Written by Richard Grigg
Saturday March 17th saw the SRMG's excursion to the Severn Valley Railway for their annual spring steam gala. As ever, the event hosted a wonderful selection of steam locomotives, both visiting and resident, hauling a vast variety of passenger rolling stock. Locomotives visiting the Severn Valley this year were as follows:
- King Edward II No:6023
- LNER B12 No:8572
- BR Standard Class 4MT No:80072
- Peppercorn Al Pacific Tornado No:60163
- Haydock Foundry "Bellerophon"
- S&DJR 7F No:53808 (replacing LNER Bl No:1264, who was originally booked to appear)
The visiting engines were accompanied by the SVR's home fleet which included:
- GWR 14XX No:1450
- GWR 15XX No:1501
- GWR 57XX No:7714
A great time was had by everyone, in spite of the weather not being able to make up it's mind on what it was doing. One moment you'd be bathed in glorious sunshine with bright blue skies, the next you were in the middle of an arctic blizzard with snowflakes swirling around you.
But even the indecisive weather couldn't spoil a fantastic day out, which was completed with a visit to the local model railway shop called "Footplate" which is, in short, an Aladdin's cave of new and second hand model railway items, covering a vast array of scales and manufacturers.
Special thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Severn Valley Railway and the staff of "Footplate" for a memorable day.
