Monday, 2nd January 2023, was a significant day on the Severn Valley Railway as it was the final day of service for GWR 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 2857.
To mark the occasion, the locomotive's owning group, The 2857 Society, arranged that its final train would have ten carriages, giving the locomotive a weight of about 320 tons to pull. The train comprised nine of the Severn Valley Railway's finest ex-Great Western Railway coaches, and an ex-British Rail kitchen car, making quite a sight as the train travelled along the railway.
On board the “Severn Valley Limited” dining train were 102 diners who were treated to a stunning three-course meal as the locomotive made its final 32-mile round trip of the railway between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth. The diners had use of two of the carriages, whilst the other seven coaches of the train were filled with regular Severn Valley Railway passengers. That portion of the train was full to standing for the entire day, a sight that had not been seen on the Severn Valley Railway on a non-event day for quite some time.
Built in April 1918, 2857 had a working career on the Great Western Railway and Western Region of 45 years, during which it recorded a total mileage of 1,276,713 miles. 2857's boiler certificate was extended last June, whilst plans for 2857's last day of service were announced in August.
A 2857 Society spokesperson said: “It was fantastic to be able to give the locomotive one final send off before its boiler ticket runs out. We raised just under £2000 in donations and raffle sales which is another nice chunk of cash towards the overhaul.
“We are thankful to everyone at the SVR for their contribution and involvement in making the final day a success. If anyone wishes to get involved with the Society please contact us through our website and/or Facebook page. Details of an appeal towards the next overhaul will be published in due course.”
The society's website page can be found at http://www.2857.org.uk/index.html
Although it was great to see full and standing trains on the SVR on 2nd January that wasn’t the only day. We travelled on each day of the post Christmas trains and experienced the same on other days. Great to see and an indication that people were pleased to see the return on normal service trains. And what a boost to the businesses up and down the line served by the railway.