WORCESTERSHIRE'S RAILWAYS IN 2014
Network Rail has published a proposal to demolish the Signal Box at Oddingley. Photograph taken by Steve Widdowson.
MALVERN LINK STATION RENOVATION WORKS
David Guy 13/1/2014, advised that recent work had been to add the facing on the 'Up' side awning. Smart, but metal and totally different design from the wooden boards on the 'down' side. Also some mini traffic islands being constructed in the road outside the new 'down' side building. The new platform seats remained in store. There was quite a bit of finishing still required. The revamped station was unveiled in March.
This unusual photograph, supplied by Steve Widdowson, shows First Great Western class 43 'HST' power car No.43180
dumped in a siding to the south of Worcester Shrub Hill Station. It had suffered a total failure on Friday 26th April 2014
and had been separated from the other power car and remainder of the train (which went alone to Bristol on 28th April). The
power car was moved to Long Marston on 24th May 2014.Substantial repairs were made to the embankment on the 'up' side of the approach to Campden Tunnel in an attempt to stablisise the bank to prevent it collapsing onto the track. The Engineer's siding at Honeybourne saw a lot of activity in connection with these works. For instance, on May 1st, Andrew Smith noted that three items of on-track plant including a Colas Tamper were on site.
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Following the major upgrade to Malvern Link Station earlier in 2014 many other stations
are getting some attention. A good example of the thought being given to how small things can mean an awful lot is this
former GWR luggage trolley which is one of three similar items recently added to Great Malvern Station. Photograph
taken by Andrew Smith on 19th April 2014.
On Sunday 22nd June 2014 there was a scheduled daytime possession of the ex-Birmingham & Gloucester Railway line via
Bromsgrove with trains scheduled to go via Worcester except those from Nottingham to Cardiff which were cancelled.
In the event the possession finished after just one train had taken the line through Worcester. Fortunately Andrew Smith
was at the bridge at Norton to take this photograph of Cross Country Trains class 220 'Voyager' No.220016 with
the 09.13 from Birmingham to Plymouth (headode 1V46). Above: On Monday 8th September 2014 GBRf livery class 66/7 No.66753 hauled not less
than nine new class 66/7s (Nos.66757 to 66765) from Newport to Doncaster. Andrew Smith photographed the convoy at Kidderminster. Below:
A second convoy which ran on 9th December 2014 with another seven new locomotives (Nos.66766 to 66772) was photographed by Robert Cooke at
Droitwich.
