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[[File:Cressage station former geograph-31162345153-by1963-Ben03-Brooksbank02.jpg |thumb|200px300px|right| Former Ex-GWR 5153 passes Cressage station, 1983 Ben Brooksbank via Wikimedia Commonswith an up goods in March 1963 ([[Sellick Collection]])]]'''Cressage ''' was a station on the original Severn Valley line, 32 &frac12; miles 24 chains from [[Hartlebury]]and 8&frac14; miles from Shrewsbury. When The village it served, which derived its name from "Christsache" (from the line opened in 1862 it had a single platform and a sidingSaxon "ache" for oak), but by 1893/94 it had acquired an additional platform with a passing loop and signal boxpopulation of approximately 350 in 1861.<refname=Vanns>Severn Valley Railway, A View From the Past, M A [[Bibliography#Books|Vanns (1998)]] p. 28.</ref><ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Mitchell & Smith (2007)]] fig. XIX. </ref>

{| class="wikitable"|+Next stations pre-closure|-! Towards [[Hartlebury]] and [[Kidderminster]] !! Towards [[Shrewsbury]]|-| [[Buildwas]] (4 miles)|| [[Berrington]] (4 miles)<br>via [[Cound Halt]] (from 1934)|- |} ==Opening==When the line opened on 1 February 1862, Cressage had a single platform and a siding. As at neighbouring [[Berrington]], the station building and platform were located on the east of the line, the side furthest from the centre of population.<ref name=Vanns/> On 14 June 1893 the GWR authorised the construction of a second platform with a passing loop and signal box. The signal box was equipped with a 23-lever frame and a gate wheel to operate the four level crossing gates, while a two-lever ground frame, locked from the signal box, worked the loop points at the north end of the station. The second platform, which became the Down platform, had a small ‘waiting shed’. The Up platform was also extended, the total cost of these works being £671. They were brought into use on 14 July 1894 after being approved by the Board of Trade inspector Major Yorke.<ref name=Marshall>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 111.</ref>  The station master’s house was provided with an extra bedroom in 1901.<ref name = Vanns/><ref name=Marshall/> In the 1920s and 1930s the station had a staff of three.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Mitchell & Smith (2007)]] fig. 102.</ref> ==Traffic statistics=={| class="wikitable"|+ [[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership#Traffic statistics|GWR Traffic statistics]] for Cressage, selected years prior to 1939<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Nabarro (1971)]] p. 56.</ref>|-! !! colspan="3" | Passenger Traffic !! colspan="2" | Freight Traffic !! |-! Year !! Tickets issued !! Parcels despatched !! Revenue (&pound;) !! Tons received &amp; despatched !! Revenue (&pound;) !! Total revenue (&pound;)|-|1903||style="text-align:right"|13,514||style="text-align:right"|2,692||style="text-align:right"|979|style="text-align:right"|5,768||style="text-align:right"|1,329||style="text-align:right"|2,308|-|1913||style="text-align:right"|14,353||style="text-align:right"|4,109||style="text-align:right"|1,064|style="text-align:right"|5,305||style="text-align:right"|1,449||style="text-align:right"|2,513|-|1923||style="text-align:right"|12,558||style="text-align:right"|11,119||style="text-align:right"|1,871|style="text-align:right"|4,020||style="text-align:right"|1,852||style="text-align:right"|3,723|-|1933||style="text-align:right"|5,852||style="text-align:right"|3,985||style="text-align:right"|736|style="text-align:right"|3,225||style="text-align:right"|1,081||style="text-align:right"|1,817|-|1938||style="text-align:right"|5,161||style="text-align:right"|2,024||style="text-align:right"|447|style="text-align:right"|2,399||style="text-align:right"|1,023||style="text-align:right"|1,470|-|} ==Closure==[[File:Cressage station former geograph-3116234-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg |thumb|300px|right| Former Cressage station, 1983 (Ben Brooksbank via Wikimedia Commons)]]The station closed on 9 September 1963, when passenger services between [[Bewdley]] and Shrewsbury were suspendedwithdrawn by BR. Through freight services continued until 30 November of that year, after which the signal box was taken out of use on 2 December 1963. Despite the end of all services, the line between Shrewsbury and Buildwas, including Cressage, was maintained in working order for the move of boilers and other large equipment to Ironbridge Power Station which took place on 22 April 1966. The line between [[Berrington]] and [[Buildwas]] was then completely closed and the track lifted.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Magner (1997)]] p. 35.</ref> The former station master’s house is now a private residence. ==Historic maps of Cressage station==*1883 OS map showing the original single platform*1902 OS map showing the second platform and passing loop <gallery>File: OS_Cressage_1883.jpg | 1883File: OS_Cressage_1902.jpg | 1902</gallery> ==See also==*[[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership#FormerStations | The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership]]*[[List of signal boxes#List of historical Signal Boxes and Ground Frames|List of historical Signal Boxes and Ground Frames]]*[[Maps#Map 1 - Shrewsbury to Hartlebury | Pre-1965 Map]]*[[Shropshire Historic Environment Record]]

==See also==[[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership#FormerStations | The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownershipCategory:Featured articles]]