Latest news with #SevernValleyRailway
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Severn Valley Railway: How do you repair a heritage railway landslip?
Following a storm at the end of January, the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) suffered a major blow - a serious landslip that halted some services and cost tens of thousands of affected area was between the Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade stations, and meant that trains could not operate railway runs for 16 miles from Kidderminster in Worcestershire to Bridgnorth in how do you fix a major issue on a heritage railway line that was built in the 1860s? It's something Antony Bartlam - a structural engineer and project manager at SVR - has been working hard to deal with. He has been involved with SVR for more than 10 years, and spent the last three overseeing structural worksHe described the landslip as a "complete freak accident." "We had a tree that wasn't on our land, it fell and caused some damage to one of the wing walls on the bridge," he said."That allowed water to get behind the wing wall and that then caused the collapse."We'd actually inspected that bridge not long beforehand, so we knew it was in good condition."A lot of paperwork needed to be filled out before any work could actually process began with an insurance claim, which required evidence to prove that the slip was an accident. It was then on to contractors."They're very experienced with railway work, they said that it's one of the most complex jobs that they've had to undertake," said Mr job needed involvement from Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency before working in the watercourse."We've had to have surveys done for animals like otters and crayfish, anything that's in the brook that could be affected by what we're doing."Earlier this week, the embankment was dug out to allow a new wall to be constructed. Next, they will pour concrete for the new foundation, and the wall will go up."That embankment and the wing wall have been there for 160-odd years and nothing has happened to it, and that's why it's such a freak accident," said Mr Bartlam. "We had floods back in 2007 which caused a major problem with the railway... I would probably equate them to that in terms of the damage that it's caused."He added it would be a "big relief" when the section was open again."Bridgnorth has been very cut off, I know retail trade has been affected by the railway not running up there."Once the work is completed, testing will take place, followed by monitoring for about a month."That'll be a little bit of a nervous time to make sure everything's settled in and is working as it should do, but once that's completed then there should be no further issues," said Mr railway is due to fully reopen on 25 July. The Flying Scotsman will run on 26 and 27 July - tickets for which sold out in three minutes. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Severn Valley Railway visit from Flying Scotsman sells out
Tickets for a visit by the Flying Scotsman to the Severn Valley Railway sold out in just three famous locomotive is due to visit the line, which runs between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, next month to celebrate its full northern part of the track in Shropshire had to close in January due to a landslip and work has been carried out to make it safe railway said the sale of tickets on Wednesday had been a "real vote of confidence" and it was looking at the possibility of selling extra tickets, including options for on-train dining. The landslip at Mor Brook Bridge meant trains could go no further than Hampton Loade while the repairs were carried a fundraising appeal, contractors were employed to strengthen the embankment with concrete that is complete, the railway said it would re-lay the track and planned to carry out load testing before opening the line to Flying Scotsman would then be the first train to travel along the re-laid track on 25 July and would make more trips up and down the line on 26 and 27 about the ticket sales, Jonathan 'Gus' Dunster, the railway's managing director, said: 'We simply couldn't have wished for a better result than this."The railway is due to hold a Swinging Sixties weekend on 26 and 27 July and he encouraged people who had missed out on Flying Scotsman tickets to attend the event to see the train from the platform. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Flying Scotsman to haul carriages at Severn Valley Railway's full reopening
A heritage railway line will fully reopen, after an embankment collapse, in late July, with the Flying Scotsman steam train heading up the first between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade on the Severn Valley Railway gave way at the Mor Brook bridge on 30 January and trains have only been running between Kidderminster in Worcestershire and Hampton Loade, 16-mile route between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth in Shropshire will fully reopen on 25 Scotsman will also run on 26 and 27 July as part of the SVR's Swingin' Sixties event, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the line in preservation. The Flying Scotsman steam train first entered service in broke records by hauling the first non-stop London to Edinburgh service in 1928 and became the UK's first locomotive to officially reach a speed of 100mph six years later. When 60103 Flying Scotsman last visited the SVR in 2016, it proved a sell-out success, the heritage attraction for its return must be pre-booked from managing director Jonathan 'Gus' Dunster said getting the historic engine was a coup."Opportunities to travel behind this iconic loco on a heritage line are rare." Director of the National Railway Museum Craig Bentley said: "We are delighted to be able to make this visit from the world's most famous steam locomotive possible, and to help Severn Valley Railway mark an important moment in its recovery."Work was now well under way to repair the "serious embankment collapse", the SVR heritage line has previously said more than 2,500 tonnes of material had been excavated and a temporary culvert installed to allow full access for are six stations along the route, as well as the Engine House Visitor Centre at Swingin' Sixties event will also include live music at Kidderminster and Highley and displays of classic vehicles at Kidderminster, Highley and Bridgnorth. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Railway's 200th anniversary celebrations to hit the tracks
A special train forming a travelling celebration marking the 200th anniversary of the modern railway is to criss-cross the UK over the next 12 exhibition would highlight British railway firsts, get visitors to test their rail-related skills, showcase hidden sides of the railway and encourage youngsters to get involved, organisers "Inspiration" train is due to be launched at the Severn Valley Railway on 27 June before visiting 60 locations, such as the National Railway Museum in York, Shildon's Locomotion and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, over the coming Roberts, from the Railway 200 campaign, said it would be an "unforgettable experience" for visitors. The train is part of national celebrations marking 200 years since the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first railway in the world to operate passenger and freight Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, said the train would become a "new national visitor attraction".It would "excite, enlighten, entertain and inspire" visitors to take a fresh look at the railway as part of the anniversary celebrations, she said. 'New generation' The full schedule for the train's first six months was expected to include visits to, among others, the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, Darlington Station, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Glasgow Central Station, Doncaster Railport and Llandudno Station, with this year's itinerary due to end at London's Victoria Station on 18-20 to organisers, the visits to the north east of England would form part of S&DR200, a nine-month international festival inspired by the opening of the Stockton and Darlington the train's visit to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway would be part of the varied programme of events celebrating Bradford's year as UK City of Harley, business and operations manager for the Keighley & Worth Valley, said there was "no better time to become inspired by the breadth of the rail industry and how it has changed the world over 200 years"."We are looking forward to welcoming a diverse audience to view the train and hopefully inspire a new generation of rail workers and enthusiasts," he to the train would be free, and locations planned for it to visit in 2026 would be announced later this year, organisers said. The special train would consist of four carriages, each with a different theme, they coach would celebrate railway firsts, highlighting landmark moments in the industry's development.A "Wonderlab on Wheels" coach would invite people to test their engineering skills with hands-on exhibits from the National Railway Museum's interactive railway-themed carriage, entitled Your Railway Future, would showcase some of the less well known roles on the railway, and encourage people to join the industry to shape its next 200 years, according to another carriage, known as the Partner Zone, would offer a free, flexible exhibition space.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- BBC News
'Significant progress' made on Severn Valley Railway repairs
Bosses at a heritage railway line say "significant progress" has been made in repairing an embankment that collapsed almost five months land between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, on the Severn Valley Railway, gave way at the Mor Brook bridge on 30 then, trains have been restricted to running between Kidderminster and Hampton heritage line said more than 2,500 tonnes of material had been excavated from the site and a temporary culvert had been installed to allow full access for machinery. The next phase of the operation will involve the installation of concrete blocks to support the embankment and the railway said it hoped to announce a reopening date for the full line within the next contractors CML moved on to the site at the start of the month and the railway said the culverting work would "allow further excavation to take place around the collapsed wing wall of the bridge". Once that is complete, more than 100 concrete blocks, each weighing 2.5 tonnes would be moved into that the contractors plan to cover it with alternate layers of matting and imported aggregate, to create a stronger concrete blocks will be placed on the top of the bridge to form a base for the railway Bartlam, the railway's project manager, said: "Progress is impressive, helped by the recent good weather."Managing Director Jonathan Dunster said "something rather special" was being planned to mark the reopening of the full line. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
