One of the Great Western Railway ‘Castle' Sets, which are shortened versions of the iconic High-Speed Trains is to visit the Severn Valley Railway as part of its Spring Diesel Festival, which is set to take place between 18 and 21 May 2023.
The visit of the GWR ‘Castle' Set is thanks to Great Western Railway and RailAdventure UK (who are organising the move to the SVR).
The four-day festival will celebrate five decades of diesel preservation, and will also feature SVR home fleet, D821, the first diesel to enter preservation fifty years ago.
An SVR spokesperson said “A GWR HST set will spend all four days at the Severn Valley Railway for the Spring Diesel Festival. We'd like to thank GWR enormously for providing this iconic ‘Class 255 Castle HST' set and Rail Adventure UK for their support with movement arrangements.”
Excellent news. Instead of seeing them getting scrapped.
Excellent news the SVR is in a dire financial state its team to modernise the railway with more appropriate vintage diseals which appeal more to the modern generation that the historic steam engines. New King New Era for SVR time to relegate Steam to History.
Richard, sorry to say, If you have a look at the bottom of your post, you will see that you have minus 3. As yet no-one has liked what you have said.
Yes some people like diesel and some like steam.
At some point in the future diesel fuel and coal will be consigned to history, leaving Electric trains Only.
If the SVR continues in its current format it will no doubt become insolvent. I am 55 & no one my age and under has any idea what Steam Trains were in service. There is a place on the SVR to remember the age of steam but the emphasis should now be ongoing on diseals which the majority now remember & love and provide considerable cost savings to protect the line long term.
The Govt want diesel and petrol engines gone in a few years time. The diesel side will also include on the rail as well.
It will only be Electric trains running on passenger and freight.
So am afraid to say Heritage lines won’t be allowed to run diesel trains.
In November 2021 Environment Minister Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist confirmed that heritage vehicles are not in the scope of the Environment Bill, both heritage railways & Road Transport would exempted from forthcoming environmental legislation