Festival in Kidderminster to mark completion of £650k works
IN PURE railway terms, it’s an overall glass canopy which covers the concourse end of Kidderminster Town station, and ensures that passengers stay dry when it rains.
But in 10 days’ time - during the weekend of October 14 & 15 - the Severn Valley Railway will demonstrate the full commercial potential of its newly-constructed facility at Kidderminster, using it as a live music and evening concert venue, in conjunction with its first-ever ‘Kidderminster Station Festival’.
Some 17 hours of live music are planned in all, including a ticket-only ‘Concert under the Canopy’ on the Saturday evening, featuring the 18-piece Stratford-on-Avon big band ‘Straight Ahead’, and also the Celtic sound of Bridgnorth guitar duo ‘Whalebone.’ An ‘all-stations’ special train will run between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster for concert-goers.
Daytime live performances under the canopy reflecting an eclectic variety of musical tastes, will be given against a flurry of more railway-oriented activities, including steam locomotive footplate rides, conducted visits around Kidderminster Carriage Works and Signalbox, and a photographic display, collated by Kidderminster Railway Museum, showing how the site evolved down through the years. The forecourt of the ‘1896 replica’ GWR station building will additionally feature a collection of vintage vehicles.
Kidderminster Station Festival will also provide a platform for the re-dedication and naming of resident preserved ‘Class 50’ diesel No.D444 Exeter by Cdr. P.A.E.Brown of the Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer HMS Exeter, after which the locomotive was originally named by British Rail
The locomotive now sports an early-BR style two-tone green livery. The rededication ceremony is scheduled for 12.30pm on the Saturday.
The Festival essentially celebrates the completion of the work, begun in January this year, to finish the railway’s southern terminus to the original 1984 plans, with an 80-seater buffet restaurant and full overall glass canopy, unique in railway preservation, at a total cost of £650,000.
The restaurant, operated by the SVR’s ‘King & Castle’ station pub, was opened for business for the first time at the recent ‘Day Out with Thomas’ event (September 9 & 10), and will again be serving hot food throughout both days.
Explained SVR director Jason Houlders: “We’re really very proud of the way Kidderminster station looks now, and this is our first real opportunity to show it off to local people, as well as an opportunity to prove to ourselves the commercial potential which exists for it.
“With the new glass canopy, Kidderminster Town station has become a venue in its own right, allowing ‘outdoor’ events to be staged regardless of the weather. It’s another important string to the railway’s bow.”
Tickets for the Saturday evening concert (£8) are available from Kidderminster Station shop, or by calling 01299-403816.
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