The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) has declared its Winter Diesel Day event last week a great success after it attracted an unexpectedly high number of visitors.

The event took place on Friday 29 December, and was the first that SVR had organised. It attracted more than a thousand paying passengers plus hundreds more shareholders. It brought in thirty thousand pounds in ticket revenue, 35% higher than the heritage railway’s target.

Highlights of the Winter Diesel Day included event included the return to service of the SVR-based Diesel Multiple Unit and the provision of steam heat, thanks to Class 40 40106, Class 46 D182 and pannier tank 7714 double-heading with a diesel locomotive.

The SVR is now getting ready for its Winter Steam Gala this weekend, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 January. Advance tickets have sold well, so the Railway is anticipating that large number of visitors will attend. This event is another first for the SVR, and the Railway promises a special atmosphere and an intensive steam timetable.

Highlights will include the final appearance of LMS Ivatt Class 4 No.43106 ‘The Flying Pig’ before its boiler certificate expires, and the first appearance at a gala of LMS 2968 Stanier Mogul since its overhaul.

The Railway is planning an extra event for enthusiasts for later this year, which will be in addition to the four steam and diesel galas that are already regular features in its in the railway’s calendar. Further information and tickets for the Winter Steam Gala are available here.

The SVR’s visitor engagement manager Lewis Maddox said of the planned event, “This one is going to be a mixed traction and real ale festival and we’re looking at holding this in June. We think the combination of these two attractions is going to prove extremely popular, and we’ll be announcing further details as soon as we can.”

Managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster said, “It’s fair to say that, once again, the SVR has absolutely smashed it! We’d never before tried to run a short, diesel-enthusiast event like this in the winter season, but we wanted to give it a go, and we’re very pleased that we did.

“We saw a timetable that ran perfectly, and a strong sense of team purpose across the railway, for which we are hugely appreciative. This is yet more proof of how the SVR’s strong commitment to enthusiast events continues to be the right one.

“This aspect of our winter event brought a nostalgia all of its own. We took passengers back to the days of the late 1960s and 1970s when diesel steam heating was the norm, before BR phased it out by the mid-80s. I heard many positive comments from visitors about how much they valued this feature of our event; the atmosphere across the line, particularly as the light faded, was absolutely wonderful. I travelled back on the last train of the day into Kidderminster at 21.45, and you can probably imagine how much of a pleasure that was!”