AVON VALLEY CALLING

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2016 :: RMTnews 20 Today the Avon Valley Railway is a major tourist attraction receiving up to 80,000 visitors a year, once again opening up a part of the beautiful Cotswolds hidden from view for many years. But its very existence is an incredible story of hard work, legal battles and sheer determination of the staff and volunteers from across the country that fought to make a dream a reality. AVR director and trustee Ken Greenway said that work continues on the track and buildings particularly around Bitton station. “We plan to extend the line a further six miles into Bath along the old track bed which is now a very popular cycle path,” he says. This will involve a lot of delicate negotiations and planning that will allow cyclists and heritage train enthusiasts to enjoy the route in the future. Ken, who has worked on the heritage line since its inception over 30 years ago, says that the AVR is always looking for volunteers to work alongside full-time staff to keep the line going and expanding for the benefit of the entire community. “As with any heritage railway, there is always on- going restoration work taking place on locomotives, carriages and wagons,” he says. He explains that the railway was once part of the Midland Railway Mangotsfield and Bath branch line, which was closed during the late 1960s as a result of Beeching’s cuts. It once connected to the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway allowing workers and their families from the industrial Midlands to flock south in the summer to the beaches of Dorset and the English south coast. On March 6 1966, driver Archie Gunning, fireman Albert Parsons and guard Bernard Ware were working the last train over the Somerset and Dorset Railway to the Mangotsfield to Bath branch. Twenty-five years later to the day, March 6 1991, those same gentlemen were guests of honour at the opening of the Avon Valley Railway's new line extension from Bitton Station to Oldland Common. By the end of that year a record 5,700 passengers travelled on one “Thomas the Tank Engine" day alone. The story of the rebirth of this part of the former branch line goes back to 1972 when a group of local people set up a society at Bitton station with the grand aim of re-opening the line. By 1974 the first train rides were possible with just 100 yards of track. But the public response was overwhelming, encouraging the society to preserve the line in order to operate trains for public benefit and to educate, stimulate and encourage interest in railway preservation. By 1988 the line had been extended northwards towards the site of what had been Oldland Halt. But the track remained unused for a number of years AVON VALLEY CALLING The Avon Valley Railway is a beautiful heritage line built on hard work, determination and public support