Difference between revisions of "Eardington"

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== The Eardington Explorer ==
 
== The Eardington Explorer ==
On 17 April  2015, the [[The 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust|82045 Steam Locomotive Trust]] ran a special fundraising train, the [[The Eardington Explorer|Eardington Explorer]]<ref>[http://forum.svra.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3298 SVR-Online forum]</ref>. This ran between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, calling specially at Eardington. This was the first time that a stop had been timetabled at Eardington for several years.  The Fund ran a second 'Eardington Explorer' on 22 April 2016.
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On 17 April  2015, the [[The 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust|82045 Steam Locomotive Trust]] ran a special fundraising train, the [[The Eardington Explorer|Eardington Explorer]]<ref>[http://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3298 SVR-Online forum]</ref>. This ran between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, calling specially at Eardington. This was the first time that a stop had been timetabled at Eardington for several years.  The Fund ran a second 'Eardington Explorer' on 22 April 2016.
  
 
==Points of Interest==
 
==Points of Interest==

Revision as of 19:28, 7 March 2018

Eardington Halt (Wikimedia Commons)
Next stations
UpIn reference to the direction of travel means towards the major terminus (i.e. towards Kidderminster on the present day SVR) (towards Kidderminster) DownIn reference to the direction of travel means away from the major terminus (i.e. towards Bridgnorth on the present day SVR) (towards Bridgnorth)
Hampton Loade (2¼ miles)
Bridgnorth (2¼ miles)

Eardington is a disused station, situated on Eardington Bank and located mid-way between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade at milepost 147¾. Although the station does not currently feature in daily operations a dedicated 'Friends of Eardington Station' team lead by Steve Downs looks after and maintains this wayside gem.

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.[1].
  • 1868: Eardington Station opened on 1 June 1868, some six years after the opening of the Severn Valley Railway[2].
  • 1893: The station platform was extended[1].
  • 1899: The ironworks closed[1].
  • 1949: BRBritish Rail or British Railways reduced the station to unstaffed status after 1 April 1949, though did not designate it as a Halt.[2].
  • 1959: The goods loop was reduced to a siding, accessed from the south end only[2].
  • 1963: The station closed when passenger traffic ceased on 9 September 1963[2].
  • 1964: The former goods loop siding was completely removed[2].
GWR Traffic statistics for Eardington, selected years prior to 1939[3]
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

Eardington in preservation

In the earliest days of the SVRSevern Valley Railway, when Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade formed the limit of operations, Eardington was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place and was sometimes referred to as Eardington Halt (it was never deemed a Halt during GWRGreat Western Railway/BRBritish Rail or British Railways days).

During the period of Sir Gerald Nabarro's chairmanship it was closed in connection with the possible rebuilding of Eardington as the northern terminus on the line. It later re-opened in March 1981, but last appeared in the timetable as a request stop in 1982,[1] after which it was removed from regular use due to the steep gradient, short platform, and low passenger numbers[4].

The halt has since been cosmetically restored by the Friends and is occasionally opened to visitors on gala days.

The platform

The southern end of the platform was cut back after it collapsed. The Friends held a fundraising appeal in 2014 to replace the missing part;[5] it was reported on 27 October 2016 that sufficient funds had been raised to purchase the required replacement GWRGreat Western Railway bricks.[6]

A project funded by the Friends commenced during the January 2018 winter shutdown involving the partial rebuilding of the platform face. The rebuilding of the platform improves greatly the appearance of the station and allows consideration to its possible use on gala events at some point in the future. Some 8000 engineering bricks recovered from the London – Bristol mainline and donated by Kier Construction have been used. These have been cleaned up by the Friends over a period of time and provide a genuine connection to the GWRGreat Western Railway. The rebuild was undertaken by JSR Construction who are based less than a mile away from the station, thus keeping the work local.[7][8]

Eardington siding

A dead-end siding 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[9]. The siding had been removed by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in 1964 after closure of the line, but was reinstated in the early days of the SVRSevern Valley Railway. In 1973 under Sir Gerald Nabarro's chairmanship, the siding was converted by contractors to a run-round loop at the then not insignificant cost of £8,000. This was seen as part of the plan to abandon Bridgnorth, which led to much unrest on the SVRSevern Valley Railway at the time. In fact the connection at the north end would have been too tight for most locomotives, and was soon removed[10].

The siding is regularly used for storing Permanent Way rolling stock.

The Eardington Explorer

On 17 April 2015, the 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust ran a special fundraising train, the Eardington Explorer[11]. This ran between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, calling specially at Eardington. This was the first time that a stop had been timetabled at Eardington for several years. The Fund ran a second 'Eardington Explorer' on 22 April 2016.

Points of Interest

Locomotive watering facility

The water tank at Eardington was acquired by the SVRSevern Valley Railway Society from Withymoor, Netherton (near Dudley) in the summer of 1967, and installed in time for the 1968 Steam Gala. The decision to install the SVRSevern Valley Railway’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.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Severn Valley Railway, John Marshall (1989) p103
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 SVRSevern Valley Railway Souvenir Guide, Ninth Edition
  3. Nabarro (1971) p. 55.
  4. Wikipedia
  5. SVRASevern Valley Railway Association Working Members Newsletter November 2014
  6. Eardington Station Twitter Feed, retrieved 1 November 2016
  7. SVRLive 'Eardington Station' 13 January 2018
  8. 'SVRLive Winter Works 2018' 16 January 2018
  9. Severn Valley Railway S&T Department (unofficial) website.
  10. Marshall, p180.
  11. SVR-Online forum

Links