Pop music mogul Pete Waterman, who launched the singing careers of stars like Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley, went back to his roots at a historic Shropshire railway’s autumn steam gala.

The impresario, who was part of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman trio whose acts dominated the pop charts in the late 1980s, was at the Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth to hitch a ride on the footplate of a steam locomotive travelling to and from Kidderminster on Saturday.

The record producer was able to relive his days as a young fireman at the old British Rail Stafford Road engine shed in Wolverhampton.

It was this work which inspired his interest in steam trains and his 30-year interest in the Severn Valley.

He was at the Severn Valley Railway event to sign copies of his new book Just Like The Real Thing.

Enthusiasts

The gala, which attracted over 10,000 steam enthusiasts to the line that runs between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, ran throughout the weekend.

A spokesman for SVR said the gala had been busy.

He said: “The intensity of trains during the three days – detailed in an amazing 56-page working timetable – made the SVR seem more like Crewe in the 1950s than a rural heritage railway in 2009.

“With four visiting steam locomotives from other railways joining the resident fleet, the event was made possible only by the commitment of hundreds of working members volunteering their time as engine drivers, firemen and cleaners, station and booking office staff, signalmen, guards, ticket inspectors, roster clerks – and a multitude of other ‘unseen’ backroom tasks,” he added.

The railway also launched its latest carriage restoration – a £75,000 refurbishment of a 1934-built first class dining car, which has been painstakingly restored by volunteers over the last 10 years.

It will become part of a new luxury first class service that is scheduled to come into operation next year.