More railways re open after extendedCovid-19closures
AUGUST1 markeda return to partial normality for a number of our preserved railways, seeingthe first public passenger trains run sincethe earlyspring.
The weekend marked a secondphaseof post-Covid reopenings,with several heritagelines having already resumed operations during mid-July.
Among those relaunching serviceson the Saturdaywere the Avon Valley, Churn et Valley, Dean Forest, Ep ping On gar, Ll a nb er is Lake, Ll an go ll en, North Yorkshire Mo ors, Severn Valley, Talyl lyn, and Welsh pool & LlanfairLight railways,with others reopeningthe following day- August 2.
Forthe bigger linesthat are employersand providethe livelihoodsfor many,the return to operation has allowed them to take a collectivesigh of relief, althoughthe overallrecovery will be an on-going and lengthy process.
Forthe SevernValley Railway
(SVR)t,he sell-out 10.15 departurefrom Kidderminster that morning behind'28XX' 2-8-0 No.2857was the culmination of a lot of hard work by staff and volunteers overthe previousweeks.
It wasthe first public service the railwayhad beenableto run sincemid-March,although a number of' shake down trains' had operatedduring that period.
"It hastaken an incredible effort from everyone across the railwayto pull together and deliverthis newexperiencefor our visitors ;' saidSVR general manager Helen Smith.
'Mountain to climb'
"This doesn' t mean all our problems a resolved because we still havea mountainto climb. Not only do we havea large business interruption bank loan to pay back,but we also needto work hardto makesure everyone adheres to the social distancing regulations, so we can protect our staff and visitors, and start to makemoneyagain:'
Therailwaywent on to run each day throughout August, with advancedbookings looking healthyand a number of'on-the-day' spacesalso being sold. The North YorkshireMoors
Railwayheld a successful re opening weekend, which saw two trains out at either end of the line:one running between Pickeringand Levishama, nd the other between Gro sm ont and Goathland.
Howevert,he operationwas only short-term,and from August 17 a new twice-daily named service started operation overthe 24 milesbetween Pickeringand Whitby.
Non-stop
The' Optimist' de parts from Pickeringat 09.20and 12.00 eachday,running non-stopover the heritageline to Grosmont andthen overthe EskValleyline to Whitby.The return departures areat 14.00and 16.30,with a roundtrip costing£35for adults.
The EppingOngar Railway and Ll an go ll en Railway handed their come back services to one of their heritageDMUsets, while 'Austerity'0-6-0STRennes handledthe openingweekend at the Dean ForestRailway, which includeda sell-out on the Sunday. However, steam was backin chargeof Llangollen servicesthe following weekend with GWR'2884'2-8-0No.3802 performingthe honours.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire R ail way(GW SR) ran its first post-lockdown public trains on August 15,five monthsto the daysinceservices were brought to an abrupt halt dueto lockdown.
Thefirst train of the 'new- normal' season departed from Todd ing ton promptly at 10.00behind'Modified Hall' No .7903 Fore mark eH all, and wassold out.
"Although wasstrange seeing everyone masked up, you could tell everyone of our volunteersand visitors was smiling, despite the required face covering ;• said Graham Rad bandt, her ail way' s commercial director.
"We'vehad so many positive comments.It issuchajoy to seethe railwaybackin business after so long!"
TheGWSRis running trains on SaturdaysT, uesdaysand Wednesdays.
Ticketscanonly be booked online through: www.gwsr.com