Bridgnorth Station, Bridgnorth

tel :: Bewdley 01299 403 816

web :: Severn Valley Railway Website

The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The 16-mile line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route. Trains services are hauled by both steam and diesel locomotives, and also the line’s diesel multiple unit. This last unit is used to run a Saturday Evening Fish and Chip Special from May to August, leaving Kidderminster at around 7pm and returning at 10pm after one hour in Bridgnorth.

The railway is one of the most popular heritage railways in the country. It hosts numerous special events throughout the year, including both steam and diesel galas, Thomas the Tank Engine events, and Santa Specials. In October 2004, the line hosted the Railcar 50 event, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of diesel multiple units by British Railways.

The Severn Valley Railway was used as transport route for 101 years, from 1862 until 1963. The Severn Valley line was built between 1858 and 1862, and linked Hartlebury, near Droitwich, with Shrewsbury, a distance of 40 miles. Important stations on the line were Stourport-on-Severn, Bewdley, Arley, Highley, Hampton Loade, Bridgnorth, Coalport, Ironbridge, Buildwas, Cressage and Berrington. The original Severn Valley Railway was absorbed into the GWR in the 1870s, and in 1878 a link line was constructed from Bewdley to Kidderminster. This meant trains could run direct from the West Midlands industrial area, to areas of Shropshire. Most Kidderminster to Bewdley trains continued through the Wyre Forest line (dismantled in the 1960s and now a popular walking route) to Tenbury Wells or Woofferton. At Buildwas Junction (near what is now Telford) Severn Valley trains connected with services from Wellington to Much Wenlock and Craven Arms. The Severn Valley line was never financially successful. Freight traffic, mostly agricultural, and coal traffic from the Shropshire Hills were the principle sources of revenue. The line was strategically useful in the Second World War.

After nationalisation in 1948, passenger traffic started to dwindle. The line was closed to through passenger and freight services under the ‘Beeching Axe’ in 1963 and the track north of Bridgnorth was dismantled. A few passenger services continued to link Bewdley with Kidderminster and Hartlebury, and coal traffic survived south of Alveley, though these activities were stopped in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Today the Severn Valley Railway operates as a heritage railway. Services began in 1970 from Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade, extending services to Bewdley in 1974 and Kidderminster in 1984. The line from Hartlebury to Stourport-on-Severn, from north of Bewdley through the Wyre Forest and to west to Shropshire, and north of Bridgnorth has been dismantled and the land sold up. Because of this, never again will trains haul past Ironbridge or to Shrewsbury.