{"id":6566,"date":"2023-06-01T11:56:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T10:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therailwaydog.co.uk\/?p=6566"},"modified":"2023-06-01T11:56:35","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T10:56:35","slug":"severn-valley-diesel-gala-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therailwaydog.co.uk\/?p=6566","title":{"rendered":"Severn Valley Diesel Gala 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Yoshi took a liking to RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43465 and 43484 which only hauled trains on the Friday of the 2023 Severn Valley Diesel Gala and seen here on display the following day at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last week we were enjoying the sun in Cornwall, so our report on our visit to the 2023 Severn Valley Diesel Gala ( which took place 18th – 21st May) is slightly delayed until now. We hope you found our mini blog about Promenade Plant\u00e9e<\/a> in Paris interesting and a bit different last week, but for now let us catch up with events at the Severn Valley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday was my chosen day to visit the SVR as I was heading to the West Country the following day. The timetable for the gala was a packed affair with a large roster of resident and visiting locomotives scheduled to run, many of which were provided by freight and passenger operating companies. Indeed, the SVR event was undoubtably the biggest diesel gathering in the UK calendar for 2023, with its planned four-day extravaganza intended as a celebration of 50 years of diesel preservation. An early departure from home was required in the hope of seeing everything running. A few missed turnings and a closed motorway junction delayed our arrival time but in the event we arrived at Highley just in time to see sole-surviving Clayton Class 17 No. D8568 arrive with the first train of the day from Bridgnorth. Unfortunately there were no available parking spaces at the station, so we reversed out and headed up out of the car park to find alternative facilities. Although I later managed to capture a short video clip of the Clayton running light engine within the Highley station area, the locomotive avoided my camera lens for a still photo opportunity. As this particular diesel had been at Swanage the previous weekend, I didn’t mind too much! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
They even made a special badge to celebrate 50 years of Diesel Preservation!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had however trooped back down to Highley station in time to see Class 31 No. 31270, quite suiting her Regional Railways livery, arriving with the 0845 departure from Kidderminster. Although the first two trains on the Saturday were spot on for their time-keeping, it didn’t take too long for the timetable to go awry and things became progressively more delayed as the day went on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Peak Rail’s Brush Type 2 Class 31 A1A-A1A No. 31270 ‘Athena’ in British Rail (BR) Regional Railways sector livery approaches Highley. No. 31270 was built by Brush Ltd in Loughborough in 1961 and carried the pre-TOPS number D5800. She was withdrawn from traffic on 26th May 2000. She never carried this livery or the nameplate while in BR service – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Colas Rail Freight Class 56 No. 56051 ‘Survival’, built in 1978, on the approach to Highley with the Locomotive Service Ltd (LSL) restored ScotRail MK3 carriages that reproduce the push-pull stock used between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the 1980’s – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Scottish Push-Pull Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ prepares to depart Highley. This locomotive and rake of air braked push-pull stock was paired with different visiting locomotives throughout the gala, top and tailing between Kidderminster and Highley. I thought it was a shame the loco and stock didn’t perform at least one run a day in push-pull mode as it had reportedly done on the Thursday – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ nameplate – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Diesel- Hydraulic Western Class 52 No. D1062 ‘Western Courier’ departs Highley. This locomotive was built at Crewe Works and entered service at London\u2019s Old Oak Common shed on 6 May 1963. She was withdrawn by\u00a0British Rail\u00a0on 23 August 1974 after 1,096,000 miles in service. Courier was an early withdrawal but was lucky enough to share “mascot” duties with Class 42 Warship No. D818 ‘Glory’, being placed on the turntable at Swindon works and given a repaint by the apprentices – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 37 No. 37263 displaying departmental grey livery approaches Highley. No. 37263 was introduced into traffic in 1965 and is visiting from the Telford Steam Railway – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The weather was extremely warm and I made the decision to stay on the viewing balcony at Highley as this ensured Yoshi was able to stay in the shade and not get over heated. He also seems to like it there as he gets lots of fuss from passers by and doesn’t seem too bothered by the trains passing below. It’s also close to the cafe, so despite issues with the new coffee machine, what could be better? On the downside, of course, it means that my photographs and video from Highley are from much the same two angles, but I’ll take this provided our boy is comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Yoshi takes to the shade at Highley – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
DB Cargo provided Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’ in her striking fiery Steel On Steel livery. Class 47 No. 47712 is on the rear – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’ approaches Highley – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Close up of Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’. The locomotive carries this special livery to celebrate the important role DB Cargo UK\u00a0plays in supporting the UK’s metal transportation market. One full train load of steel coil can produce over 1,000 new cars or 60,000 white goods – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ departs Highley with a Kidderminster bound train. There are several Class 50’s based on the Severn Valley but only one example was in operation over the gala as the GBRf pair No.’s 50007 and 50035 were undergoing some maintenance between mainline outings, while No.’s 50033 and 50044 were in the Traction Maintenance Depot and No. 50031 is currently minus a fuel tank – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Maybach Music as Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ arrives at Highley. No. D1015 is one of seven preserved Western locomotives from the original 74 built by BR at Swindon and Crewe – 20\/05\/2023 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Push-Pull fitted Class 33 No. 33108 in revised departmental “Dutch” livery (so named because of the similarity to the Dutch State Railway colours later adopted by the BR engineers sector) was in service following an overhaul – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Resident Class 31 No. 31466 in English Welsh Scottish (EWS) livery on the approach to Highley. The Class 31 locomotives received a number of derogatory nicknames over their years in mainline operation including\u00a0Goyles\u00a0(short for “gargoyles” in reference to the perceived ugliness of the design),\u00a0Peds\u00a0(short for “pedal cars” in reference to their speed and pulling power) and\u00a0Gurglers, after the noise they made. 26 members of the class have been preserved – 23\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Yoshi relaxes at Highley – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At some point we knew we had to move on from our balcony position, essentially to get photos of locomotives which were not planned to make it to Highley. Our original plan was to journey to Bewdley and then onto Kidderminster. As Bewdley can be somewhat busy on an average day and with this being the busiest I’d ever seen the Severn Valley, I opted instead to head straight for Kidderminster. This would mean we’d miss seeing the visiting Class 20 locomotives (No.’s 20048 and 20189) heading to Bridgnorth, but these were scheduled to return later. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan and one of the Class 20’s, No. 20048 failed and was removed from the train on reaching Bridgnorth and didn’t make the return outing. Another Class 20, No. 20142 in red London Transport livery was in attendance for the gala, but was not in use, or indeed visible, on the day of our visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ awaits her turn while Class 33 No. 33108 prepares for departure form Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
DRS) Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ and Class 33 No. 33108 at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Line up of No.’s 88004, 33108 and 57307 at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Colas Freight Class 56 No. 56051 ‘Survivor’ passes DRS Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ awaits action in the sidings at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
DRS pair Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ and Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ at the head of the ScotRail stock in Kidderminster. Ten Class 88 locomotives were built in 2015\/16 by Stadler Rail Valencia. They are dual-mode locomotives that are fitted both with a pantograph to collect electricity from overhead wires, and a Caterpillar\u00a0diesel engine.\u00a0They are the first dual-mode locomotive in the UK to use the 25\u00a0kV\u00a0AC electrification – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ runs light engine out of Kidderminster. No. 50035 was the first\u00a0BR\u00a0Class 50 diesel locomotive to enter preservation The locomotive was built at English Electric’s Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows and entered BR service as No. D435 at Crewe in August 1968, being given the number 50035 in March 1974 under the TOPS scheme. She was withdrawn from service\u00a0on 5th August 1990 – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43465 and 43484 on static display at Kidderminster. The pairing hauled trains on the Friday only – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43484 and 43465 at Kidderminster. RailAdventure signed a partnership deal with Hanson & Hall Rail Services in April 2021 having purchased eight Class 43 power cars, which will run back to back to operate domestic services. RailAdventure is based in Munich and has been involved in delivering new trains from Europe to the UK, such as the new Merseyrail Class 777 trains – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Network Rail Class 73 “Minions” No.’s 73951 ‘Malcom Brided’ and 73952 ‘Janis Kong’ were on display at Kidderminster over the gala. The two locomotives were withdrawn from service in mid-May. The pair were rebuilt by Loram in 2011\/2015 with their English Electric engines being replaced by two newer, more powerful and lower emission Cummins QSK19 engines each rated at 750hp. Their acceptance into traffic was heavily delayed until 2016 and endured initial teething problems which were resolved and they became well liked by crews. They were used mostly on infrastructure monitoring trains. They are, however, non-standard locomotives and have limited crews trained to work on them. Network Rail currently lease five MTU-engined Class 73\/9’s so the “Minions” are surplus to requirement – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Electro-Diesel Class 73 No.’s 73951 and 73952. The locomotives are scheduled to depart for warm storage, possibly at Peak Rail, by road – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new footbridge across the railway line just outside of Kidderminster station has been rebuilt after an absence of a year or two, so following a brief sojourn looking at the static exhibits, sales stands and taking a few photographs of departing trains we marched round to see what the view was like from the bridge and spent most of the rest of our visit here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ has lost her central headlight (a later addition to the class in service) and is seen departing Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 37 No. 37263 catches the afternoon sun at Kidderminster. The locomotive is scheduled for a prolonged stay on the SVR over the summer months – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
DRS Thunderbird rescue locomotive Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ runs out of Kidderminster light engine in readiness to attach to a train bound for Highley – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Yoshi watches as Warship No. D821 ‘Greyhound’ starts up on Kidderminster TMD – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ carried the identity of lost classmate D1039 ‘Western King’ on one side (to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III), seen approaching Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Great Western Railway HST Castle set formed of Class 43 power car No.’s 43186 ‘Taunton Castle’ and 43188 ‘Newport Castle’ ran shuttles between Kidderminster and Arley on all four days of the gala – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 43 No. 43188 ‘Newport Castle’ which also carries decals reading: ‘Y Cymro – The Welshman’ and a Welsh Dragon leads the GWR Castle HST set out of Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
D821 ‘Greyhound’ makes a fine sight as she runs towards Kidderminster station. D821 is one of two preserved Warship locomotives from the original 38 built by BR at Swindon Works. Sadly none of the 33 built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow were saved for preservation. D821 has returned to service following an extensive overhaul – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ leads into Kidderminster with a shuttle from Highley – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Diesel Traction Group’s Warship No. D821 ‘Greyhound’ resplendent in British Rail monastral blue livery to celebrate 50 years in preservation. No. D821 was the first main line diesel to be preserved by a private group having being acquired from BR in May 1973 – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ as D1039 ‘Western King’ runs to the Traction Maintenance Depot at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 52 Western No.’s D1015 ‘Western Champion’ and D1062 ‘Western Courier’ between duties at Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Two Western Diesel Hydraulics on to the Kidderminster turntable – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
SVR Home fleet loco Class 31 No. 31466 on the entry to Kidderminster – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
A study of Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ running light engine into Kidderminster station. The loco was named ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ on 11th August 1984 in memory of the Cunard cargo ship and those on board who lost their lives in the 1982 Falklands war – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ carries “The Caledonian” headboard as she awaits departure form Kidderminster. The locomotive was built at Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns factory in Darlington. The loco features the original four disc headcode system along with interconnecting gangway doors seen on various classes of BR diesels but ultimately under used – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Resident Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ departs Kidderminster. The locomotive entered into BR service as No. D306, later becoming No. 40106 under the TOPS system in the 1970s. During her last works overhaul at Crewe in September 1978, No. 40106 was repainted into Dark Brunswick green with full yellow ends, thus becoming a firm favourite loco on railtours and other special passenger workings for several years. I fondly remember the cover of the 1979 Locoshed book which featured this loco – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
20189 Ltd’s Class 20 Bo-Bo diesel-electric No. 20189 worked to Kidderminster solo, nose first, following the failure of classmate 20048 at Bridgnorth. 228 examples of these locomotives were built between 1957 and 1968. Each weighed 73 tonnes and delivered 1,000 hp, they were used to haul mixed freight traffic – often in tandem positioned nose to nose. – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Eastfield Scotty Dog depot plaque carried by Class 20 No. 20189 – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Last shot of the day; Western Class 52 No. D1062 ‘Western Courier’ prepares to depart Kidderminster. D1062 was bought from\u00a0BR\u00a0by the Western Locomotive Association\u00a0on 4th November 1976, becoming the first Class 52 Western to be preserved\u00a0 – 20\/05\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With 22 locomotives in traffic across the four day event, trains were very busy with the SVR reporting in excess of 4,000 pre-booked tickets sold and with pay on the day passengers a new record was set at over 6,500 visitors across the gala. This will certainly help with the SVR’s current \u00a31.5 million appeal. It was certainly an interesting day, although I have to admit to feeling rather overwhelmed by the number of locomotives involved and my OCD in attempting to catch ’em all! Well done to all involved in the organisation and daily support of the railway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n