The Severn Valley Railway has announced that the second guest locomotive for its Autumn Steam Gala will be GWR-inspired Mogul No. 9351, with thanks to West Somerset Railway PLC.
No. 9351 was converted on the West Somerset Railway from a 2-6-2 tank engine to a 2-6-0 tender engine in 2004 and renumbered from No. 5193 at the same time. The locomotive last visited the SVR in 2005 and has since had a make-over and will be appearing British Railways green.
Converted from a 2-6-2 tank engine, originally numbered No. 5193, the loco was built in October 1934 at Swindon Works and was initially allocated to Stourbridge Junction shed, just a stone’s throw from the SVR’s current headquarters at Kidderminster.
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To celebrate the visit of this iconic locomotive, the SVR will be showing off its own GWR Mogul. Star of the film Goodnight Mister Tom, No. 7325 will be on display at Kidderminster Station throughout the event, after spending a number of years under cover in the carriage shed.
No. 9351 joins visiting Black Five No. 45231 ‘Sherwood Forester’ at the event, alongside the SVR’s flagship locomotive, No. 4930. ‘Hagley Hall’ will make a triumphant return to the loco roster, as it re-enters traffic for the first time in 36 years following a £1.4 million overhaul.
Other home fleet locos will include GWR No. 7714, LMS No. 43106 ‘The Flying Pig’ and BR Riddles No. 75069. Two SVR-based locos will be making their final Gala appearances before their boiler tickets expire – GWR No. 2857 and BR(W) No. 1501 – and the SVR’s now-famous purple locomotive SR No. 70 ‘Elizabeth II’ will also join the line-up.
The SVR will announce two further guest locomotives as soon as these are confirmed, and one of them is likely to be a lot smaller than visitors might be expecting!
Michael Dunn, head of commercial and visitor experience, said: “Our Spring Steam Gala saw a record visitor numbers with more than 5,000 visitors, and we want to make sure our autumn event is going to be unmissable too.
“We’ve got all sorts of things planned including a few more surprises. Something we’re very excited is our breakfast dining trains, and pie and mash trains every day of the event.”
“We’ll be running goods trains and there’ll be a narrow gauge railway at The Engine House, Highley, plus we’re putting together an ambitious timetable which starts at 8am and runs until midnight on Friday and Saturday.”
Tickets for the SVR’s Autumn Steam Gala are on sale now, with multi-day tickets offering significant savings. There’s more information at svr.co.uk.
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