Land Rover Series I turns in to a TRAIN at Severn Valley Railway Steam on the Road

A 1957 Series I Land Rover has been strutting its stuff on the train line of the Severn Valley Railway this weekend, proving a Land Rover can go anywhere.

Production of the Land Rover Defender may have come to an end after almost 70 years, and although a new Defender is on the way it will never be able to replace the Series and Defender vehicles in the hearts and minds of Land Rover lovers.

So big a part of Land Rover’s history is the Defender/Series that Land Rover are archiving memories of epic journeys over its history, from Africa to Asia, Arctic to Antarctic and closer to home too.

But the adventures for the Defender/Series Land Rovers continue, and if you thought it had been everywhere it can, and done everything possible, think again.

In the spirit of ‘Go Anywhere’ that’s at the root of the Defender’s reputation, Land Rover Series I owner Mark Saville has found a way to turn his 88in Series I in to a train. 

Mark has had a set of custom-made train wheels built from cast LM25 Magnesium/Aluminium alloy, which enables this fully road-going Series I to take to railway tracks in just an hour.

He’s already had outings at the Foxfield Railway, North Yorks Moors Railway and the Bluebell Railway, and now he’s out playing at the Severn Valley Railway this year.

The outing was yesterday (12 August 2017) and looks to have been a big success, adding another railway line to Mark’s list of tracks covered in the Series I – and his driving adventures which include round Iceland three times, to the Arctic Circle in Norway, the Jura Mountains and more.

Mark says he’s now aiming to drive his Series I – nicknamed ‘Plimsoll’ – across the Forth Rail Bridge.

1957 Series I Land Rover Severn Railway Video