Arley railway station

Arley
Station on heritage railway
Trains passing at Arley, with GWR 1501 in charge
General information
LocationArley, Wyre Forest
England
Coordinates52°25′01″N 2°20′53″W / 52.417°N 2.348°W / 52.417; -2.348
Grid referenceSO764799
Operated bySevern Valley Railway
Platforms2
History
Original companyWest Midland Railway (Severn Valley Line)
Pre-groupingGWR
Post-groupingGWR
Key dates
1 February 1862Opened [1]
9 September 1963Closed [1]
18 May 1974Opened by SVRPS[1]

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.

History

The station was built along with the line in 1862 and opened on 1 February that year.[1] The first signal box was built in 1883, and the platform built to accommodate six coach trains. The main brick-built station building, which holds the booking office, is located on the easterly platform. The local transport needs were met quite adequately, as the local roads and paths were, to say the least, primitive.[citation needed] Passenger trade was busiest with summer holiday visitors, and Arley was home to a small goods yard.

Opened by the West Midland Railway (Severn Valley Line), and absorbed by the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863,[2] the station stayed with that company during the Grouping of 1923, passing on to the Western Region of British Railways during the nationalisation of 1948. It was later closed by the British Railways Board.

Although closed by the BRB on 9 September 1963[1] during the implementation of the Beeching Axe, plans for its closure had already been made before Beeching's report was published. The passing loop was taken out, sidings cut up and platforms removed, with only Alveley coal traffic surviving. In 1969 the line through Arley finally became disused.

Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Highley   Severn Valley Railway   Northwood Halt
  Historical railways  
Highley
Line and station open 		  West Midland Railway
(Severn Valley Line)
Great Western Railway
   Northwood Halt
Line and station open

Preservation

Arley station and GWR signal looking south in 1995

When the line was reopened by SVR preservationists working up from Bridgnorth in 1974, work got underway to restore Arley to its former glory. The main railway building was in relatively good condition and was totally renovated. The platforms were rebuilt and the track re-laid. A fully signalled passing loop enables full length north and southbound trains to stop and pass each other within the station limits.

The old signal box having been demolished, a replacement of LNWR design was bought from BR and brought in from Yorton, near Whitchurch, Shropshire, with the lever frame from the Kidderminster station Signalbox that was originally sited on Kidderminster (mainline) station. The station was re-opened on 18 May 1974.[1]

Arley station has been used as a filming location for several films and TV programmes, such as Disney's Candleshoe, BBC sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching!, The Box of Delights and the ChuckleVision episode "Oh Brother".[3] The station was also used for the filming of the opening scene of the 2020 film Enola Holmes.[4]

  • Arley railway station
    Arley railway station
  • Ivatt 4 43106 at Arley station.
    Ivatt 4 43106 at Arley station.
  • GWR 5700 Class 7714 waits at Arley station, bound for Kidderminster
    GWR 5700 Class 7714 waits at Arley station, bound for Kidderminster

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Butt (1995), page 18
  2. ^ Awdry (1990), page 51
  3. ^ "Arley Train Station". www.discoverworcestershire.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Enola Holmes: When Hollywood stars came to Severn Valley Railway". BBC News. 30 September 2020.

Sources

Further reading