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Wednesday, 8 August 2007, 10:24 GMT 11:24 UK

Song in aid of flood-hit railway

Left to right: Tim Robbins, Mick South, Highway Dave, Al Cormell, Murray Eades and Chris Brown A band has written a song to help raise money to repair the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) tourist attraction after it was devastated by flooding.

Highway Dave and The Varmints, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, will donate all profits from Ride the Lion.

A train called the Stourbridge Lion was made in the area in the 19th Century.

The band said it appreciates the importance to the area of the railway. It is expected to cost at least £2.5m to fully restore the SVR.

Three-quarters of the 16-mile line has been closed since mid-June.

Damage caused by June's landslide at Severn Valley Railway

Daily steam-hauled services have continued on the unaffected southern section of the railway between Kidderminster and Bewdley, Worcestershire.

But the remaining section from Bewdley to Bridgnorth, Shropshire, has been closed.

Dave Vale, aka Highway Dave, met co-writer Mick South on their first day at grammar school in 1968.

They lost touch for 20 years before meeting up again through Friends Reunited and discovering their musical tastes had changed similarly "from Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones to country music".

The Stourbridge Lion has been credited with becoming the first locomotive to run in the United States, after engineer Horatio Allen came to the UK to order a train and chose a manufacturer in the West Midlands.

The song will be available through the band's website from 27 August.




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Related to this story:
Expert visits flood-hit railway (03 Aug 07 |  Hereford/Worcs )
Landslide threatens Severn Valley (25 Jul 07 |  Hereford/Worcs )
Steam railway flood damage shown (16 Jul 07 |  England )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Severn Valley Railway
Highway Dave and The Varmints
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