Throughout the weekend of 27 and 28 July, the Severn Valley Railway will be celebrating 40 years since the opening of Kidderminster Town station, and the leading heritage line is keen to hear from anyone who has memories of the station’s opening day in 1984.

Forty years ago, the first heritage passenger service to operate out of Kidderminster heralded a very significant development for the railway. Not only was the line now operational for 16 miles, all the way to Bridgnorth, but it was also much more accessible to visitors coming from Birmingham, the Black Country and the wider Midlands area. 

The railway is marking the occasion this July with a weekend of attractions, including the recreation of the very first train to depart from Kidderminster Town station on 30 July 1984. The inaugural service then was headed by the SVR’s flagship locomotive, 4930 ‘Hagley hall’ and in 2024 the very same loco has the honour of hauling the specially named ‘Kidderminster Venturer’.

‘Opening up the line from Kidderminster made a huge difference to us in 1984,’ said managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster. ‘Quite simply, it meant we were within easy reach of hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the Midlands, and beyond. The fact that Kidderminster also had a main line station really was the golden egg, as the SVR was infinitely more accessible to more people than ever before.

‘During the last weekend in July, we’ll be celebrating this important milestone in true SVR style, and it’s very fitting that ‘Hagley Hall’, our much-loved flagship locomotive will haul the Kidderminster Venturer on both days.

‘We’d love to hear from anyone who remembers Kidderminster Town station opening in 1984,’ added Gus. ‘Especially if they’ve got a photograph from the day. We’re asking people to post memories and photographs on either Facebook, X or Instagram, tagging in the Severn Valley Railway, so that we can share these with our followers.’

When the embryonic Kidderminster Town station opened in 1984, it was the final piece in the SVR jigsaw. Initially there was no station building, but that was soon to follow. The SVR line originally ran between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, after the granting of a Light Railway Order in 1970. It extended to Bewdley in 1974, but it was to be another 10 years before the pioneering preservationists reached Kidderminster.

During the weekend of celebrations this July, there’ll be a commemorative ceremony on the Saturday at 12 noon before the departure of the Kidderminster Venturer. It will also run at 12.30 on the Sunday.

There’ll also be a display of classic vehicles that would have been on the road in 1984, the chance for visitors to peek behind the scenes at Kidderminster’s signal box and carriage works, as well as rides in a brake van. Kidderminster Railway Museum will host a brand-new exhibition, telling the story of Kidderminster Town station, through memories and archive photographs.

Next year, the SVR will celebrate 60 years in preservation.