Difference between revisions of "Eardington"

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==Eardington in preservation==
 
==Eardington in preservation==
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It re-opened on 23 May 1970 along with Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, which formed then the limit of operations.<ref>SVR (Holdings) Ltd prospectus April 1972</ref> Eardington was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place (see below) and was sometimes referred to as Eardington Halt, as it was during early BR days. For seasons 1970-1973 all trains were advertised to call in the SVR public timetables.
+
It reopened on 23 May 1970 along with Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, which formed then the limit of operations.<ref>SVR (Holdings) Ltd prospectus April 1972</ref> Eardington was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place (see below) and was sometimes referred to as Eardington Halt, as it was during early BR days. For the seasons 1970 to 1973 inclusive all trains were advertised in the SVR public timetables to call there.
  
 
During the period of [[Sir Gerald Nabarro]]'s chairmanship plans were made for the possible rebuilding of Eardington as the northern terminus on the line. As well as installing a run-round loop (see below), detailed plans were also prepared for the station to be enlarged and a car park provided, although this was not publicised at the time.<ref name=Marshall180>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 180.</ref>
 
During the period of [[Sir Gerald Nabarro]]'s chairmanship plans were made for the possible rebuilding of Eardington as the northern terminus on the line. As well as installing a run-round loop (see below), detailed plans were also prepared for the station to be enlarged and a car park provided, although this was not publicised at the time.<ref name=Marshall180>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 180.</ref>
  
−
It became 'request only' from 2 March 1974, with the extension of services south of Hampton Loade, which continued until the end of the 1976 season. Calls were suspended because of fire risk during 1976 season.<ref>Minutes of SVR 10th Annual General Meeting</ref>  
+
It became 'request only' from 2 March 1974, the same year that services were extended to run south of Hampton Loade. The 'request' status continued until the end of the 1976 season, although calls were suspended that year because of fire risk.<ref>Minutes of SVR 10th Annual General Meeting</ref>  
  
−
For the 1977 only two round trips were advertised to call on request on Mondays to Saturdays, except Bank Holidays. The following year only one round trip was advertised to call on request, on Saturdays only. No calls were advertised during 1979 and 1980, but in 1981 and 1982 seasons all trains were again timetabled to call on request. No calls advertised from 1983 season onwards.<ref name=Marshall103>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 103.</ref>
+
For 1977 only two round trips were advertised to call on request on Mondays to Saturdays, except Bank Holidays. The following year only one round trip was advertised to call on request, on Saturdays only. No calls were advertised during 1979 and 1980, but in 1981 and 1982 seasons all trains were again timetabled to call on request. No calls were advertised from the 1983 season onwards.<ref name=Marshall103>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 103.</ref>
  
 
It was removed from regular use thereafter, variously ascribed to the platform edge becoming dangerous or due to the steep gradient, short platform, and low passenger numbers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eardington_Halt_railway_station Wikipedia]</ref>  
 
It was removed from regular use thereafter, variously ascribed to the platform edge becoming dangerous or due to the steep gradient, short platform, and low passenger numbers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eardington_Halt_railway_station Wikipedia]</ref>  
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Part of the cutting behind station collapsed January 1991.<ref>SVR News 100 pp.18 and 36, SVR News 101 p.31</ref>
 
Part of the cutting behind station collapsed January 1991.<ref>SVR News 100 pp.18 and 36, SVR News 101 p.31</ref>
  
−
Restoration by a "small group of Bridgnorth C&W volunteers" started in 1989<ref>SVR News 100 p.35, SVR News 127 p.45</ref> By summer 1990, Steve Downs was "unofficial stationmaster".<ref>SVR News 100, p.31</ref> It was gradually cosmetically restored by the Friends and occasionally opened to visitors on certain special events, albeit with trains not stopping, from the [[Step Back to the 1940s|War Weekend]] of 25/26 June 1994 onwards.<ref>SVR News 111  p.36</ref>
+
Restoration by a "small group of Bridgnorth C&W volunteers" started in 1989.<ref>SVR News 100 p.35, SVR News 127 p.45</ref> By summer 1990, Steve Downs was "unofficial stationmaster".<ref>SVR News 100, p.31</ref> It was gradually cosmetically restored by the Friends and occasionally opened to visitors on certain special events, albeit with trains not stopping, from the [[Step Back to the 1940s|War Weekend]] of 25/26 June 1994 onwards.<ref>SVR News 111  p.36</ref>
  
 
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>
 
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>

Revision as of 09:55, 20 September 2023

Eardington (June 2018)
Next stations
UpIn reference to the direction of travel means towards the major terminus (i.e. towards Kidderminster on the present day SVR) (towards Kidderminster) DownIn reference to the direction of travel means away from the major terminus (i.e. towards Bridgnorth on the present day SVR) (towards Bridgnorth)
Hampton Loade (2¼ miles)
 Bridgnorth (2¼ miles)

Eardington, sometimes referred to as "Eardington Halt", is situated on Eardington Bank and located mid-way between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade at milepost 147¾. Although the station does not currently feature in daily operations a dedicated 'Friends of Eardington Station' team under Station Master Steve Downs looks after this wayside gem.

Eardington in preservation

It reopened on 23 May 1970 along with Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, which formed then the limit of operations.[1] Eardington was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place (see below) and was sometimes referred to as Eardington Halt, as it was during early BRBritish Rail or British Railways days. For the seasons 1970 to 1973 inclusive all trains were advertised in the SVRSevern Valley Railway public timetables to call there.

During the period of Sir Gerald Nabarro's chairmanship plans were made for the possible rebuilding of Eardington as the northern terminus on the line. As well as installing a run-round loop (see below), detailed plans were also prepared for the station to be enlarged and a car park provided, although this was not publicised at the time.[2]

It became 'request only' from 2 March 1974, the same year that services were extended to run south of Hampton Loade. The 'request' status continued until the end of the 1976 season, although calls were suspended that year because of fire risk.[3]

For 1977 only two round trips were advertised to call on request on Mondays to Saturdays, except Bank Holidays. The following year only one round trip was advertised to call on request, on Saturdays only. No calls were advertised during 1979 and 1980, but in 1981 and 1982 seasons all trains were again timetabled to call on request. No calls were advertised from the 1983 season onwards.[4]

It was removed from regular use thereafter, variously ascribed to the platform edge becoming dangerous or due to the steep gradient, short platform, and low passenger numbers.[5]

Part of the cutting behind station collapsed January 1991.[6]

Restoration by a "small group of Bridgnorth C&WCarriage & Wagon volunteers" started in 1989.[7] By summer 1990, Steve Downs was "unofficial stationmaster".[8] It was gradually cosmetically restored by the Friends and occasionally opened to visitors on certain special events, albeit with trains not stopping, from the War Weekend of 25/26 June 1994 onwards.[9]

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 SVRSevern Valley Railway's Goods Gala.[10]

The platform

By 1989 platform coping at the southern end of the platform, adjacent to station building, had been removed after it collapsed. A shortened platform, 152 feet long, remained at northern end.[11] The Friends held a fundraising appeal in 2014 to replace the missing part;[12] it was reported on 27 October 2016 that sufficient funds had been raised to purchase the required replacement GWRGreat Western Railway bricks.[13]

A project commenced during the January 2018 winter shutdown involving the partial rebuilding of the platform face.[14] Some 8000 engineering bricks recovered from the London – Bristol mainline and donated by Kier Construction have been used. These have been cleaned up by the Friends of Eardington Station over a period of time and provide a genuine connection to the GWRGreat Western Railway. The rebuild was undertaken by JSR Construction who are based less than a mile away from the station, thus keeping the work local.[15][16] 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 Charitable Trust and the Guarantee Company of £6,500 each, with the remainder being raised by the Friends. The project was completed on time and on budget. [17][18] 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.

Restored for passenger use

It had long been the Friends' ambition to stop local trains at Eardington during Galas.

In 2003 it reopened for trains to call on galas and the 1940s Weekend[19], the first advertised trains since 1982.

On 17 April 2015, the 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust ran a special fundraising train, The Eardington Explorer[20]. This ran between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, calling specially at Eardington. The Fund ran a second 'Eardington Flyer' on 22 April 2016.

From 2023

By 2023 ORROffice of Rail and Road, formerly Office of Rail Regulation, the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain's railways which includes HM Railway Inspectorate had given the SVRSevern Valley Railway 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[21].

Proposed reopening

In November 2018, FCFM Group, the owners of nearby Astbury Hall, submitted plans to Shropshire Council for development of the hall and grounds as a 'holiday venue'. The Design Statement states "The applicant has agreed to assist in financing of the reopening of Eardington Station and to take a direct link between Astbury Estate and the Severn Valley Railway."[22][23] This would see around 300 high quality log cabins at the site adjacent to Eardington Station. FCFM submitted to the SVRSevern Valley Railway an outline proposal for investment such that trains could call regularly providing a link to the new development. The parties agreed to explore how public access could be provided from the estate to the station and what could be achieved while ensuring the character and feel of the station are not undermined.[24]

In February 2019, the SVRSevern Valley Railway submitted a 'Support Comment' in favour of the development to Shropshire Council.[25] In March 2019 the Shropshire Star reported that that plans had been approved.[26]

Eardington siding

A dead-end siding which is accessed by a two-lever ground frame at the south end. This is released by the Highley-Bridgnorth long section token, and was commissioned in 1976[27].

The original siding at Eardington had been removed by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in 1964 after closure of the line, but was reinstated in the early days of the SVRSevern Valley Railway. In 1973 under Sir Gerald Nabarro's chairmanship, it was converted by contractors into a run-round loop at the then not insignificant cost of £8,000. This was seen as part of the plan to abandon Bridgnorth, which led to much unrest on the SVRSevern Valley Railway at the time. In fact the connection at the north end would have been too tight for most locomotives.[2] By winter 1974-5 the loop had been converted to a siding to for PWPermanent Way 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.[28] Since that time the siding is regularly used for storing Permanent Way rolling stock.

  • Ballast wagons in Eardington siding

Points of Interest

Locomotive watering facility

A water tank for Eardington was acquired by the SVRSevern Valley Railway Society from Withymoor, Netherton (near Dudley) in the summer of 1967, and installed in time 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.[29] The decision to install the SVRSevern Valley Railway’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.

At opening in 1970, the timetable allowed a 5 minute stop southbound at Eardington for locomotive watering; passengers frequently took the opportunity to photograph the locomotive or buy pop and sweets which were sold at the station. Once watering facilities were installed at Bridgnorth, this was reduced to one minute, effectively ending this practice.

Unused for some years and heavily perforated, it was removed on 22 April 2021 using the Cowans Sheldon 30-ton steam crane.

  • The tank is removed in April 2021 (Chris Bond)

Lamps

The 'Friends' have developed a collection of vintage Tilley lamps with a railway provenance, to light the station after dark when open for galas and special occasions.[20]

TV and film

Steve Downes, the Station Master, is a member of acoustic trio 'Whalebone'. A music video of the Simon & Garfunkle classic 'The Boxer' was filmed at the station in 2011[30][31].

Eardington history before preservation

  • 1864: A siding connection to Lower Forge was proposed but never built. Upper Forge and Lower Forge were two local ironworks, located respectively west and east of the line and joined by a 750 yard long navigable canal tunnel.[4].
  • 1868: Eardington Station opened on 1 June 1868, some six years after the opening of the Severn Valley Railway[32].
  • 1893: The station platform was extended[4].
  • 1899: The ironworks closed[4].
  • 1922: GWR staff records for 1922 show the station had a staff of 2, the station master and a Gatewoman.
  • 1931: The station lost its station master, coming under the control of Highley.[33]
  • 1949: BRBritish Rail or British Railways reduced the station to unstaffed status after 1 April 1949.[32].
  • 1952: The first noted instance of the station being referred to as "Eardington Halt" in a BRBritish Rail or British Railways timetable.[33]
  • 1959: The goods loop was reduced to a siding, accessed from the south end only[32]. The station was still called "Eardington" in the 1959 BR Working Timetable.
  • 1963: The station closed when passenger traffic ceased on 9 September 1963[32].
  • 1964: The former goods loop siding was completely removed[32].


GWR Traffic statistics for Eardington, selected years prior to 1939[34]
Passenger Traffic Freight Traffic
Year Tickets issued Parcels despatched Revenue (£) Tons received & despatched Revenue (£) Total revenue (£)
1903 5,944 778 290 1,493 609 899
1913 6,690 961 311 1,704 464 775
1923 5,267 2,259 389 2,355 1,275 1,664
1933 3,361 438 150 604 217 367
1938 2,075 277 90 1,434 273 303

Former station masters

George Cooke was Station Master in c. 1910[35].

Historic maps of Eardington Station

  • Original GWRGreat Western Railway plan of the station.
  • 1884 OSOrdnance Survey map showing the position of the station in relation to the river and iron works. Unfortunately, the station lies across the join between two maps and the track detail is not very clear.
  • 1903 OSOrdnance Survey map on which the loop and headshunt can be seen more clearly. By this date, the iron works was disused.
  • 1905 GWRGreat Western Railway schematic plan of Eardingtony giving siding capacity and other details.

  • GWRGreat Western Railway plan

  • 1884

  • 1903

  • 1905

Gallery

  • Ex-GWRGreat Western Railway Pannier 3788 calls at Eardington in November 1960 (Sellick Collection)

  • A BRBritish Rail or British Railways DMUDiesel Multiple Unit at Eardington in September 1962 (Sellick Collection)

  • A similar view of Eardington, taken in March 2015

  • The station running in board

  • An old bicycle on the platform next to milepost 147¾

See also

References

  • Rail Chronology, Eardington station (Retrieved 20 September 2023). Richard Maund and Allan Brackenbury's research, an earlier version of which appeared in Railway & Canal Historical Society Railway Chronology Group Co-ordinating Newsletter no. 49, January 2007.
  1. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway (Holdings) Ltd prospectus April 1972
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Marshall (1989) p. 180.
  3. ↑ Minutes of SVRSevern Valley Railway 10th Annual General Meeting
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Marshall (1989) p. 103.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia
  6. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 100 pp.18 and 36, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 101 p.31
  7. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 100 p.35, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 127 p.45
  8. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 100, p.31
  9. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 111 p.36
  10. ↑ SVR's PR on Shropshire Live website 4 June 2018 (Retrieved 24 June 2018)
  11. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 92 p.2, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 100 p.35, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 109 p.19, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 122 p.44, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 127 p.45, SVRSevern Valley Railway News 192 p. 30
  12. ↑ SVRASevern Valley Railway Association Working Members Newsletter November 2014
  13. ↑ Eardington Station Twitter Feed, retrieved 1 November 2016
  14. ↑ 'Platform' magazine, 2018 Issue 4, p.5
  15. ↑ SVRLive 'Eardington Station' 13 January 2018
  16. ↑ 'SVRLive Winter Works 2018' 16 January 2018
  17. ↑ SVR Live February 2019
  18. ↑ Smith, R., 'Severn Valley Railway volunteers proud to unveil new platform', Shropshire Star, 1 March 2019 (Retrieved 3 March 2019)
  19. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 142, p.54/5
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 SVR Online Forum
  21. ↑ 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)
  22. ↑ Article on the proposed reopening in the Shropshire Star
  23. ↑ Planning application for Astbury Hall on Shropshire Council web site
  24. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway announcement 7 December 2018
  25. ↑ SVR Support Comment on Shropshire Council web site
  26. ↑ Astbury Hall: Plans backed to transform former KK Downing estate into luxury leisure resort Shropshire Star (retrieved 25 May 2019)
  27. ↑ Severn Valley Railway S&T Department (unofficial) website.
  28. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 34
  29. ↑ Robert Betts and Nick Neath in Unofficial SVRSevern Valley Railway Facebook post 22 April 2021
  30. ↑ Heritage Railway 6 July 2011, p. 22
  31. ↑ The Boxer, Whalebone, music video on YouTube (2011)
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 SVRSevern Valley Railway Souvenir Guide, Ninth Edition
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 201 'Eardington News' (Steve Downs)
  34. ↑ Nabarro (1971) p. 55.
  35. ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway Souvenir Guide, p.31

Links


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