Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway marks 40th anniversary

The team rebuilt Toddington Station which had been left abandoned and in a state of disrepair

A group that rebuilt a forgotten railway line and restored abandoned stations along the way, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) is a volunteer-led heritage railway line which runs between Cheltenham and Broadway.

Several of the volunteers who started the project 40 years ago are still involved with its work today.

An exhibition marking the milestone is being held at Winchcombe Station.

"No other heritage railway has risen in such a way from, essentially, nothing," GWSR chairman Richard Johnson said.

Volunteers laying track at Toddington in October 1983

The exhibition, which runs until 5 September, was opened on Tuesday by GWSR volunteer director Col Mike Bennett OBE, who handed awards to volunteers who helped to rebuild derelict tracks, bridges and stations over the past four decades.

He said: "We owe so much to you and your colleagues for your vision and determination to create the railway we enjoy today.

"Indeed, without voluntary effort of this kind, we would not have a railway."

Volunteers who have been with GWSR for 40 years were given awards when the exhibition opened

GWSR started the project by taking over the derelict Toddington Station in Gloucestershire, with the aim of restoring as much of the disused Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham route as possible.

More than £73,000 was raised to buy track and other materials within six weeks, which was an "astonishing" amount, said the first GWSR chairman Tim Bazeley, who still volunteers with the railway.

Col Mike Bennett (right) presented 40 year pin badges and certificates to founding volunteers, including the railway’s first chairman, Tim Bazeley

He said: "I feel incredible pride that all of this has been achieved by volunteers - not just the rebuilding of the line but the restoration of locomotives and rolling stock.

"It's an astonishing success story and today, we have nearly 1,000 active volunteers and only a small full-time staff."

Princess Anne opens the station at Cheltenham Racecourse in April 2003

Over the years the route expanded and is now 14 miles (approx 22 km) long, with the most recent addition seeing Broadway Station in Worcestershire reopened in March 2018, 58 years after the last train services operated there.

"The vision of our early volunteers, to see a derelict strip of abandoned railway return to life is, frankly, a remarkable story," Mr Johnson said.

Broadway Station was unused for almost 60 years before reopening thanks to the work of GWSR in 2018