Ashchurch Station

The final stop of the old Midland line from Malvern was Ashchurch, a village 2 miles east of Tewkesbury. Ashchurch was once an important junction station, linking the Malvern-Ashchurch branch from the west, the Gloucester-Birmingham main line to the north and south and the 'Gloucester Loop' line, a route which ran east through Evesham and Redditch before rejoining the main Birmingham line at Barnt Green.

The Tewkesbury platform of the original Ashchurch station was built in 1864 and was demolished along with the rest of the site after the station closed permanently in 1971. A new station was opened in 1997, albeit under the name 'Ashchurch for Tewkesbury'. This station occupies some of the original location, although the Tewkesbury line is completely gone and all that remains of the Evesham loop is a quarter-mile long spur which connect the MoD's vehicle storage warehouses with the railway network. In any case, it is still possible to catch a direct train from Great Malvern to Ashchurch, albeit through Worcester.

These pictures show Ashchurch Station during the 1940s and 1950s. The station was a bizarre agglomeration of chords, crossings and sidings, with an odd wedge-shaped station serving the station's three lines. A similar style of building can still be seen today at Barnt Green, in north Worcestershire.

41061 approaches Ashchurch from the north. Note the peculiar flat level crossing where the Tewkesbury line crossed the Birmingham main line to join the Evesham Loop.

42326 crossing the Birmingham Main Line.

The view north-west along the Tewkesbury platform. The complex in the background is the Dowty Company's private sidings, which lay to the north of Ashchurch station. The company made aeronautical components and mining equipment.

The steel passenger footbridge at Ashchurch.

'Ashchurch Station, 1957'. This shot clearly shows the three lines that once ran through Ashchurch, as well as the curious wedge-shaped buildings on the platforms. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons.

'Ashchurch Station: view northward from the A438 bridge in December 1948'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons.

'Ashchurch: Midland 0-4-4T engine in Transition'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons.

'Ashchurch Station: a view from the 'Entrance' onto the Up platform, with the Tewkesbury Engine'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons.

More Pictures of Malvern Link Station

Some more pictures of the old Malvern Link station this week, courtesy of Adrian Putley. These pictures were taken in July 1970, and I'll add them to the main Malvern Link page.

Malvern Wells Engineering Works

I decided to do a special post this week on the engineering work which took place on Malvern Common on 18 and 19 June. Usually, the line between Malvern and Colwall is only used by London Midland and Great Western passenger services, so this was a great opportunity to see some freight trains at work on the Malverns. The engineering programme itself consists of two parts, the first being to reconfigure the signalling at Malvern Wells signal box, some of which is 150 years old. The second part is to move the existing crossover between the two tracks from under the nose of the signal box to a point three hundred metres north on Malvern Common, near the pedestrian subway. This is to allow longer 10-carriage trains which have terminated at Great Malvern to reverse at Malvern Wells without simultaneously blocking the single line section which runs up to Colwall Tunnel. 

An interesting effect of this work has been that, with the crossover at Malvern Wells out of action, trains to Hereford have been cut short at Great Malvern, and have been forced to ride 'bang road' (i.e. on the wrong side of the line) back to Worcester before being able to cross back to the right side of the track. This example shows a Great Western HST at work on Saturday night, running on the right-hand side back to Worcester:

 
I've also been experimenting with my video editing skills lately, and this film shows the various trains moving across the Malverns on Sunday afternoon before returning to Hinksey that evening:

Saturday 18 June

Colas Rail wagons parked on Thirstane Road bridge.

66136 hides in bushes above Thirlstane Road.

66136 moving some new rails up to the worksite on Malvern Common, 1/2.

66136 moving some new rails up to the worksite on Malvern Common, 2/2.

New sections of rail further along the Common.

66092 on the front line.

One of my favourite railway photographs. 66092 straddles the pedestrian subway.

Network Rail's digger on site, 1/2.

Network Rail's digger on site, 2/2.

Malvern Common works from Peachfield Road bridge.

Saturday evening: 66047 brings a new consignment of rails to a fenced-off Great Malvern.

Rails on rails, 1/2.

Rails on rails, 2/2.

Sunday 19 June

Some flatbed trucks on the way up from Thirlstane Road.

Diggers being stored on the old Tewkesbury Junction site.

One of my artier shots - the Colas rail crane train through the bushes on Malvern Common.

The rail-lifting crane in full view.

66047 at the work site on Sunday morning, 1/3.

66047 at the work site on Sunday morning, 2/3.

66047 at the work site on Sunday morning, 3/3.

The Network Rail 'Orange Army' hard at work.

66047 from Peachfield Road Bridge.

A scenic shot of 66047 sitting in front of the hills.

Another of my favourite railway shots: A rusty truck sits astride the pedestrian subway on Malvern Common.

Freightliner 66524 hides in the undergrowth near Thirlstane Road bridge.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 1/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 2/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 3/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 4/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 5/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 6/7.

Trucks and ballast hoppers on Thirlstane Road bridge, 7/7.

Freightliner 66536 prepares to push the hoppers up onto the Common.

Trucks and hoppers up on the embankment.

66536 sitting in front of Malvern College.

66524 starts to move up to the Common...

Followed by the trucks...

...and 66536.

Taken in the evening, this shot shows the Colas Rail wagon being lined up for return to Hinksey Sidings near Oxford.

Taken at Malvern Link, these pictures from David Rawlings show some of the freight activity on the other side of town as trains entering from Newlands maneouvre before heading up to Malvern Wells.

Wednesday 22 June 

These pictures have kindly been sent to me by David Guy, who managed to catch the new semaphore signals at Peachfield Road bridge being installed by Network Rail. These signals are a lot shorter than the old ones, which have now been removed.