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Avon Valley Railway celebrates 50th anniversary

A heritage railway is celebrating its 50th birthday.

The Avon Valley Railway, based in Bitton, near Bristol, runs on a three mile (4.8km) stretch of the former Midland Railway Mangotsfield and Bath branch line, which closed in the 1960s.

A group of volunteers got together in 1972 to try and re-open the railway. When they began their work, Bitton station had been left to decay by British Rail.

By 1974, they had laid 100 yards of track (91m) and trains started running again.

Video journalist: Jonathan Holmes

7 April 2024

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