The Severn Valley Railway was expecting demand to be high for tickets to travel behind ‘Flying Scotsman’ when it visits the line next month, but so strong was the demand to travel behind the iconic locomotive that all the seats were snapped up within three minutes of going on sale.
60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ will haul the first service on Friday 25 July, when the SVR reopens its full line following repairs to the landslip it suffered at Mor Brook bridge, between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth stations in Shropshire. So far this year, the railway has been able to operate only between Kidderminster and Hampton Loade, with its northernmost section cut off.
Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster, the SVR’s managing director, said:
‘We simply couldn’t have wished for a better result than this! It’s amazing, and a real vote of confidence in the Severn Valley Railway and the fact that we’ve been able to secure ‘Flying Scotsman’ for this very significant milestone in our history.
‘As well as hauling our reopening service, 60103 will run two more return trips on 25 July, and then take part in our Swinging Sixties weekend on 26 and 27 July, hauling three return services each day.
‘We are looking to see if we can add on any extra tickets for ‘Flying Scotsman’, including options for on-train dining, so look out for a further announcement, all being well.
‘Even if you missed out on getting tickets to travel behind it, you’ll still be able to see ‘Flying Scotsman’ in action by buying an event ticket to the Swinging Sixties weekend when we celebrate 60 years of the SVR in preservation. There’s so much going on during the event, with plenty of other steam and heritage locomotives in service, plus live music, a Ferris wheel, vintage cars and a real ale festival. We are going to celebrate in true SVR style!’
Meanwhile, progress on repairs to the landslip continues to go well. Once the SVR’s specialist contractors CML are finished on site, the railway will re-lay track above the repaired bridge and embankment, and carry out load testing in preparation for the full-line reopening on 25 July.
Full information on the timetable and tickets for the Swinging Sixties event is at svr.co.uk.