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==History== ===Commercial history=== {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway Act 1853}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for making a Railway from the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway near Hartlebury in the County of Worcester to the Borough of Shrewsbury in the County of Salop, with a Branch, to be called "The Severn Valley Railway;" and for other Purposes. | year = 1853 | citation = [[16 & 17 Vict.]] c. ccxxvii | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 20 August 1853 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = {{ubli|Severn Valley Railway Act 1855}} | related_legislation = | status = repealed | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/16-17/227/pdfs/ukla_18530227_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway Act 1855}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for the making and maintaining of the Severn Valley Railway; and for other Purposes. | year = 1855 | citation = [[18 & 19 Vict.]] c. clxxxiii | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 30 July 1855 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = {{ubli|Severn Valley Railway Act 1853}} | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/18-19/183/pdfs/ukla_18550183_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway Act 1856}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for authorizing Deviations from the authorized Line of the Severn Valley Railway, and for making further Provision with respect to Shares in the Capital of the Severn Valley Railway Company, and for facilitating the Completion of their Undertaking, and for other Purposes. | year = 1856 | citation = [[19 & 20 Vict.]] c. cxi | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 21 July 1856 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/19-20/111/pdfs/ukla_18560111_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway Act 1858}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for making further Provision with respect to the Severn Valley Railway, in order to the Completion thereof; and for other Purposes. | year = 1858 | citation = [[21 & 22 Vict.]] c. cxxxv | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 23 July 1858 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway (Leasing) Act 1860}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act to enable the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway Company to take on Lease the Undertaking of the Severn Valley Railway Company. | year = 1860 | citation = 23 & 24 Vict. c. lxxvi | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 14 June 1860 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/23-24/76/pdfs/ukla_18600076_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|West Midland and Severn Valley Railways Act 1862}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act to authorize an Alteration of the Terms of the Lease of the Severn Valley Railway to the West Midland Railway Company; and for other Purposes. | year = 1862 | citation = [[25 & 26 Vict.]] c. clxxxiii | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 29 July 1862 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/25-26/183/pdfs/ukla_18620183_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Railway Act 1864}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act to authorize the Severn Valley Railway Company to raise further Sums of Money, and to make certain Works in connexion with their Railway; and for other Purposes. | year = 1864 | citation = [[27 & 28 Vict.]] c. cli | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 30 June 1864 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/27-28/151/pdfs/ukla_18640151_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} The Severn Valley Railway was built between 1858 and 1862, and linked [[Hartlebury]], near [[Droitwich Spa]], with [[Shrewsbury]], a distance of {{convert|40|mi|km|0}}. Important stations on the line were {{stnlnk|Stourport-on-Severn}}, {{stnlnk|Bewdley}}, and {{stnlnk|Arley}} within [[Worcestershire]]; and {{stnlnk|Highley}}, {{stnlnk|Hampton Loade}}, {{stnlnk|Bridgnorth}}, {{stnlnk|Coalport}}, {{stnlnk|Ironbridge and Broseley}}, {{stnlnk|Buildwas}}, {{stnlnk|Cressage}}, and {{stnlnk|Berrington}} in [[Shropshire]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Siviter |first=Roger |title=Past and Present special: The Severn Valley Railway |year=1995 |publisher=Past & Present Publishing |location=Wadenhoe |isbn=1-85895-080-5}}</ref> Although the railway was built by the original Severn Valley Railway Company, it was operated from opening on 1 February 1862 by the [[West Midland Railway]] which was later absorbed into the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR) on 1 August 1863.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|p=50}} As one of the many branch lines on the GWR's extensive network, it was subsequently referred to in GWR timetables as the Severn Valley Branch.<ref>GWR Timetable 1902, P122, etc.</ref> Most infrastructure on the line (excluding embankments and cuttings) was constructed to a [[Double-track railway|double-track]] width, but only a [[single-track railway|single-track]] was laid to save on costs, this was to allow a future expansion to double track to occur with minimal disruption to services on the line, however, this would never occur.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Double track - SVR Wiki |url=https://www.svrwiki.com/Double_track |access-date=11 April 2025 |website=www.svrwiki.com}}</ref> In 1878, the GWR opened a link line between Bewdley and Kidderminster. This meant trains could run direct from the [[Black Country]] to areas of Shropshire. This link line is now part of the preserved route, with the original line of the Severn Valley Railway, through Stourport, having been dismantled from beyond the original junction near Bewdley, to Hartlebury, where it met the OWW. Most Kidderminster to Bewdley trains continued over the [[Tenbury and Bewdley Railway|Tenbury and Bewdley railway]] (dismantled in the 1960s) to [[Tenbury Wells]] or [[Woofferton]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Bradshaw's Rail Times for Great Britain and Ireland: December 1895, reprint. |date=2011 |publisher=Middleton Press. |isbn=978-1-908174-11-6 |edition=}}</ref> At Buildwas Junction (now the site of the former [[Ironbridge Power Station]] near what is now [[Telford]]) Severn Valley trains connected with services from [[Wellington, Shropshire|Wellington]] to [[Much Wenlock]] and [[Craven Arms]].<ref name=":3" /> For much of its working life, the Severn Valley line was operated by the [[Great Western Railway]] and subsequently the [[Western Region of British Railways]]. Today, the Severn Valley Railway operates almost exclusively as a [[Heritage railway|heritage passenger railway]]. ==== Decline and closure ==== Prior to preservation, the Severn Valley line was never financially successful.<ref>{{cite book |author=Oppitz, Leslie |title=Lost Railways of Herefordshire and Worcestershire |year=2004 |publisher=Countryside Books |location=Newbury |page=52 |isbn=1-85306-754-7}}</ref> Freight traffic, mostly agricultural, and [[coal]] traffic from the collieries of [[Alveley]] and [[Highley]] were the principal sources of revenue. Passenger numbers began to fall after the [[First World War]], particularly at the large intermediate stations of Stourport, Bewdley, and Bridgnorth,{{sfn|Vanns|2017|p=36}} with measures such as the opening of [[Halt (railway)|halts]] in the 1930s to attract more local custom having only limited impact. However, the line was strategically useful in the [[Second World War]] as an alternative diversionary route around the West Midlands, the primary route being the [[Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway|Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway]].{{sfn|Vanns|2017|p=43}} After [[Nationalisation of British railways|nationalisation]] in 1948, passenger traffic continued to dwindle. Although the Severn Valley Branch was closed during the [[Beeching cuts]] of the 1960s, it was already scheduled for closure prior to the publication of Beeching's report, 'The Reshaping of British Railways', on 27 March 1963. British Railways had announced in January 1962 that the Severn Valley Branch was under review, and the [[British Transport Commission]] published closure proposal notices on 1 October 1962 in advance of a meeting of the West Midlands Transport Users Consultative Committee, which took place at [[Bridgnorth Town Hall]] on 8 November 1962.<ref>{{cite book |title=Severn Valley Railway Memories |first=Christopher |last=Magner |year=1997 |pages=25β26}}</ref> Objections to the proposed closure were unsuccessful and the line between Shrewsbury and Bewdley was closed to passenger services on 9 September 1963, and to through freight services on 30 November 1963.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|p=163}} Following closure, the track north of Bridgnorth was dismantled. After 1963, the line from Bewdley was retained to serve Alveley Colliery until 1969, while a sparse passenger service continued to link Bewdley with Kidderminster and Hartlebury, until this too ceased in January 1970. Freight traffic between the [[British Sugar Corporation]]'s Foley Park factory and Kidderminster continued until 1982. ===Heritage railway=== [[File:61994 The Great Marquess crossing Victoria Bridge Severn Valley Railway.jpg|thumb|[[LNER Gresley K4 61994 The Great Marquess|61994 ''The Great Marquess'']] crossing Victoria Bridge.]] {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|British Railways Board (Severn Valley) Light Railway Order 1970}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1970 | citation = [[SI 1970]]/7 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 5 January 1970 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 16 January 1970 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|British Railways Board (Severn Valley) Light Railway (Transfer) Order 1970}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1970 | citation = [[SI 1970]]/778 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 20 May 1970 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 21 May 1970 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|British Railways Board (Severn Valley) Light Railway Order 1973}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1973 | citation = [[SI 1973]]/357 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 27 February 1973 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 28 February 1973 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = {{ubli|[[Light Railways Act 1896]]|[[Light Railways Act 1912]]|[[Railways Act 1921]]}} | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/357/pdfs/uksi_19730357_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Light Railway (Transfer) Order 1974}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1974 | citation = [[SI 1974]]/642 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 28 March 1874 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 29 March 1874 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = {{ubli|[[Light Railways Act 1896]]|[[Light Railways Act 1912]]|[[Railways Act 1921]]}} | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1974/642/pdfs/uksi_19740642_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|British Railways Board (Severn Valley) Light Railway (Transfer) Order 1974}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1974 | citation = [[SI 1974]]/643 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 28 March 1874 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 29 March 1874 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = {{ubli|[[Light Railways Act 1896]]|[[Light Railways Act 1912]]|[[Railways Act 1921]]}} | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1974/643/pdfs/uksi_19740643_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = {{visible anchor|Severn Valley Light Railway Order 1984}} | type = Statutory Instrument | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | year = 1984 | citation = [[SI 1984]]/1202 | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | si_made_date = 20 July 1984 | si_laid_date = | commencement = 21 July 1984 | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | primary_legislation = {{ubli|[[Light Railways Act 1896]]|[[Transport Act 1968]]}} | eu_directives = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1984/1202/pdfs/uksi_19841202_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} The Severn Valley Railway Society was formed in July 1965 by people who wished to preserve a section of the line which had closed in 1963.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|p=166}} British Railways (BR), who owned the line and was beginning its demolition, agreed to an offer of Β£25,000 for the {{frac|5|1|2}} miles of the line between Bridgnorth and Alveley Colliery in February 1966 and the society paid an initial deposit of Β£2,500 in February 1967. Obtaining a Light Railway Order required a limited company to be formed, with a new Severn Valley Railway Company being incorporated in May 1967, named after the company that originally built the railway over which it now operates. Even at that early date, the objective of the company was to "preserve, retain and restore the standard-gauge railway extending from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster via Bewdley".{{sfn|Marshall|1989|pp=167β168}} The Light Railway Order was granted in May 1970, allowing regular services to begin between Bridgnorth and [[Hampton Loade]]; the balance of the Β£25,000 purchase price being paid to BR on 24 June 1970.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|pp=172β173}} The end of coal trains from the colliery in 1969 allowed SVR to acquire a further {{frac|8|1|2}} miles of the line from [[Hampton Loade railway station|Hampton Loade]] to [[Foley Park Halt railway station|Foley Park]] in 1972, the purchase price of Β£74,000 (Β£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|74000|1972|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} being raised by the flotation of a public company initially under the chairmanship of Sir [[Gerald Nabarro]] MP (the line was partly in his former [[Kidderminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Kidderminster constituency]]). The share issue took place, but after SVR volunteers discovered he planned to sell the [[Bridgnorth railway station]] site for hotel and housing development and bring business friends from outside onto the board, it led to a threatened strike by the railway's volunteer staff and his proposals were thrown out at a heated AGM.<ref name=shropstar4>{{cite news |title=Santa and the Abominable Showman |newspaper=Shropshire Star |date=19 March 2015 |page=26}}</ref> Nabarro stood down as chairman in March 1973, being succeeded by [[David Lindesay-Bethune, 15th Earl of Lindsay|Viscount Garnock]], and resigned from the board of directors in May 1973.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|pp=183}} Services were extended to [[Bewdley]] in May 1974.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|pp=183β187}} Following the end of freight traffic from the [[British Sugar]] factory at Foley Park in 1982, the SVR purchased the final section of the line to Kidderminster at a cost of Β£75,000 (Β£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|75000|1982|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}} The SVR also rented the former Comberton Hill goods yard at Kidderminster from BR, on which a new station would be built. This was achieved in time for services to Kidderminster to begin on 30 July 1984.{{sfn|Marshall|1989|pp=191β195}} Major developments on the SVR since 1984 have included the commissioning of a newly constructed signal box at Kidderminster in 1987, the opening of a new boiler shop at Bridgnorth in 1990, the purchase of the freehold of Kidderminster Town station in 1994, the opening of a new carriage shed at Kidderminster in 2003, the completion of the east wing and canopy of Kidderminster Station in 2006, and the opening of the Engine House Museum at Highley in 2008. 2010 marked the Severn Valley railway's 40th anniversary since opening in 1970 and the 175th anniversary of the formation of the Great Western Railway. 2015 marked the 50th anniversary since the birth of the Severn Valley Railway on 6 July 1965. Special events were staged during both years to mark these anniversaries.<ref>{{cite journal |date=Spring 2010 |title=SVR News Spring 2010 |journal=Severn Valley Railway News |volume=Spring 2010 |issue=169 |page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=Summer 2015 |title=SVR News Summer 2015 |journal=Severn Valley Railway News |issue=190 |page=4}}</ref>
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