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[[File:Bewdley Yard 1.jpg|thumb|300px|right|GWR lorry in Bewdley Yard]]
[[File:Southwell’s Carpet Factory Bridgnorth.jpg|thumb|300px|right|GWR horse-drawn wagons at Southwell Carpet Factory, Bridgnorth]]
As well as transporting goods station to stationbetween stations by rail, the GWR was also able to collect & deliver goods and parcels to and from local addresses via the Country Lorry Service, Cartage Service or independent carrier.
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==Cartage services==In its earliest days the GWR was principally focussed on passenger traffic, using third-party contractors and carriers (later referred to as '''cartage agents''') such as [[Thomas Bantock]] to handle its goods cartage work. Cartage agents were responsible for providing their own horse-drawn or motor vehicles and were required to describe themselves as an Agent for business purposes. They were therefore sometimes wrongly referred to as 'Goods Agents' although the latter term more correctly referred to the local manager of goods traffic on the railway itself.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] p.64.</ref> Towards the end of the 19th century the GWR began to expand its own cartage fleet, often purchasing the vehicles from the cartage agents. In 1878 the GWR acquired a number of horse-drawn vehicles from Thomas Bantock including 2 drays at Bewdley, 6 drays at Kidderminster, and two drays and a covered van at Stourport.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] pp.67-69.</ref> At the start of the 20th Century horse drawn traffic still predominated. In 1905 the GWR had just 8 goods motor vehicles in use compared with more than 3,000 horses. The earliest GWR motor vehicles were serviced and maintained by their own drivers, but by 1909 a separate GWR 'Road Motor Car Department' had been formed.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] pp 6-8.</ref> After the First World War the GWR increasingly dispensed with the services of cartage agents, using its own motor vehicles including the Country Lorry Service. ==Country Lorry Service==The GWR introduced the '''Country Lorry Service''' was introduced after the First World War. This allowed agricultural and other goods to be transported beyond the railway companies' normal collection and delivery radius, which was usually limited to urban areas and their immediate fringes.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins & Hyde (2000)]] p14.</ref> The first nine services had been established by 1925; thereafter the number increased rapidly with the earliest on the Severn Valley Branch being at Bewdley in 1927 and Bridgnorth in 1928.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] pp.79-80.</ref>
Until 1928, railway companies were only allowed to carry goods which had been, or were to be, carried by rail. The 1928 Road Act removed this restriction; thereafter railway companies began to offer "throughout road" services (ie not involving any rail transport). After that time the number of [[Station Truck]] workings for small consignments reduced, while the Country Lorry Service saw a further expansion. In 1930 there were some 160 "Tranship Sheds" operating across the GWR, where goods were transferred between wagons for onward shipment; by 1932 rationalisation of this system had reduced the number to just nine.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins & Hyde (2000)]] p16.</ref>
In 1937 the GWR collection and delivery services utilised some 2,200 motor vans and lorries, although there were still some 3,000 horse-drawn wagons and carts, and 1,600 horsesin use.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins & Hyde (2000)]] p22.</ref>. In 1938 the GWR Road Transport Department built a Repair Shop in Kidderminster Yard.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] p26.</ref> At the outbreak of World War Two the GWR had 184 Country Lorry services in operation. The other 'Big 4' railway companies had introduced similar services, reflected in posters such as that shown above. After the Second World War the GWR began to move to a 'zonal' distribution system, with Bewdley no longer having a Country Lorry service by 1946.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other References|Atkins (2019)]] p.82.</ref>
A 1938 GWR publication, 'Towns villages, outlying works etc. served by the Great Western Railway' gives a list of all such places, their distance from the local station and the method of delivery. Those on the Severn Valley Branch and Tenbury Branch are shown below. Places marked with an asterisk are within the company's free cartage boundary, with "(partly)" indicating it was not entirely within that boundary. In all other cases there would be a charge for collection or delivery in addition to the normal station to station charge.
Where a station is not listed (e.g. Hampton Loade), no collection or delivery service was available, although some smaller stations were covered by services from nearby larger stations (e.g. Linley and Eardington from Bridgnorth).
==Lorry Services and Cartage Services on the SVR==
