Baschurch railway station was a minor station located about ten miles north of
Shrewsbury on the
GWR's Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
to
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
main line. Today this is part of the
Shrewsbury to Chester line
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
. The station building (now a private house) can be seen on the west side of the line adjacent
Baschurch level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...
; it was designed by
Thomas Mainwaring Penson
Thomas Mainwaring Penson (1818–64) was an English surveyor and architect. His father and grandfather, who were both named Thomas Penson, were also surveyors and architects. His grandfather Thomas Penson (c. 1760–1824) worked from an office ...
.
Historical services
Express trains did not call at Baschurch, only local services.
According to the ''
Official Handbook of Stations
The ''Official Handbook of Stations'' was a large book (, 494 pages) listing all the passenger and goods stations, as well as private sidings, on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland. It was published in 1956 by the British Transport Commiss ...
'' the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H & C and there was a three-ton crane.
Although the station was closed the line has continued in use for through trains.
Accidents and incidents
*On 13 February 1961, an express passenger train was in collision with a freight train that was being shunted at the station. The accident was due to a signalman's error. Three people were killed and two were injured.
Campaign for reopening
In September 2009, a local group was formed to campaign for the station to be reopened. An initial public meeting was attended by 250 people, and
Arriva Trains Wales the franchise operator for the line agreed to re-examine the feasibility of trains stopping at Baschurch.
As of October 2011 the campaign continued, with the commissioning of new research into the feasibility of the reopening proposal. Funding for the study was declined by
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...
, but campaigners aimed to fund it themselves.
In 2023 the local MP,
Helen Morgan told parliament there was still support locally for reopening and urged
Minister of State for Transport
The Minister of State for Transport is a mid-level ministerial position in the Department for Transport of the Government of the United Kingdom who deputises for the Secretary of State for Transport. There is also a list of Parliamentary Under-S ...
,
Huw Merriman
Huw William Merriman (born 13 July 1973) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex since the 2015 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Minister o ...
, to take this up.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Baschurch
Baschurch is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. It contains 54 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, four are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the t ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Baschurch station on navigable 1946 O.S. mapBaschurch Station Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baschurch Railway Station
Disused railway stations in Shropshire
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1960
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Former Great Western Railway stations
Thomas Mainwaring Penson railway stations