Kidderminster: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:18, 1 January 2016
| Up | Down (towards Bridgnorth) |
|---|---|
| Line terminates (Connection to Network Rail) |
Bewdley (3½ miles) |
The Station[edit | edit source]
Kidderminster Town is the Southern terminus of the SVR, located within the county of Worcestershire. The railway shares a railway link at this location to the Network Rail mainline, on the Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham Snow Hill Line. The next station along the line, in the Down direction towards Bridgnorth, is Bewdley. The town of Kidderminster is famous for its Carpets, for which it was of worldwide reknown for many years.
The station is the newest of the railway's stations, having been built by the railway on the site of the old Kidderminster Comberton Hill Goods Yard, which occupied the site before the railway was preserved. The building was constructed to blend correctly to the historic nature and atmosphere of the railway, and is home to a large covered concourse, booking office, and facilities for visitors. Please see The development of Kidderminster Town Station for more details about the building of the station.
The layout of the station offers the railway a variety of running options, and is often home to frequent simultaneous train movements during the busier timetable spells. The station has two platforms for passenger use, which both offer the ability to depart towards Bewdley. These platforms are each served by their own engine runaround lines, where watering facilities for the steam locomotives are available. Both engine runaround lines also possess Dock platforms at the station building end, which are frequently used to stable the railway's inspection saloons and dining carriages for servicing and restocking between dining trains.
The station has a support group, the Friends of Kidderminster Town Station.
Facilities[edit | edit source]
Facilities for visitors at Kidderminster Station are comprehensive; Under the covered concourse is the railway's Cafe, the gift shop, and the heritage sweet shop. The "King & Castle" pub forms an integral part of the station building and serves a selection of real ales and alcoholic beverages. Also located on the site is the Kidderminster Railway Museum, and the Coalyard Miniature Railway, which offers a short ride adjacent to the Kidderminster Station platforms for a small additional fee.
The station has a large car park for those arriving by car to the railway, for which £3 a day is charged on a token barrier system. The Severn Valley Railway station at Kidderminster is located within easy walking distance of the Kidderminster mainline station, for those arriving by London Midland or Chiltern Mainline services.
Points of Interest[edit | edit source]
Station entrance[edit | edit source]
- Main Entrance Canopy. The ‘Port Cochere’ style canopy over the station entrance was the first major project undertaken by the Friends of Kidderminster Town Station. It was completed in 1996, and is based on a canopy at Kingham, Oxfordshire built in the 1880s. Link
- Ornamental Roof Crestings. The addition of the roof crestings was the Friends’ second major project. This type of cresting was produced to a standard design by the specialist foundry of McFarlain of Glasgow from about 1880, and was found on the roof towers of many GWR stations including Ross on Wye, on which Kidderminster Town is based. Fragments of the originals recovered from Ross-on-Wye were used by the SVR's pattern shop to produce patterns for casting the new roof crestings (cast in Aluminium for lightness). Link
- Bundy Time Clock. This clock, which can be seen outside the station, was used to provide a reliable method of time recording on the Birmingham Bus and Tram system. It was re-commissioned in October 2001. Link
- Horse trough. The Horse Trough situated next to the Bundy Time Clock is a casting made by the Friends, from an original trough recovered from Wolverhampton Road, Sedgely and thought to date from the early 1920s. Link
Canopy over the station entrance (Wikimedia Commons)
Roof crestings
Bundy Clock
Horse Trough
Station concourse[edit | edit source]
The main station building and concourse have a ‘seamless’ appearance, but were actually built in stages over a period of more than 20 years. The first phase, the West wing with the Station Emporium and toilets, was built in 1984. The second phase including the entrance hall and ticket office was added in 1985. The third phase was the East wing, also known as The John Garth Building. This was opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester on 18 October 2006. It mainly houses ‘The Valley Suite’, the station’s licensed restaurant and buffet and the King and Castle Pub.
The concourse roof was also added in 2006.
The concourse features the W.H. Smith & Son bookstall, now used as a sweet shop, and the replica independent tobacconists kiosk used as the Kidderminster Station Fund Shop. From time to time temporary sales stands manned by other preservation groups are also found on the concourse.
Bay Platform[edit | edit source]
Most of the buildings and structures alongside the Bay Platform are the work of the Friends of Kidderminster Town Station. Some are original and have been relocated and painstakingly restored, while others are newly built re-creations. Starting nearest the main station building, the Bay Platform includes:
- Ex-Henley in Arden Parcels Office. This typical GWR wooden building was formerly situated at Henley in Arden station. It was declared surplus to requirements by Railtrack in 2000 and transported to Kidderminster by lorry. Link
- Uffculme Building. This is a typical general purpose storage building which could be found on countless GWR stations. It is an accurate replica of one that stood on the platform at Uffculme in Devon. Much of the building was newly built but some components such as the sliding door and runners were recovered from other GWR sites. It is used by the Friends as a workshop. Link
- Ex-Shrewsbury Pagoda. The GWR introduced this style of building in the early 1900s at many of its smaller halts. A newly built example can be seen at Northwood Halt. This example was relocated from Allscott Sidings near Shrewsbury in 2001.
- Ex-Henley in Arden Lamp Hut. The former lamp hut comprises corrugated sheeting covering an angle-iron inner frame. It was recovered from Henley in Arden in 2000 along with the Parcels Office. Link
- Covered Cycle Rack. The structure was newly built by the Friends in 1997, based on an original formerly at Droitwich Spa but now removed. The GWR racks themselves came from Claverdon station on the Stratford-on-Avon line. Link
Ex-Henley in Arden Parcels Office
Uffculme Building
Ex-Shrewsbury Pagoda
Ex-Henley in Arden Lamp Hut
Cycle rack
Infrastructure[edit | edit source]
The site at Kidderminster is also home to key parts of the preservation infrastructure of the railway. The main Carriage Repair Works, aka North Star Works, is located near the Network Rail car park, and is where a considerable amount of restoration on the railway's heritage carriage fleet takes place. Visitors riding the railway towards Bewdley, after passing under the footbridge, will also notice the large railway yard on the right, which includes the Diesel Depot and the 1/5th Mile long Carriage Shed, where the SVR's working rakes of carriages are stored when not in use on the regular services.
Kidderminster is home to the SVR's largest signal box. Kidderminster is also the site of the SVR's Turntable, which is located near to the diesel depot and gives the railway valuable turning facilities for locomotives and stock.
Other attractions at Kidderminster[edit | edit source]
Kidderminster is home to the Coalyard Miniature Railway and Kidderminster Railway Museum
History before preservation[edit | edit source]
The mainline station used by the OW&W, GWR, BR and latterly Network Rail, is situated adjacent to the SVR station. Today this forms part of the Birmingham to Worcester line.
- 1852: The Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton line between Stourbridge and Evesham via Kidderminster opened with a special train on 1 May 1852, with normal services beginning 2 days later.[1]
- 1859: A second station building replaced the first building at Kidderminster.[2]
- 1863: A third station building was constructed.[3] This station building was of an unusual but attractive mock-Tudor style (see photo right), and survived until 1968 when dry rot resulted in the replacement of the original building with the current BR brick buildings.
- 1878: The 'loop line' to Bewdley opened.
- 1982: Freight traffic from Foley Park ended, and use of the Comberton Hill goods yard ceased.
Kidderminster station, 1959 (Sellick Collection)
Ex-GWR Pannier 6424 arrives with an auto train from Bewdley in 1963 (Geograph)
The current Network Rail Kidderminster Station (Geograph)
_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_118927.jpg)