Severn Valley Railway hunts founding plaque

  • Published
Steam locomotives at Bridgnorth station in 1967Image source, David Williams
Image caption,

Steam locomotives were displayed at Bridgnorth station in 1967 ahead of the heritage line's opening in 1970

A heritage steam line is attempting to track down an original plaque marking its founding in time for the attraction's 50th anniversary.

The Severn Valley Railway, a 16-mile line between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, was set by a group of steam enthusiasts in 1965.

A wooden plaque was displayed for 30 years in the Coopers Arms pub in Kidderminster where they first met.

Severn Valley said its fate after that is unknown.

Clare Gibbard, from the heritage line, called on the current owner to come forward and allow it to feature in a 50th anniversary exhibition opening next month.

Image source, Kidderminster Railway Museum Archive
Image caption,

The original line was built in the 1860s to link Hartlebury, near Droitwich, with Shrewsbury

Image source, Kidderminster Railway Museum Archive
Image caption,

During the late 19th and early 20th Centuries the line was important for transporting freight as well as passengers

  • The line was originally built in the 1860s

  • It follows the course of the River Severn from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, to Bridgnorth, Shropshire

  • It closed to through passenger and freight services in 1963, as part of the Beeching cuts

  • Steam enthusiasts first reopened a section of the line as a heritage attraction in 1970

  • The railway, run largely by volunteers, now carries more than 200,000 passengers a year

  • It has featured in many films including The Thirty Nine Steps (1978), Howards End (1992) and Sherlock Homes - A Game of Shadows (2011)

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