Book excerpt: "Handbook to the Severn Valley Railway: Illustrative and Descriptive of Places along the Line from Worcester to Shrewsbury" by John Randall The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England, named after the company that originally built the railway over which it now operates. Though often under-appreciated, this railway was vital to the communication and continued functions of life in England. Randall aimed to commemorate the beauty and authority of this railway by putting into words how essential it was to survival.