Colas Rail has agreed to have its HST set used at the upcoming Severn Valley Railway gala, which runs from the 16th until the 19th May.
43301 and 43303 will be joined with three coaches to be used on local services during the four day event.
Another pair of Class 20s, owned by Michael Owen, will now appear at the gala, with the specific numbers being 20205, 20007, 20048, 20189 and 20142.
The Colas Class 70 that was due to visit for the event can now no longer attend but the SVR has said that it hopes another Colas locomotive will be made available.
RailAdventure power cars 43468 and 43480 will also visit the gala along with a Freightliner Class 70, GBRf Class 73 No. 73119, GBRf Class 69 No. 69009, a Freightliner Class 59, Class 37 37409 ‘Loch Awe’ and Class 46 No. D182 as well as members from the SVR home fleet.
“Right now, we’re in a period when enthusiast interest in these vehicles is at an all-time high. It’s fair to say that the Colas set has particular rarity value for diesel enthusiasts, as it’s generally used for test train duties on the main line and it’s pretty much unheard of for it to carry passengers. It’s a real privilege to have this at our event and we’re very grateful to Colas for agreeing to its appearance.
“We’re delighted too that Michael Owen has agreed to a further pair of Class 20s appearing at the Spring Diesel Festival, bringing the total of this class to five across the event. We’ll have two pairs of Class 20s hauling full-line services and one single locomotive rostered on local services.”
Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster, the SVR’s managing director
Responses
I’ve driven 43301 & 43303 many times. I will miss them.
I’ve been keeping track of how many locomotives (including power cars) are visiting the SVR in 2 weeks. The SVR has announced 16 visitors with 9 resident locomotives which means that for the 4 day event you have 25 locomotives in operation!
No wonder they needed the £1.5m fund, they keep spending it on hiring engines!
This event better be as amazing as last year!