Covid: Severn Valley Railway welcomes return of wartime event

The Severn Valley Railway started holding its 1940s themed weekends in the 1990s

A steam railway event which attracts more than 7,000 visitors has returned after being cancelled last year for the first time in more than 20 years.

The Severn Valley Railway's Step Back to the 1940s weekends encourage visitors to dress in wartime costume and feature re-enactors and live shows.

In 2020, Covid-19 restrictions led to a "huge loss of income" for the railway.

It responded with a fundraising appeal and said events like this were "crucial" to its finances.

The railway has decorated its 16-mile (26km) route in a 1940s style and visitors will be able to see a wartime wedding, rifle training, vintage vehicles, marketplaces, living history displays and military encampments.

It is taking place this weekend and the weekend of 3-4 July, and because of coronavirus restrictions it said it had sold about 4,000 tickets this year.

The events are attended by wartime enthusiasts and visitors are encouraged to arrive in period dress

This year's event will be run with social distancing and other coronavirus safety-measures

In 2020, its Fight Back Fund was able to raise £930,000, but it estimated essential work on the railway line and its rolling stock, plus the training of apprentices, would cost about £4.5m.

The railway, which was founded in the 1960s, said with visitor numbers restricted it does not expect "sustainable levels of passenger revenue" until well into 2021.

It received £906,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage and a further £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, but said it was still looking for other grants.

And it said Christmas, when it generates its biggest income from visitors to themed events, would also be vital to its finances.

The weekends feature military vehicles, wartime encampments and living history displays at the railway's stations