SO7483 : 'Defiance' arrives at Highley, Severn Valley Railway
taken 8 years ago, near to Highley, Shropshire, England
The original concept for the Engine House was as a storage facility for out-of-use locomotives. However more ambitious ideas took root & the project expanded into providing a museum, education centre, & catering facility, as well as loco storage.
The building is situated on the old Landsale Yard site of Highley Colliery & because of the unstable ground conditions construction was very difficult with much piling & soil-nailing being required. Construction work began in 2006 with an opening scheduled for the summer of 2007, however the difficult ground conditions & the catastrophic storms in June & July (which caused the closure of the railway for the rest of the year) delayed work. As a result, opening to the public was delayed until Good Friday, 21 March 2008, the day which also saw the resumption of services over the full length of the line. Total cost exceeded £4.5m; funding was received from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands, & the European Union Regional Development Fund, the project qualified for this because Highley is within a former mining area.