'The Volunteer' - mainline steam charter
A special steam-hauled charter train to celebrate the 75th anniversary of heritage rail.
Hauled by preservation pioneer Clun Castle the dedicated anniversary train will run from Birmingham to the Severn Valley Railway celebrating the role of volunteers.
The special train, on November 2 is a partnership between the Heritage Railway Association, Vintage Trains and the Severn Valley Railway. It has been scheduled to coincide with the HRA Autumn Conference in Birmingham.
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The anniversary train has been titled ‘The Volunteer’ to celebrate their role in creating the successful sector we have today. The trip has been designed to evoke memories from the early days of railway preservation when mainline trips behind steam locomotives ventured out to scores of fledgling heritage railways.
The train will run on a not-for-profit basis with the SVR and HRA waiving all of their costs and Vintage Trains looking to cover only its direct operational expenses. The generous move has allowed ticket prices to be kept to an absolute minimum in the hope that many current and former heritage rail volunteers can take part in the trip with Clun Castle.
‘The Volunteer’ will depart from Birmingham Snow Hill station at around 11.30am – allowing plenty of time for those travelling to the Midlands. It will then travel over familiar metals to Stratford-Upon-Avon before heading for the Severn Valley Railway. The train will traverse SVR metals behind Clun Castle to Highley where passengers will have the chance to visit the ‘Engine House’ museum.
Exact timings are still to be confirmed with Network Rail, but the train is expected to arrive back at Birmingham, Snow Hill by 7pm.
Tickets for ‘The Volunteer’ have been priced from just £100.00 per person - with a further discount of 25% for those also attending the Heritage Railway Association Autumn Conference in Birmingham over the following two days. First class seats and reserved compartments with high-quality catering and afternoon tea are also available for those who want to celebrate the milestone in style.
