Sterns

Sterns is a location between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth, at approximately MP 147. It is the point at which the River Severn is closest to the railway, and is notorious as a maintenance trouble spot, due to the ground regularly slipping towards the river many times over the history of the railway, especially after periods of heavy rain. The line of telegraph poles adjacent to the railway vividly illustrates this, with one post having been carried away from the line by the ground movement, now only just visible in the trees towards the river. The section of line through Sterns was for many years under a strict 5mph speed limit, with drainage improvements and earthworks in 2013/14 finally allowing for the limit to be increased to 15mph (although further ground movement led to the reinstatement of a lower temporary speed limit soon after).