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There's always something to look forward to in December - some clear, frosty weather for the Severn Valley's Santa trains. Long heavy trains, a frequent service (every half-hour), steam hanging in the air, no heads out of the windows - what more could one ask for? Well, there is just one thing which would put the icing on the cake - get the locos the right way round please! The best shots are those on the long curving bank to Foley Park tunnel on the return to Kidderminster - but not when all five locos are running tender / bunker first...

Here is a selection, in chronological order, of some of the trains running on this particular December Sunday....

So, of course, when the trains leave Foley Park tunnel heading for Bewdley, they're the right way round - but there's rarely any steam...

It should of course be said that the SVR Santa train are a wonderful spectacle when the weather is right, whichever way round the locos are. The locos work hard up the bank, the sound carrying more-or-less from Bewdley to the tunnel mouth - and you never have to wait long before another train runs past, with four trains and five locos in action. There's little chance of getting bored, though the feet need well insulating - the frost never quite cleared from the shadier areas. And of course, the revenue from Santa trains makes a substantial contribution to the SVR's coffers.

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