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TWO key players in the heritage rail sector have reported successful spring steam galas that surpassed expectations and drew in the crowds, aided by visiting locos from other corners of the country.
Although the weather was mixed across the three days, passengers came in their thousands to the Severn Valley Railway’s April 14-16 event. The visiting guest roster proved very popular, with Didcot’s No. 4079 Pendennis Castle appearing alongside Dartmouth’s GWR ‘Small Prairie’ No. 4555 and Great Central-based BR Standard ‘2MT’ No. 78018. The event had a GW theme, and home-based locomotives No. 4930 Hagley Hall and No. 7812 Erlestoke Manor also proved strong crowd-pullers.
The railway has confirmed it exceeded its budget for paying passengers by almost 18%, with 5002 people buying tickets across the three days, along with hundreds of shareholders and members who also attended. Secondary spend was also very impressive across the railway’s commercial outlets.
On the final afternoon of the gala, a decision was made by the representative of owner the Dartmouth Steam & River Boat Company to withdraw No. 4555 because of a defective piston gland and warm little end. The impact
