Editing Severn Valley Railway (section)

==== 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=25–26}}</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.