Craven Arms And Stokesay
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Craven Arms railway station serves the town of
Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches Line, Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbur ...
, in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, England. Until 1974, it was known as ''Craven Arms and Stokesay'', after the nearby
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...
(the town having not come into being prior to the arrival of the railways) and the historic settlement of
Stokesay Stokesay is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Craven Arms, in the Shropshire (district), Shropshire district, in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is just south of Craven Arms on the A49 road, also fleetingly ...
to the south. It is situated at the junction of the Welsh Marches Line and the Heart of Wales Line, south of
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
. All passenger trains calling at the station are operated by
Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; ; ) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consisting of itself and its subsidiaries: Trans ...
, which also manages it.


History

The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway company was the first to serve the town, arriving from the north in 1852 and completing its route through to Hereford the following year. The Knighton Railway constructed the first of the three branches from the main line between 1858 and 1861. The second branch was that of the Bishops Castle Railway, which arrived in 1865 via a junction with the main line about 1 km to the north. The route from
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...
was completed by the Wenlock, Craven Arms and Lightmoor Extension railway in 1867, joining the main line a few miles north of the town at Marsh Farm Junction. Between 1865 and 1935, Craven Arms was the junction terminus of the Bishops Castle Railway. There was also a junction serving the line that went to
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
via
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...
. Adjacent to the station once stood the now demolished carriage sheds. There continues to be a signal box at Craven Arms, to the north of the station by the level crossing. The
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
and
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
leased the main line jointly in 1862, whilst the modest Knighton branch would eventually be extended right through to
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
by the LNWR over the course of the next decade. The Bishops Castle branch, which spent its entire existence in
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
closed in 1935. The Much Wenlock line by contrast would remain little altered throughout its life, although the GWR did take control of it soon after opening; its passenger trains ceased in 1951. The station's locomotive shed closed in 1964 and goods traffic ceased in May 1968.


Facilities

The station is unstaffed and now has no permanent buildings other than standard metal and plexiglass waiting shelters on each platform; the main buildings on each side were demolished by 1972. A self-service ticket machine is provided for intending passengers; this can also be used for collecting pre-paid tickets. Train running information is offered via CIS displays, timetable posters and a customer help point on each platform. A footbridge links both platforms, but step-free also offered on each side - this does though require a sizeable detour via local roads if changing platforms.


Layout

The station has two platforms, connected by a footbridge: * Platform 1, on the west side, facilitates northbound trains to Shrewsbury and beyond as well as trains from via the Heart of Wales Line. * Platform 2, on the town side of the station, provides southbound trains to and and also southbound Heart of Wales services since signalling and track alterations in October 2018. Prior to these changes, southbound trains to and beyond used platform 1 in both directions. The crossover gave access to the branch being sited to the north near Long Lane crossing; this has now been relocated to the south end of the station.


Services

Transport for Wales provides the following service pattern: * Trains from
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...
and Cardiff Central to
Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...
call at the station every two hours in both directions. * Most to Cardiff trains also call here every two hours. On Sundays, the frequency is irregular and there are no departures until just before noon. * There are four trains a day, with two on Sundays, in each direction between
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
and Shrewsbury; there is one more as far as , except on Saturdays, along the Heart of Wales Line.


References


Citations


Sources

* Body, G. (1983), ''PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Western Region'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough,


Further reading

* * *


External links


Craven Arms station - Video and narration
{{Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Railway stations in Shropshire DfT Category F1 stations Former Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852 Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Heart of Wales Line 1852 establishments in England Craven Arms