The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership
The Severn Valley Railway opened in 1862, linking Shrewsbury in the North, via Bridgnorth, to Hartlebury in the South. The present day Severn Valley Railway operates over the section from Bridgnorth to a point south of Bewdley station, where the original line can be seen curving away to the right towards Stourport as you travel towards Kidderminster.
The Severn Valley Railway was originally operated by the West Midland Railway, but was fully absorbed into the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1872. In 1878 the GWR added ‘The Loop’ linking Bewdley to Kidderminster, over which the present day Severn Valley Railway continues. ‘The Loop’ nearly didn’t happen; construction was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1868 which also included the nearby Stourbridge Town branch (part of which is still in use today). The GWR then sought leave to abandon ‘The Loop’ and build a line linking Bewdley to Stourbridge via Wolverley, Cookley and Kinver instead. Only when Parliament rejected this proposal did ‘The Loop’ go ahead. Most Kidderminster to Bewdley trains left the Severn Valley Railway at the Tenbury Branch and took the Wyre Forest line (dismantled in the 1960s and now a popular walking route) to Tenbury Wells or Woofferton.
The Severn Valley line was used for both passenger and freight traffic. Much of the latter was generated by Alveley Colliery at Highley and the British Sugar Corporation factory at Foley Park, Kidderminster.
Ownership of the Severn Valley Line passed to British Railways (BR) upon nationalisation in 1948, when it became part of the British Railways Western Region “BR(W)". The 1950s saw steam replaced on some services by GWR Diesel Railcars and BR Diesel Multiple Units (DMU).
Through traffic between Shrewsbury and Bewdley ceased in 1963, the closure of this section being the catalyst for the beginnings of The Severn Valley Railway in preservation two years later. The line from Alveley Colliery southwards through Bewdley remained in use for moving coal to Stourport Power Station until the Colliery closed in 1969. The 1963 closure did not come about through the “Beeching cuts”; the line was already scheduled for closure by BR due to falling traffic numbers.
BR ceased passenger services from Bewdley to Hartlebury in 1970, ending their use of the original Severn Valley Line. Services from Bewdley to Kidderminster over 'The Loop' ended at the same time, although British Sugar Corporation freight traffic between Foley Park and Kidderminster continued until 1982.
When the SVR opened services to Bewdley in 1974, they had also acquired the line as far as Foley Park. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the SVR, with BR’s co-operation, were able to stage outgoing main line rail tours (and play host to incoming ones) via the remaining BR section of 'The Loop' between Foley Park and Kidderminster. On some weekends in summer, BR also operated a few DMU special services from their Kidderminster station to the SVR at Bewdley.
References and sources
The Severn Valley Railway Souvenir Guide, available from Gift Shops on the SVR.
Past editions of Severn Valley News.