Severn Valley Railway

The Severn Valley Railway is one of the UK’s premier heritage railways. Running 16 miles from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth, the line is highly developed and rich in history and infrastructure. The preservations started out at Bridgnorth, the first trains commencing in 1970. The line was extended to its current length by means of two extensions, in 1974 and 1984.

Diesel Multiple Units have been a part of the story since 1991, and at least one set has remained in traffic continuously since that year. The line has been mainly home to two Class 108 sets. In its earlier days, the railway operated a GWR Railcar. In a surprise move, the fleet was expanded to eight vehicles with the addition of a Class 101 3-car set in 2024.

The DMUs are maintained by DMU Group West Midlands who were formed in 1989 with the aim of preserving a 2-car DMU set for the Severn Valley Railway.

The railway has also hosted the largest DMU event in preservation history, Railcar50, in 2004 which was an extraordinary event involving the gathering of a large representation of preserved DMU types. It is considered very unlikely that such an event will be possible in the future.

The DMUs located here are secure and have regular running each year, mainly providing “Saturday Evening Land Cruise” trains in the summer. They are maintained to an excellent standard and a rolling overhaul programme ensures the vehicles are kept in good condition with their futures secured.

The Severn Valley hosted the Annual Railcar Convention in 2010, with the two home based 108 sets complimented by visiting Class 122 M55006, Class 121 55020, Derby Lightweight M79900 & Class 150 150001. The Railcar50 event (with visitors from classes 101/104/114/116/118/121/122/126/127/Derby Lightweight/AC Railbus) also served as the Annual Railcar Convention for 2004.