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Highley station has is the only station on the SVR with one platform and (the other stops with single platforms being request halts). It also has a yard containing two sidings, controlled by [[Highley signal box]]. The yard is not signalled for through moves or passenger trains, but can be used to pass non-passenger trains with another train in the platform. The station building is constructed to the same standard as others on the line, but of stone rather than brick. ==Facilities==The station has a small kiosk serving snacks and hot and cold drinks. There is also a [[The Highley Station Fund shop | station fund second hand bookshop]] in the [[GWR 542 Horse Box (body only) | the grounded body of GWR Horse Box 542]] on the platform. A picnic area is located next to the signal box, opposite the platform.
[[The Engine House | The Engine House]] is situated approximately 200 yards from Highley Station.<br>
==Highley history before preservation==*1862: Highley station opened with the rest of the Severn Valley Line on 1 February, with only one platform and no facility for crossing trains. At the time the population of Highley village was only 407.*1869: The GWR approved the installation of a cattle dock.*1870s: [[Collieries served by the Severn Valley Railway#Highley Colliery | Highley Colliery]] came into production. This resulted in a growth of both passenger and goods traffic at Highley.*1882-1883: Approval was given for the platform to be extended and additional sidings installed, resulting in the present layout. A new signal box and interlocking was installed; the Board of Trade approved these works in June 1883. Evidence of the platform extension can be seen as a change in the platform face and surface between the [[httpThe Highley Station Fund shop | Highley Station Fund shop]] and the end of the platform.*1908: The General Manager recommended that additional sidings and a passing loop should be provided. In the event the work was not undertaken, as a result of which it was never possible to pass passenger trains at Highley.*1912-1915://wwwApproval was given for construction of a footbridge, which was a steel lattice-girder structure of two spans. The bridge was reluctantly deemed beyond economic repair and demolished by the SVR in 1974. It was situated in the same location as the [[Highley Station Footbridge | current footbridge]] which dates from 2009.*1921: The population of Highley had reached 1,985, with at least 500 employed at the colliery. Over the following years passenger numbers remained high while beginning to fall elsewhere on the line; during the 1930s Highley averaged 20,000 ticket sales per year which exceeded both Stourport and Bridgnorth.*1963: Through passenger services ceased on 9 September, with through freight services ending at the end of November.sharpos ==Points of interest=====Opening in preservation===The SVR first ran trains from Bridgnorth via Hampton Loade to Highley on the [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-world1979 #1974 | April 1974]] Easter weekend.co The first passenger service was the 09:30 from [[Bridgnorth]] with [[Railcar 22|GWR Railcar 22]], followed by the 12:45 steam service hauled by [[LMR 600 Gordon|No 600 Gordon]]. The weekend saw 16,000 passenger journeys. For the next month, Highley was the southern terminus of the SVR while repair work to the [[Underbridge on Station Road, Highley | underbridge]] south of the station was completed.uk/cpg/thumbnailsIn Mid-May 1974, through services to Arley and Bewdley began.php?album ===The line north of Highley===317 Photos Highley platform is on a curve of 18 chains radius. Leaving the station northwards towards Bridgnorth, the line rises at a gradient of 1 in 100, passing successively through a left hand curve of 20 chains radius, another left hand curve of 17 chains radius ( the sharpest curve on the whole line), and a right hand curve of 18 chains radius. This combination of curves and gradient can make departures from Highleyawkward for drivers, especially with slippery rail conditions. The original route of the line was planned to be more direct. However during construction in 1859, unstable ground resulted in a major land slip, showing requiring the deviation still seen today. ===Water tower===The water tower was installed by the SVR and first used in June 1981. It came from the ex-LNWR station buildingsat Whitchurch in Shropshire. ===Cattle dock===The cattle dock is situated in the original 1869 location, signalbox etchowever the wooden structure is an SVR re-construction. The cattle dock was temporarily removed during the repair work following the [[2007_Storm_Damage | 2007 storm damage]]. The photograph below shows the view in 2005, two years before the storm damage. The cattle dock and water tower can both be seen; construction of The Engine House had not yet begun. Also notable is the absence of lineside fencing. <gallery>File: Highley station 2005, looking south - geograph.org.uk - 804842.jpg | Highley station 2005, looking south (Wikimedia Commons)</gallery> ===Awards===When first taken over by the SVR, Highley Station was builtin a very dilapidated condition. The standard of restoration has won a number of awards, including the ‘Best Preserved Station’ award in 1982. Plaques commemorating these awards can be seen in the waiting room.<gallery>File:The waiting room at Highley Station - geograph.org.uk - 1454335.jpg | Waiting room (Wikimedia Commons)</gallery> ==References==[[Bibliography | Marshall (1989), p99-100]]<br>[[Bibliography | Vanns (1998), p62]]
== Gallery ==
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[http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=317 Sharpo's World photos at Highley, showing station buildings, signalbox etc. before the Engine House was built]
== See Also ==