Eardington opened on 1 June 1868, six years after the opening of the Severn Valley line, mainly to serve the nearby Upper Forge and Lower Forge iron works. It was not readily accessible from the nearby villages of Chelmarsh and Eardington, and on 1 April 1949 was reduced to unstaffed status, although never deemed a halt.[1] The station had a brick waiting room and single platform.
In the later years under British Railways control, Eardington had much of its custom from fishermen at weekends and during the summer months. Although mistakenly thought by some people to have been closed as part of the Beeching axe in 1963[2] Eardington's planned closure pre-dated his report.
Preservationedit
When the Severn Valley Railway re-opened in preservation on 23 May 1970, Eardington was the only intermediate stop between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, resulting in its being renamed Eardington Halt. It was initially used for watering locomotives, having a ready supply of better quality water than Bridgnorth. The Halt closed temporarily for repair work in October 1979, and briefly reopened in 1981 before being finally deleted from the timetable in 1982.[1] It has not been used in regular service since because of poor custom, land slippage and the fact that the station is situated on a 1 in 100 gradient. Another problem is the combination of the shortness of the platform face, normal SVR practice of marshalling the guard's compartment in the centre of the train and the arched overbridge immediately to the north of the platform, which would prevent the traincrew from being able to see the guard if the train was stopped with the guard's van on the platform, as is correct practice.
The siding is now used for the storage of permanent way vehicles. A small band of volunteers stage regular "work-ins" to keep the station environs tidy.
In 2023 the SVR announced that following negotiations with the Office of Rail and Road, the station would reopen on limited occasions for trains which would fit the platform, a maximum of four carriages. The timetable for the 2023 Autumn Steam Gala would include trains stopping at Eardington for the first time in 41 years, although initially limited to trains of three carriages.[3]
On Thursday 14th September 2023 the first timetabled services stopped at Eardington, a 4 coach train hauled by LMS Ivatt 4MT 43106
Referencesedit
^ abSVR Souvenir Guide Ninth Edition, David C. Williams, p27
^Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 165. OCLC 931112387.
^Titlow, John; Jones, Robin (4 August 2023). "Local trains to stop once again at Eardington". Heritage Railway. No. 309. Mortons Media Group.
Further readingedit
Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Kidderminster to Shrewsbury. Middleton Press. figs. 61-64. ISBN9781906008109. OCLC 154801530.
eardington, halt, railway, station, confused, with, erdington, railway, station, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, fi. Not to be confused with Erdington railway station This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Eardington Halt railway station news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Eardington Halt originally named Eardington is a railway station on the Severn Valley Railway near Eardington south of Bridgnorth in Shropshire Eardington HaltStation on heritage railwayThe station during the celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2018General informationLocationEardington ShropshireEnglandCoordinates52 30 06 N 2 24 00 W 52 5017 N 2 4001 W 52 5017 2 4001Grid referenceSO729894Operated bySevern Valley RailwayHistoryPre groupingGreat Western RailwayPost groupingGreat Western RailwayKey dates1 June 1868 1868 06 01 Station opened9 September 1963Closed23 May 1970Reopened1982Closed14 September 2023Reopened Contents 1 History 2 Preservation 3 References 4 Further readingHistory editEardington opened on 1 June 1868 six years after the opening of the Severn Valley line mainly to serve the nearby Upper Forge and Lower Forge iron works It was not readily accessible from the nearby villages of Chelmarsh and Eardington and on 1 April 1949 was reduced to unstaffed status although never deemed a halt 1 The station had a brick waiting room and single platform In the later years under British Railways control Eardington had much of its custom from fishermen at weekends and during the summer months Although mistakenly thought by some people to have been closed as part of the Beeching axe in 1963 2 Eardington s planned closure pre dated his report Preservation editWhen the Severn Valley Railway re opened in preservation on 23 May 1970 Eardington was the only intermediate stop between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade resulting in its being renamed Eardington Halt It was initially used for watering locomotives having a ready supply of better quality water than Bridgnorth The Halt closed temporarily for repair work in October 1979 and briefly reopened in 1981 before being finally deleted from the timetable in 1982 1 It has not been used in regular service since because of poor custom land slippage and the fact that the station is situated on a 1 in 100 gradient Another problem is the combination of the shortness of the platform face normal SVR practice of marshalling the guard s compartment in the centre of the train and the arched overbridge immediately to the north of the platform which would prevent the traincrew from being able to see the guard if the train was stopped with the guard s van on the platform as is correct practice The siding is now used for the storage of permanent way vehicles A small band of volunteers stage regular work ins to keep the station environs tidy In 2023 the SVR announced that following negotiations with the Office of Rail and Road the station would reopen on limited occasions for trains which would fit the platform a maximum of four carriages The timetable for the 2023 Autumn Steam Gala would include trains stopping at Eardington for the first time in 41 years although initially limited to trains of three carriages 3 On Thursday 14th September 2023 the first timetabled services stopped at Eardington a 4 coach train hauled by LMS Ivatt 4MT 43106References edit a b SVR Souvenir Guide Ninth Edition David C Williams p27 Quick M E 2002 Railway passenger stations in England Scotland and Wales a chronology Richmond Railway and Canal Historical Society p 165 OCLC 931112387 Titlow John Jones Robin 4 August 2023 Local trains to stop once again at Eardington Heritage Railway No 309 Mortons Media Group Further reading editMitchell Vic Smith Keith 2007 Kidderminster to Shrewsbury Middleton Press figs 61 64 ISBN 9781906008109 OCLC 154801530 Preceding station Historical railways Following stationBridgnorthLine and station open Great Western RailwaySevern Valley Railway Hampton LoadeLine and station openBridgnorthLine and station open Severn Valley Railway Hampton LoadeLine and station open nbsp This article about a Shropshire building or structure is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article on a railway station in the West Midlands region is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eardington Halt railway station amp oldid 1180538373, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
