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Eardington

851 bytes added, 23 April
additional info and history
Opposite the station platform is a dead-end siding which is accessed by a two-lever [[Eardington ground frame | ground frame]] at the south end. This is released by the [[Highley signal box|Highley]]-[[Bridgnorth signal box|Bridgnorth]] long section token, and was commissioned in 1976.<ref>[http://svrsig.co.uk/svr/Frame8.htm Severn Valley Railway S&T Department (unofficial) website.]</ref>
The original siding at Eardington, which pre-dated the opening of the station itself, <ref group="note">The 1867 service timetable refers to trains stopping at Eardington Siding. No detailed OS map appears to exist showing the layout of the station area between the opening of the line in 1862 and the station itself in 1868. It is therefore not totally clear whether there was a separate goods loop/siding from opening, or whether trains simply stopped on the running line. The siding was certainly present after that time, although the Ground Frames appear to date to 1893 when the name plates were cast; presumably the siding was accessed by simple points levers prior to that time.</ref> 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 levelled to 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 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>
===Ground Frame hut===
Access to the original siding was by two ground frames installed in 1893. <ref group="note">Steve Downs' notes include the information that the name plates for Eardington North Ground Frame and Eardington South Ground Frame were cast on 28 August 1893; the installation date was presumably shortly after that time.</ref> The South Frame remained in use until closure and was enclosed in a hut, similar to a small signal box, with windows on three sides to improve sighting. The hut was later acquired by the Preservation Company at the fledgling Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway and erected at Castle Caereinon station as a passenger shelter. After that use ended, the W&LLR made contact to ask if Eardington would like it returned. The hut was inspected on 11 March 2010 and subsequently dismantled and transported to Eardington where it awaits re-erection<ref name=Miscellany>''"Eardington Station – A Miscellany." Text and Photos – Steve Downs.'' Information on public display at Eardington, April 2024</ref>.
===Locomotive watering facility===
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