Eardington

Eardington (June 2018)

Next stations

Up (towards Kidderminster)	Down (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 feature in daily operations, it resumed use during gala events in 2023 more than 40 years since regular timetabled trains ceased. A dedicated 'Friends of Eardington Station' team under Station Master Steve Downs looks after this wayside gem.

Contents

Eardington in preservation

A working party began restoring Eardington at Whitsun 1967. During that year the platform was cleared, the station building was repainted black and white, and other repairs were carried out. Eardington was in operation during the 1967 and 1968 Steam Galas, the latter seeing locomotives watered there for the first time (see below).

The station officially reopened on 23 May 1970 along with Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, which at the time formed the limit of operations. Eardington was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place and was sometimes referred to as Eardington Halt. 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.

The station 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.

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.

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.

Part of the cutting behind the station collapsed in January 1991.

Restoration by a "small group of Bridgnorth C&W volunteers" started in 1989. By summer 1990, Steve Downs was "unofficial stationmaster". 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.

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.

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. The Friends held a fundraising appeal in 2014 to replace the missing part; it was reported on 27 October 2016 that sufficient funds had been raised to purchase the required replacement GWR bricks.

A project commenced during the January 2018 winter shutdown involving the partial rebuilding of the platform face. Some 8000 engineering bricks recovered from the London – Bristol mainline and donated by Kier Construction were cleaned up by the Friends, and provide a genuine connection to the GWR. The rebuild was undertaken by JSR Construction of Chelmarsh, thus keeping the work local. 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. 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, the first advertised trains since 1982.

On 17 April 2015, the 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust ran a special fundraising train, The Eardington Explorer. 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 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. For safety reasons, only local trains not longer than the station platform may stop there, and not during hours of darkness.

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." This would see around 300 high quality log cabins at the site adjacent to Eardington Station. FCFM submitted to the SVR 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.

In February 2019, the SVR submitted a 'Support Comment' in favour of the development to Shropshire Council. In March 2019 the Shropshire Star reported that that plans had been approved.

Eardington siding

Opposite the station platform is 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.

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. 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. 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.

The installation of the passing loop was seen as part of a plan by Sir Gerald Nabarro to abandon Bridgnorth, 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. 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. 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."

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." 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.

In early preservation items of rolling stock were stored there before being restored to use, including carriages 2701, 4399, 26880 ‎and 27270; and Regent Oil & Texaco Aviation Fuel Tank Wagon 345. Since that time the siding is regularly used for storing Permanent Way rolling stock.

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  Eardington ground frame in 2015

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  Ballast wagons in Eardington siding

Current and former points of interest

Locomotive watering facility

A water tank for Eardington was acquired by the 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. 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.

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, the water tank was removed on 22 April 2021 using the Cowans Sheldon 30-ton steam crane.

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  The tank is removed in April 2021 (Chris Bond)

Lamps

An electricity supply has never been installed. 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. 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.

In 2023 a new post and oil-lit and 'Eardington' lettered luminaire was commissioned opposite the lamp hut, to illuminate the foot crossing.

Former Bath Road turntable

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 project. This film shows the turntable's removal from Bristol and transport to Eardington.

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.

TV and film

The station was a location in a chase scene in the film Candleshoe.

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.

Model

Tunnel Lane Model Railways produced 7mm 3D printed models of the station building and lamp hut, offered for sale at the 2023 O Gauge Get Together event

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.
• 1868: Eardington Station was opened by the GWR on 1 June 1868, some six years after the opening of the Severn Valley Railway.
• 1893: The station platform was extended.
• 1899: The ironworks closed.
• 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.
• 1949: BR reduced the station to unstaffed status after 1 April 1949.
• 1952: The first noted instance of the station being referred to as "Eardington Halt" in a BR timetable.
• 1959: The goods loop was reduced to a siding, accessed from the south end only. The station was still called "Eardington" in the 1959 BR Working Timetable.
• 1963: The station closed when passenger traffic ceased on 9 September 1963.
• 1964: The former goods loop siding was completely removed.

GWR Traffic statistics for Eardington, selected years prior to 1939

	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

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.

Name	Born	From	To	Comments
John George Brecknell	1845 Abberley, Warwickshire	May 1868	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	August 1879	January 1883	Station Master
William Sherwood	15 November 1846 Bidford, Warwickshire	January 1883	January 1887	Booking Porter. Previously employed at Hartlebury on the branch, amongst other stations. Later Station Master at Hampton Loade and Berrington.
Henry Powell	1836 Ombersley, Worcestershire	January 1887	June 1887	Booking Porter. Served his entire railway career on the Severn Valley Branch, and censuses 1871 and 1881 record him as station master at Highley.
William George Cleeton	1859 Broseley, Shropshire	May 1890	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	August 1891	April 1930	Station Master
Edward Morris Casey	1874 Abergavenny	April 1930	March 1931	Station Master

Historic maps of Eardington Station

• Original GWR plan of the station.
• 1884 OS 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 OS map on which the loop and headshunt can be seen more clearly. By this date, the iron works was disused.
• 1905 GWR schematic plan of Eardington giving siding capacity and other details.

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  GWR plan

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  1884

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  1903

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  1905

Gallery

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  Ex-GWR Pannier 3788 calls at Eardington in November 1960 (Sellick Collection)

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  A BR DMU at Eardington in September 1962 (Sellick Collection)

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  A similar view of Eardington, taken in March 2015

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  The station running in board

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  An old bicycle on the platform next to milepost 147¾

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  1977 Candleshoe image filmed from the Eardington Road Bridge featuring 4566 and three of the SVR's GWR carriages

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  Ex-GWR 0-6-0PT 3612's boiler on Eardington platform, minus chimney, frames, cab roof and tanks in the yard

See also

• List of stations
• Shropshire Historic Environment Record
• Models of the Severn Valley Railway

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.
• Early Booking Porters and Station Masters at Eardington information from Chris Haynes' research of GWR records and public records.

Links

• Sharpo's World photos at Eardington, showing station building & yard area
• "To Eardington" by Sammy B Videography on YouTube
• Eardington Station SVR on Facebook
• Eardington Station on X (Twitter)