Buildwas Junction railway station
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Buildwas Junction railway station was an important bustling junction station after the opening of the Severn Valley line in the mid 1800s. The station had platforms at two different levels and, at its peak, had a total of eleven staff, including the station master. Up to 1923 the area was controlled by two signal boxes, the Station signal box controlling the station area and the Junction signal box controlling the junction between the Severn Valley line and the double track line across the Albert Edward Bridge towards Lightmoor Junction. These were replaced with a single signal box approximately midway between its predecessors in 1923. This box was subsequently enlarged to a accommodate a frame containing 113 levers on 9 December 1931. The track layout was altered several time during its existence including the additional CEGB sidings opened in 1932. It was closed in 1963 as part of the Beeching Axe following Dr Beeching's review of the railways. The station was demolished to make way for Ironbridge Power Station. Coal is now offloaded from EWS locomotive hauled trains for the power station on the site of this station.
The Telford Steam Railway has aspirations to operate towards this site when the expected closure of the power station takes place by its present operator E.ON. Although the Telford Steam Railway would like to operate over the Albert Edward Bridge to a new terminus on or close to the site of Buildwas Junction, the expected high annual maintenance costs of the bridge may prove prohibitive to such a small organisation.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cressage (on dismantled section) | Severn Valley Railway (dismantled section) | Ironbridge and Broseley (on dismantled section) | ||
Coalbrookdale (building remains in use for non-railway purposes on freight only section) | Wellington to Craven Arms Railway (substantialy dismantled although small sections remains in use) | Farley Halt (on dismantled section) |