Highley railway station

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.

History

Highley station opened to the public on 1 February 1862 and closed on 8 September 1963, before the Beeching axe closures.

Highley station was important as the transport hub of a colliery district, with four nearby coal mines linked to the Severn Valley line by standard and narrow gauge lines, cable inclines and aerial ropeways . There were extensive sidings along the line, and wagon repair works at Kinlet, half-a-mile south.

The station was inconveniently far from Highley so the arrival of a bus service seriously affected use of the station. The signal box opposite the platform remained in use until 1969 when Alveley colliery closed and freight traffic ceased. The station site was disused until preservation.

Preservation

Little demolition took place at Highley after closure, the station buildings and the signal box remained intact. The footbridge had to be demolished in the early 1970s for safety reasons.

Between April 1974 and mid-May 1974, Highley was the southern terminus of the Severn Valley Railway.

The single platform and the signal box interlocking prevent trains carrying passengers from passing here.

The Engine House

The SVR has built a visitor centre, known as the "Engine House", a little south of the station. Other building works associated with the visitor centre have caused some stir within the membership. There is a claim that the new works are not in keeping with the general ambiance of a country branch line station. [cite web| url=http://www.svr.co.uk/enginehouse.php| title=The Engine House| author=Severn Valley Railway| ] To improve access to the visitor centre there is a plan to construct a footbridge similar to that demolished in the 1970s.

Railway infrastructure damage June 2007

After torrential overnight rain on June 19 2007 areas of the railway near Highley collapsed in landslides. Highley Up Starter signal and the embankment it stood on were washed away. After repair the line between Northwood Halt and Bridgnorth was restored for passenger use and the first public train was on Friday 21 March 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.highleystation.co.uk/ Highley Station Site]

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