Guest locomotives announced for Spring Diesel Festival
Guest locomotives will take up position on the Severn Valley Railway for this year's Spring Diesel Festival which takes place in May.
BR Class 44 No. 44004 Great Gable D4 and BR Class 46 46045 D182 will visit for the event being staged from May 19 to May 22, with the latter returning for the first time since 2016.
The engines will be making their appearance courtesy of Peak Locomotive Co Ltd, which owns both locomotives.
It will be a rare opportunity to see the engines away from their base at the Midland Railway – Butterly, in Derbyshire.
Locomotive 46045 is one of three remaining class members, while D4 is one of only two surviving Class 44s and has not visited the Severn Valley since 1987 when it starred at the railway’s first ever diesel gala.
The railway will be operating its unrivalled fleet of Class 50s, Class 40 40106, Class 42 Warship and Greyhound, Class 52 Western Champion and Western Courier, Class 14 Teddy Bear D9551 and Class 17 Clayton D8568.
The event will run in a traditional format, allowing passengers to hop-on-and-off at their leisure, switching between trains to ensure they clock-up mileage.
Catering outlets, pubs and The Engine House will all be open to visitors throughout the event.
Gus Dunster, chairman of the Severn Valley Railway Diesels committee, said: “It’s a real coup to get both of these guest locomotives to visit for the Spring Diesel Festival.
"Each year the event gets bigger and we are really pleased that Peak Locomotive Co Limited has entrusted us with both locos for the event.
“We expect to announce a further two more visiting heritage locomotives in the coming weeks as well as some modern freight locomotives.
“With a variety of motive power running the full length of the line across all four days, we are certain that every passenger will find plenty to see.”
Alongside the visiting locomotives, the event will see the return of multi-day rovers for the first time since 2019, allowing customers to book more than a single day in advance and save money against individual ticket prices which are available online now online or by calling 01562 757 900.
