The Severn Valley Railway has announced two first-class visitors for a special weekend of Railway 200 celebrations in July. The theme of the weekend is ‘Trains through the Ages’, and it would be hard to imagine two guests that represent more different eras of rail travel.
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 No 60163 ‘Tornado’ will be steaming along the Valley for Railway 200: Trains through the Ages, which takes place on 5 and 6 July. Only returned to service last autumn following its overhaul, ‘Tornado’ will haul the SVR’s unique set of LNER teak carriages, which date back to 1922.
From the historic ‘Tornado’ to the very latest in railway technology, the SVR’s event will also offer a rare opportunity to get up close to HydroFLEX, the UK’s first hydrogen-ready passenger train. Developed and extensively tested by Porterbrook at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre in Warwickshire, HydroFLEX contains up to 277kg of hydrogen fuel, safely contained in 36 high-pressure tanks. The state-of-the-art system feeds this into fuel cells, where a chemical process converts the hydrogen and oxygen from the air to generate clean electricity, with water being the only emission.
‘These two special guests mean we can launch our Railway 200 event with a real splash,’ said the SVR’s managing director, Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster. ‘We’re delighted to welcome back ‘Tornado’, which last visited us in 2019, and we thank the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for allowing it to run at our event. It’s going to look splendid with our set of teak carriages.
‘Equally exciting and definitely bang up to date is HydroFLEX, representing the latest in railway technology. We’re honoured that Porterbrook are bringing it to our event, so as many people as possible can see for themselves what the future of rail holds.’
Ben Ackroyd, Porterbrook’s chief operating officer added, “We’re delighted to bring HydroFLEX to the Severn Valley Railway’s Railway 200 celebration. With exciting technology like this being developed, we’re confident that the railway’s most exciting days are ahead of us. We hope that experiencing this innovative train up close will help to inspire the next generation to take the baton and go even further.’
Other attractions during the Railway 200 weekend at the SVR will be a display of narrow gauge locomotives, dating from the 1800s, at The Engine House, Highley, as well as the SVR-based engines GWR 7802 ‘Bradley Manor’ and GWR 1450 hauling carriages from the 1910s to the 1940s, and a heritage diesel locomotive paired with a set of Mark 1 carriage from the 1950s. As well as HydroFLEX, there’ll be other examples of modern railway traction on display.
The weekend will offer the final chance to see ‘Inspiration’, Railway 200’s exhibition train before it leaves the SVR to continue its nationwide tour. This one-of-a-kind train is making the first stop on its UK tour at the SVR on 26 June, to promote the past, present and future of the railway and inspire the next generation of railway talent and workers. As well as general members of the public, the SVR will welcome hundreds of children for its programme of schools events, centred on ‘Inspiration’.
There’s more information about the special weekend event, Railway 200: Trains through the Ages at svr.co.uk.
Tickets to visit ‘Inspiration’, the exhibition train, between 27 June and 6 July are free, but must be pre-booked at svr.co.uk. ‘Inspiration’ tickets are for the exhibition train only; travel tickets must be booked separately.