This morning, the world’s most famous locomotive 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ hauled the first passenger service across the Severn Valley Railway’s repaired Mor Brook bridge. It marked the reunification of the heritage railway line for the first time this season.

The service departed Kidderminster Town station at 9am, carrying 350 passengers along 16.5 miles of scenic Worcestershire and Shropshire countryside, arriving to a triumphant welcome in Bridgnorth station moments after 10am.

A short ceremony took place at Bridgnorth, at which managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster paid tribute to the many people who’d worked so hard to complete the repair of the embankment at Mor Brook bridge, and those who’d donated to help the SVR pay for costs that weren’t covered by its insurance.

The SVR’s northern terminus at Bridgnorth has been cut off from the rest of the line since the landslip and embankment collapse happened at the end of January, and volunteers at the station are delighted to be once again connected to the rest of the line.

‘Flying Scotsman’ hauled three round trips on the SVR’s reopening day, and will take part in the railway’s Swinging Sixties event this weekend, 26 and 27 July, hauling a further three return journeys each day. On Monday 28, it will head up its final three return trips on its last day of service at the SVR.

All tickets to travel behind ‘Flying Scotsman’ are sold out, but tickets for the Swinging Sixties event are still available at svr.co.uk, and visitors will get plenty of opportunities to see the iconic locomotive during the event.