The volunteers keeping heritage railway on track

"It doesn't seem like 10 years... It's been the best thing I ever did, quite frankly."

Angie Appleton is a clinical acupuncturist, but has also spent the last decade volunteering at Severn Valley Railway.

The ticket office worker is one of hundreds who keep SVR running along its 16-mile route between Bridgnorth, Shropshire, and Kidderminster in Worcestershire.

Without their efforts, it would again face the oblivion to which it was nearly consigned by British Rail in the 1960s.

Mrs Appleton, who played her part in marking 200 years of the modern railway in 2025, is proud to be involved, and said "you just see lots of happy faces" among visitors.

"It's just quite a joyous place to be really.

"I have a clinic, a private clinic, which is in Bridgnorth on St Marys Street and when I volunteered on the railway, I actually wanted something that was completely different and didn't have a lot of responsibility.

"I didn't want, for example... many volunteer roles on the railway that are safety critical."

As she works full-time, she might do one or two days a month at weekends at the Bridgnorth booking office, while others might be a "travelling ticket inspector" or "maintain the gardens".

"How much or how little you want to do is really, really up to you," Mrs Appleton said.

"I can't think of any age or job or person that wouldn't be a good fit for the railway if that's what they wanted to do. There's something on the line for everybody."

Charlie Delaney, 19, was brought to SVR by his grandfather "when I was a lot younger" and "just grew the railway bug".

He started on customer service on the Kidderminster platform when he was 14, before becoming a locomotive cleaner and helping with lighting up the locos, which was "very cold in the winter".

The teenager was in the guards' department at 17 and "began my shunting training" - moving around coaches.

Asked why he thought rail was his thing, Mr Delaney replied: "You have that utter thrill of being able to watch that steam engine, that was completely dead when you came to it, you put that fire in it and it comes to life and you know that you did that.

"And the people around you as a team, you've all helped towards that and giving the passengers such a good day.... it's just an amazing feeling."

The line closed as part of the nation's rail infrastructure in 1963, but has been preserved as a heritage attraction since 1970.

Over in a signal box, Howard Bowling, a Network Rail employee who is also an SVR volunteer signalman and guard, spoke about how it now had about 1,600 volunteers because of "the sheer scale of the operation".

On a given day, it needed between 20 and 100 "just to run the railway", he said, including drivers, guards, buffet stewards and platform staff.

"But that doesn't take into any account the maintenance volunteers we have."

Despite the huge numbers, the 31-year-old said it was "always looking for more volunteers" and pointed out the "huge range of skills that people can use here".

At the other end of the Bewdley platforms, there are loco cleaners and shed staff near a water column that is about 20ft off the ground.

Ryan Green, 34, is an engineer away from SVR, but has volunteered here for two decades.

Highlighting the extensive training, he revealed it took him "15 years to become a driver".

"The social aspect of it's fantastic. You make some great friends working here, life-long friends.

"We [are] all in our mid-30s now, getting married and starting families and whatever and we're still all very close friends having started all those years ago."

SVR attended a major festival for enthusiasts in August, The Greatest Gathering in Derby, when more than 140 locomotives and railway vehicles were on display, including famous ones such as the Flying Scotsman.

Mr Bowling said the Midlands heritage railway was "a big part of that", the three-day event held as part of a year-long commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the world's first passenger railway journey.

About 25 rail vehicles from SVR were there, including more than a dozen locomotives, he thought.

At the end of the year, volunteers are still being kept busy, with services available to the public until 4 January, then the railway would reopen ready for the February half-term, Mr Bowling said.

As for Mr Delaney, he was a barman for four months before joining West Midlands Railway professionally full time in March, but the 19-year-old still volunteers at SVR and represents young people on its staffing committee.

At the attraction "we've got people that work for councils... we've got vicars", he said.

"You have people that work in cafes, restaurants, you have hospitality managers. All these sort of amazing roles that you wouldn't think would bring you to a railway and yet we all come to the same place."

Mrs Appleton, who started because her husband volunteered, pointed out the team spirit.

"If we've got something like a steam railway gala running, they're early starts and late finishes, but you're with people who are doing the same and it's just... that camaraderie.

"We've all enjoying what we're doing."

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