Broadway railway station

Last updated
Broadway
Broadway Railway Station in 2023.jpg
The station in 2023
General information
Location Broadway, Wychavon, Worcestershire
England
Platforms2
Other information
Websitewww.gwsr.com
History
Original company
Great Western Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1 October 1904Opened
7 March 1960Closed to passengers [1]
1 June 1964Goods facilities withdrawn [2]
30 March 2018Reopened
Location
Broadway railway station

Broadway railway station is a railway station on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in the village of Broadway in Worcestershire, England.

Contents

History

The original station opened in 1904, and closed to passengers in 1960; the original station buildings were demolished in autumn 1963 [3] although the line through the site remained open for regular passenger trains until 1968 and goods until official closure in November 1976.[ citation needed ]

The station in 1962 Broadway rail station 1914238 d28f1fd9.jpg
The station in 1962

Stationmasters

Preservation

GWR 2884 Class no.3850 opposite Broadway signal box GWR3850Broadway.jpg
GWR 2884 Class no.3850 opposite Broadway signal box

In 2009 the Broadway Area Group of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Trust started work clearing the derelict site. Over the next 9 years both platforms were rebuilt, a signal box on platform 2 was constructed and fitted out, the main station building was completed and the footbridge span and steps were erected (having been acquired from Henley-in-Arden Station via Network Rail as part of their footbridge replacement scheme).

The main station building has been built to modern standards with toilets, a booking office and refreshment room. To accommodate modern facilities it is around a third longer than the building of 1904 although it remains a faithful recreation of the original.

A view through the Platform 1 canopy to the Platform 2 waiting room under construction, July 2026 StationCanopy2026.jpg
A view through the Platform 1 canopy to the Platform 2 waiting room under construction, July 2026

The new signal box is platform mounted and is a copy of the signal box which once stood at Shirley. It has been fully fitted out and was commissioned in October 2026.

The platform 2 waiting room is set to be completed by the end of 2027 and will allow trains to run into both platforms for the first time since 1960. This is also the final part of the project to rebuild the station.

The four-mile section of track from Toddington towards Broadway station was relaid between 2015 and 2018. [9] Fund raising for the project included a 2016 share offer, "Broadway: the last mile", to complete the last mile of track. [10] Track-laying commenced in the cutting north of the station during summer 2017 and was completed by year end. Until March 2018 trains had run as far as Laverton Halt [11] although from May 2017 onwards the extension to Little Buckland was brought into use.

The station in March 2018 Broadway railway Station 2018.jpg
The station in March 2018

On Christmas Eve of 2017 the first train since 1960 arrived at Broadway Station after volunteers had finished laying the track the previous day. [12] [13] The works train was hauled by an English Electric Class 20 and Electro Diesel Class 73. The first test steam train was hauled by 7903 'Foremarke Hall' on 9 March 2018. The first volunteer passenger train arrived on 21 March 2018, hauled by 35006 'Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.' [14]

Public passenger services began on 30 March 2018. [15] By May 2018 the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway saw an increase in overall passenger numbers of over 14,000 passengers compared to the previous year, primarily due to the opening of the station at Broadway.

Preceding station HR icon.svg Heritage railways Following station
Toddington Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Terminus
Proposed extension
Toddington Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Weston-sub-Edge
Historical railways
Laverton Halt
Line open, station closed
  Great Western Railway
Honeybourne Line
  Willersey Halt
Line and station closed

References

  1. ↑ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
  2. ↑ "Railway Chronology". Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Demolition". The Jo Roesen Scrapbook.
  4. ↑ "Railway Appointment" . Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 30 July 1904. Retrieved 20 June 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Broadway Stationmaster" . Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 14 March 1942. Retrieved 20 June 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Broadway's New Stationmaster" . Gloucestershire Echo. England. 16 March 1942. Retrieved 20 June 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "New Station Master" . Cheltenham Chronicle. England. 8 September 1945. Retrieved 20 June 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "New Stationmaster for Broadway" . Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 28 July 1950. Retrieved 20 June 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Extension Blog: And down they go again". broadwayextensionblog.blogspot.ru. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway raises £250k for 'last mile'". BBC News. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "GWR - Gloucestershire's mainline heritage railway - 2015 Timetable". www.gwsr.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Broadway gets first train in 57 years". BBC. 24 December 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Broadway Railway Station - rebuilding train line | Visit Broadway". www.visit-broadway.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  14. ↑ kruiskop1 (21 March 2018). "35006 P&O on first day of passenger services out of Broadway". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2018– via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "Opening to Broadway - 30 March to 2 April 2018 - Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway". Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.

52°02′35″N1°52′19″W / 52.04293°N 1.87196°W / 52.04293; -1.87196