The Severn Valley Railway is to trial the return of photo charters this April.

The news comes after a temporary withdrawal of photo charters two years ago due to concerns over safety.

An initial trial photo charter will run on Tuesday 18th April, featuring GWR 4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’ with a rake of SVR-based GWR carriages.

As part of the Timeline Events charter, photographers will travel to photography locations along the line in their own transport, or transport provided by Timeline Events.

Depending on how the trial goes, the SVR will be looking to host other similar events over the course of 2023.

“This type of operation is commonly used,” explained Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster, the SVR’s managing director. “It has proven successful at other heritage railways. Very importantly for us, it greatly reduces the risks that were previously identified when large groups of photographers had lineside access, and which led to us temporarily withdrawing photo charters in 2021.

“It’s clear there’s an appetite for them to return, and we’re delighted to be working in partnership on this occasion with specialist photography event organisers Timeline Events. We’re sure that this opportunity to capture ‘Pendennis Castle’ with our own set of GW carriages is going to prove extremely popular, and we’re very much looking forward to hosting this exciting day.”

Tickets for the SVR ‘Pendennis Castle’ photo charter on 18^th April are available from timelineevents.org