sunday 13 May saw the normal summertime Table C timetable in use, requiring 5 steam locomotives. Only later was it pointed out that the SVRSevern Valley Railway had unknowingly achieved a ‘full house’ by rostering GWRGreat Western Railway 4566, SRSouthern Railway 34027 Taw Valley, LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 46443, LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway 3442 The Great Marquess and BRBritish Rail or British Railways Standard 75069 on the same day.
- As part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, Railcar 22 returned to the SVRSevern Valley Railway and appeared at the Diesel Gala, remaining until July.
- SVRSevern Valley Railway membership reached 15,000.
Summer 1990: 7812 Erlestoke Maor left the SVRSevern Valley Railway for overhaul at Swindon, becoming the first SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotive not to be overhauled in the Bridgnorth Loco Works.
September 1990: 4472 Flying Scotsman arrived for the Jubilee Autumn Gala on 17 September, accompanied by owner Sir William McAlpine.
October 1990:
- HRH The Duke of Gloucester officially opened the Bridgnorth Boiler shop. 7819 Hinton Manor carried the appropriate Royal headlamp code for the occasion.
- A two-car DMUDiesel Multiple Unit arrived on loan to the SVRSevern Valley Railway for a two year trial period. The group organising the loan proposed to use it for ‘untapped’ portions of the market such as one-off hires and evening / scenic specials.
December 1989:
- Following ballasting and laying of sleepers and rails during the year, Platform 2 at Kidderminster was brought into use. This allowed two trains to be in Kidderminster Station at the same time. Previously, commissioning of the Kidderminster signal box in late 1987 had removed the ‘One Engine in Steam’ restriction on the Kidderminster to Bewdley section, but services had to cross in the passing loop outside the station.
- 1989 saw new records for the number of passengers on the Santa Services (42,602) and ticket sales in the year (209,837). Turnover exceeded £2m for the first time.
13 steam locomotives were used during the year as follows:
| Locomotive | Comment |
| 2857 | |
| 4566 | |
| 5764 | |
| 6960 Raveningham Hall | |
| 7819 Hinton Manor | |
| 34027 Taw Valley | Reunited with own tender |
| 42968 | Running in following restoration |
| 46443 | |
| 47383 | |
| 48773 | |
| 61994 The Great Marquess | |
| 75069 | |
| 600 Gordon | Returned following overhaul |
1991
1991 saw a recession in the UK. The effect was seen on the SVRSevern Valley Railway, where passenger numbers and membership both fell for the first time in some years.
Spring 1991:
- 'Black 5' no 45000 returned to the NRMThe Railway Museum, formerly the National Railway Museum, together with coach no 9361, the “Clapham Buffet”. The latter had seen regular use, and correspondence in SVRSevern Valley Railway news suggested its departure was regretted more than that of the Black 5!
- SVRSevern Valley Railway News also noted that 34027 Taw Valley, out on the main line at the time, was ‘unlikely to return’.
- The Share issue launched in May 1988 reached the target of £500k.
April 1991: Following further running in, StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 MogulLocomotive with a 2-6-0 wheel configuration 42968 entered service for the first time.
Summer 1981: The Kidderminster Turntable Project was launched, seeking funds to install the ex-Fort William 70ft turntable at Kidderminster. The smaller ex-Whitchurch turntable was still being considered for installation at Bridgnorth, but as a lower priority.
August 1991:
- August bank holiday weekend saw Kidderminster Railway Museum open to the public for the first time.
- 75069 and 7819 Hinton Manor took turns to work the Cambrian Coast Express between Shrewsbury and Barmouth.
September 1991: The Autumn Steam Gala was repeat visits from 4472 Flying Scotsman and 3440 City of Truro. A total of 9 locomotives were used at the gala.
December 1991:
- 60009 Union of South Africa returned from the main line for maintenance, and was used on the Christmas services before work began.
- The P.W.Permanent Way Department completed the process of replacing all wooden sleepers throughout the Railway with concrete sleepers, apart from within stations.
13 steam locomotives were used during the year as follows:
| Locomotive | Comment |
| 2857 | |
| 4566 | Summer hire to Llangollen Railway replacing 46443 |
| 5764 | |
| 6960 Raveningham Hall | |
| 7819 Hinton Manor | |
| 42968 | Entry into full service following restoration |
| 46443 | Summer hire to Llangollen Railway until boiler tubes failed |
| 46521 | Test running following heavy overhaul |
| 47383 | Summer hire to North Norfolk Railway |
| 48773 | |
| 61994 The Great Marquess | |
| 75069 | |
| 600 Gordon | Return to service following overhaul |
1992
Despite the recession, the SVRSevern Valley Railway continued to adopt the policy of having 15 serviceable locomotives, of which 3-4 would be used on the main line or hired out.
April 1992: The Spring Gala featured un-rebuilt BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 Battle of Britain class no 34072 257 Squadron which made a 2 month visit. Also featured was 60009 Union of South Africa whose winter maintenance had been completed. ‘No 9’ worked a rail tour to Scotland before leaving the SVRSevern Valley Railway at the end of the month.
Summer 1992: Three SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotives were on hire to other railways. 2857 spent the season at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, 4566 went back to Llangollen and the 8FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. (now repainted as 48773) went to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
June 1992:
- The SVRSevern Valley Railway staged its first ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ event, featuring Manchester Ship Canal No 32 ‘Gothenburg’ (HC 680/1903) from the East Lancashire Railway. The two days saw nearly 17,000 visitors to the railway.
- June 1992 saw the celebration of ‘Ashford 150’. 75069 traveled south to join Taw Valley and 30777 Sir Lamiel, and worked a series of shuttles between Ashford and Hastings.
July 1992:
- Highley station was closed for 2 weeks; SVRSevern Valley Railway News noted 'The deterioration of Highley Station Platform was felt to have gone far enough when a hole appeared in it.'
- The SVRSevern Valley Railway Junior Club did a full 32 mile return trip using the pump trolley to raise money for charity.
- The SVRSevern Valley Railway experimented with a TV advertisement for the first time.
- CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 MogulLocomotive with a 2-6-0 wheel configuration 7325 returned to steam for the first time in 28 years.
September 1992: The Autumn Gala guest was LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway A4 pacific 4498 Sir Nigel GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 (BRBritish Rail or British Railways 60007); a total of 12 engines were in steam for the event.
(Details of locomotives used to follow)
1993
1993 marked 25 years since the end of BRBritish Rail or British Railways steam in 1968, and also 30 years since the last train from Bridgnorth. The recession continued to bite; the membership briefly dropped below 15,000 and the management began to review the ‘large engine’ policy.
April 1993: The Spring Steam Gala saw a return visit from 4498 Sir Nigel GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941, standing in at short notice for Flying Scotsman which had failed prior to the event.
Summer 1993:
- Summer 1993 saw 5 SVRSevern Valley Railway engines on hire to other railways. 5764 went to South Devon, 47383 to North Norfolk, 80079 to Llangollen, 46521 to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire and 48773 to West Somerset.
- Black 5 44767 George Stephenson paid a short visit to the SVRSevern Valley Railway prior to beginning main line running
- June 1993: Pannier 5775 arrived on a 3 month loan from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
September 1993:
- On 4 September the SVRSevern Valley Railway was visited by Prince and Princess Michael of Kent aboard a charter consisting of 10 coaches of the VSOEVenice Simplon Orient Express ‘Orient Express’. 600 Gordon provided the motive power for a Kidderminster – Bridgnorth return, being the only SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotive equipped to work with air braked stock.
- A special train ran to mark the 30th anniversary of the last BRBritish Rail or British Railways passenger service to leave Bridgnorth.
- The Autumn Steam Gala was the most ambitious to date. It was the first to feature overnight running, and the first to include 3 guests (Pannier 5775, LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway FowlerHenry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway 1909-1923, and of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1923-1933 4FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. 0-6-0 no 44422 and GERGreat Eastern Railway N7 0-6-2T no 69621). The event included a Bridgnorth-Kidderminster run with triple-headed panniers, while no less than 17 locomotives were steamed on both the Saturday and Sunday.
December 1993:
- The SVRSevern Valley Railway found out ‘by chance’ that landlords BRBritish Rail or British Railways were planning to auction the 7.6 acre site on which the SVRSevern Valley Railway’s Kidderminster station was built (in 1984 the SVRSevern Valley Railway had bought the line to Kiderminster, but could only afford to lease the land for the station itself). Contact was hastily made with BRBritish Rail or British Railways, who agreed to an offer of £450k to secure the site without an auction. The purchase (plus £80k of recoverable VAT) was initially funded by a bridging loan, and inevitably triggered another share prospectus.
- The contract for construction of the New Road footbridge was signed just in time to qualify for a grant from the European Regional Development Fund..
(Details of locomotives used to follow)
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
See also
The Severn Valley Railway in preservation
( 1980-1989 ) ( 2000-2009 )
Sources
SVRSevern Valley Railway News unless otherwise stated.
