SEVERN Valley Railway is set to turn back the clock next weekend by recreating the final British Rail train that ran the line before its closure.

It was September 8th, 1963 when the last ever British Railways trains graced the track.

Now 60 years later, the heritage line will commemorate the event with a special train to revive memories of that final trip.

Severn Valley plan to run its pannier tank No. 7714 on both Friday 8th and Saturday September 9th. The engine will carry a special headboard to mark the occasion.

On Friday, the train will depart from Kidderminster at 10am and then on Saturday, it will be on display at Kidderminster station before it works the   12-45pm departure.

When the line closed in 1963, it was served by diesel railcars, but the final departure from Bridgnorth to Birmingham Snow Hill was steam hauled.

It was followed by the last passenger service north of Bewdley, the 8-30pm Hampton Loade to Snow Hill which was formed of a three car diesel set.

At that moment,  it looked as though more than 100 years of Severn Valley railway history had shuddered to a halt.

However, less than two years later, a group of people attended a public meeting  at the Cooper's Arms  pub in Kidderminster during July 1965 where the Severn Valley Railway Society was formed.

Those pioneering preservationists started the long haul to re-open the line which is now one of the UK's leading heritage railways, welcoming up to 250,000 visitors a year.