Coalport
| Towards Hartlebury and Kidderminster | Towards Shrewsbury |
|---|---|
| Linley (2½ miles) | Ironbridge (2 miles) via Jackfield Halt (from 1934) |
Coalport station was located 25 miles from Hartlebury and 15¾ miles from Shrewsbury. The station was situated on the west bank of the River Severn, effectively the south bank as the river ran almost due west to east at that point. Like nearby Ironbridge, the main settlement of Coalport was situated on the opposite bank of the river, which was crossed by a cast iron bridge dating from 1818.[1] Prior to the completion of the Severn Valley Railway, the LNWR had opened a branch line to Coalport in June 1861 with a terminus at Coalport East station which was directly opposite the station on the SVR. The LNWR provided sidings for John Rose & Co.'s famous Coalport China Works.[2] The OS Map of 1883 below shows the area including the two stations, the bridge and the Coalport China Works.
OS Map of Coalport, 1883
History[edit | edit source]
Coalport station opened on 1 February 1862 with a single platform and no passing loop. Possibly because of the goods and passenger traffic lost to the rival LNWR, Coalport was the last of the GWR stations to be 'modernised' in the late 19th century.[3] On 28 February 1894, GWR General Manager Henry Lambert proposed that the station should become a crossing place with the addition of a second platform and additional sidings for Exley & Sons' traffic at a total cost of £4,062.[4] The signal box was a GWR Type 5 brick signal box with a 31 lever frame comprising 24 working levers and 7 spares. It was situated some way south of the station. The loop was the longest on the Severn Valley Branch with a length of 1,476ft,[4] and for that reason a two-lever ground frame, locked from the signal box, worked the loop points and FPL at the north end of the station. Col. Yorke gave approval of the new works on behalf of the Board of Trade on 22 January 1896.[4]
The station building, which also served as the Stationmaster's house, was of a similar design to Arley and other stations on the branch. On 27 May 1903, approval was given for an additional bedroom for the Stationmaster's house at a cost of £84.[4]
GWR staff records for 1922 show the station had a staff of 4.[5]
The ground frame at the north end of the passing loop was removed and replaced by motorised points around 1930.[4]
| Name | Born | From | To | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Broad | 1824, Chute, Wiltshire | By 1881 | Joined Midland Railway by 1841, then West Midlands Railway in 1847. Died 1886. | |
| Daniel Merrett | 1829, Standish, Gloucestershire | November 1887 | October 1899 | Resigned. Died 1911 |
| William Charles Weyman | 1857, Berkeley, Gloucestershire | 17 October 1899 | Retired around 1923 | Salary at appointment 30/- (£1.50) per week.[6] |
| John Thomas | 1865, Buildwas | By April 1923 | Also station master at Linley 1904 | |
| Frederick Harold Jones | 1890, Burwarton, Shropshire | By July 1926 | By September 1928 | |
| Edward Parry Jones | 1884, Welshampton | By October 1928 | By April 1932 |
From 1941 Coalport came under the supervision of Ironbridge and Broseley.
During the BR era the station was renamed 'Coalport West',[7] presumably to differentiate it from the nearby ex-LNWR 'Coalport East' station (closed to passengers in 1952 and to goods in 1960).[8] The change seems to have had little impact in practice, as use of the original name "Coalport" continued in Engineer's Line References, BR Working Timetables, and on the platform running in boards.[9] The 1963 BR notice of closure of the line also referred to the station only as Coalport. However the 'Coalport West' name was used from time to time, such as on a 1957 excursion poster and in the 1960 Sectional Appendix to the Working Time Table.
1957 Easter Monday excursion poster showing 'Coalport West'
1963 closure notice showing 'Coalport'
The station closed to passengers from 9 September 1963. The signal box was closed on 2 December 1963 after through freight services ended.
The station building, waiting rooms, platforms and ticket office remain. The station building is now a private house, with Coalport Station Holidays offering holiday accommodation from 2003 onwards in two BR Mk 1 Corridor Second converted camping coaches nos W26014 (built 1962, moved to site in 2007) and W25778 (built 1961). In July 2024 it was offered for sale at a guide price of £975,000.[10]
National Cycle Route 45 passes through the station site.
Coalport passing loop operating instructions[edit | edit source]
The BR(W) Working Timetables for 1948 and 1959 include the following operating instruction specific to Coalport: When a Freight Train is standing in either of the sidings on the Up Side at Coalport, waiting for a train to pass, the Guard must divide his train to provide space for the Signalman to pass through for the purpose of exchanging train staffs with the passing train.
In 1960 the loop capacity was 27 wagons, plus engine and brake van.[11]
Traffic statistics[edit | edit source]
| Passenger Traffic | Freight Traffic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tickets issued | Parcels despatched | Revenue (£) | Tons received & despatched | Revenue (£) | Total revenue (£) |
| 1903 | 7,906 | 1,325 | 493 | 11,021 | 3,820 | 4,313 |
| 1913 | 6,622 | 1,257 | 490 | 6,823 | 1,850 | 2,340 |
| 1923 | 8,984 | 1,885 | 754 | 9,253 | 3,857 | 4,611 |
| 1933 | 5,771 | 690 | 412 | 5,950 | 2,750 | 3,162 |
| 1938 | 5,741 | 1,257 | 366 | 4,937 | 1,771 | 2,137 |
| 1942 | 7,621 | 161 | 580 | 6,132 | X | X |
| 1947 | 7,145 | 138 | 541 | 499 | X | X |
| 1952 | 4,675 | 261 | 367 | X | X | X |
X: Information not recorded
Gallery[edit | edit source]
82009 calls at Coalport on 25 July 1959
An ex-GWR prairie pulls a short northbound goods through Coalport in July 1962 (Sellick Collection)
A southbound train arrives at Coalport in August 1963 (Sellick Collection)
See also[edit | edit source]
- The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership
- Pre-1963 map
- Shropshire Historic Environment Record
- Variant spellings of SVR station names
References[edit | edit source]
- Station master information supplied by Chris Haynes
- ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007) fig. 85.
- ↑ Vanns (1998) p. 47.
- ↑ Stretton (2010) p. 95.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Marshall (1989) p. 108.
- ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007) fig. 83.
- ↑ Vanns (1998) p. 47.
- ↑ Butt (1995)
- ↑ Dawley history.com (Retrieved 8 September 2024)
- ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007) fig. 83.
- ↑ Rightmove.co.uk (Retrieved 8 September 2024)
- ↑ Sectional Appendix to the Working Time Tables and Books of Rules and Regulations, Birmingham Traffic District, October 1960
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