Shropshire railway given £100,000 to restore steam train
Shropshire's Severn Valley Railway has been given almost £100,000 towards the cost of restoring a classic steam train which has been out of action for nearly 30 years.
The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust has won a grant of £95,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will help fund the restoration of the classic Great Western Railway (GWR) locomotive 4930, Hagley Hall.
It will be used to teach skills to students and apprentices from the railway's Heritage Skills Training Academy based in Shropshire.
Locomotive 4930 has been out of service for 27 years. The Hagley Hall was mainly based in the West Midlands during its working life.
The restoration project will involve stripping the locomotive down to the last nut and bolt. The railway's leaders say this will be invaluable when it comes to teaching apprentices.
Hugh McQuade, chairman of the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust, said: "Whilst the Severn Valley Railway's workforce consists of highly qualified and skilled staff and volunteers, it is ageing. Individuals with the requisite heritage skills, for example steam locomotive fitters or boilersmiths, do not exist in the modern workplace and for the railway to survive these time-served skills need to be passed on to a younger generation.
"The HLF funding will therefore have far reaching benefits for the railway now and into the future."
Reyahn King, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: "Visitors to the Severn Valley Railway will be delighted that a one-time static exhibit is a working locomotive once more."
