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This was "Welsh Branchline Weekend" on the Severn Valley Railway, with an amazingly complicated timetable of numerous through trains and lots of short shuttles running to and from various intermediate stations. The weather looked good - and the star attraction would be the Worth Valley's Taff Vale 0-6-2T No 85.

I decided to ride on the trains, and travelled down to Rhiwderin (a.k.a. Highley), arriving from the north as No 85 arrived from the south, to lay up in the loop for a couple of hours. A little while later another Welsh celebrity arrived, this time former Port Talbot Railway 0-6-0 saddle tank no 813, an SVR resident. Like no 85, 813 is with us today because it was sold out of service by the GWR to a colliery in the north-east of England. Time for a few snaps before joining the Cambrian Coast Express (unusually diverted via the Brecon and Merthyr, and hauling a fine rake of Gresley teak stock....), on which I travelled to Bewdley.

There was a fair amount of action here - in addition to the various trains arriving and departing, pannier tank 7714 (yet another ex-colliery loco) was running up and down giving brake van rides. The star turn was, of course, no 85 which duly arrived and departed with its train for Kidderminster.

The real excitement now over, there was time for a quick perusal of the sales stands - where I managed to fill a gap in the magazine collection (RM, July 1961....) before joining the return working of the CCE for the pleasant run back to Bridgnorth.

Links:

• Severn Valley Railway
• Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

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