Changes

On 2-3 June 2018 it staged "'''Eardington 150'''" to mark its 150th birthday. The station was open to the public on both days with various special attractions (trains did not stop). The event coincided with the SVR's Goods Gala.<ref>[https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/attractions/2018/06/04/restored-shropshire-railway-station-celebrates-150-years---with-video-and-pictures/ SVR's PR on Shropshire Live website 4 June 2018] (Retrieved 24 June 2018)</ref>.

A project commenced during the January 2018 winter shutdown involving the partial rebuilding of the platform face.<ref>[https://svrtrust.org.uk/downloads/Platform%202018%20web%20version-1.pdf 'Platform' magazine, 2018 Issue 4, p.5]</ref> Some 8000 engineering bricks recovered from the London – Bristol mainline and donated by Kier Construction have been used. These have been were cleaned up by the Friends of Eardington Station over a period of time , and provide a genuine connection to the GWR. The rebuild was undertaken by JSR Construction who are based less than a mile away from the stationof Chelmarsh, thus keeping the work local.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/eardington-station SVRLive 'Eardington Station' 13 January 2018]</ref><ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/winter-works-2018 'SVRLive Winter Works 2018' 16 January 2018]</ref> Work was completed on 31 January 2019, giving the station a full length working platform of 300' - roughly 5 coaches - for the first time since 1984. The £41,000 project was aided by donations from the [[Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd| Charitable Trust]] and [[Severn Valley Railway Company Limited| the Guarantee Company]] of £6,500 each, with the remainder being raised by the Friends. The project was completed on time and on budget. <ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/eardington-station SVR Live February 2019]</ref><ref>[https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/bridgnorth-entertainment/2019/03/01/volunteers-on-severn-valley-railway-proud-to-unveil-new-platform/ Smith, R., 'Severn Valley Railway volunteers proud to unveil new platform', Shropshire Star, 1 March 2019] (Retrieved 3 March 2019)</ref> The rebuilt platform, which incidentally is longer than those at [[Highley]], Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth’s platform 2, can be seen in the main photograph taken during the 2018 Goods Gala. It greatly improved the appearance of the station and progressed its potential use on future gala events.

By 2023 ORR had given the SVR permission in principle to stop trains there during Galas. The Railway put in place the paperwork and procedures to enable this, as it had not been operational for many years, for the [[Autumn Steam Gala]].<ref>[https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/vulcan-joins-svr-gala-line-up-and-eardington-welcomes-first-arrivals-in-41-years/ Longhorn, Danny, ' 'Vulcan' joins SVR Gala line-up, and Eardington welcomes first arrivals in 41 years', Rail Business Daily, 21 July 2023] (Retrieved 25 July 2023)</ref> For safety reasons, only local trains consisting of a few carriages are able to not longer than the station platform may stopthere, because and not during hours of the short station platformdarkness.

The original siding at Eardington had been removed by BR in 1964 after closure of the line, but was reinstated in the early days of the SVR. In summer 1972 under Sir Gerald Nabarro's chairmanship, contractors began work to convert the siding into a passing loop at the then not insignificant cost of £8,000.<ref group="note">£8,000 in 1972 equates to around £135,000 in 2023. For context, the whole section of the railway between Bridgnorth and Alveley had cost only £25,000 just two years earlier.</ref> The loop was intended to accommodate a locomotive and 10 coaches, with a new concrete block-faced platform being built incorporating the cattle dock at the south end. A small signal box on the site of the cattle dock was to be added later. These works would have occupied most of the then car park area, so the small field above the station building was partially levelledto form a new car park which would have been accessed from the road at the north end.<ref name=SVR25/> Later that year, during preparation for commissioning the signalling between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, an extra token machine was installed in [[Bridgnorth signal box]] to cater for the Eardington loop.<ref>SVR News 26, ''Signal & Telecommunications Department Notes''</ref>

The installation of the passing loop was seen as part of a plan by [[Sir Gerald Nabarro ]] to abandon Bridgnorth,<ref group="note">Although officially described as a passing loop, discontented members believed it was actually intended as a run round loop at what would become the northern terminus following the closure of Bridgnorth.</ref> which led to much unrest on the SVR at the time. In fact the connection at the north end would have been too tight for most locomotives.<ref name=Marshall180/> However by May 1973 Sir Gerald Nabarro had stepped down from the SVR(H) and Guarantee Company Boards. An EGM was held that month to consider the impact of the proposed [[Bridgnorth Bypass Bridge|Bridgnorth bypass]]. [[Richard Dunn]] advised shareholders and members via SVR News that "''I have no reason to reverse my opinion of 1968 that Eardington was not a suitable permanent terminus to the line, owing to the difficulties of road access and inadequate parking space.''"<ref>SVR News 27, ''The Proposed Bridgnorth By-pass'', R.H. Dunn</ref> In early 1974 the Board reported that "''The circumstances under which Eardington loop was planned have so altered that it is unlikely to be needed. It is proposed to convert it to a siding, controlled from a ground frame at the south points, with the proposed platform area levelled off to form a loading bank and car park''."<ref>SVR News 31, ''Boardroom Notes'', David Mellor</ref> By winter 1974-5 the loop had been converted to a siding to for PW use. The two points at the north end which formed a crossover were both removed; the former point in the main line was reused at [[Arley]] while the point from the loop was taken to Bridgnorth for use in the loco yard. The single-bladed trap at the south end was not considered suitable for a siding opening onto a passenger carrying line, so was replaced by a double-bladed trap.<ref>SVR News 34</ref>  In early preservation items of rolling stock were stored there before being restored to use, including carriages [[GNR 2701 Composite Corridor | 2701]], [[BR 4399 Tourist Standard Open |4399]], [[LMS Brake Third Corridor 26880 | 26880]] ‎and [[LMS 27270 Third Open |27270]]; and [[Regent Oil & Texaco 345 Aviation Fuel Tank Wagon | Regent Oil & Texaco Aviation Fuel Tank Wagon 345]]. Since that time the siding is regularly used for storing Permanent Way rolling stock.

A water tank for Eardington was acquired by the SVR [[Severn Valley Railway Society ]] from Withymoor, Netherton (near Dudley) in the summer of 1967 and transported to Eardington. It was installed in time to be used for the 1968 Steam Gala. It was assisted in part by school parties from the The Royal School Wolverhampton under its history teacher, Brian Kingshott.<ref>Robert Betts and Nick Neath in Unofficial SVR Facebook post 22 April 2021</ref> The decision to install the SVR’s first proper watering facility at Eardington rather than Bridgnorth was due to Eardington having naturally soft water compared with very hard water at Bridgnorth.

An electricity supply has never been installed. The 'Friends' have developed a collection of vintage [http://tilleylamp.co.uk/ Tilley lamps] with a railway provenance, to light the station after dark when open for galas and special occasions.<ref name="SVROnlineForum"/> Eardington is the only remaining station in the UK that is lit entirely by oil lamps. The permission granted in 2023 by the ORR is conditional upon trains not stopping after darkness. In March 2021 the SVR’s YouTube channel included a video ''Eardington’s hidden gem – lighting the way for heritage rail on the Severn Valley Railway'' featuring volunteer lampman Phil Harris. <youtube>bxMR0_dpuWk</youtube> In 2023 a new post and oil-lit and 'Eardington' lettered luminaire was commissioned opposite the lamp hut, to illuminate the foot crossing<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=688938810003841&set=a.429830885914636 Eardington SVR Facebook post 14 December 2023]</ref>.

An electrically powered Ransom Rapier 65'3" standard-pattern over-girder turntable, originally from Bristol (Bath Road) depot, is stored at Eardington. It is intended for the [[Bridgnorth Turntable|Bridgnorth turntable project]]. This film shows the turntable's removal from Bristol and transport to Eardington.  <youtube>3Hnh0LJC_Qc</youtube> ===Pannier Tank boiler===For some years from the winter of 1978-79 a GWR Collett 5700 class 0-6-0PT boiler was stored on the platform. This came from [[GWR Pannier 3612]], which was dismantled at the station<ref>SVR News 50.</ref>.

===Former Early Booking Porters and Station Masters at Eardington===The first description of ‘Station Master’ in GWR records is in 1879. It seems likely that where no station master is shown, then the booking porter supervised the station masters. {| class="wikitable |-!Name!!Born !! data-sort-type="date" | From !! data-sort-type="date" | To !! Comments|-| John George Cooke was Brecknell ||1845 Abberley, Warwickshire || data-sort-value="20/5/1868" | May 1868||data-sort-value="4/8/1879" | August 1879|| Booking porter when the station opened in 1868 and may have supervised the station, the census of 1871 describing him as Station Master. Previously employed at Bridgnorth.|-|Stephen Floyd||1852 Tackley, Oxfordshire|| data-sort-value="4/8/1879" | August 1879||data-sort-value="1/8/1883" | January 1883||Station Master|-|William Sherwood||15 November 1846 Bidford, Warwickshire|| data-sort-value="1/1/1883" | January 1883||data-sort-value="1/1/1887" | January 1887||Booking Porter. Previously employed at [[Hartlebury]] on the branch, amongst other stations. Later Station Master in cat [[Hampton Loade]] and [[Berrington]].|-|Henry Powell||1836 Ombersley, Worcestershire|| data-sort-value="1/1/1887" | January 1887|| data-sort-value="1/6/1887" | June 1887|| Booking Porter. 1910<ref>SVR Souvenir GuideServed his entire railway career on the Severn Valley Branch, pand censuses 1871 and 1881 record him as station master at Highley.31<|-|William George Cleeton||1859 Broseley, Shropshire|| data-sort-value="5/5/ref>1890" | May 1890||data-sort-value="24/8/1891" |August 1891||Booking Porter, then Station Inspector, Census of 1891 records Station Master.Employed at [[Coalport]], [[Buildwas]] and Bridgnorth before Eardington, and later Station Master at Hampton Loade and Berrington.|-|George Walter Cooke||1865 Eardington, Shropshire|| data-sort-value="24/8/1891" | August 1891||data-sort-value="1/4/1930" | April 1930|| Station Master|-|Edward Morris Casey||1874 Abergavenny|| data-sort-value="1/4/1930" | April 1930||data-sort-value="1/3/1931" | March 1931|| Station Master|-|}

* 1905 GWR schematic plan of Eardingtony Eardington giving siding capacity and other details.