The Flying Scotsman, a catastrophic landslip, Herculean repair efforts and a 60th anniversary: Just 12 months at the Severn Valley Railway
Recent years have been packed with challenges for the Severn Valley Railway - but 2025 offered ups and downs like never before.
The hugely popular heritage railway, which operates between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, opened the year with excitement as volunteers, staff, and supporters all looked forward to celebrating 60 years of the organisation.
Coupled with a packed programme of events and being part of the national celebrations marking 200 years of the railways, there was a lot to get excited about.
But all that optimism was brought to a shuddering stop just 29 days into the new year, when an embankment collapsed on the line between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade.
The collapse led to a landslip underneath the railway line, leaving a section of track suspended in mid air.
What followed is a stunning story of endeavour, co-operation, support, and love for the railway, with repairs incredibly completed in just six months - celebrated by a special guest appearance from the world's most famous train, the Flying Scotsman, for its reopening.
The Severn Valley Railway's (SVR) managing director Jonathan 'Gus' Dunster said there was no doubt it had been a year of ups and downs.
He said: "The best way of describing 2025 for us? It has been a real rollercoaster. We started off heading into our 60th anniversary year with a lot of positive energy, looking forward to celebrating - and celebrating the national 200-year anniversary of the railways.
"So we started with a lot of optimism and then on January 29 the embankment collapsed and that really changed the direction of what we were doing and that became all-consuming - getting the railway repaired.
"So while we were still able to operate, all our energy really went into getting the railway repaired, which we were able to do successfully in six months which a lot of commentators thought was remarkable.
"So we were really pleased to re-open in time for the school holidays on July 25 and not just do that, but to have a visit from the Flying Scotsman, which by anyone's measure is the world's most famous locomotive."
Mr Dunster, who started volunteering with the SVR in 1992, said he discovered the extent of the landslip at the Mor Brook Bridge when he was sent a picture by a colleague who had visited the site.
The visit came after a member of the public had reported a section of track suspended in the air.
The landslip had come in a matter of seconds. Flash flooding saw water cascade under the bridge, dislodging masonry at the base, leading to the catastrophic collapse of the embankment - huge destruction wrought by a few seconds of the violence of nature.
Mr Dunster said: "In this day and age you get all sorts of bits of information by WhatsApp or email or whatever and a member of staff who was out on site sent me a WhatsApp with a picture of it.
"It was a pretty dramatic picture of the track suspended in mid air.
"Fortunately I was in my office on my own so I had a few minutes to reflect - after a few minutes of getting past the obvious shock, it is about getting past that. It is a building job and we quickly moved on to thinking 'where can we get the specialist advice we need?'
"It was a bit of an 'oh dear' moment but you have to very quickly pull yourself together on these things and focus on the task in hand. It is no good crying about it."
What followed was a remarkable repair effort, show of community support, and generosity.
With Bridgnorth cut off from the popular visitor attraction the situation also had a significant economic impact on a town that regularly welcomes tourists enjoying the historic rail line.
Mr Dunster said: "The community reaction was quite overwhelming. We got great publicity about the fact the railway was severed and could not serve Bridgnorth and we just started getting people donating money to us before we had even said anything about it.
"It is quite humbling to know people in this region still have such a strong connection with the Severn Valley Railway. And in its 60th year it was quite poignant to see how much people in this region love the railway."
He added: "I literally did have people come up to me on the street and give me money because they had seen me on the news, so it was quite humbling to know people in the region are so connected to the Severn Valley Railway."
Talking about the impact on Bridgnorth, Mr Dunster said: "It was also really clear from people like the Bridgnorth Chamber how important it is to Bridgnorth so we were acutely aware of needing to re-open as quickly as possible."
He added: "We had brilliant support across the board. We had great support from the chamber, from all our stakeholders, and the [South Shropshire] MP Stuart Anderson who was really helpful."
With the mammoth repairs completed the line officially re-opened on July 25 with the legendary Flying Scotsman leading the way.
In a vivid illustration of the support for the re-opening of the full line, and the esteem in which the Flying Scotsman is held, the tickets sold out in just three minutes.
What followed was a day of huge celebration, with Bridgnorth's platform packed as the legendary loco puffed its way into town.
Mr Dunster said: "I wish I could bottle the atmosphere from that whole weekend."
He added: "I think that was one of the most emotional days I have ever had on the railway when the Flying Scotsman pulled into Bridgnorth and we got off and the platform was crowded, you could just feel the atmosphere - everyone was just overjoyed the railway was back."
He continued: "Getting the Flying Scotsman there that weekend was so amazing. It just has this connection with the British public that no other vehicle has.
"When we got that I just thought we have got to make the most of this, because we will never get a better way to open the railway."
The next year will see the organisation pressing on with its programme of restructuring, while running a packed programme of events all year round - with hopefully no landslips to interrupt.
The railway is looking to expand what it offers with initiatives like the Boogie Lights Express adding to a filled calendar of traditional events such as the 1940s weekend and Autumn Steam Gala.
Mr Dunster said: "Hopefully we will be able to run our programme of events without too much disruption and see people enjoy the railway!"
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.