The Severn Valley Railway has announced the theme for their Autumn Diesel Bash, to round off our season celebrating 50 years of Diesel Preservation.

Seven former Western Region diesel-hydraulics are set to be leading locomotives at the now four-day event as the SVR aims to host the largest gathering of operational preserved Westerns, Warships and Hymeks seen in preservation.

D821 Greyhound, D1015 Western Champion and D1062 Western Courier will operate alongside a selection of visiting locomotives whilst D1013 Western Ranger will be on display from September 28^th – October 1^st.

Hymek D7029 will join D1013 on display, as it undergoes restoration.

Further ‘Diesel Bash-themed’ events will take place around the event – including photo shoots and excursion days– will be announced in due course.

The Severn Valley Railway are working with a number of other preservation groups to make this unique event possible.

The announcement comes after a hugely successful Spring Diesel Festival that saw over 7,000 passengers, witnessing a historic line-up of 22 locomotives in service across all classes and eras.

Gus Dunster, managing director of the Severn Valley Railway, said; “After a huge Spring Diesel Festival, we knew we had to deliver an autumn event that wrapped up our ‘five decades of diesel preservation’ celebrations in style.

“We know that demand is there for our Gala events and we’ve extended the event to four days to meet that demand.

“Again, we are planning to deliver an event in the true style of the Severn Valley Railway; we hope passengers will flock to join us to see out the diesel calendar for this historic occasion.”

Acknowledging the success of the SVR Spring Diesel event which has inspired the team to be equally ambitious for the Autumn, Gus also highlighted the importance of the SVR’s £1.5 million Survival Fund appeal, which it launched earlier this year:

“The success of both this event and our Spring Steam Gala in April show the prominence of the SVR within the heritage rail sector, and how important it is that we can continue to put on events like these.

“Our Survival Fund appeal is going to be crucial in ensuring that happens. We’ve received thousands of donations, and we’re hugely grateful for every one of them. But we need thousands more in order to reach our target of £1.5 million.

“This fundraising, along with further successful events and meticulous management of costs, will be what makes the difference to the SVR’s survival.”

Theming for the Autumn Diesel Bash has be confirmed hot on the heels of another piece of huge Gala news, with LNER Thompson-designed Class B1 61306 ‘Mayflower’ named as the first Autumn Steam Gala guest.

More information and tickets can be purchased at SVR.CO.UK. Information about the Severn Valley Railway’s Survival Fund can be found at SVR.CO.UK/survival