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→Cound Halt: better geographical description
The road originally ran between the inn and the river, but at some time before the Severn Valley Branch was built it was diverted onto its present alignment to the south of the building, after which time the former back of the house (south) became the front entrance. When the Severn Valley Branch was built, it closely followed the line of the road between Shrewsbury and Cressage, passing between the inn and the river where the road had originally been. There was no station to serve Cound, presumably due to the proximity of the nearby Berrington and Cressage stations and the relatively small populations of the nearby settlements.
By the 1930s passenger numbers on the Branch were already falling as road transport grew, and the GWR opened a number of halts in an attempt to attract more local custom. Cound Halt opened on 4 August 1934. It consisted of a simple wooden platform with a small wooden shelter, although it was electrically lit.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Mitchell & Smith (2007)]] figs. 106-108.</ref> The postcard shows a view of Cound Halt looking south east (towards Cressage and Ironbridge), with the River Seven to the left. The main road is out of sight but passes behind the Cound Lodge Inn in the background. The foot crossing at the far end of the halt led down to the river and ferry.
The nature of the unstaffed halts meant that no tickets were sold and therefore no information on passenger numbers was produced. While the new halts at Burlish, Northwood and Jackfield were reasonably close to centres of population, the case for a halt at Cound was probably the most marginal. At the entrance to the path leading from the main road to Cound Halt, a small sign read "''GWR. To Cound Halt''". Below it a larger notice advised that the Cound Lodge Inn owned the fishing rights with permits available for 2/-. It is likely that more fishermen than local inhabitants made use of the halt.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Mitchell & Smith (2007)]] fig. 107.</ref> Nevertheless it remained open until passenger services ended in 1963; the picture from the [[Sellick Collection]] above shows a DMU at the halt in that year.
