Eardington Halt

Eardington Halt is a former stop on the Severn Valley Railway in Shropshire between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade.

Station view from a passing train

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Severn Valley Railway)
Opened:	1868 (Closed 1963)
Re-opened:	1970 (Closed 1982)
Platforms:	1

Eardington was opened on the Severn Valley Railway by the West Midlands Railway in 1868 to serve nearby iron works. The station became unstaffed in 1949 and closed by British Railways in 1963. The station was re-opened in 1970 as part of the preserved Severn Valley Railway and was the intermediate station between the original two termini Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade.

However, the station was only lightly used and posed a number of operational difficulties to the Severn Valley Railway such as the gradient it was on and the short platform. The station, which was known on the SVR as Eardington Halt, was removed from the timetable in 1982. 

The station is maintained by volunteers, a siding at the station is used for storing wagons. The station's platform surface was removed in the 1980s but there are plans to restore it. The station has a brick waiting room. There are often calls to re-open the station (again), using it for shuttle trains at galas.

Another view from a train

Shoreditch High Street (SDC)

Shoreditch High Street is a stop on the London Overground in East London between Hoxton and Whitechapel. 

A London Overground train at Shoreditch High Street

Information
Type:	Transport for London (London Overground)
Station code:	SDC
Opened:	2010
Platforms:	2

Shoreditch used to served by Shoreditch tube station [1] on the East London Line but this station closed in 2006 after years of light usage. The new Shoreditch High Street station was built to the West of the former tube station and is on the site of the former Shoreditch station opened by the Eastern Counties Railway which opened in 1840 but closed to passengers as long ago as 1875 (it remained open for goods, by then named Bishopgate, until 1964).

The station is part of the London Overground network and opened in 2010. It is built on a viaduct in an enclosed concrete box. There are trains at least every ten minutes at Shoreditch High Street in each direction during the day.

Railway bridge in Shoreditch, the station is on the right

Former 1983 Tube Stock trains atop a building are another feature of Shoreditch!

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, East London Line (Middleton Press, 1996) Fig. 114

Kerne Bridge

Kerne Bridge was a stop on the Ross & Monmouth Railway in Herefordshire between Lydbrook Junction and Walford Halt. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Ross & Monmouth Railway)
Opened:	1873
Closed:	1959
Platforms:	2

The station was opened in 1873, later becoming part of the Great Western Railway. The station was closed in 1959 though the line remained open until 1965. The station had a loop and a good siding. A camping coach was located at the station during the 1930s and 1950s.

After closure the main station building was used as an outdoor activity centre. Nowadays it is a private dwelling.

Kerne Bridge after closure (KD collection)

Crowthorne (CRN)

Crowthorne is a stop on the North Downs Line in Berkshire between Wokingham and Sandhurst. 

Platform shelter with BR logo

Information
Type:	National Rail (North Downs Line)
Station code:	CRN
Opened:	1859
Platforms:	2

The station was opened in 1859 by the South Eastern Railway following pressure (and a financial contribution) by the nearby Wellington College. The station was called Wellington College for Crowthorne, the name became just Crowthorne in 1928 [1]. The main station building was repurposed for commercial use when the station became unstaffed in 1967. The station was given new platform shelters in the 1980s including a brick built shelter with a pleasing BR symbol made out of bricks!

Crowthorne's goods yard closed in 1964, a signalbox for the yard closing in 1967. Crowthorne is managed by Great Western Railway with an hourly service in each direction between Reading and Redhill or Gatwick Airport, there are some extra services in peak hours.

On the platform

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Reading to Guildford (Middleton Press, 1988) Fig. 43

Walsall (WSL)

Walsall is a stop on the Chase Line in the West Midlands between Bloxwich and Bescot Stadium.

LNWR 350 370 departs

Information
Type:	National Rail (Chase Line)
Station code:	WSL
Opened:	1849
Platforms:	3

The first station in Walsall was Bescot Bridge in 1837 built near Bescot Stadium station, but in 1849 a proper city centre station was built in Walsall by the South Staffordshire Railway on a route to Dudley. Further routes and lines were added to Walsall over the following decades.

The current station buildings date from the late 1970s when the old station was demolished as part of a major retail regeneration project. The Saddlers Centre shopping mall has been built atop the station and is where the main entrance and concourse is. Another entrance is via station street.

Nowadays Walsall, which is managed by West Midlands Railway, is host to services on the Chase Line between Birmingham New Street and Rugeley Trent Valley and services between Walsall and Wolverhampton (via New Street).

LM 323 221 stands at Walsall

Platform 1

Station Street entrance

Platform 3

High Street Kensington (ZHS)

High Street Kensington is a stop on the London Underground Circle and District Lines in West London between Notting Hill Gate and Gloucester Road or Earl's Court. 

A Circle Line S7 Stock train arrives

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Circle & District Lines)
Station code:	ZHS
Opened:	1868
Platforms:	4

The station was opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1868 as Kensington (High Street), the name was changed to High Street Kensington in 1880 [1]. The station had a goods yard until 1963. The platforms are in an open air cutting with canopies.

The station has four platforms, two are for through Circle and District Line services. The other two platforms are for terminating District Line services including to Kensington (Olympia).

Station entrance inside Kensington Arcade

On the platforms

Another Circle Line train departs

[1] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 131

Stoke Ferry

Stoke Ferry was the terminus of a branch line from Denver in Norfolk. 

Information
Type:	National Rail (Stoke Ferry Branch)
Opened:	1882
Closed:	1930
Platforms:	1

The station was opened by the Downham & Stoke Ferry Railway in 1882, the station was the terminus of an 11.67km long branch line from Denver (the branch line had just two intermediate stops, Ryston and Abbey & West Dereham). Stoke Ferry had a poor service with just four trains a day from Downham, weekdays only.

The station closed in 1930 though the line remained open for freight until 1965. The station building still remains.

Stoke Ferry station building (KD collection)