ARLEY STATION

Welcome to the Official Website of Arley Station on the Severn Valley Railway

Arley Station News

Ian Latimer Awarded as an Express and Star local hero - 27th September 2007

Our Station Master, Ian Latimer has won an award for his indivudual efforts as Station Master in the aftermath of the Flood damage to the Severn Valley Railway and for his 25 years service as Station Master at Arley. We are all very proud that Ian received this award and feel that it reflects all of the hard work that he has put in over the years at Arley.Click Here to Read the Full Article from the Express and Star

Severn Valley Railway hit by storm - 19th June 2007

On Tuesday 19th June 2007 the equivalent of 3 weeks rain fell in the space of 30 minutes, this caused serious damage to the infrastructure along the line in no fewer than 45 locations, where the land slipped or moved. The damage is estimated at costing about £2.5 million. This means that the Severn Valley Railway is now only operational at Bridgnorth Station, and between Kidderminster and Bewdley, however the rest of the line is isolated by rail because of the various damage caused to the track by the deluge of water.

At Victoria Bridge there were was a serious washout on the Bewdley side which left some of the half suspended in midair. A lot of the culverts and drains in and around Arley Station couldn't cope with the sheer volume of water, or they were blocked, this meant that the water was standing alongside the track and wasn't draining correctly.

This meant that in the few weeks following the Downpour, The Arley staff turned out, along with keen volunteers from other departments to clear the drains and to see which drains were flowing freely and which we could try and unblock, this was to try and drain the water from track bed so that repair work could take place and minimize any more movement of the track.

Since then, the actual work that can be carried out on the track by volunteers has become limited, as now the engineers and contractors have moved on site where needed. So at Arley, Volunteers are therefore working hard, not to waste the time till the trains get to Arley again, but instead to do the jobs that we cannot easily do when trains are running, to make the Station look the best it possibly can.

Obituary - Mike Thompson - 15th October 2006

Mike Thompson, Arley Assistant Station Master, died suddenly in the small hours of Sunday, 15th October, aged 67 at his home in Ludlow. He was a very popular 100% SVR person, as witnessed by over 50 people who attended his funeral in Hereford on Friday, 20th October.

Mike was a member of the SVR for almost forty years, twenty of those as chairman of the Stourbridge branch of the S.V.R. Association. He was a Guard in the early days, and a director of the Holdings Board for a few years.

A rail tour organiser from 1969 to 1995, he lead thirty tours in total, and was always the trouble shouter, whether ut was stopping a train when the British Rail Guard was left behind, or collecting £300 of people that had gate-crashed our train because we had Class 33 diesel haulage!

Mike joined the Arley Station team about twenty years ago and took an active part straight away, becoming a foreman and then Assistant Station Master. He took over much of the organising of the maintenance programme, including such jobs as putting up and taking down barriers for all the many events held at Arley, especially for Christmas; in fact, he had started on these tasks on the Saturday. There wasn't a job that he couldn't or wouldn't do, and he could be seen most weekends, either in the booking office, on the platform, or helping with one of the events held at Arley.

Mike was very proud of his Welsh background and very keen on his family and grandchildren. I am glad that the last thing I said to him was. "Thank you for being a great friend." Mike will be greatly missed by everyone who worked with himl we have certainly lost a great colleague and friend, and the Severn Valley Railway will be very much the poorer for his passing.

Ian Latimer (Arley Station Master)

Engraved umbrella from 1906 donated to station - 19th August 2006

An umbrella with an engraved plate on its stem was donated to Arley Station by Robert Young. The plate shows that the umbrella was presented to Mr Joseph Young (the uncle of Robert Young) in 1906 by the inhabitants of Arley for his service as Porter and Signalman.For further details and photograph refer to history page

Arley Station Barbecue - 5th August 2006

On Saturday evening a barbecue was held for the staff of Arley Station, The station yard was decked with flags with tables and chairs for about thirty people. A wide selection of food was prepared and a continuous supply of burgers, sausages and chicken was served. this was followed by various cakes and fresh fruit. Later in the evening a slide show was arranged by Alan Davis in the waiting room. It was a great success and many were reluctant to leave on the late DMU train at 9.30pm.

Severn Valley in Bloom - 29th to 30th July 2006

This event celebrated the Severn Valley Railway looking at its best and Arley looked brilliant with the Hanging Baskets and tubs giving the station lovely colour. The weather was good for the weekend with a hot sun but a few light showers which freshened the air. Morris Dancers from all over the Midlands and beyond went up and down the line performing traditional dances which were interesting and lively to watch, it was a success with lots of people content to come to Arley and look at the flowers and explore the gardens.

King Edward I - 17th to 18th June 2006

On the 16th and 17th June 2006 the GWR (Great Western Railway) 4-6-0 King class locomotive 6024 King Edvard I came to the Severn Valley Railway for the weekend, as on the Saturday it was the 6024 Societies Annual Members Day, which allowed them to travel up and down the line behind their engine and in the afternoon a barbecue was held at Arley Station in the picninc area which many of the members attended. The Severn Valley Railway also ran 60009 Union of South Africa which is currently based at Bridgnorth so it became a mini-gala which we all enjoyed.

Jack Bond's 40th Anniversary - 4th June 2006

On the 4th June 2006, a large number of staff from Arley station went on the Severn Valley Limited Sunday diner service from Kidderminster. We went because we were celebrating Jack Bond's 40th aniversary of being a volunteer on the Severn Valley Railway, and he has some interesting stories to tell of what it was like during the early pioneering age of the Severn Valley Railway. We all got off at Arley Station on the way back from Bridgnorth and Ian Latimer presented Jack with his 40 year badge. It was nice to see someone who has worked on the SVR for 40 years being recognised and was an excellent day.