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London North Western
Railway:
Midland
Railway:
Stratford
Midland Junction Railway
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Alcester Station - Midland Railway & Great Western
Railway
Alcester station was situated between Coughton and Wixford
and opened for goods traffic on 16th June 1866 and to passenger traffic two
months later on 17th September. Initially it was the terminus for the line from
Evesham as the extension to Redditch did not open until 4th May 1868. Later the
station became a block post on the MR line and a terminus to the Bearley branch
line operated by the GWR. When first opened the station had just one platform
and single line through the station but very quickly received an up platform on
the newly built passing loop. The signalling at the station was revised several
times as the original signal box situated just to the south of the station was
moved to be on the southern portion of the down platform. The signal box built
to accommodate the junction with the GWR branch was replaced on 24th April when
the signal box on the down platform also closed both being replaced by the new
signal box to the north of the goods yard. The LMS replacing both to reduce
both maintenance and labour costs, the latter being required twenty-four hours
per day. The station was provided with two sets of services, one operated by
the GWR the other by the MR. The former providing access to the Birmingham to
London line via Bearley and Hatton, the latter providing access to the
southwest and a more direct line to Birmingham.
In Bob Essery's book An Illustrated History of the
Ashchurch to Barnt Green Line - The Evesham Route, Bob uses the MR 1909
timetable to demonstrate that the GWR did not time their trains to coincide
with any MR connections. Clearly the GWR wished their passengers to use their
route to the southwest via Stratford upon Avon and Cheltenham. Goods traffic
was principally agricultural with the large cattle market offering business for
both railway companies. Coal formed a major part of inward traffic with several
local merchants and the Alcester Co-operative Society vying for trade. The GWR
services were casualties during the two World Wars, the first time seeing the
line uplifted to provide materials for the front on 1st January 1917 with the
line reinstated on 29 July 1923. The second closure occurred on 25th September
1939 when passenger traffic was ceased and whilst goods traffic did not
officially cease until 1st March 1951, Bob Essery believes that goods traffic
most likely ceased with passenger traffic. The GWR junction was taken out of
use on 31st May 1953. The MR line from Redditch to Ashchurch was closed to both
passenger and goods services in installments ending on 6th July 1964 with
Alcester closing officially on 17th September 1963 although the last train ran
on 1 October 1962 being replaced by a bus service.
Bibliography
Most of the information imparted in the captions has been
derived from the three publications which are listed below. We acknowledge the
authors input to the history of Alcester station and wish to thank them for
their significant contribution. We can recommend both books which are:
- An Illustrated History of the Ashchurch to Barnt Green
Line - The Evesham Route
Published by OPC Publications.
ISBN: 9 780860 935629
A Midland Railway/London
Midland Scottish Railway/British Railway perspective provided by RJ
Essery
- The Alcester Branch
Published by
Wild Swan Publications. ISBN: 978-1-905184-05-7
A
Great Western Railway perspective provided by authors Stanley C Jenkins and
Roger Carpenter.
An article written by Roger Carpenter, 'Alcester',
appeared in British Railway Journal Published in 1999 by Wild Swan
Publications ISNN0265-4105 which has been reproduced below.
| Alcester Station - MR &
GWR (63) |
Alcester Shed - GWR (19) |
On this page:
Alcester Station
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Alcester goods yard and siding
HE Bomford
HE Bomford had offices other than in Wixford, including an
office at Alcester. A photograph of one of their wagons can be viewed
here.
Discovering a reproduction of this postcard image triggered
off an allegiance to my role model as an author. LTC (Tom) Rolt, whose debut
into the world of literature produced one of the most influential classics of
English literature in his 'Narrow Boat', the catalyst for the resurgence of the
canal system and its associated leisure cruising, and his remarkable "Red for
Danger". Tom Rolt and I have one thing in common, we are both self-taught
writers. Here the comparison ends, coming second is not in my nature, but this
time simply some means of kindred spirit is a pleasure.
To this I must add his autobiography, one of a trilogy
'Landscape with Machines', which introduces to its reader the Bomford family of
Warwickshire, grand masters in the art of professional farming. In 1926, Rolt
at the age of 16, commenced a two-year apprenticeship at the family's Pitchill
Farm in the Vale of Evesham. He eloquently sets out the workings of a large
farm and the men that worked it, and was fortunate enough to work in the
mechanical side of the farming operation, keeping a diary of its workings and
those employed there. It was jointly run by Douglas (1894-1967) Leslie
(1896-1981) and Ernest (1901-1962) Bomford, and largely devoted to fruit
growing.
Here the family owned six pairs of steam ploughing engines
which they also contracted out to other farmers in the vicinity, many of which
were worked by relatives. There was also a grist mill for grinding feed a
workshop and forge, all manned by a staff of delightfully rural characters
whose collective skills could tackle and solve any mechanical or structural
problem that arose. The three Bomfords which Rolt mentions as the partners in
running this operation were the second, third and fourth sons of Raymond
Bomford ((1854-1920) who in turn was a son of Benjamin Bomford (1828-1880),
descendent of the founders of this great, innovative and efficient farming
empire, which at one time covered over 4,000 acres of lush Vale of Evesham
countryside, straddling the border between Warwickshire and Worcestershire. In
the 1851 census alone there are entries for four different Benjamin Bomfords,
collectively farming a thousand acres and employing 33 men and boys. The family
dates back to the sixteenth century.
Keith Turton
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Alcester Signal Boxes
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MR and LMS locomotives seen at Alcester Station
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Miscellany
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Maps and Schematics of Alcester Station and Junction
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The Great Western Railway at Alcester
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GWR locomotives and rolling stock at Alcester Station
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Roger Carpenter's article 'Alcester' from British Railway
Journal
Published by Wild Swan Publications, ISSN 0265-4105
The origins
The small market town of Alcester, with its stone, brick and
half-timbered buildings, is situated on the western flank of Warwickshire.
Dating from Roman times, it was once a thriving centre for local industries
which, prior to 1900, included furniture, brushes, leather goods and farm
produce, etc. There was also a thriving weekly livestock market.
By the 1850s the need for better access to the outside world
by the businessmen of the districts encompassing Redditch, Alcester and Evesham
was becoming critical. In July 1858 a railway was authorised from Barnt Green
to Redditch, which was rapidly developing into a centre for industrial
activity. Set up as a local concern and known as the ‘Redditch
Railway’, it opened for passengers on 19th September 1859 and to freight
on 1st October the same year. Although dogged by financial problems at first,
it motivated interest in opening up the area south of Redditch through the rich
agricultural lands that make up the western corner of Warwickshire, and down
into the well-known fruit and vegetable growing Vale of Evesham. The only
railway serving this area at the time was the GWR former Oxford, Worcester
& Wolverhampton line which passed through Evesham.
The Midland Railway was very active in extending its system
in various parts of the country during the 1850s and 1860s, including a 10 mile
branch from their Birmingham—Gloucester line at Ash-church through the
Vale of Evesham, skirting the foot of the Cotswold hills, to reach the market
town of Evesham. Known as the Ashchurch & Evesham Railway, the line was
authorised on 7th June 1861 and opened to all traffic on 1st October 1864 as a
double-track branch. The MR station was situated alongside that of the GWR.
The further development of this line was part of a scheme
by a number of parties to link the Evesham area with the Redditch Railway to
form a through route to the rich commercial markets of Birmingham and the North
Midlands. The Evesham & Redditch Railway, authorised on 13th July 1863, was
opened as far as Alcester for freight on 16th June and passenger traffic on
17th September 1866. Following problems with a 330ft tunnel on the approach to
Redditch, the remaining section was finally opened through to Redditch on 4th
May 1868.
The Redditch and Evesham & Redditch Railway companies
did not own any locos or rolling stock, the line being worked by the MR from
the outset. By the MR (New Lines & Additional Powers) Act of 21st July
1863, the Redditch Railway was dissolved and taken over by the Midland from 1st
January 1865. The Evesham & Redditch Railway remained nominally independent
somewhat longer, but was vested in the MR from 1st July 1882 and finally
dissolved on 25th June 1886 after a financial settlement.
Two years after the E&R was incorporated in 1863, a
scheme was put forward by local businessmen and other worthies to link Alcester
and the locality with the neighbouring Stratford-on-Avon Railway Company line
in order to gain access to the east Midlands and Home Counties. ‘The
Warwick Junction Railway’ was projected to leave the Stratford-on-Avon
line close to their Bearley station and pass through the districts of Aston
Cantlow, Great Alne, Haselor, Kinwarton, Oversley and Alcester, joining the
E&R just south of Alcester station, a distance of around 7 miles. This
initial scheme was abandoned due to opposition from the GWR and MR. However,
undaunted, a group of local businessmen revived the idea in November 1871, the
chief promoters including the Earl of Yarmouth, John Coulson Bull and William
Bevington Lowe. The proposed new company was to be called the ‘Alcester
Railway Company’.
Despite much opposition from both the GWR and the MR, the
company eventually reached an agreement with the GWR and obtained its Act on
6th August 1872. Following a meeting with the GWR at Paddington in February
1873, William Clarke was appointed as Engineer for the new company and things
got under way. The new route followed a similar course to that of the 1865
scheme, but approached Alcester station from the north. Hampered by lack of
funds, construction was deferred until 1875 when Messrs. Scott & Edwards of
Melmerby, Yorkshire, were appointed the contractors to build the line. The 61/2
mile long Alcester Railway was completed, and ready for Board of Trade
inspection on 25th August 1876, and opened to all traffic on Monday, 4th
September 1876. The terms of the 1872 Act stipulated that the GWR would work
and maintain the railway in perpetuity, so, like the Redditch and Evesham &
Redditch companies, the Alcester Railway owned no locomotives or rolling stock.
Inevitably, the Alcester Railway Company was vested in the Great Western and
Stratford-on-Avon Railway companies by an Act of 22nd July 1878, whilst the
Stratford-on-Avon and Great Western Railway companies were amalgamated as from
1st July 1883.
ALCESTER STATION
Alcester station was situated on the eastern side of the
town on flat open farmland, and from the outset was to be regarded as the main
principal intermediate station. At first, Alcester was the only crossing place
on the E&R route, that is until the opening of the East & West Junction
Railway extension from Stratford-on-Avon to Broom on 2nd June 1879, when Broom
became a passing station as well as a junction. The station at Alcester was
laid out on a very gentle curve and was provided with two blue brick-edged
platforms 300ft in length, a substantial neat station building, combining
station offices and living accommodation for the station master on the down
platform, and a purpose-built waiting room on the up platform. The buildings
were constructed in red and blue brick with slate and pantile roofs.
The spacious goods yard on the down side was provided with
a 50ft long goods shed constructed in the same materials as the station
buildings and containing a 30 cwt hand crane. The architecture of these
buildings was identical to the other original E&R stations at Studley,
Salford Priors and Harvington. The yard was also provided with a cattle dock,
an end loading dock, a long loop siding for coal and mineral traffic, and a
cart weighbridge.
The station was fully signalled with standard MR equipment
of the day, including one of the distinctive MR signal boxes. The opening of
the Alcester Railway in September 1876 brought about numerous alterations to
the station layout, carried out during August 1876 at the Alcester company's
expense. The work involved extending the crossing loop to the site of the
actual junction, a new trailing connection from the up line to the goods yard
loop siding, and a new trailing siding off the up line at the Evesham end of
the station. The signalling was amended and a new signal box was also provided
at the junction with the Alcester Railway, and the main E&R station
building underwent mainly internal alterations to accommodate the needs of the
new company.
During the construction of the Alcester Railway,
consideration was given to a separate terminus alongside the existing E&R
station on land behind the goods yard, but, after much deliberation, the
Alcester company decided to seek an agreement with the MR regarding the use of
the E&R station as the cost of a separate station was prohibitive. In due
course an agreement was reached with the MR for the use of the station at a
rent of £150 per annum, and a proportional contribution to working
expenses. The MR's quotation to the company for the necessary permanent way and
signalling alterations, etc, was initially regarded as excessive, but, after
some deliberations, the Alcester company relented and the works went ahead,
despite some reluctance on the part of the MR company which was no doubt
worried about securing payment. The Alcester line was originally operated on
the train staff without ticket system, but after 1923 the electric token system
was used.
Alcester station remained more or less unchanged during its
existence; the only real alterations carried out were the replacement of the
Station Signal Box in December 1905, when a larger one was erected on the end
of the down platform adjacent to the main station building, and some minor
alterations to the signalling which were also carried out at the same time.
Further signalling alterations took place in 1932 when the two signal boxes
were replaced by a standard LMS brick and timber structure located centrally
between its predecessors, these alterations taking effect on 24th April 1932.
The signalling underwent a gradual renewal from the 1940s onwards, the MR
wooden post signals giving way to the familiar LMS tubular-post upper quadrant
type.
LOCOMOTIVE AND TRAIN WORKING Evesham & Redditch
Line
The initial service on the E&R line between Evesham and
Alcester consisted of four trains in each direction on weekdays and two on
Sundays. They were integrated with the Evesham—Ashchurch line services and
extended through to Gloucester. However, by the late 1860s, through trains had
been withdrawn and thereafter services terminated at Ashchurch where improving
connections catered for passengers wishing to travel to Cheltenham and
Gloucester. There was a weekdays-only freight train in each direction between
Evesham and Alcester and another between Evesham and Ashchurch. The opening of
the E&R line through to Redditch in 1868 created, in effect, a ‘loop
line’ off the main Birmingham - Gloucester line and through running was
made possible between Ashchurch and Barnt Green. Through passenger trains
commenced running from Birmingham, with certain services terminating at
Redditch (as before), Evesham and Ashchurch. A weekdays freight train service
was introduced between Birmingham and Evesham. The route also enabled trains to
be diverted off the main line, thus avoiding the Lickey Incline and Worcester.
Passenger services between Redditch - Evesham - Ashchurch varied little between
1868 and 1962 when the service was suspended between Redditch and Evesham (the
Evesham—Ashchurch section lasting until 1963), and consisted of between
four and six trains in each direction on weekdays, generally running through
from Birmingham to Ashchurch or Evesham, and Redditch and connecting with other
services at these places. Since the 1930s, the Sunday services consisted of
three return trips between Birmingham and Evesham only.
By 1911, the operating department had realized the
potential of the route and sent through freights from Washwood Heath to
Gloucester, Bath and Bristol over the line, as well as the local services from
Washwood Heath and Redditch to Evesham and Gloucester Barnwood Sidings. The
section south of Broom was also used by banana specials running from Avonmouth
to London St. Pancras Goods. The whole 32 mile route from Barnt Green to
Ashchurch was open 24 hours a day, 22 miles being single-track, with passing
places at Redditch, Alcester and Broom. The route saw heavy traffic, especially
freight, during both World Wars, but the usefulness of the ‘loop
line’ began to diminish by 1960, especially the section north of Broom.
The line south of Alcester to Evesham was temporarily closed from 1st October
1962, the line being declared unsafe due to the poor state of the sleepers. A
bus service was provided between Redditch and Evesham but after it had been
decided that the cost of track renewal was not justified, the line between
Redditch and Evesham was officially closed from 1st July 1963. The
Evesham—Ashchurch section closed completely on 9th September 1963, the
truncated section from Redditch to Alcester remaining open for freight until
6th July 1964. Motive power on the line was provided from Bournville shed (MR
code 3, later LMS/BR 2IB) and Saltley (MR code 3, later LMS/BR 21A) and the
sub-shed at Redditch, which came under Bournville. Generally, Bournville and
Saltley men worked most of the turns south of Redditch, with Gloucester and
Redditch providing some of the turns.
Before the 1880s, motive power used on the
Ashchurch—Evesham- Barnt Green line would no doubt have been Kirtley
2-4—0 tender engines on passenger work and his well-known 0—6—Os
on freight duties. By 1900, Johnson 0—4—4 tanks would have appeared
on the line in company with Johnson M class 0—6—0 tender engines,
and, by 1914, Johnson 2—4—0s began to appear on the line on the
Birmingham—Evesham- Ashchurch passenger trains, and summer excursions. It
was not until about 1930-32 that larger engines were used on the line south of
Redditch, these including Deeley 0—6—4 tanks and class 3
0—6—0 tender engines. It is believed that this came about after the
strengthening of certain underbridges as, prior to this date, the
0—6—4 tanks and class 3 0—6-0s were permitted to work only as
far as Redditch. By the early 1930s, the Deeley 0—6—4 tanks were a
regular sight on passenger and local goods as were Johnson 0—4—4
tanks on passenger duties. By this date, Fowler class 3 0—6—0s had
largely taken over from the Kirtley and Johnson 0—6—0s on the freight
workings, especially on the through freights to Gloucester and Westerleigh
(Bristol). By the late 1930s, Stanier 2—6—2 tanks, Fowler
2—6—2 and 2-6-4 tanks, and Fowler 483/2P class 4—4—0s were
all seen on passenger duties, with 4F 0—6—0s, on freight, whilst by
the mid-1940s, Compounds, Belpaire class 3 4—4—0s, and Hughes’
‘Crab’ 2—6—0s appeared on the line.
During the postwar years, Fowler 2—6—4 and Stanier
2—6—2 tanks, in company with the Fowler 2P 4—4—0s, handled
most passenger turns, with 3F and 4F 0—6—0s on the bulk of the
freight turns. By the mid 1950s, Ivatt class 4 2—6—0s were regularly
used on both passenger and freight turns whilst Stanier class 5s and 8Fs were
in use on the through freights (48523 was a regular on the Washwood
Heath—Gloucester at this time), and from 1957 BR Standard
2—10—0s. From 1957-62, Fowler 2—6—4 tanks and Ivatt class 4
2- 6—0s were regularly employed on the passenger duties. The line beyond
Redditch remained steam-worked to the end, but during the goods-only period
from October 1962 to July 1964, Sulzer type 2 diesels were also used.
Prior to the 1890s, coaching stock consisted of four and
six-wheel MR vehicles, succeeded by arc-roof bogie stock, although 6-wheel
stock was still to be seen on trains south of Redditch into the 1920s. By the
mid-1930s, ex-MR non-corridor and corridor arc-roof and clerestory bogie stock
were in use, as well as early-pattern LMS stock, train formations generally
consisting of 4-6 vehicles. By 1950, the standard LMS suburban and Stanier
corridor stock was in use and lasted up to 1962 when the formation was
generally 4-5 vehicles.
Alcester Railway
In 1876 there were six return trips between Bearley and
Alcester on weekdays only, whilst the timetables for 1894 and 1911 give five
return trips, two of which ran as mixed, again on weekdays only. Prior to the
First World War, royalty and other notables travelled to and from Alcester
station on visits to the Marquis of Hertford's Estate at Ragley Hall, which was
situated a mile or so from the station, and, on at least one occasion, a
special royal train arrived at Alcester. The Redditch Indicator for Saturday,
9th August 1879, mentions that 'HRH Princess May Adelaide, the Duchess of
Teck...arrived at Alcester station by special (Great Western) train on Saturday
afternoon last...' The same newspaper for the period circa 1878-80 contains
several references to royalty and other notables travelling by GWR and MR
trains to and from Alcester station.
During the 1876-1916 period, Dean '517' class
0—4—2 tanks were used on the line, but we don't know about other
types. A 1901 photo of a train in Alcester station shows an arc-roof bogie
non-corridor all third coach and a four-wheel passenger brake van, suggesting
that even by this period a single bogie coach sufficed for the meagre
traffic.
Despite the optimism of its promoters way back in the 1860s,
the Alcester branch never really lived up to expectations, and quickly fell
victim to the First World War economies, the locomotive shed at Alcester
closing on 1st November 1915, when the branch engine transferred to
neighbouring Stratford-on-Avon, itself a sub-shed of Tyseley. The GWR closed
the branch completely as from 1st January 1917, and subsequently removed the
track for use elsewhere. After the war the GWR had no plans to re-open the
line. However, vigorous protests from the inhabitants of Alcester persuaded the
company to reinstate the section from Bearley to Great Alne which was re-opened
to all traffic on 18th December 1922. The service which centred on
Stratford-on-Avon, consisted of seven railmotor trips Stratford—Great Alne
plus one Thursdays & Saturdays only Bearley—Great Alne. In the
opposite direction, there were six trips plus two Thursdays & Saturdays
only. The time- table shows one or two of the workings in each direction
running as mixed.
Just over seven months later, on 1st August 1923, the line
was re-opened through to Alcester, this time including a new ‘Halt’
at Aston Cantlow between Bearley and Great Alne, and the re-opening of the loco
shed at Alcester.
The service of seven return trips Mondays to Saturdays only
was mentioned, two of them running as mixed, and still with motor train
operation, viz single auto-trailer and a '517' class 0—4—2, with the
engine facing Bearley. By 1930, the timetable included workings to and from
Stratford-on-Avon, and the summer service of that year lists five trips each
way daily between Bearley and Alcester, two of which were mixed in each
direction. The auto-train also made a morning return trip from Alcester to
Stratford on Mondays to Fridays direct via Bearley North and West Junctions,
and two return trips to Stratford on Saturdays. By 1937, the summer timetable
showed the same service with an additional return auto trip between Bearley and
Alcester.
During the 1923-39 period, trains for the Stratford Mop
Fair, which was held each year on two successive Saturdays in October, were
strengthened by the addition of an extra coach, apparently a clerestory compo
third. This was also used on the Mop Night Special to Stratford, which, by all
accounts, was a revellers’ delight! The average branch mixed train
generally ran with four and six wagons behind the auto-trailer, plus the goods
brake. During the 1920s - 1930s, the locals nicknamed the branch auto-train
‘the coffee pot’; the single coach and four-coupled tank engine would
have looked a diminutive unit compared with the passenger trains on the LMS
line, but despite their affection, their allegiance to the line steadily
declined during the late 1930s. The main problem for the GWR branch passenger
traffic was that few Alcester people worked in Stratford, which had little
industry, whereas man;, found employment in Evesham, Studley. Redditch and
Birmingham all reached by the LMS line. It can therefore have come as little
surprise when, shortly after war was declared on 3rd September 1939, the GWR
announced they intended to close the line entirely from 25th September 1939
until further notice. This was much the same as the 1917 closure but this time
the rails were not removed.
By the spring of 1940, the line hac become used for crippled
wagon storage which continued unhindered until May 1941 when, as a result of
the bombing of Coventry, Maudslays built a ‘shadow factory’ at Great
Alne, the GWR re-opening the line from Bearley to Great Alne only for workmen's
trains from Coventry. However, these trains ceased on 1st July 1944 when buses
were substituted.
As a result of a petition by local traders in the Great Alne
area, the Bearley—Great Alne section was re-opened for freight in
September 1942, the line beyond to Alcester being retained for wagon storage.
Traffic was worked in conjunction with the existing Leamington—Stratford
pick-up freight, and the service down the branch was ‘twice weekly’.
By 1947, coal traffic for Maudslay works had ceased and thereafter the line was
worked ‘as required’, outgoings including seasonal sugar beet from
Great Alne to Kidderminster sugar refinery, but this traffic ceased about
1950.
After the cessation of the meagre freight traffic between
Bearley and Great Alne, the whole branch was again used for the storage of
crippled and withdrawn wagons, and was officially closed on 1st March 1951, a
short length at both ends still being retained for wagon storage until about
1959-60 when the surviving track was removed.
TRAFFIC 1900s—1930s
Details of traffic in the early years prior to 1900 are not
known, but presumably it was typical of a country station of the period, with
incoming domestic coal, general merchandise, livestock, grain, animal feed,
etc. Besides farm produce, outgoing traffic from local industries would have
included furniture from the cabinet works owned by the Ison brothers, leather
goods, brushes, and goods from the Minerva needle works situated in Station
Road, which, by the 1930s, had been taken over by Terrys, a Redditch firm
manufacturing springs. There was also a livestock sale yard and abattoir owned
by H. J. Rowley adjacent to the station which generated plenty of traffic,
especially on the MR line. There was a cattle market at Alcester on Thursdays
when truck loads of cattle would be dispatched, notably to Birmingham.
Most, if not all, the local Alcester coal merchants of the
inter-war period had stacking grounds and offices in the goods yard, these
including Frank and George Butler, Frank Hawkins, Fred Shrimpton, J. A. Bates,
Alcester Co-op, and the Warwickshire County Council. Most of the domestic coal
came in from the / Warwickshire Coalfield.
The MR and GWR employed horse-drawn drays to collect and
deliver goods in and around the town, and by the late 1930s, the LMS are
believed to have been using a motor lorry, as were some of the coal merchants
and local farmers.
STAFF PRE-1939
For many years the station was overseen by both an MR and
GWR station master, a practice probably dating from the opening of the Alcester
Railway in 1876 in conjunction with the agreement for the use of the E&R
station. There were even separate booking offices within the main station
building. The MR is believed to have employed two passenger clerks, plus a
relief, a goods clerk, a couple of porters and a drayman, and signalmen to
cover day and night shifts. LMS station staff during the 1930s included station
masters Kilby and Webb; booking clerks Sainsbury and Righton; porter Bill
Potter, whilst signalmen included Mr. Stokes, Ernie Jarrett, and Mr. Pepper;
and goods delivery driver Mr. Darby shire. Mr. Kilby was subsequently replaced
by Mr. Blakemore who arrived about 1939 and stayed there during the war years.
GWR STAFF
As already mentioned, the GWR allocated a station master
and possibly a clerk to the station as well as a goods delivery driver and two
porter-guards, whilst the Locomotive Department based two sets of footplatemen
to the shed. By the turn of the century, the station master was a Mr. Pocock,
whilst in 1911 the locomotive drivers were Mr. G. Whitehead and a Mr. C.
Stairmand. The first station master after the 1923 re-opening was a Mr. W.
Everitt, who was promoted to Bletchington in December 1927. A relief man
probably covered the post until April 1928 when Mr. J. N. Billington
transferred from Bordesley Junction. Amongst the regular train crew during the
1930s were drivers Williams and Parker, fireman Edmunds and goods guards Hughes
and Bayliss.
1947-50
When Reg Tedstone, a relief booking clerk based at Barnt
Green, was first sent to Alcester in 1947, the station master was Frank Pattle,
who transferred away to Aldridge about 1948. He was succeeded by Frank Dainton
who remained until the early 1950s before transferring to ' Kingsbury.
The station staff consisted of a booking clerk, believed to
have been Norman Saunders; goods clerk Ken Sainsbury; porters (one on early
turn, one on late) Billy Potter (an elderly man who had been there since before
the war) and Alfred. There were two signalmen, one on each shift, and a lorry
driver, but their names are not known. The passenger traffic at this period was
quite reasonable, mostly in the mornings and evenings for Birmingham, Redditch
and Evesham. The goods yard, too, was quite busy, with farm supplies such as
animal feed and agricultural products, several vans and coal wagons being
handled each day. The abattoir was adjacent to the goods yard, and the gruesome
sounds could be heard on occasions around the station. Some of the livestock
was still brought in by rail at this time but most came from local farms. The
abattoir was run by Desmond Rowley but the business was transferred to
Kidderminster during the early 1960s.
On one occasion, a large cheese was being unloaded from a
box van, and was found to have been contaminated with oil or something similar.
The staff buried it in the station yard! At lunchtime, the station staff would
generally retire to the nearby public house, The Bear, situated in the High
Street. Although there was a ‘No betting on the premises’ sign in the
bar, a local policeman would sometimes come in and patronise the unofficial
bookie! Billy Potter, one of the regular porters who used the pub, was often
despatched from the station to summon the return of his colleagues. The Lord
Nelson was another favourite retreat.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Roger Carpenter stated that he was much indebted to: Reg
Tedstone, Bill Hunt and D. G. Cox for their recollections of the station in the
1930s-1950. Roger added. 'I would also like to thank John Tilsley, J. F.
Burrell, Joe Moss, Pat Garland, John Smith of Lens of Sutton, Derek Sharpe,
Phil Wheeler, Brian Johnson, Bob Essery, Richard Casserley, John Edgington, the
late Don Powell, John Platt, Stanley Bennett and numerous other folk who helped
in the preparation of this article'.
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