Heritage Railway – August 01, 2019

ByRobin Jones

THE AvonValley Railway is to hold a
special eventonAugust 3/4to mark
the 150th anniversaryoft he opening
of its line.
TheMidlandRailway received
Parliamentaryapproval in July 1864
forabranch fromMangotsfieldto
Bath, whichwasofficially opened on
Wednesday, August 4, 1869.While
specialcelebrations wereheldonthe
opening day, at Bath station many
local people hadcome forthe thrill of
riding on the first train.Theinitial level
of serviceprovidedfornine trains each
waybetween Bristol and Bath.
Theline became bestknownfor
linking theSomerset&Dorset Joint
Railway’s northernterminusat Bath
GreenPark station, with the LMS.
However, it closed during the late
1960s asaresult of theBeeching cuts
and due mainlyto the GreatWestern
line which alsoconnectedBristol and
Bath being justafew milestothe
south.Theearly revivalists set outto
reopen the entireline from Bristolto
Mangotsfield and Bath but settled
on anear-midway star ting pointwith
hopes of futureexpansion.
Theanniversaryevent will featurean
intensivetimetable using the home
fleet of Hunslet 0-6-0STWD132Sapper,
PolishTkh0-6-0T 4015Karel,Class 31
No.31101 ,and the line’s Class 107
DMU,with Fry’sSomerdale chocolate
factory Sentinel 0-4-0T No.7942of
1928 also in operation giving brake
vanrides at Avon Riverside.
Therewill beamarquee in the Bitton
station car parkwith exhibitsrelating
the historyoft he local area, with
stands from localgroups including the
South LosMines Group,Kingswood
HeritageMuseum, BathMuseum of
Work,BittonHistor ySocie ty and Fry’s
Histor yGroup,aswell as florist and
hatstalls.
Therewill be three modelrailway
exhibits,all representativeoft he
local area–aprivate modelby David
BradleyofMangotsfield;Thornbury
and South GloucestershireMRC’s
‘StPhilip s’;and theTauntonModel
Railway Grou p’s‘Bath GreenPark’.
Thecar parkwill alsofeaturealine-
up of vintagevehicles,all representing
differentdecades of therailway,
shirehorses,and morrisdancers will
be presentonthe Saturday. There
will also beavarie ty of differentlive
musicgroups presentthroughout
the weekend.
Therewill beabus shuttle service
which will operatebetween the
off-siteparking at Bitton station, and
Warmley signalbox, which will also be
openforviewingover theweekend.

Avon Valley

celebrates

its150th

EveshamValegetsoff

to an earlystart

Wordsand picturesbyAlistairGrieve

SETonthe edge of theCotswolds,

the 15in gaugeEveshamVale Light

Railway is of tenoverlookedby

enthusiasts in favour of its much-bigger

neighbour onlyafew milesaway,

the award-winning Gloucestershire

WarwickshireRailway.

However, its location, tucked

behind theValley Retail Park on the

outskirts ofEvesham, nonetheless

ensuresasteadystream of visitors,

and it has becomeaverypopular

attraction with families.Thatwas

especially evidentatt he 2019 steam

gala, heldover theweekend of

July 6/7, with trains full and running

almost nonstop during the day.

Thethreeresidentsteam

locomotives–0-4-0 No.312StEgwin,

0-6-2 No.3Dougaland 0-4-2TMonty

• werejoinedforthe weekendby
  twovisitors from theKirklees Light
  Railway in theform of the geared
  locomotiveOwland ex-Fairbourne
  Railway favourit e2-4-2Katie.
  Alongside these,the exhibition
  ring hadavarie ty of vintagevehicles
  on display, some of whichtook the
  opportunitytogofor aspin down
  the cutgrass footpathsto the delight
  and surprise of the public.
  Thetimetablewasplannedto
  featureatwo-train servicerunning
  at aroundhalf-hourly intervals
  with locomotives swappingoverat
  the terminus.However ,the good
  weather on the Sundaysaw large
  numbers of people turnupand the
  timetablewasdiscarded in favour of
  one-in one-out.Assoon as one train
  arrivedatthe terminus the next one
  leftstraightaway, the onlywayto
  keep thevolumes of people moving
  and not allowthe queuefortickets

to build up.Indeed, the official start

time of 10.30amwasabandoned as

therewerelong queuesby 10am so

trains startedearlierto cope.

Throughout the day, the revised

operation ranlike clockwork and the

weekendwasfault free,with avarie ty

of locomotivecombinationsto keep

ever yone happy. Both visitors more

than earned their keep and the flow

of passengerswerekept happyand

moreimportantly moving.Itmay

not have the glamour of its bigger

neighbour and its booming new

Broadway destination, but this line

still knows howtostageashow.

Not longinto itsjourneyKatie

rompsalongwith anafternoontrain.

Owldropsdownfromthe summit ofthelineandapproaches thetunnel.

Montyworksadinner timetrainroundthe reverseloop ontheoutwardjourney.

20 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway

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