The Severn Valley Railway has announced the first of its VIP guests for its Autumn Steam Gala - LMS 6233 Duchess of Sutherland will join the lineup for this event, which takes place between 16th and 19th September.

The locomotive is owned by the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, and was built in 1938 to a design by William Stanier. It last visited the Severn Valley Railway in 2018. General manager, Helen Smith said:

“We’re delighted to be welcoming this very special engine to the Railway. It’s certainly going to stand out from the crowd with its striking ‘crimson lake’ livery, and we think it will prove to be a real crowd pleaser.

“We’ll be running the Gala in a similar way to our Spring Steam Up earlier this year, with four train sets in service, each one running three round trips. Passengers will remain with their booked train, and the locos will switch between sets, so that everyone gets the chance to be hauled by every single locomotive at the event.”

Many much-loved locos from the SVR home-based fleet will be in service, including 813, 34027 ‘Taw Valley’ and 75069. The railway is also bringing back its ever-popular overnight services, which will be hauled by GWR 2857, the engine which played a starring role in the Hollywood movie Enola Holmes.

The event also sees the introduction of premium experiences. The Autumn Steam Gala VIP Package, priced at £195, includes travel in the brake van of the heritage goods train on a full-line return trip, exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of Kidderminster carriage works, Bridgnorth signal box and Bridgnorth locomotive works, further train travel, a goody bag and breakfast, lunch and dinner on the railway thrown in too!

The SVR expects to announce the second of its VIP guest locomotives soon. Tickets for the Autumn Steam Gala are available at svr.co.uk.