Colas Rail DR73959 & DR73960 Arrive on the SVR | 4150, 75069 & 5-Car DMU

🚨🚂 NEW COLAS RAIL TAMPERS ARRIVE ON THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY! 🚂🚨

Two brand-new Colas Rail tampers, DR73959 and DR73960, arrive on the Severn Valley Railway from the national rail network!

In this video, we capture the two track machines arriving onto the SVR at Kidderminster, followed by shunting movements around Kidderminster before they head further along the heritage railway to Highley, where they are seen stabled.

The machines have arrived for potential crew training and further operational testing.

And there’s much more than the tampers to enjoy! We also capture GWR Large Prairie No. 4150 and BR Standard Class 4MT No. 75069 departing Kidderminster Town, plus both locomotives in service at Highley. To complete the variety, a five-car heritage DMU is running, formed of a two-car Class 108 and a three-car Class 101.

🚧 COLAS RAIL TAMPERS — DR73959 & DR73960

Our main feature follows the arrival of these brand-new track machines onto the Severn Valley Railway. Tampers are specialised railway maintenance machines used to pack and align the ballast beneath sleepers, helping maintain the track’s geometry and supporting safe, smooth running.

We begin at Kidderminster as the pair come off the mainline and enter the heritage railway. There are then opportunities to see them shunting before the machines are later captured stabled at Highley.

It’s a striking contrast to the SVR’s historic rolling stock.

💚 GWR LARGE PRAIRIE NO. 4150

Built at Swindon Works in 1947, No. 4150 is a member of the Great Western Railway’s 5101 Class, commonly known as the Large Prairies. These 2-6-2 tank engines handled suburban passenger services and freight duties.

4150 entered service in June 1947 and was initially allocated to Stourbridge. From 1953 it moved between several West Country depots, including Newton Abbot, where it worked local trains towards Paignton and Kingswear and helped bank freight over the demanding Dainton and Rattery inclines.

Its final British Railways duties included banking trains near the Severn Tunnel before withdrawal in 1965. Rescued from Barry Scrapyard in 1973, the locomotive eventually arrived at Bewdley on the SVR in January 1978, beginning a long journey back towards working order.

Watch 4150 departing Kidderminster Town and later working a service through Highley — a wonderful sight for fans of Great Western steam!

🚂 BR STANDARD CLASS 4MT NO. 75069

No. 75069 is a BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0, designed under Robert Riddles and built at Swindon in 1955. Intended for mixed-traffic work, it was equipped with a larger BR1B tender for service on the Southern Region, where additional coal and water capacity was particularly useful.

The locomotive began its career at Dover Marine and later worked from depots including Bournemouth, Stewarts Lane, Nine Elms and Eastleigh. Withdrawn in 1966 after just over a decade in traffic, it was sent to Barry Scrapyard.

The 75069 Fund rescued the engine in 1973, and after a lengthy restoration it returned to steam in time for the SVR’s September 1984 Enthusiasts Weekend. It went on to work regularly on the railway and also appeared on mainline charter services.

Following withdrawal in 1994, a major overhaul began in 2013 and was completed in 2018. That project cost more than £900,000 and involved around 25,000 hours of work by staff and volunteers.

In this video, we see 75069 departing Kidderminster Town and arriving at Highley with a service towards Bridgnorth.

🚃 FIVE-CAR HERITAGE DMU

There’s diesel action too, with an impressive five-car first-generation DMU formation seen at Highley!

The train combines a two-car BR Class 108 with a three-car BR Class 101, bringing together two familiar designs from the British Railways diesel era.

These units recall the transition from steam to diesel on local passenger services.

🎥 WHAT’S FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO?

🚨 DR73959 and DR73960 arriving from the mainline

🚧 Colas Rail tampers shunting at Kidderminster

🚧 Both new machines stabled at Highley

💚 GWR Large Prairie 4150 departing Kidderminster Town

🚂 BR Standard 4MT 75069 departing Kidderminster Town

🚂 4150 and 75069 working services at Highley

🚃 Five-car DMU: two-car Class 108 + three-car Class 101

From modern track maintenance technology to the unmistakable sights and sounds of steam and classic diesel traction, this visit offers a brilliant cross-section of railway activity on the Severn Valley Railway.

🔊 Turn up the volume and enjoy the action!

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💬 Which was your favourite — the new tampers, 4150, 75069 or the five-car DMU? Let us know in the comments!

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Thanks for watching!

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