Driver's eye view from Class 52 'Western' D1013 Western Ranger over the Severn Valley Railway from Bewdley to Bridgnorth. Filmed during a Severn Valley 'Driver Experience Course' on 8th September 2005.
It's pretty cool to see LMR 600 on the left side at 18:45. An Austerity class 2-10-0 owned by the British Army. Arrived at the SVR in 1972, suffered a boiler tube failure in 1999 I believe before being left out for many years. In 2008 is was cosmetically restored and now resides in the Highley engine house. The British Army only formally relinquished ownership of LMR 600 in 2008.
How wonderful it is to be able to watch video's of all the railway lines which we only see from the side view to see it from where the boys want to see real railway journeys.. thank you again for some brilliant video's
Great stuff - making me homesick ! I'm from Bridgnorth and have used the SVR as the last leg of my journey home many times. There's a point near Daniels Mill where the towers of St Mary's and St Leonard's align, and I know I'm nearly home. Then straight in the Railwayman's Arms for a pint...!!
The voice you can hear is the late derek wright who instructed me on 1013 last run before overhaul in 2009 lovely man and had a great day on my driving expireience
Great video of the English countryside. I like the minimal clearing along the track right of way, makes for a more bucolic ride. That horn would take some getting used to being from the US😀 thanks for the ride.
Looks like you get your money's worth as a passenger on this line! Any idea what the passenger footfall would have been at it's peak, maybe one hundred years ago? .
It looks like there is a ground signal by the trap point just in front of the DMU which is controlling this road and that the Main does apply to the line the Western is on. It is confusing though
Yes. On the old 'Great Western Railway' the loco's were driven from the right hand side & so the signals were to the right of the line, as in this case. The DMU movement, however, would be controlled by the ground shunt signal. It's possible that this signal is positioned to assist for sighting by a loco reversing out of this siding.
As stated this was a driver experience run and may have been done outside passengers hours. I have been on this line many times in the summer and there are plenty of passengers.
I am sorry but you are completely WRONG. The signal to the left is for Platform 2 and not Platform 3 where the Western is departing. Platform 3 has TWO semaphore signals, the first depicted where D1013 enters Bewdley and visible at the head of the DMU stabled in the loop, and the Main departure semaphore is about 50 yards further along the platform by a PW hut and level with the footbridge (out of shot). At the start of the video showing the cab footage, I had already driven past that point and all you see on the left is a GW calling-on arm controlling running around / light engine movements. I would add having been given cab access to film, I would not then add footage which would put the SVR in a bad light. Furthermore, a train movement is HARDLY going to move away with a SPAD when you have the controlling signalman ready with the token to exchange for Highley.
Maybe it's the token to be picked up by the engineer before entering a single track line. There is only one token taken back and fro. So the engineer picking it up can be sure his is the only train on the line.
In order to fit the train in at Highley loop we had to go beyond the dolly and then reverse back before setting off again, which is why it may appear disjointed!
I am sorry @Chris H but HOW do you come to that conclusion? That signal doesn't even control departures and is not for platform 3 where the Western was departing. I am sorry but you are completely WRONG. The signal to the left is for Platform 2 and not Platform 3 where the Western is departing. Platform 3 has TWO semaphore signals, the first depicted where D1013 enters Bewdley and visible at the head of the DMU stabled in the loop, and the Main departure semaphore is about 50 yards further along the platform by a PW hut and level with the footbridge (out of shot). At the start of the video showing the cab footage, I had already driven past that point and all you see on the left is a GW calling-on arm controlling running around / light engine movements. I would add having been given cab access to film, I would not then add footage which would put the SVR in a bad light. Furthermore, a train movement is HARDLY going to move away with a SPAD when you have the controlling signalman ready with the token to exchange for Highley. Also, personally I feel its not wise to imply 'this is a SPAD' (when it clearly isnt) as these sort of comments can put preserved railways under an uncomfortable spotlight from HM Inspectorate. The train was hardly going to SPAD with a driver and 2 Instructors in the cab too. Also, there are perfectly legal occasions when locomotives will pass signals at red / danger if given permission to do so by the line signalman, during a photo charter for example. All is not always as it seems. This however, is a simple case of identifying the wrong signal on your part, in this case.
