Buildwas railway station

Buildwas railway station was an important bustling junction station after the opening of the Severn Valley line in the mid-19th century. 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 accommodate a frame containing 113 levers on 9 December 1931. The track layout was altered several times during its existence including the additional CEGB sidings opened in 1932. Although thought by some people to have been closed as part of the Beeching axe in 1963 its planned closure pre-dated his report. The station was demolished to make way for Ironbridge B Power Station. Coal is now offloaded for the power station close to the site of the original station.

The Telford Steam Railway has aspirations to operate to this site when the expected closure of the power station takes place around 2015 by its present operator E.ON, running over the Albert Edward Bridge to a new terminus on or close to the site of Buildwas station.

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