A travelling post office targeted in the infamous Great Train Robbery of 1963 went on show today at a new £4.3 million visitor and education centre on the Severn Valley Railway line.

The Engine House centre was opened to coincide with the relaunch of the train service following storms which washed away parts of the track between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth.

Gardening expert Charlie Dimmock joined other VIPs and railway bosses to travel on the first passenger train in nine months along the 16-mile track.

She described it as “a fantastic journey” and said she was thrilled to be asked to officially break a bottle of champagne over the front of the locomotive , GWR Manor Class 4-6-0 No.7812 Erlestoke Manor. The mail sorting carriage on show at The Engine House at Highley was part of the train halted at a false signal stop by robbers Ronnie Biggs, Charlie Wilson, and Bruce Reynolds, who stole £2.3 million.

Other stars of the show at the centre are steam trains including locomotive 4930 Hagley Hall, the NoWD600 Gordon, owned by the Ministry of Defence, which worked on the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire, and an 8F Class 2-8-0.

Guests were given a tour of the centre to celebrate the grand re-opening of the line, parts of which were washed away in last summer’s floods. Rails were left in mid-air in many places and the repair bill is expected to total more than £3.5 million.

Nick Ralls, general manager, paid tribute to the European Regional Development Fund, Advantage West Midlands, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the hundreds of other benefactors who had “helped the railway during its hours of greatest need”. He said: “We have seen acts of heart-rending kindness, ranging from children giving their pocket money or doing small jobs to earn money for donations, to contemporaries like the North Yorkshire Moors Railway running a special Valley aid gala event.”