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'''Linley Station ''' was located 22½ miles from Hartlebury and 18¼ miles from Shrewsbury. It was the first station north of [[Bridgnorth]], and had a single platform with no passing loop.
==Construction and history==
[[File:Apley_Hall_20080216.jpg|300px|thumb|Apley Hall in 2008, seen from near the location of Linley Station]]
[[File:Apley_Chain_Bridge_20080216.jpg|300px|thumb|The 1905 suspension bridge in 2008]]
The Severn Valley Railway passes through the Apley Park estate, owned at the time of the line’s line's construction by '''Thomas C Whitmore'''. Although his property was located on the opposite bank of the [[River Severn]], Whitmore opposed the Railway's construction as "''utterly anihilating annihilating the privacy and seclusion of the said, mansion, house, park and grounds''", to the extent that the route authorised by the original Severn Valley Railway Act of 1853 included running the line through tunnels under the estate. Negotiations to reduce the cost of the line resulted in Whitmore had already sponsored a revised route not including tunnelsrival and ultimately unsuccessful proposal, authorised in the second [[The Severn Valley Railway Act of 1855.<ref name=marshall>[[Bibliographyunder GWR/BR ownership#BooksUnsuccessful proposals|Marshall (1989)Shrewsbury, Ironbridge and Bridgnorth Railway]] ppwhose route was planned to be further away from Apley Hall. 31-36,107.</ref> To achieve this the Severn Valley Railway Company paid Whitmore £14,000 A Bill to construct that railway was introduced to Parliament in compensation as well as £150 per acre for the land purchased, and February 1853 but was thrown out in addition were required to provide a station at which at least two trains per day in each direction could be stopped on requestJune of that year.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Vanns Marshall (19981989)]] p. 4924.</ref> Linley Station, built to meet this condition, had no public road access.<ref name=marshall/>
To overcome Whitmore's opposition, the route authorised by the original Severn Valley Railway Act of 1853 included running the line through tunnels under the estate. Negotiations to reduce the cost of the line resulted in a revised route not including tunnels, authorised in the second Severn Valley Railway Act of 1855.<ref name=marshall>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] pp. 31-36,107.</ref> To achieve this the Severn Valley Railway Company paid Whitmore £14,000 in compensation as well as £150 per acre for the land purchased, and in addition were required to provide a station at which at least two trains per day in each direction could be stopped on request.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Vanns (1998)]] p. 49.</ref> Linley Station, built to meet this condition, had no public road access.<ref name=marshall/> Although [[Construction of the Severn Valley Railway]] began in 1858, Whitmore's land was among the last to be acquired in 1860. Despite his initial opposition to the railway, Whitmore cut down a number of trees after the railway opened in 1862, so that he could have a better view of passing trains. However he died on 13 March 1865, aged only 58 <ref name=marshall/> (expectancy would have been about 70).<ref name=marshall/><ref>[http://www.jbending.org.uk/stats3.htm Life Expectancy in years at various ages, by decade] (Retrieved 1 May 2019)</ref>
On 8 June 1862 a porter at Linley left the station a little before midday, having confirmed to the station-master that he would return 'before train time' (5:30pm). In the event he did not return until the following Wednesday morning. He was brought before the South Shropshire Magistrates charged with having "''absented himself from the employment of the West Midland Railway Company, without having previously obtained leave or given the required 14 days’ notice''". The Bench said the prisoner had rendered himself liable to suffer two months' imprisonment with hard labour, or a penalty of £10. However they had power to mitigate the penalty, and he was to pay a fine of £1 or go to prison for 14 days.<ref>Wellington Journal 28 June 1862, reported in [http://www.broseley.org.uk/Papers/Broseley%201862.pdf Broseley Papers]</ref>
