Hampton Loade railway station

Hampton Loade
Station on Severn Valley Railway
Shrewsbury – Worcester train entering the station in 1951
General information
Location	Hampton, Shropshire England
Coordinates	52°28′26″N2°22′38″W / 52.47382°N 2.37715°W / 52.47382; -2.37715
Grid reference	SO744862
Managed by	Severn Valley Railway
Platforms	2

Hampton Loade railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line, close to the hamlet of Hampton on the western bank of the River Severn; Hampton Loade itself is on the eastern bank, and can no longer be reached by the Hampton Loade Ferry across the river as this has ceased operation.

Contents

• History
• Preservation
• Signalling
• The Paddock Railway
• Barry Railway Coach No 163
• Film and television
• References
• Further reading
• External links

History

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Hampton Loade station opened as part of the Severn Valley Line on 1 February 1862, appearing as 'Hampton' in the public timetable. ^[1] It was originally built with one platform and siding; a passing-loop and second platform being added in 1883. ^[2] There was also a weighbridge located on the river side of the site at one point.

The station is actually on the west side of the River Severn in the hamlet of Hampton but was renamed within a month of opening after Hampton Loade, ^[2] the larger hamlet on the eastern side of the river. Due to the presence of Hampton Loade station in Hampton most residents now refer to their hamlet as Hampton Loade. Most of the local passenger traffic came from the eastern side of the river using the current operated foot reaction ferry to get to the station. The station was always popular with anglers due to the easy access to the river. The station was host to a GWR camp coach in 1939. ^[3]

Although closed by British Rail during the implementation of the Beeching Axe in 1963, plans for its closure had already been made before Beeching's report was published. Following closure all signalling equipment was removed from Hampton Loade, and the signal box was almost completely demolished after purchase from BR by the residents of Station House for use as a chicken coop.

Preservation

From 1970 to 1974, Hampton Loade was the southern terminus of the SVR, just 41⁄2 miles from Bridgnorth. Although at the time the SVR was said to go from "somewhere" to "nowhere" the terminus was a quaint and peaceful place to end services.

When preservationists first arrived at Hampton Loade from Bridgnorth, signalling was reinstated as a priority during the early days, mainly using equipment from the closed Stourport-on-Severn station. A legacy of Hampton Loade's former guise as the SVR's southern terminus is the now rarely used down starting signal No. 13 at the north end of the up loop. The platforms at Hampton Loade can only accommodate around four coaches at a time, this or less being the norm in GWR and BR days. As the SVR's trains are longer than this plans have been mooted to extend the platforms.

The current Station Master is Lee Whittaker. Retired railwayman Steve Dockerty is Chief Booking Clerk. The station is operated entirely by a volunteer workforce.

There are a number of items of rolling stock in the sidings at Hampton Loade. These include British Railways built no. 3467; a 'fruit D' goods van designed by the GWR and built at Swindon in 1955. It is owned by the Hampton Loade Station Fund and is in use as the station fund shop, known on the SVR as a 'treasure trove' for railwayana and books. It is currently painted in GWR freight grey and lettered with the words 'return to Helston'. It later had a number of W3467W and was preserved in 1973. ^[4] The oldest carriage on the line, the ex-GWR Churchward third coach 2426 of 1910, was used for staff accommodation at Hampton Loade for 28 years before being moved to Kidderminster in September 2016 for overhaul. ^[5] Its place has been taken by GWR Riding Van 55 built in 1908.

The station takes part in the annual SVR's 1940s weekends, held over a week with two weekends in June/July. The weekends are a light-hearted look back at the 1940s and also underline the important part Britain's railways played in the Second World War. For this event the station has a 'Dig for Victory' allotment, Bren gun, an ARP warden's post, unexploded bombs, R.T.O. Office and several period vehicles along with a standard 'blast tape and sandbags' appearance.

Since being reopened in SVR preservation the station has also become home to several relocated corrugated huts of typical GWR design. These being a lamp room from Cleobury Mortimer, a larger hut from Bearley and another from Kingham. All are painted in the GWR Stone colours. Also on the down platform is a larger hut original to the station, being installed by the GWR at sometime in the 1920s.

Signalling

Hampton Loade signal box controls three points, two distant signals, three starter signals, three home signals, and a set of catch points with related "Dummy" signal. Two of the points are located at either end of the station, controlling the exits to the loop, the third set of points controls the entrance to the siding, and are protected by the "Dummy" signal and its catch points. There are starter signals on the end of the down and up platforms, as well as an extra starter signal on the Bridgnorth end of the up platform which permits down trains starting at Hampton Loade to be despatched from the up platform. The home signals are located just before the loop entrance points that they protect, in the up direction a bracket carries two homes controlling entrance to the loop and main line, in the down direction a single home controls entry to the main line. In both directions working distant signals protect the homes.

The Paddock Railway

The station is also the home of the 32mm gauge (1:19 scale) model/garden Paddock Railway, ^[6] which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013.

Barry Railway Coach No 163

Hampton Loade was home to Barry Railway coach 163 for over three decades. An 1895 6-wheel, 5 compartment first and second class composite built at Ashburys in Manchester, it was renumbered 6058 by the Great Western Railway in 1922 before being scrapped at Swindon on 24 November 1928. The body went to the Clent Hills near Birmingham becoming a holiday home, where it remained until 1992. It was mounted onto a 4-wheel ex-Southern Railway Van C underframe on 16 August 2003. Restoration then continued, but was still incomplete when the owning group announced in 2022 that they had agreed with the Severn Valley Railway that the coach would leave the railway. It left Hampton Loade in May 2024 to move to the Gwili Railway. ^[7]

Film and television

The station has been used as the filming location for many films and TV programmes, including The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain , ^[8] Mad Dogs and the 1970s TV series Carrie's War.

Related Research Articles

The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England, named after the company that originally built the railway over which it now operates. The 16-mile (26 km) heritage line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn along the Severn Valley for much of its route, and crossing the river on the historic Victoria Bridge.

The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a 22.75-mile (36.6 km) heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset Council. The railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc, which is supported and minority-owned by the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) charitable trust and the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT). WSR operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains.

Hampton Loade is a hamlet in Shropshire, England along the Severn Valley. It is situated on the east bank of the River Severn at grid reference SO747864, some five miles south of Bridgnorth.

The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a 6.7-mile (10.8 km) heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tourists from the resorts of Torbay, who travel to Kingswear, where the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry takes them across the River Dart to Dartmouth.

The Midland Railway – Butterley is a heritage railway and museum complex at Butterley, near Ripley in Derbyshire.

The LMS Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive primarily designed for medium freight work but also widely used on secondary passenger services. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) ordered 162 of this type between 1947 and 1952, but only three were built by the LMS before nationalisation in 1948. Designed by George Ivatt, they were classified 4F by the LMS and 4MT by British Railways (BR).

Highley is a large village in Shropshire, England, on the west bank of the River Severn and 7 miles south east of Bridgnorth, the closest cities being Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

Kidderminster Town is a railway station situated in the town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. It is operated by the Severn Valley Railway, a heritage line which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. The station was opened on 30 July 1984, was built in a late Victorian style, and shares its station approach and car park with the adjacent National Rail station.

Bewdley railway station serves the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. Until 2014, it was the administrative headquarters of the Severn Valley Railway, after which they were moved to Comberton Hill, Kidderminster. Bewdley is the principal intermediate station on the line.

Arley railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line in Worcestershire, situated just over the River Severn from the village of Upper Arley; a footbridge crosses the river to link the station to the village. The station is about 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) north of Victoria Bridge, on which the SVR crosses the River Severn.

Highley railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line in Shropshire, near the west bank of the River Severn and just under a mile south-east of the village of Highley. Highley is the only staffed single-platform station on the line. Other stops with one platform are unstaffed halts.

Bridgnorth railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line, serving the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth, England. It is currently the northern terminus of the SVR, home to the main engine shed and has a gift shop, station buffet and licensed refreshment room amongst other facilities.

The GWR Coalport railway station, active 1862–1963, was originally built as a single through platform railway station on the Severn Valley Line serving the village of Coalport in Shropshire, England. By January 1896 an additional platform had been added, thus permitting up and down trains to pass along, with a third platform face behind the up platform to form an east-facing bay. By this time, the goods sidings to the east of the station had been expanded.

Linley, later Linley Halt, was a small railway station on the Severn Valley line in Shropshire, England.

Eardington Halt, originally named Eardington, is a railway station on the Severn Valley Railway near Eardington, south of Bridgnorth, in Shropshire.

The Severn and Wye Railway began as an early tramroad network established in the Forest of Dean to facilitate the carriage of minerals to watercourses for onward conveyance. It was based on Lydney, where a small harbour was constructed, and opened its line to Parkend in 1810. It was progressively extended northwards, and a second line, the Mineral Loop was opened to connect newly opened mineral workings.

4930 Hagley Hall is a Great Western Railway, 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive, built in May 1929 at Swindon Works to a design by Charles Collett. It is one of eleven of this class that made it into preservation. The locomotive is named after Hagley Hall in Worcestershire.

Alveley Halt was a halt on the original Severn Valley Line, situated between the villages of Highley and Alveley, in the English county of Shropshire. The station, which was not re-opened by the heritage Severn Valley Railway, has been replaced by the adjacent Country Park Halt around one-quarter of a mile (0.4 km) up the line.

Foley Park Halt was the first stop on the GWR Kidderminster to Bewdley loop line which now forms part of the Severn Valley Railway. It was located in the Kidderminster suburb of Foley Park where the railway went under the A451 Stourport Road. Facilities included a single wooden platform, a ticket booth and a Pagoda Platform Shelter.

References

• Marshall, John (1989). The Severn Valley Railway. Newton Abbot: David St John Thomas. ISBN   0-946537-45-3.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Kidderminster to Shrewsbury. Middleton Press. pp. 55–60. ISBN   9781906008109. OCLC   154801530.

External links

• Visitor Guide to SVR Hampton Loade
• Panoramamic view of the station
• Severn Valley Railway Official Site
• Hampton Loade Ferry Site
• Aerial view of the Station

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Bridgnorth		Severn Valley Railway		Country Park Halt
	Historical railways
Eardington Halt Line open, station closed		West Midland Railway (Severn Valley Line) Great Western Railway		Alveley Halt Line open, station closed