The Severn Valley Railway in preservation
Contents
History
Opening dates
Services on the SVR began progressively as follows:
- May 1970: Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade. This section had been closed by BR in 1963.
- May 1974: Hampton Loade to Bewdley (services as far as Highley began a month earlier). The SVR also acquired the line between Bewdley and Foley Park, although this was only used on special occasions such as 'Enthusiasts Events'. BR’s use of Bewdley Station and the Foley Park connection had ended in 1970 when onward services from Bewdley ceased.
- July 1984: Bewdley to Kidderminster. Use of the last portion under BR ownership for commercial traffic from Foley Park to Kidderminster had ended in 1982. BR would continue to use the existing station at Kidderminster as part of the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester line. As it was not feasible to share this station, the SVR built their own adjacent station, Kidderminster Town.
Other notable events
- 1965: Formation of the Severn Valley Railway Society.
- 1967: Arrival of the first locomotives and carriages at Bridgnorth. Formation of the Guarantee Company
- 1968: Public Inquiry into the granting of the Light Railway Order.
- 1972: Floatation of SVR(H)
- 1973: The ‘ Nabarro crisis’
- 1978: First SVR-based steam locomotive to haul a main line rail tour
- 1982: Last use of Eardington as a request stop
- 1983: Completion of Bridgnorth Bypass Bridge, Bridgnorth embankment collapse
- 1985: City of Truro ‘April Fool’
- 1986: Bewdley Bypass Bridge completed
- 1987: Kidderminster Signal Box commissioned
- 1990: Bridgnorth Boiler Shop opened
- 1991: Kidderminster Railway Museum opened
- 1993: First overnight running at an Autumn Steam Gala
- 1996: Country Park Halt opened
- 2000: Locomotive fleet ravaged by the ‘boiler crisis’
- 2003: Kidderminster Carriage Shed built
- 2006: Kidderminster station building East wing and canopy completed
- 2007: Last SVR-based steam locomotive to haul a main line rail tour
- 2007: The railway suffered massive storm damage
- 2008: Opening of The Engine House
- 2010: 40th Anniversary of operations on the SVR
- 2015: 50th Anniversary of the SVR in preservation
- 2016: Diesel Depot built
- 2018: Bridgnorth Development Project phase 1 opened
Follow the links below to see a history of the SVR in preservation by year.
| Severn Valley Railway timeline since 1965 | |
|---|---|
| 1965-1969 | 1965 * 1966 * 1967 * 1968 * 1969 |
| 1970-1979 | 1970 * 1971 * 1972 * 1973 * 1974 * 1975 * 1976 * 1977 * 1978 * 1979 |
| 1980-1989 | 1980 * 1981 * 1982 * 1983 * 1984 * 1985 * 1986 * 1987 * 1988 * 1989 |
| 1990-1999 | 1990 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1994 * 1995 * 1996 * 1997 * 1998 * 1999 |
| 2000-2009 | 2000 * 2001 * 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007 * 2008 * 2009 |
| 2010-2019 | 2010 * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 |
Current Organisation
The present day Severn Valley Railway (SVR) is made up of three companies:[1]
- Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC, usually abbreviated to “SVR(H)”, is the public company that owns the railway’s infrastructure. The SVR has around 15,000 shareholders, who own a stake in this company.
- Severn Valley Railway Company Limited, commonly referred to as “the Guarantee Company”, is the SVR’s membership arm and provides the volunteers who help to operate the railway. The Guarantee Company owns approximately 17.75% of SVR(H).[2] The SVR has around 12,500 members, who are automatically members of this company (all of the around 1,700 volunteers must be members).
- Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd, “the Charitable Trust”, raises funds to support the SVR. The objectives are to raise funds for the long-term preservation of rolling stock belonging to the trust and station buildings, track and other associated infrastructure. It also includes the education for the benefit of the public and provision of education and skills training.[3]
The Severn Valley Railway Association, “SVRA” was a separate group run by working volunteers with the objective of providing support to the SVR membership, and particularly the working volunteers. The SVRA was merged into the Guarantee Company in October 2015.[4]
Internally the SVR is organised into a number of departments, principally as follows:
Motive Power Department (MPD)
- Bridgnorth Locomotive Works (Engineering Services)
- Bridgnorth Boiler Shop
- Locomotive Crew
Operating Department
- Train crew
- Signalling
- Stations and Booking Offices
- Rostering
Signalling
IT and Telecomunications
Permanent Way Department (P.W. Department)
Carriages and Wagons
Catering, Bars and Buffet Cars
Chairmen
A list of Chairmen, and those holding the title of President/Patron of SVR(H), is as follows:
Severn Valley Railway Society
- Tony Tuite 1965
- John Garth 1965-1966, 1967-1969
The Guarantee Company
- Andrew Marsden-Smedley 1969-1971
- Sir Gerald Nabarro 1971-1973
- Richard Dunn 1973-1975
- Hugh Mossop 1975-1976 (acting Chairman)
- John Garth 1976-1979
- David Williams 1979-
SVR(H)
- Sir Gerald Nabarro 1972-1973
- Viscount Garnock 1973-1975
- Hugh Mossop 1975-1976
- Bill Broadbent 1976-1987
- John Garth 1987-1989
- David Owen 1989-1993
- Mick York 1993-1999, 2002-2011
- Paul Fathers 1999-2002
- Nick Paul C.B.E. 2011-
- President:
- Viscount Cobham 1972-1976
- David, Earl of Lindsay 1976-1989
- The position of President has not been occupied since, although a number of retired Chairmen and other long-serving officials have been given the honorary position of Vice-President. At the end of 2018 there were 9 current Vice-Presidents.[5]
- Patron
- HRH The Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO, GCStJ 1997-
Severn Valley Railway Association See SVRA Chairmen
SVR Charitable Trust
- The SVR Rolling Stock Trust Company Limited:
- Chris Thomas: 2002
- Alan Osborne: 2003-2005
- Chris Thomas: 2006-2007
- Hugh McQuade: 2008-2012
- Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Limited
- Hugh McQuade 2012-2019
- John Leftwich interim chairman 2019
General Managers
The General Manager is the leading manager of both SVR(H) and the Guarantee Company. The position is not currently a Director of either company. SVR General Managers were as follows:
- Bill Gillett (1969-1972)
- Hugh Mossop (1972-1976)
- Michael Draper (1976-1993)
- Alun Rees (1993-2006)
- Colin Binch (2006)[6]
- Nick Ralls (2007-2019).[7]
See also
References
- ↑ SVR website
- ↑ SVR(G) 2017 report and accounts, p.5
- ↑ SVR Charitable Trust website
- ↑ SVRA website
- ↑ SVR News 204
- ↑ 'Railway chief leaves position', Kidderminster Shuttle, 21 September 2006 (Retrieved 4 April 2019)
- ↑ Shropshire Live 25 June 2019 (Retrieved 28 June 2019)