Hampton Loade railway station

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 may be reached by the Hampton Loade Ferry across the river.

History

Hampton Loade station was first opened in 1862. After opening, the station possessed only one siding on the eastern side, the passing-loop and second platform being added in 1883. The platforms at Hampton Loade can accommodate only four coaches at one time although plans have been mooted to extend them. Trade at Hampton Loade was usually quiet, with most business being from fishermen.

Following closure by British Rail in 1963, all signalling equipment was removed from Hampton Loade, and the signal box was, more or less, completely demolished. Although mistakenly thought by some people to have been closed as part of the Beeching axe in 1963 its planned closure pre-dated his report.

Preservation

From 1970 to 1974, Hampton Loade was the southern terminus of the SVR, just 4½ 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. A legacy of Hampton Loade's former guise as the SVR's southern terminus is the now rarely used down starting signal at the north end of the up platform.

At present, Mr.S. Dockerty is station master, and assisted by Mr. R. Dodd, both appointed in 1999. Fred Hughes is the Chief Booking Clerk.

Hampton Loade remains the home of Barry Railway coach 163 undergoing restoration for well over a decade. It is an 1895 6-wheel, 5 compartment first and second class composite built at Ashburys in Manchester. It was scrapped at Swindon on 24th November 1928 (a Saturday, at that time the Great Western Railway would write off its account assets on Saturdays) from where the body went to the Clent Hills near Birmingham as a holiday home, where it stayed until 1992. The body was re-wheeled onto a 4 wheel ex-Southern Railway Van C underframe on 16th August 2003 some, 75 years after being scrapped. It has been in the final stages of restoration back to its opulent Barry Railway condition for several years. Standing on an isolated section of track it is not presently considered to be resident on the SVR proper.

A further vehicle presently resident is ex-GWR Churchward third coach 2426 built in 1910. It is presently being used for staff accommodation despite its rapidly deteriorating condition although the long term aim is to restore it to its original condition. It is the oldest carriage on the line

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" and "Mad Dogs", a 1970s serial.

External links

* [http://www.svr-visitor.org.uk/Hampton.htm Visitor Guide to SVR Hampton Loade]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/panoramas/hampton_loade_station_360.shtml Panoramamic view of the station] * [http://www.hloade.free-online.co.uk/index.html Hampton Loade Station Site]

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