Severn Valley Railway's photo charter services with classic engine the star

The railway is trialling the return of the photo charters next month, after their temporary withdrawal two years ago because of concerns over safety.

The railway is to hold an initial trial photo charter on Tuesday, April 18, featuring GWR 4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’, which is visiting the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) to take part in its Spring Steam Gala between April 14 and 16.

The engine, built in 1924, will turn 100 next year. For the photo charter service it will feature in Great Western Railway livery paired with the SVR’s GWR coaching stock, recreating an authentic-looking train formation from the pre-Second World War days of the 1920s and 1930s.

The photo charter will be run in partnership with Timeline Events, and will see Pendennis Castle paired with an SVR set of Great Western carriages.

During the day-long event, photographers will travel to carefully-selected locations along the line using their own transport or transport provided by Timeline Events.

Jonathan Dunster, SVR’s managing director, said: “This type of operation is commonly used.

“It has proven successful at other heritage railways.

"Very importantly for us, it greatly reduces the risks that were previously identified when large groups of photographers had lineside access, and which led to us temporarily withdrawing photo charters in 2021.

“It’s clear there’s an appetite for them to return, and we’re delighted to be working in partnership on this occasion with specialist photography event organisers Timeline Events.

"We’re sure that this opportunity to capture Pendennis Castle with our own set of GW carriages is going to prove extremely popular, and we’re very much looking forward to hosting this exciting day.”

Depending on the success of the trial photo charter, the SVR will be looking to host further events during the course of the year.

Tickets for the SVR ‘Pendennis Castle’ photo charter on April 18 are available from timelineevents.org.