Wikipedia

Evesham railway station

Evesham railway station is in the market town of Evesham in Worcestershire, England. It is between Honeybourne and Pershore stations on the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Hereford via Worcester and Great Malvern. It is operated by Great Western Railway. Trains to London Paddington take about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Evesham
National Rail
HST Class 43 at Evesham railway station
General information
LocationEvesham, Wychavon
England
Coordinates52°05′52″N 1°56′51″W / 52.0979°N 1.9474°W / 52.0979; -1.9474
Grid referenceSP037444
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeEVE
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyOxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1 May 1852 (1852-05-01)opened
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.234 million
2019/20Increase 0.246 million
2020/21Decrease 66,164
2021/22Increase 0.204 million
2022/23Increase 0.245 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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The first major section of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWW), between Evesham and Stourbridge Junction, opened to public traffic on 3 May 1852, the opening ceremony having been held on 1 May.[1][2] Evesham was a terminus for just over a year, until the last major section of the OWW, from Evesham to Wolvercot Junction (to the north of Oxford), was opened on 4 June 1853.[3] The OWW became the West Midland Railway in 1860,[4] which in turn merged with the Great Western Railway in 1863.[5]

On 11 November 1860 a luggage train collided with another which was stationary at Evesham station. Four carriages were badly damaged and the engine and tender were derailed. One of the drivers was badly scalded and taken to Worcester Infirmary.[6]

On 21 October 1862[7] the 7.55pm express passenger train from Oxford to Worcester was passing through Evesham at 9.10pm at a speed of around 40 to 45 mph, it came into collision with three trucks west of the passenger platform. The driver of the train, Henry Crompton, was injured when the locomotive was derailed by the impact. The inquiry into the accident by Captain Tyler R.E. found that the foreman-porter James Callow or the horse-boy Daniel Langstone (aged 17) must have shunted the trucks onto the main line and then forgotten about them. The local magistrates fined the fore-man-porter £10 and the horse boy £5.[8]

 
Opening of Evesham railway station from the Illustrated London News 8 May 1852
 
A 1904 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (centre) railways in the Evesham area. The present station is that on the yellow line, marked G.W.

Facing the present (former OWW) station across the car park is the former Midland Railway station of 1864 by the architect George Hunt on the Ashchurch to Barnt Green Evesham loop line.

On 2 June 1885, Mark Butler, under goods guard on the Midland Railway was crushed to death while coupling wagons at Evesham station. The inquest found that although coupling sticks were provided they were seldom used. Bulter was caught by a buffer whilst going between them and the verdict was accidental death.[9]

The stations were operated separately until 1932. It was then agreed to run them as a joint station when the G.W.R. stationmaster, E.T. Holloway took control of the G.W.R. and L.M.S. goods departments, and H.J. King the newly appointed station master at the L.M.S. station took full charge of passenger departments at the two stations. At the time of this arrangement, there were 47 staff in the passenger department alone.[10]

The Midland station closed to passenger traffic in June 1963 and completely a year later.[11] The original timber buildings from this station were taken to build Monsal Dale railway station in Derbyshire; the replacement stone structure still stands and is used for office accommodation. The rest of the site has been redeveloped as a housing estate.

Services

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Before December 2019, services at Evesham were irregular with gaps of between 40 mins and 2 hours between services.[12]

As of December 2019, Great Western Railway now provide a more regular service to the station. The current off-peak service in trains per hour is:

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Pershore   Great Western Railway
Cotswold Line 		  Honeybourne
  Historical railways  
Fladbury
Line open, station closed 		  Great Western Railway
Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway 		  Littleton and Badsey
Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Bengeworth
Line and station closed 		  Midland Railway
Evesham loop line 		  Harvington
Line and station closed

References

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  1. ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, pp. 29–30.
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 93.
  3. ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 36.
  4. ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 63.
  5. ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 66.
  6. ^ "Evesham. Railway Accident". Worcester Journal. England. 17 November 1860. Retrieved 16 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "The Railway Accident at Evesham". Worcestershire Chronicle. England. 29 October 1862. Retrieved 16 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Accident at Evesham on 21 October 1862". Railways Archive. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Evesham. The Fatal Railway Accident". Worcester Journal. England. 6 June 1885. Retrieved 16 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Railway Companies' Arrangements. New Policy for Evesham". Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 5 November 1932. Retrieved 26 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Catford, Nick. "Evesham (Midland)". Disused Stations. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  12. ^ GB Rail Timetable 2013–14, Table 126

Bibliography

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