DETERMINED volunteers at a Kidderminster attraction refused to let the weekend snow derail one of the biggest events in their calendar.

Severn Valley Railway enjoyed one of the biggest ever turnouts to its Spring Steam Gala, which took place on Sunday (March 18) thanks to the dedicated efforts of the helpers.

Hundreds of volunteers at the Railway battled through the snow and ice to make sure the much-anticipated Gala could go ahead as planned.

While most of the visitor attractions in the region closed on Sunday, volunteers worked from the early hours of Sunday morning to clear platforms, defrost points and scrape icicles off engines’ wheels, determined that snow would not stop play.

And their hard work paid-off, as the event went ahead with only minor delays to services.

Nine locomotives, including six visiting engines from all across the country, were in full steam, taking passengers up and down the line throughout the weekend.

More than 1,000 visitors, one of the biggest one-day Gala totals ever, headed to the Railway on Friday to see star locomotives Tornado, Kind Edward II, Bellerophon, LNER B12 No.8572, 7F No.53808 and BR Standard 4MT No.80072 in operation alongside the SVR’s home fleet.

Lewis Maddox, the SVR’s events co-ordinator, said: “Despite the weather, we were determined not to be beaten. This was one of our biggest steam galas ever, and to cancel it and disappoint so many people would have been a huge blow.

“We’d like to say a massive thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who worked so hard to ensure the event went ahead, and also to the visitors who braved the cold to come and enjoy this fantastic event. To see the platforms and carriages bustling with smiling faces made it all worthwhile.”

SVR’s next big event will be the Open House Weekend on April 7 and 8 which will see the 1874-built Bellerophon steam in as well as model railways of all shapes and sizes on display.

The King Edward II will then visit on May Bank Holiday from May 5-7.

The railway was also boosted recently when it was crowned Worcestershire’s best visitor attraction in the What’s On Readers’ Awards.

To book tickets or to find out more, visit www.svr.co.uk or call 01562 757900.