Severn Valley Railway train marks 1963 passenger line closure

A heritage railway is operating a special service to mark 60 years since British Railways trains ran on the line for the final time.

The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) runs between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster.

The line closed as part of the nation's rail infrastructure in 1963 but has been preserved as a heritage attraction since 1970.

SVR says the anniversary service will leave Kidderminster for a return trip on Friday and Saturday.

A special headboard marking the trip's significance will be on the front of the locomotive.

SVR plans to use its pannier tank locomotive, No 7714, on both days, leaving Kidderminster at 10:00 BST on Friday - the anniversary of 8 September 1963 - and 12:45 BST on Saturday.

Two pannier tanks, 9624 and 4665, were in front of the carriages on the final steam-hauled service on the Severn Valley line 60 years ago, as it was a notable occasion.

The last steam train departed at 18:58, from Bridgnorth to Birmingham Snow Hill, and carried a Special Last Train headboard and was the final service using the full length of the current SVR line.

The majority of trains on the line were diesel-hauled in 1963 and the final passenger service overall was a diesel one, with three carriages leaving at 20:30 from Hampton Loade to Snow Hill.

SVR spokesperson Lesley Carr said that 60 years on it was important for the attraction to recognise what happened on 8 September 1963, "as it was a significant moment in the history of the Severn Valley line".

She added: "Who knows, there might be someone travelling [at the weekend] who was on that final steam-hauled train back in 1963?"

Less than two years later, in July 1965, a group of people attended a public meeting in the Coopers Arms pub, Kidderminster, where the Severn Valley Railway Society was formed.

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