Bewdley railway station: Difference between revisions

|locale name = [[Bewdley]]

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

Bewdley station originally opened in 1862 as one of the main intermediate stations on the {{convert|40¾-mile+3/4|mi|adj=on}} line between [[Hartlebury]] and [[Shrewsbury]]. The stationIt was operated from opening by the [[West Midland Railway]], before beingthat company was absorbed into the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR).<ref>{{cite book|author=Marshall, John|title=The Severn Valley Railway|year=1989|publisher=David St John Thomas|location=Newton Abbot|isbn=0-946537-45-3|authorlinkauthor-link=John Marshall (railway historian)}}</ref>

In 1864 theThe [[Tenbury & Bewdley Railway]] opened in 1864, with its route through the [[Wyre Forest]] branching off the SVR {{convert|1 mile|mi}} north of Bewdley station, before crossing the [[River Severn]] over the now partially -dismantled Dowles Bridge. Thus, Bewdley became a junction. station.

In 1878,The GWR opened a "loop-line" to the original [[Kidderminster railway station]] meaningin 1878, as this was before the SVR built their [[Kidderminster Town railway station]] in 1974, which meant that Bewdley had a direct link with the town and became a double junction. As a legacy of its former junction status, Bewdley station is unique on the SVR in that it has two [[signal box]]es, BewdeyBewdley northNorth and Bewdley south, to this daySouth.

Bewdley station was at its busiest at weekends and local holiday periods, andbut traffic declined only with the introductionincreasing use of the family [[car]]cars in the 1950s. As a consequence, the rationalisation resulted in the end of through passenger traffic — firstly on the Wyre Forest line in 1962, followed by the Severn Valley line in 1963. Although thought by some people to have been parta result of the [[Beeching Axe|Beeching axe]], thesethose closures pre-dated hisBeeching's report.

Until January 1970, [[British Rail]] passengercontinued servicesto clung on until January 1970 aroundserve the last remaining stations of [[Stourport-on-Severn]], [[HartleburyBurlish Halt railway station|Burlish Halt]], Bewdley, [[Foley Park Halt]] and [[Kidderminster Town railway station|Kidderminster]].

Bewdley was disused for only four years before preservationists from the new SVR Company bought the land, track and buildings in 1974, enabling the SVR to extend from [[Bridgnorth]]–[[Hampton Loade]] to [[Highley]] and eventually Bewdley that same year.

From 1980 onwards, occasional [[bank holiday]] services were operated to Bewdley, originally from [[Kidderminster railway station|Kidderminster]] and later from [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham New Street]]. The SVR's own services to/from Kidderminster could not commence until sugar beet traffic to Foley Park ceased in 1982, and the opening of its own station —, [[Kidderminster Town railway station|Kidderminster Town]], inwas opened, which occurred two years 1984later.

*The station clock on platforms 2/ and 3 was brought from [[Stourbridge Junction railway station]].

*The longer valancing pieces on the east side of the island platform canopy came from [[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Birmingham Snow Hill station]],. thisThat is marked on the canopy. The canopy itself was constructed for the opening of the line to Kidderminster and was later extended,. itIt was not brought in from elsewhere, as previouslyhas reportedbeen herereported.

Just to the East of the station lies the {{convert|480 yard |yd|adj=on}}-long Bewdley Tunnel, (spanning 480 yards in length, marking it the Seventh longest tunnel on a UK Heritage Railway within Preservation.{{cn|date=March 2013}}

Due to heavy congestion in the [[Wyre Forest]], there have been calls for Bewdley station to be returned to the [[National Rail]] network once more. The idea of Kidderminster to Bewdley trains has been discussed at meetings with [[Central Trains]], its successorsuccessors [[London Midland]], [[West Midlands Trains]]<ref>{{cite web |title=West Midlands rail re-openings studied |url=https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/54668/west-midlands-rail-re-openings-studied |website=TransportXtra |publisher=Landor LINKS Ltd |access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> and [[Chiltern Railways]]. The obstacle was always seemsthe toquestion beof who provideswould provide the infrastructure and staff. New services could run further than Kidderminster, to Birmingham, Dudley or London.<ref> [http://www.stourbridgelineusergroup.info/news.htm SLUG] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927022550/http://www.stourbridgelineusergroup.info/news.htm |date=27 September 2012 }}</ref> West Midlands Trains says it plans to operate extensions of services from Kidderminster to the station by December 2019, though this has never occurred as of December 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=News Archive 2017 |url=http://www.stourbridgelineusergroup.info/files/News-Archive---2017.pdf|publisher=Stourbridge Line User Group |access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref>

Bewdley Railway Station ishas alsobeen notedused as a filming location for a number of television and cinema productions. These include the 1992 Filmfilm 'Howard's[[Howards End (film)|Howards End]]'', andthe 2007 film ''Woes of the Departed'', and can also be seen, as "Musborough Junction" station from, the opening scenes of the 1984 BBC Television adaptation of the [[John Masefield]] novel ''The Box of Delights'.(Keen' (keen-eyed viewers can evenwill spot the Bewdley station sign reflected in a reflectionwindow).<ref>{{cite inweb a|title=Filming windowLocation inMatching the"Bewdley openingStation, Worcestershire, England, UK" scene|url=https://www.)imdb.com/search/title?locations=Bewdley%20Station,%20Worcestershire,%20England,%20UK |website=IMDb |access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref>

{{commonscatcommons category|Bewdley railway station}}

[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862]]

[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1970]]

[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1974]]