Eardington

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Eardington Halt (Wikimedia Commons)

Eardington Halt is a disused station, located between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade at milepost 147¾. In the earliest days of the SVRSevern Valley Railway, when those two stations formed the limit of operations, it was used as an intermediate stopping point and watering place. 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[2]. The platform was cut back after part of it collapsed, however the halt itself has since been cosmetically restored by the Friends of Eardington Station, and is occasionally opened to visitors on gala days.

A dead-end siding is situated at Eardington, usually used for storing Permanent Way rolling stock, 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[3]. Before then, 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[4].

Photos at Eardington, showing station building & yard area

The Eardington Explorer

On the 17th of April 2015, the 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust ran a special fundraising train, the Eardington Explorer[5]. 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.

Gallery

See Also

References

  1. The Severn Valley Railway, John Marshall (1989) p103
  2. Wikipedia
  3. Severn Valley Railway S&T Department (unofficial) website.
  4. Marshall, p180.
  5. SVR-Online forum