Support for steam railway after embankment slide

A heritage railway has thanked its supporters for donations after a landslip on Wednesday forced it to close part of the line.

The Severn Valley Railway said it had received more than £4,000 overnight after sharing the news, and also offers from people willing to volunteer their time and expertise to address the issue.

Those included one from specialist engineering company SEP Ltd, which was due to carry out an assessment of the damage on Thursday.

Two other heritage lines, The Great Central Railway in Leicestershire and the West Somerset Railway, have also offered their help.

Severn Valley Railway said it was yet to discover the full extent of the embankment failure between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade in Shropshire and had not yet put a cost on repairs.

It said it would talk to its insurers, but also asked people to "dig deep" and donate.

Spokesperson Lesley Carr said the collapse had been an "extremely big shock and a devastating blow for us" and that at such times "you need something to keep you going".

Of the donations and offers of support, she said: "One of the things that you find when you have a crisis like this is that you do have some good friends."

She said the repairs were likely to be "a specialised project" requiring expert contractors, but there may be some work which volunteers could support.

She asked people willing to give up their time to email the railway.

Severn Valley Railway runs for 16 miles from Kidderminster in Worcestershire to Bridgnorth in Shropshire.

The unaffected section of the line, between Kidderminster and Hampton Loade, is due to reopen at half term, in two weeks' time.

Customers with pre-booked tickets will be updated by email.

The railway said it could not offer a precise timeline for reopening the affected section.

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