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Stourport

4,811 bytes added, 12:31, 12 December 2019
The town of Stourport: info added
==Stourport Station==
Stourport Station was located 3 miles from Hartlebury and 37&frac34; miles from Shrewsbury. It was considered one of the principal stations on the line, with two platforms and a passing loop from opening in 1862 as well as a small goods yard and goods shed. The station building was almost identical to those at [[Bewdley]] and [[Buildwas]]. The location of the station just a short way north of the town made it perhaps the most convenient of the Severn Valley Railway’s stations relative to the town it served.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Vanns (1998/2013)]] p. 75.</ref>
The line through Stourport ran east-west, the goods yard being situated south of the line. In 1885, additional sidings were installed north of the line connecting to a newly built basin on the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]]. Around this time the GWR also built two new interlocked [[List of signal boxes#List of historical Signal Boxes and Ground Frames |signal boxes]] at each end of the station; these were named Stourport North and Stourport South, referring to the overall direction of travel rather than the geography of the station itself. From late 1887 the double line between the boxes was worked under [[Absolute Block | absolute block]] regulations.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Vanns (1998/2013)]] p. 77.</ref> A level crossing was situated immediately to the west of the station. Construction of the [[Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway]] was authorised in 1896. The tramway ran along Minster Road, crossing the railway at Stourport via the level crossing at a skew angle. During the tramway's construction, the GWR took the opportunity to extend the passing loop beyond the level crossing at a cost of £349, of which the Tramway company reimbursed £202.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 90.</ref>  Stourport station was officially renamed 'Stourport-on-Severn' in 1934, possibly to avoid confusion with nearby Stourbridgeas there was no other Stourport station.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Marshall (1989)]] p. 89.</ref>
The Shropshire & Worcestershire Electric Power Co built a [[Stourport Power Station | power station]] at Stourport after the First World War. However a direct rail connection to the Severn Valley Railway was only opened in 1940, coal deliveries before then being mainly via the River Severn or the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]]. Once opened, the rail connection remained until January 1981, prolonging the life of the southern end of the Severn Valley Railway.
The area formerly occupied by the station is now part of a housing estate.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+ [[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership#Traffic statistics|GWR Traffic statistics]] for Stourport, selected years prior to 1939<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Nabarro (1971)]] p. 54.</ref>
|-
! !! colspan="3" | Passenger Traffic !! colspan="2" | Freight Traffic !!
|-
! Year !! Tickets issued !! Parcels despatched !! Revenue (&pound;) !! Tons received &amp; despatched !! Revenue (&pound;) !! Total revenue (&pound;)
|-
|1903||style="text-align:right"|29,300||style="text-align:right"|21,338||style="text-align:right"|3,155||style="text-align:right"|76,174||style="text-align:right"|24,437||style="text-align:right"|27,592
|-
|1913||style="text-align:right"|36,902||style="text-align:right"|32,380||style="text-align:right"|4,300||style="text-align:right"|88,667||style="text-align:right"|31,006||style="text-align:right"|35,306
|-
|1923||style="text-align:right"|37,736||style="text-align:right"|22,474||style="text-align:right"|6,286||style="text-align:right"|96,711||style="text-align:right"|49,168||style="text-align:right"|55,454
|-
|1933||style="text-align:right"|17,137||style="text-align:right"|28,787||style="text-align:right"|4,176||style="text-align:right"|133,929||style="text-align:right"|61,403||style="text-align:right"|65,579
|-
|1938||style="text-align:right"|16,269||style="text-align:right"|36,566||style="text-align:right"|4,078||style="text-align:right"|130,922||style="text-align:right"|61,178||style="text-align:right"|65,256
|-
|}
 
==Historic maps of Stourport==
 
* 1885 map showing Minster Road level crossing to the west and the canal to the east.
* 1902 map showing the canal basin and sidings.
* 1924 map showing the [[Burlish Branch]] to the west and a wagon turntable at the canal basin.
* 1938 map showing the junction to the power station to the east.
 
<gallery>
File:Stourport1885map.jpg | 1885
File:Stourport1902map.jpg | 1902
File:Stourport1924map.jpg | 1924
File:Stourport1938map.jpg | 1938
</gallery>
 
 
==The town of Stourport==
The origins of the Worcestershire town of Stourport date back to the completion of the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]] in 1771. In that year John Wesley described Stourport as a "well-built village", but following the opening of the canal for trade in 1772 the village quickly grew into a town based around the large canal basins that served as the ‘port’, reaching a population of 1,300 by 1795.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stourport-on-Severn Stourport on Wikipedia]</ref>
 
The early growth of Stourport saw a corresponding decline in the fortunes of [[Bewdley]] as a port.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Marshall (1989)]] p.12.</ref> However further significant growth of Stourport was effectively ended by the opening of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in 1816. This provided a direct link between the two towns.
 
A [[Excursions by Railway|description of the newly opened Severn Valley branch]] in 1863 describes: "Stourport is marked in the distance by three tall smoking chimneys, and as you pass through the station the sensitive nose detects the not unpleasant aroma of bark, leather-tanning being the staple trade of the town. Just before reaching the station the line crosses the little river which gives its name to the town, and we arrive within sight of the Severn"<ref>"Excursions by Railway", Worcester Journal, 25 April 1863</ref>.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:StourportStation1910.jpg | Stourport Station in 1910
File:Stourport signal box 1968.jpg | Stourport signal box in 1968
</gallery>
==See also==
[[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership# Map of the Route and Nearby Railways | The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership]]
 
==References==
<references />
{{StationNavbox}}
==Sources==
The Severn Valley Railway, John Marshall<br>
Severn Valley Railway, A View from the Past, MA Vanns
==See also==[[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership# Map of the Route and Nearby Railways | The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownershipCategory:Featured articles]]
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