Avon Valley Railway
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bitton |
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1977–Present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge |
| Length | 2 miles |
The Avon Valley Railway is a two mile long heritage railway between Oldland Common and Bitton in South Gloucestershire, England. The railway is run by a local group, the Avon Valley Railway Company Ltd, based in Bitton station. The railway shares its route with the Sustrans cycleway and footpath, the Bristol and Bath railway path.
History
|} Bitton station was acquired by the Avon Valley Railway Company in 1972.
Until 2004 the railway's eastern terminus was the station at Bitton, but an extension of 1.25 miles to a new station at Avon Riverside was opened during that year.
The railway is part of the otherwise dismantled LMS branch line from Mangotsfield to Green Park station, Bath, which was closed during the Beeching Axe of the 1960s due to the Great Western Railway being just a few miles to the south, and also connecting Bristol to Bath.
Building of a new buffet and toilets facility at Bitton station is due to begin in 2007 to replace the current buffet and toilets and to increase space for the railway's gift shop.
Stations
Steam Locomotives
- SR Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 No 34058 "Sir Frederick Pile". Currently undergoing major restoration from Barry Scrapyard condition.
- LMS 4F 0-6-0 No 44123. Awaiting restoration.
- LMS 8F 2-8-0 No 48173. Awaiting major restoration, for sale.
- RSH 0-6-0T No 7151. Undergoing repairs, boiler away for repairs and the the rest of the engine is undergoing a repaint on site.
- Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST No 2018 "Littleton".In restoration by Matt Harris
- RSH 0-6-0T No 1 "Meteor". Undergoing restoration with the frames currently being worked on.
- Avonside 0-6-0ST No 1798 "Edwin Hulse". Currently undergoing restoration which is making good progress, being worked on in the engine shed.
- Chrzanow 0-6-0T No 4015 "Karel". In service and used regularly on passenger trains.
- Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T No 70. not always in service because chrzanow does the passenger train what happened to br trains on the avr
Special Events
The railway regularly hosts special events. These include [1]
- Learn to drive courses
- Santa Specials
- "Steam 'n' Cuisine" Sunday lunches
- Thomas days
- Boat trips
- Murder Mysteries
- A real ale festival
- Vintage bus rally
- Childrens' birthday parties
- Christmas lunches
Arson Attack
In early July, 2007, a carriage which was as scrap completely destroyed in a fire, thought to be caused by arson. The carriage was stored near a level crossing with the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. [2]