Inside Bridgnorth Shed, morale remains very high despite the cutbacks being made on the Severn Valley Railway. Many full-time staff volunteer extra hours as drivers, firemen and cleaners, preparing the locomotives for the day’s work.
With the running of steam locomotives, it goes without saying that regular maintenance is essential for reliability; as with your car, in addition to the annual service, you would do regular checks on aspects like oil and water. For a steam locomotive, there is the monthly mechanical examination that takes place after 30 days in steam, the annual examination every 12 to 14 months, and the valve and piston examination every 20,000 to 25,000 miles.
Much of this schedule dates back to pre-1968, when steam running was a daily occurrence. A system has been built up over the years by the experience gained operating the SVR’s steam fleet combined with BR practice and by observing other organisations, and it has become the industry norm throughout the heritage sector.
Will Marsh, the mechanical team leader at Bridgnorth, is the author of the inspection schedules. He has assembled a maintenance list that has not only helped the SVR, but also several other heritage lines. All examination lists begin with the locomotive and tender number, mileage, date, and the examiner. Each area of inspection is then broken down into sections, with sub-tasks containing
