Severn Valley Autumn Steam Gala - 17 to 20 Sept

It’s already been gauged etc, don’t forget it hasn’t been in use throughout August, so there’s been a fair old bit of time to get things sorted for it.

 

Having a post gala debrief with those at the top in the Western, massive well done to all those who made it happen, really has been hard work but bloody good fun.
@Sidmouth, apologies if I came across a bit distracted earlier, was rather busy but likewise was nice to be able to put a face to the name, one day mate we will sit down and have a proper chinwag.

Very happy to be back home and be amongst the people and things I value the most.
Really good to have a play with my favourite Rebuilt Scot on my home patch.

 

After staying overnight at The George Gurkha hotel at Bridgnorth, Saturday looked to be a better day weather forecast stated sunny spells all day, didn't say there would be a few very heavy showers, thankfully i was at Highley under one of the large umbrellas at the Engine House so stayed dry.
Most of the day was spent at Highley, a nice place to watch the trains pass, plus a real ale bar and barbeque outside.
First off this photo of Bridgnorth shed with 13268, 1501 & 7714


46115 Scots Guardsman arriving at Highley


4150 arriving at Highley


41313 arriving at Highley


3850 departing Highley


813 arriving at Highley with the goods train


7714 departing Highley


3850 having now been turned since it last passed Highley at Kidderminster heads for Bridgnorth


I then went down to Kidderminster for a few hours before my train home, what a nightmare that was, i hope nobody else got caught up in the mess at Wolverhampton station!!!

Anyway photos of Scots Guardsman & 4150 at Kidderminster and loads more from the day
https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/Days-out/2026/September-2026/SVR-/i-szGJDJx

What a great 2 days it was fore me, many thanks to the organisers and all the volunteers over the gala for a great time

Neil

 

An exceptional compilation of an exceptional event, many thanks to you and family Martin, and to everyone else who has posted content and recollections. But mostly all to all involved in organising, running or contributing in any way to what must be among the finest steam events ever on any line. I was really looking forward to it but illness precluded that.

 

Just back in Devon after an excellent four days on the SVR enjoying the various attractions on offer. An absolute first class event with plenty going on, but with a robust and effective timetable. Great to see 4150 in steam and look forward to seeing the fully painted version at a later date. The visitors were all great choices, and performed well, the pannier and Ivatt looking so very much at home. A bit well done to the organising team for pulling out the stops when faced with the late changes. The goods looked as good as ever and is a credit to those who look after the freight vehicles on the line. The coaching stock and various sets were equally great and matched the loco's well. The use of the turntable to rotate various loco's on Saturday and Sunday was very much appreciated and the various double-headers and recreations of the former railtours were nice touches. arrived in time for the first trains and stayed late each day. Can't really fault anything about the event and look forward to next years offerings and the entry into traffic of 82045 at some point ( a nice BR(SR) themed event would be great once it enters traffic ). A small suggestion going forward, with the sudden rush and queues at the buffets when trains arrived, perhaps the offering of a limited run of sandwiches for sale from the on train buffet cars could be considered going forward. This would not only be appreciated and avoid having to queue it may spread the load a little for the hard working staff at each of the main station buffets. Once again a big thumbs up from myself and thanks to all those who played a part in planning and running the event. Looking forward to the next one now......

 

A couple of pictures of 4150 crossing Victoria bridge on Saturday...

 

A more full ‘mop-up’ if you like on the event which should hopefully show the vision we are pushing for with these events

- Firstly, Thankyou to you all for your feedback above, both positive and negative. We’ve made a note of it, and it is going to be discussed at our next gala group meeting. We’re pleased to say it’s on the overwhelmingly positive side!

- Secondly, huge thanks to West Coast Railways, Dinmore Manor Ltd, DFLG, Glos Warks, Isle of Wight, and Dean Forest, for their support with visiting engines and so on. An absolute pleasure to welcome you all, and hopefully you enjoyed it as much as we did.

- Operationally we felt it was really good to be honest. We spent a lot of time building in resilience and operational flexibility to it to allow for delays to be pulled back with minimal effort. Even the last minute ‘spray train’ fitted in quite well with minimal disruption. There’s a few tweaks we’d like to make next time out, but generally we think we are there.

- Commercially we had a great weekend and Thankyou to everyone for the support. A good financial boost for the railway at just the right time.

 

An excellent three days at the Valley. Great timetable, friendly atmosphere, excellent last-minute guests, and a wonderful freight train. What stands out at an SVR gala are the volunteers, without which it wouldn't happen. Their interaction with passengers helps to set the tone of the weekend, with the number of younger volunteers lending an optimistic air for the future. Thank you to all involved.

 

I think you and your fellow gala organisers can rightly give yourselves a big pat on the back. Although I wasn't present, I've looked at the pictures and read the comments on here and to receive so much feedback on the lines of "one of the best galas I have been to" is quite an achievement these days. Let's face it, galas have been a feature of the heritage railway scene for some 40 years at least and SVR galas always generate high expectations. Therefore, producing something in 2026 which is a bit special must be quite a challenge - after all, the list of locos which have already visited the SVR over the years must be very long indeed. Still, admittedly helped by the début of 4150, you seem to have ticked all the right boxes for most forum members who came along, so congratulations and all the best with organising the next one!