Midlands heritage attraction Severn Valley Railway has steamed ahead through the recession to a record-breaking year, delighted bosses announced today.

The Kidderminster-based steam railway, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, bucked the trend to bring in £6.25 million from all sources in 2009 – almost £1 million more than in 2008.

It also attracted more passengers than it has seen since 2005 with 248,000 people travelling the tracks.

Marketing manager John Leach said: “We’re not in a mainstream tourist area so the Severn Valley Railway has to make a strong case for itself in order to win a respectable share of the tourism market.

“I think the results show we’ve done that – and that sets us up nicely for the very full diary of 40th anniversary special events.”

The celebrations kicked off last week with a Reunion Gala weekend, where four locomotives which were once a part of the fleet returned to the line.