Buildwas


Towards Hartlebury and Kidderminster | Towards Shrewsbury |
---|---|
Ironbridge (1½ miles) | Cressage (4 miles) |
Buildwas station was situated 28½ miles from Hartlebury and 12¼ miles from Shrewsbury. It was an interchange station in open countryside with no passenger access other than by rail, and was built on two levels. The station building was of a similar design to that at Bewdley.
Approaching the station from the south, the single track Severn Valley Line was joined from the right by the double track line from Coalbrookdale, which crossed the river via the Albert Edward Bridge. In the short distance between the bridge and the station, the Much Wenlock line (the Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway before incorporation into the GWRGreat Western Railway) began to branch off to the left and climb, the single platform for this branch being on a higher level than the two platforms for the Severn Valley Line (at opening on 1 February 1862, Buildwas was the first station at which trains leaving and approaching Shrewsbury could cross).
GWR staff records for 1922 show the station had a staff of 12.
A new power station came into use in 1932, requiring extensive additional sidings and a new signal box to handle the coal traffic. The station also handled limestone traffic from the quarries on Wenlock Edge.
West of Buildwas the Severn Valley line left the Severn Valley gorge and entered the flatter flood plain area leading towards Shrewsbury.
In the early 1960s a second power station, Ironbridge B, was in course of construction. The station closed along with the Severn Valley Line in 1963, and was demolished in 1964 to make way for a new coal handling plant for the power station.
Station name
The station was named Buildwas in timetables, and also appeared as such in the 1963 notice of closure. However the station running in board showed the name as “Buildwas Junction”;[1] this version was also shown on Ordnance Survey maps as above.
Traffic statistics
Passenger Traffic | Freight Traffic | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Tickets issued | Parcels despatched | Revenue (£) | Tons received & despatched | Revenue (£) | Total revenue (£) |
1903 | 9,693 | 1,258 | 598 | 3,831 | 700 | 1,298 |
1913 | 9,601 | 2,445 | 582 | 3,980 | 600 | 1,182 |
1923 | 7,098 | 1,023 | 432 | 3,838 | 755 | 1,187 |
1933 | 5,983 | 1,029 | 489 | 49,309 | 4,105 | 4,594 |
1938 | 7,720 | 1,465 | 561 | 324,330 | 23,092 | 24,555 |
Traffic at Buildwas originated from the Wellington and Much Wenlock lines as well as the Severn Valley Branch. The opening of the coal-fired Ironbridge Power Station in 1932 brought about a significant increase in freight traffic.
Gallery
A busy scene at Buildwas. Two Severn Valley trains sit in the platforms on the right, whilst a service from Much Wenlock passes a goods train in June 1961 (Sellick Collection)
A Westbound Severn Valley service waits in the station in June 1961 (Sellick Collection)
A goods train waits to depart for Much Wenlock in June 1961 (Sellick Collection)
See also
- The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership
- Pre-1965 Map
- Shropshire Historic Environment Record
References
The Severn Valley Railway, John Marshall
Severn Valley Railway, A View from the Past, MA Vanns
- ↑ Vanns (2013) p. 31.
- ↑ Nabarro (1971) p. 56.
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