Severn Valley Railway pays homage on weekend of 1960s fun to pioneers who created popular heritage line
This weekend the Severn Valley Railway has celebrated an important anniversary, the presence of an iconic train and the full reopening of its line all in one.
The popular heritage railway has been celebrating its 60th anniversary with a weekend of 1960s fun, paying tribute to the people who worked to preserve the line and save it from fading into obscurity.
The Swinging Sixties weekend was also an opportunity to show off the world-famous steam locomotive the Flying Scotsman, the railway's guest of honour this weekend, and also celebrate the news that the whole line is now open to Bridgnorth for the first time since the landslip at Mor Brook bridge in late January.
The weekend of events across the network included live music up and down the line, a selection of historic engines on display, classic cars at stations and a chance to ride in historic carriages.
Kidderminster Station was also the setting on Saturday evening for a concert by The Jaguars, followed by a DJ set from Guy Roles.
Severn Valley Railway head of communications Lesley Carr said it had been great to be able to fully open up the line after so long and spoke about what it meant for the heritage railway to be able to celebrate such an anniversary.
She said: "It was back in 1965 that our pioneers got together and launched their plans to preserve the line, which was threatened with falling into obscurity, so 60 years on, it's our chance to celebrate their work and honour their legacy.
"The other great thing about the Swinging Sixties event is that it gives people a chance to see the Flying Scotsman during its visit with us and it's added a bit of spice to the whole event.
"We were absolutely thrilled to reopen our line all the way through to Bridgnorth with Flying Scotsman making the first service, and it's going to make a massive difference to us.
"We've seen a drop in passenger numbers this year and we've only been able to run for part of the line and while we've been open, people have wanted to go to Bridgnorth as it's a super destination, so it's going to be lovely to get things back to normal again."
