With the August Bank Holiday almost here many of us would normally be heading for Kidderminster or Bridgnorth to indulge ourselves in a bit of nostalgia with a trip back in time along the Severn Valley Railway. There is no doubt that just seeing a steam engine at work lifts the sprits.
There is probably something deeply Freudian going on here. It can’t just be nostalgia for the days when all railways were steam hauled and children stood on the embankments waving as they went past, as they did so successfully in the Railway Children.
That would not explain the joy that modern children (of all ages) get from seeing steam when their only experience is a DVD of the ubiquitous Thomas. No, there is something about steam engines.
They seem to be alive and it’s not just with Thomas that we indulge in this anthropomorphism. All steam locomotives seem to have an element of humanity about them. They need a lot of fuel before they do any work, once they start they huff and puff about it, often stopping for a drink. I am sure we can all think of people with these characteristics.
Steam trains have been running up and down the Severn Valley since
February 1862. The line originally to carried a lot of freight; as there was china from Coalport, limestone from Wenlock, firebricks and tiles from Broseley, iron from Coalbrookdale, carpets from Bridgnorth and coal from Alveley and Highley. The line carried passengers too but I am sure in carrying over 200,000 people annually in recent years the line carries more passengers today between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster than were ever carried when the line was part of the national network.
Movement on the original line ceased in 1963 by which time most of the industry that had supported the line had disappeared and the valley, rather than being a centre of industry, was reverting to the natural beauty it had always possessed.
There is something deeply evocative about the country railway. The sunlit platform, birdsong and then, as Edward Thomas wrote so memorably, “The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came. On the bare platform. What I saw was Adelstrop – only the name”.
Well for Adelstrop read Arley, Highley or Hampton Load, what could be better than to run steam trains through this wonderful landscape?
The story that followed was a bit like that wonderful Ealing comedy the Titfield Thunderbolt except these people were in deadly earnest and their efforts at re-opening the line took many years of effort.
The story of the early years of the railway was full of characters like, Keith Beddoes who called the original Save the Railway meeting at the Coopers Arms in Kidderminster on 6th July 1965, and the MP, Sir Gerald Nabbaro who went on to chair the holding company.
They struggled against enormous odds for almost twenty years determined to create the railway we know and love today. Now the Severn Valley Railway is one of the most important tourist draws in the region. Thousands travel on the trains and thousands more come just to watch the steam over those blue remembered hills.
That was until this summer’s rain. Who would have thought that a summer shower would damage the line in 45 places, nine of them seriously, washing away sections of the track and undermining the track-bed causing some £2million worth of damage?
Today the railway is facing the greatest crisis in its long history. Over the years thousands of volunteers have kept this symbol of our industrial past alive lets us hope that, like John Garth who in 1965 gave the first five pounds to set the Save the Severn Valley Railway fund in motion, lots more five pounds will flow into the new fund that has been set up to rebuild this severely damaged railway.
For me the railway cannot return to normal running soon enough – it always will be the ideal way to spend a British Bank Holiday.
Whilst I never fail to enjoy my trips on the railway (or the first class real ale at the station bars at either end) I have always felt slightly disappointed that it only went as far as Bridgnorth. Nothing against Bridgnorth its market, cliff top walk with funicular and splendid views mean it is like a seaside promenade for Black Country folk.
Once the railway is back on its feet my dream is that they keep the fundraising going to raise sufficient cash to extend the line into the Ironbridge Gorge. The industrial legacy of the Gorge has made it a World Heritage Site but recreating the railway as part of the Gorge would add enormously to its tourist value. Imagine being able to arrive at the Ironbridge by steam-hauled train - now that would be a sight!
The Flood Damage Appeal can be reached at, The Severn Valley Railway, The Railway Station, Bewdley, DY12 1BG. Or go to: www.svr.co.uk/appeal
1 comment:
Dear Nick,
As one of the founder members of the Severn Valley Railway Society, who attended that inaugural meeting at the Cooper's Arms at Kidderminster on 6th July 1965, can I correct you.
The late John Garth proposed the setting up of the Save The Severn Valley Railway Fund to provide funds to acquire the line and property.
He made the first donation of £25 in memory of his late Grandfather, who was a signalman at Hagley Station.
Keith Beddoes was instrumental in causing this meeting to be held and a small Committee was formed, which I joined quite soon afterwards.
As you say, lots more contributions needed to deal with the present catastrophe !!
Yours sincerely
Christopher George
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