Ironbridge and Broseley railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

with two through platforms on the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...

Line in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The station was on a section of the Severn Valley Line north of

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

and was demolished in 1966 to provide car parking space within the Severn Gorge. Until its closure on 25 November 1956, the signal box controlled railway traffic around the station and the

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 ...

that lead to

the Iron Bridge The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a st ...

. Photographs of the station running-in board show the station name as "IRON-BRIDGE & BROSELEY" (with hyphen). The

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

nameplate on the signal box read "IRON BRIDGE & BROSELEY SIGNAL BOX" (Iron and Bridge being separate words without hyphen). Although thought by some people to have been closed as part of the Beeching axe in 1963 its planned closure pre-dated his report. Prior to its closure rationalisation took place in the form of closure of the signal box, removal of the upper portion and relocation of the token instruments to the Station Master's office in the main station building. Virtually all traces of the station platforms, station building and goods shed have been swept away. A "pay and display" car park now occupies the site. There is also little or no trace of the signal box, there now being an electricity supply transformer at its former position.

Surviving artifacts

The astute observer can find those few traces of the site's former railway use. Two cast iron GWR ball top gate posts and one level crossing gate post survive along with rails in the roadway approaching the Ironbridge toll house. On the opposite side of the road an abutment of the footbridge visible in the accompanying photograph remains.

Surviving artifacts

References

Further reading