Spring Village Railway Station

The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.

The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, and at Christmas. Its official business name is the Telford Horsehay Steam Trust (THST), and it is a registered charity.

History

Telford Steam Railway operates over a portion of the Wellington and Severn Junction railway (W&SJR). The line to Lightmoor and beyond to Buildwas was constructed by the Wenlock, Craven Arms and Lightmoor Extension railway. Both of these became a part of the Wellington to Craven Arms Railway.

For most of its working life the line was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways.

The line directions between Buildwas and Lightmoor were counter-intuitive for a period when the line going down the hill was the Up Line (towards London), and the line going up the hill was the Down Line (away from London), as the direction towards London from Lightmoor Junction was then considered to be routed via the former Severn Valley line. Since the last change the up direction is now completely intuitive.

Passenger services between Buildwas and Wellington ended on 23 July 1962, pre-dating the publication of the 'Beeching Report' in March 1963. Freight traffic lasted until 1983 when the line from Lightmoor Junction to Lawley was closed by BR.

Stations

The preserved railway operates between Horsehay & Dawley station and Lawley Village station on the former W&SJR. A third station named Spring Village was built for the heritage railway at the end of a short spur off the running line.

Spring Village () has station buildings, a single platform, passenger shelter and a crossing into an engine shed on Pool Side. Work began on the station in 1976 and it was officially opened to the public in 1984. The site occupies part of a former siding to a nearby ironworks on the former Wellington to Craven Arms Railway. Beyond Spring Village platform is the former goods transhipment shed, built in 1860, which had originally permitted the transfer of goods from the W&SJR to the Coalbrookdale Company's narrow gauge plateway system. The building now serves as the railway's engine shed.

Horsehay and Dawley station platform () is adjacent to Spring Village station on a north–south through line, beneath Bridge Road. In between the two station platforms are the sidings and yard used for storing and maintaining the railway's stock.

After completing the works needed to restore the Grade II listed Heath Hill Tunnel and relaying the tracks through it, a new station was planned for a site near the former trackbed towards Wellington. In 2005 work began on the station in the village of Lawley. The station, named Lawley Village () was officially opened a decade later in 2015 as the northern terminus of the line from Horsehay and Dawley and Spring Village stations. It consists of a single platform with a passenger shelter. Lawley Bank station, which closed in 1962, was located north of the modern day station.

Preservation

Telford Horsehay Steam Trust was formed in 1974. An extension through Heath Hill Tunnel to Lawley Village was completed in 2015.

Telford Steam Railway's regular passenger timetable consists of a departure from Spring Village north to Lawley Village and then back along the line to stop at Horsehay & Dawley. The train then repeats this journey in reverse, for a round trip taking 50 minutes.

In addition to the standard gauge running line, the railway also operates a short narrow gauge line adjacent to Horsehay Pool. The Phoenix Model Engineering Society operates a miniature railway on the Spring Village site.

A large OO gauge model railway of Stafford railway station and a cafe are situated at Horsehay & Dawley Station.

Expansion

Telford Steam Railway intends to extend south beyond Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt, build a new bridge over the A4169 and continue to the Ironbridge Gorge passing through Coalbrookdale and eventually onto the power station site at Buildwas. South of Doseley, half a mile () of trackbed and two missing level crossings separate TSR's current railhead from the A4169 and Lightmoor Junction. Permission was given in June 2014 by Telford and Wrekin Council for trains to operate south to Doseley once all trackworks and building works have been completed. It was expected for work to commence south from Horsehay & Dawley station to Doseley Halt in the summer of 2015.

Although from the road it appears the formation would have to be raised by a prohibitive amount to achieve the statutory headroom below the bridge over the A4169, surveying by Telford Horsehay Steam Trust confirmed that a modest increase in height will provide the necessary clearance without increasing the already steep gradient between Doseley station and Lightmoor Junction. Network Rail have donated a fabricated steel bridge that will be suitable to span the road which arrived at Spring Village in October 2010.

The extension south of Lightmoor is dependent upon Telford Steam Railway securing the redundant half of the former double track from Lightmoor to Buildwas and reinstating the missing portion of the bridge over Brick Kiln Bank. This bridge was previously reduced to a single track width when Network Rail replaced the original double track width brick arch with single track width concrete section.

In October 2006, with the abolition of Lightmoor Junction, Network Rail took the uphill line out of use; the former downhill line becoming a bi-directional extension of the existing single line from Madeley Junction. Telford Steam Railway plans to use the uphill line as its route into the Ironbridge Gorge including extension over Coalbrookdale Viaduct and across the Albert Edward Bridge onto the power station site, at Buildwas, when it closes. TSR intends to reinstate Coalbrookdale station to serve the Ironbridge Gorge Trust's Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale's original station buildings survive as part of the Green Wood Centre's Woodland Experience site.

In August 2008 Telford Steam Railway concluded negotiations with Network Rail for the lease and occupation of Lightmoor Junction Signal Box. Restoration progressed steadily throughout the following years.

On 16 July 2010 the ''Shropshire Star'' published a video interview with Regeneration chief Councillor Eric Carter of Telford and Wrekin Council, in which he discussed proposals by Telford Steam Railway to operate to the site of Ironbridge Power Station after its scheduled closure in 2015.

In 2016, the Telford Steam Railway started their now flagship event of the year, The Polar Express, which is run throughout December. The train consisted of a hired S160 steam locomotive from Churnet Valley Railway, 4 coaches plus a banking locomotive (in this case 08757), The event was a major success for the TSR, bringing in the much needed funds for the extensions and to upgrade and improve their current site and rolling stock.

Prior to The Polar Express of 2017, extensive work was carried out on both Horsehay and Dawley station and Spring Village to extend the platforms to take the longer 4 coach train along with a new station building being erected on Horsehay and Dawley platform, this will also help with train lengths when the trains run through from Lawley to Ironbridge which are foreseen to consist of a locomotive and 4 coaches.

As of the beginning of 2019, the track between Horsehay and Dawley and the level crossing at Doseley was removed prior to relaying at passenger carrying standards. In 2019, the Telford Steam Railway had also published its website for "Steaming to Ironbridge" outlining the proposed extension plans for the line into the power station site in Ironbridge, which is very well backed by both Telford and Wrekin and the owners of the power station site, Harworth. The site proposals for the site include a railway station using the existing railway line.

In 2024, Lightmoor Signal Box was badly damaged by vandals.

Also in 2024, work began to rebuild Horsehay & Dawley signal box.

List of locomotives

Notable rolling stock

*1961 BR Mk 1 coach No. SC 14901. Originally built at Swindon as a standard compartment first, it was converted by BR into a prototype 1st Class Lounge Car as part of a project to produce stock to specifications formerly associated with Pullman services. Four of the conventional compartments were removed and replaced by two comfortable lounges, each seating ten passengers. As of April 2014 the coach is undergoing refurbishment for further passenger use. Currently, the newly arrived Mk2 stock has taken priority to be restored to use.

*1907 Great Western Railway Autocoach no 38. The oldest one in preservation. Currently in very poor condition in storage awaiting overhaul.

Narrow gauge locomotive

*Alan Keef Ltd Steam Tram. The Telford Steam Railway's steam tram once ran along the side of the lake in Telford Town Park. Starting from the amphitheatre, the railway did not last very long and was relocated to the Telford Steam Railway in the mid-1980s, where it is still running today around a circular track around the railway's yard near Horsehay Pool. Currently under overhaul.

Plans

The preservation trust aims to extend the line southwards from Horsehay to the site of Ironbridge power station. This would see new stations opened at Doseley, Lightmoor, Coalbrookdale and close to Buildwas for Ironbridge, including proposals for a park and ride with passenger services between Ironbridge and Birmingham New Street.

References

Further reading

* ''The Wenlock Branch – Wellington to Craven Arms'', Ken Jones, Oakwood Press 1998,

External links

Telford Steam Railway – official websitePhoenix Model Engineering Society Website

{{Coord, 52.6636, -2.4823, type:landmark_region:GB-TFW, display=title

Heritage railways in Shropshire
Railway companies established in 1976
Charities based in Shropshire
1976 establishments in England
British companies established in 1976
Ironbridge Gorge
Telford
Great Dawley
Dawley Hamlets
Lawley and Overdale