SVR General Discussion

RSH Austerity WD71516 Welsh Guardsman has returned from its loan at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway and will be making its first appearance at the SVR at their Spring Steam Gala, making it the first Austerity to run on the SVR since 1981.

 

For people who missed it, the footbridge at Kidderminster was removed last weekend. The western abutment was removed during the week, as the new footbridge will be slightly longer. This will allow the yard road access to be separate from the running line.
The view at Kidderminster looks odd without it.

 

Will this give enough space to allow direct access to the turntable from the engine line on that side?

 

No, that will require a separate bridge span and the funds to install it.

 

Thanks for confirming. I don't imagine that one is coming off the "nice to have" list any time soon in the current financial climate, otherwise now would've been the ideal time to do it.

 

For those interested in SVR history. When the ex-Fort William turntable was acquired in 1980, the SVR terminated at Bewdley (or strictly speaking at Foley Park) and the intention was to install it in the Stourport Triangle. Subsequent plans to extend to Kidderminster put that on hold. However the next idea was to put it on the station side of the wooden bridge, as per this track plan from SVR News summer 1984 compiled by Steve Scott showing the proposed layout.



By the time it was actually installed in the 1990s, it had been decided to install it the other side of the bridge. I have no idea why the plan changed.

The same 1984 edition of SVR News referred to another 'one that got away' – fund raising was in progress at the time to acquire the Exeter West signal box with a view to relocating it at Kidderminster. That proposal was rejected by the Board a few months later and it was eventually re-erected at the Crewe Heritage Centre, with the SVR later building its own signal box instead.

 

I believe that there was a bit of difference of what the Exeter West group wanted, and what the SVR needed, I believe the EWG wanted to keep the box in working condition, but as the gent who designed the new Kiddy Box pointed out ‘half the levers will need to be painted white then’
I wouldn’t say it’s one that got away, maybe something that just wasn’t practical?

 

I don't think there was ever any intention that Exeter West would be part of the SVR's operational infrastructure- it was always the group's intention that it would be restored as a working exhibit in the condition it was when in use at Exeter, which is as it now exists at Crewe. The SVR decided that they didn't have room for such a building, and clearly it wasn't practical at the time. Since then the box from Wrangaton has been re-erected as an exhibit at Kidderminster.

 

Of course, a few things have changed over that period. The land where Wrangaton stands was part of the coal yard back when Exeter West was under consideration, Wrangaton is actually owned by Kidderminster railway museum and on their property not that of the SVR (they are technically separate although strongly linked to the SVR and very much supported by SVR volunteers)

 

In light of the river severn flooding leading to a major incident being declared in Bewdley, the use of station buffet has been lent to the emergency services and the environment agency as an Incident Command Post.

 

Dad sent me this earlier.

 

Of course it's the Wribbenhall side (the other side of the river) that's the problem with the temporary barriers.

 

Perhaps a little late to ask / suggest but is it possible to include a set of steps from the new bridge structure to the SVR footpath leading to the car park ? As a frequent photographer from the bridge I have always felt that such a facility would be of great use moving between both the SVR and the bridge - perhaps even providing a public facility for access to the shops around the stations. I appreciate the potential security concerns but wonder if such a facility has ever been considered.

 

Dad did say that It’s Those at Beales Corner that are in trouble at the mo, he’s mentioned he’ll be on QRA if needed tomorrow.
What age is it when the roles get reversed, and you start to worry about your Parents, rather than have them worry about you?

 

This was Victoria Bridge and the reservoir this afternoon in the fading light.

 

I think a riverside walk is off the cards at the moment.

(In all seriousness, it's a tough time for many but hopefully it won't last too much longer)

 

This afternoon's flight checked from Shrewsbury to Worcester and the situation is critical.

 

Decades ago there was a TV report concerning 'dredging' in the Severn Estuary. It goes back to the days of the BBC prog Nationwide and the period of Frank Bough as a Presenter.

A Reporter was interviewing a Dredger Skipper on the consequences of reducing the number of Dredgers from [I think] three to two. The reply was, "It will cause flooding upstream." The footage is probably still in the Bristol archives and it would be interesting for the BBC to run the footage again!

My experience, crossing the M48 (old Severn Bridge) from the cab of a large vehicle, is that the accumulated sand is clearly visible just below the level of the water to the extent that it is almost a wonder that anything actually flows.