Watch: Hundreds turn out for special Kidderminster Railway Station's 40th anniversary
Hundreds of people turned out for Kidderminster Station's 40th anniversary as they celebrated its history with attractions and a special ceremony.
Since the station was officially opened on July 30, 1984, hundreds of thousands of people of all ages have enjoyed a step back in time and ridden behind a steam locomotive on the Severn Valley Railway.
The vast majority of those journeys will have started and ended at Kidderminster Town station, which looks like an authentic station set on the Great Western Railway in the 1900s.
It was actually built by volunteers on the site of sidings that once made up the town's goods yard.
Yesterday, around 200 train enthusiasts descended on the station to celebrate its 40th anniversary – from a recreation of the first train hauled by No. 4930 Hagley Hall to vintage vehicles and model railways.
On the memorable day, the station also held a special ceremony with heartfelt speeches from the chairman of the holdings board Chris Walton, managing director Johnathan Dunster, and the first station master forty years ago, Malcolm Broadhurst.
The youngest members of the station staff cut a ribbon at the platform barrier before going onto the platform.
Iain Shorthouse, who has been a driver since 1988, said the atmosphere was 'proud'.
He said: "There is a sense of gratitude that we have done so much. We started with a goods yard after we took the land over from British Rail.
"It was just sidings at that time, we had to take them up and plan the new station. When we opened we had one platform and a converted coach as the ticket office. Over the years we have built another platform and a new signal box, a restaurant, a pub, and booking office."
The ceremony also saw the same engine and stock that was used on the opening day forty years ago leaving the station again today.
The special guest on the footplate was Gerry Carter, who drove the train out those four decades ago on the same engine, joined by the driver Lawrence Mortimer and fireman Thomas Mills.
The celebrations will continue today with attractions such as classic vehicles from the 1980s, a live-steam Gauge 1 model railway layout, a recreation of The Kidderminster Venturer hauled by 4930 ‘Hagley Hall’, guided tours of the signalbox, a look around the Carriage Works, footplate rides with steam locomotive No. 7714, and an exhibition showcasing the story of the station.
The Coalyard Miniature Railway will be also be operating at an additional charge.
See all our photos of yesterday's event below.
For more information visit svr.co.uk