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Henley in Arden - New Station
Henley in Arden's new station was the most prestigious on
the North Warwickshire line and was opened in 1908. The station consisted of
three platforms, two formed by an island platform on the up line and the other,
containing the main station facilities, on the down line. Platform 3 on the
island platform was accessible only to traffic from Birmingham and was used by
services to Birmingham that terminated at Henley-in-Arden. Platform 3 (the Bay
Platform) was only accessable from the North end. A Loop siding parallel to the
bay siding was also provided to release the engine, so it could run round the
train for the return journey. Local passenger services to Birmingham were, for
a period of less than seven years, available via both the new North
Warwickshire route and the original branch line accessed via a connecting spur
some fifty-chains long which connected with the branch line just East of the
terminus. Goods services were concentrated upon the original terminus with
goods services being routed via both the branch line to Lapworth as well as the
new line via the North Warwickshire line. Passenger services via the spur
temporarily ceased on 1st January 1915 as a wartime economy measure whilst
goods traffic temporarily ceased on 1st January 1916. The decision was made
permanent and the branch line closed for good on 1st January 1917 with the
track to the East of the terminus being lifted during the summer of the same
year. The goods yard continued to be used until it was a casualty of the
competition with road traffic as was the case with most of the goods facilities
along the line, and indeed across the country, in the 1960s.
The new station was built on the gentle slopes of open land
on the western edges of the town. Situated on a sweeping curve, the station was
located on the descending gradient of 1 in 150 from Wood End to Wooten Wawen,
though the gradient eased to 1 in 264 through the station itself. It was the
principal intermediate station on the line between Tyseley and Stratford,
serving as it did, the largest town en route. In the 1920s and 1930s the
station was in the charge of a Class 4 station master who had under his command
the following staff: one general clerk; two leading porters; one goods checker;
one motor parcel vanman; three signalmen and one part-time charwoman who worked
one day each week. The goods yard at the old terminus was also part of the
station master's domain although on a day to day to basis this would have been
the preserve of the goods checker. The original passenger building at the
branch terminus was converted to provide the station master with his family
accommodation. The route through Henley-in-Arden was a very busy line resulting
in the signal box being manned continuously from 6:00am each Monday to 9:30pm
on Sunday the only time when there were no passenger trains and only a couple
of goods movements.
Local Passenger services through Henley-in-Arden were almost
entirely worked with autocars and steam railmotors, around fifteen trains
calling in each direction on the main line, and seven or eight over the branch
via Lapworth. Approximately half of the services to and from Birmingham
terminated at Henley-in-Arden. Roger Carpenter and Chris Turner noted in their
article on the station, that a Tyseley autocar worked four return trips daily
to Henley-in-Arden or Bearley, two Tyseley Steam Railmotors four similar duties
each, whilst a Stratford on Avon Steam Railmotor carried out three round trips
to Birmingham as well as a return trip via the branch to Lapworth. The branch
auto worked five return journeys up the branch, including the 6:18am goods
service to Lapworth. Two return trips from Birmingham formed of six and
eight-wheel coaching stock, departing Moor Street 6:45am arriving at
Henley-in-Arden at 7:50am and Snow Hill 4:15pm arriving 5:28pm) also ran via
the branch. Both through services had been withdrawn by the outbreak of the
First World War. A late morning fast service between Stratford upon Avon and
Birmingham called at Henley-in-Arden, the only intermediary stop on its
journey. The balancing return service which departed Snow Hill at 5:55pm also
only stopped at Henley-in-Arden. The great majority of of local services ran to
and from the new Moor Street station although until it was opened in July 1909
the services terminated at Snow Hill station.
Most of the content to the captions in the linked
photographs below and the potted history above has been derived from the
excellent and substantial article on both Henley-in-Arden stations and the
branch engine shed which was published in Great Western Railway Journal No
11 Summer 1994 and written by Roger Carpenter and Chris Turner.
Select an image below to view the larger version with
accompanying text:
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