THOUSANDS of passengers flocked to the Severn Valley Railway in celebration of the iconic ‘Flying Scotsman’ as the reunited line re-opened for the first time this season.
In late January, a landslip at Mor Brook Bridge cut off the northernmost section of the SVR, isolating Bridgnorth station from the rest of the line.
However over four days, from July 25-28, than 4,300 people travelled behind the famous locomotive itself, whilst many thousands more attended the railway’s Swinging Sixties event last Saturday and Sunday July 26-27.
“We simply could not have wished for a better way in which to celebrate not only the reunification of our line after the landslip repair, but also the milestone of our 60th anniversary as a preserved railway,” said SVR managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster.
“These factors in themselves are hugely important, but to mark them both with a rare visit from ‘Flying Scotsman’, well it just doesn’t get any better than that.
“We are indebted to the National Railway Museum, Northern Steam Operations Limited and DB Cargo for facilitating the visit.
“The crowds of visitors we’ve seen have brought in much-needed passenger revenue, and of course business has been booming in our pubs, cafes and shops throughout the past four days.
“This is a very welcome effect, following a 30 per cent slump in passenger figures for the first part of this year, due to the fact that we’ve only been able to operate along 12 miles of our usual 16-mile route.
“It’s wonderful to see the whole line reunited, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to making that happen; from our volunteers and staff, to the professionals who did such a swift job of repairing our damaged bridge, to individuals who donated to the SVR Resilience Fund.
“All of this has got us to where we are now, and we are very, very grateful.”
