There looks like there will be plenty to enjoy at Avon Valley Railway over the weekend of Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August as it celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the line between Mangotsfield and Bath on August 4th 1869.
As part of the celebrations, the family-friendly station will have a ‘History Marquee’ which will showcase many of the industries that have played a part in the local area throughout the years.
There will also be model railway layouts, including ‘St Philips’ from Thornbury & South Gloucestershire Model Railway Club, ‘Mangotsfield’ courtesy of David Bradley and the magnificent ‘Bath Green Park’ courtesy of Taunton Model Railway Group. This is a great opportunity to see these layouts together, showing the three main points of the former Midland Railway between Bristol and Bath.
In addition, there will be a vintage vehicle display, shire horses, morris dancers (Saturday only), live music, a shuttle bus to Warmley Signal Box which will be open for viewing and the recently restored Fry’s Sentinel will be giving brake van rides at Avon Riverside. There will also be two ‘Sentinel Specials’ each day, priced at £10, which give passengers the only opportunity to ride behind the Fry’s Sentinel within sight of the former Fry’s Chocolate Factory in Keynsham. Tickets for these will be available online and on the day, with numbers limited to 15 per trip, either from Bitton to Avon Riverside in the morning, or the return trip in the evening.
An intensive timetable will also be operating over the weekend, utilising a home fleet of locomotives: Hunslet Austerity WD132 ‘Sapper’; Fablok Tkh49 No 4015 ‘Karel’; British Rail Class 31 No 31101; the heritage DMU; and Fry’s Sentinel No 7492.
Tickets are priced at £12 Adult, £11 Concession, £10 Child and £25 Family. Site entry only tickets will also be available at £5 per person.