Disused Stations: Grange Court Junction

Grange Court Junction: Gallery 5 Early 1964 - October 1964

A view from the footbridge across the forlorn-looking eastern end of the station, the signal box being the smartest item on view. This photograph supposedly dates from 1964 but look carefully on the right and it will be seen the goods yard was still use. Goods traffic was withdrawn on 12 August 1963, excepting the private siding west of the station, so the date of this photograph is earlier than 1964. The platform edges have been repainted (actually whitewashed)
and seemingly recently.
Photo from obsolete Grange Court Junction web site (2004 - 2012)

On Friday 31 July 1964 this view was captured from an ex Hereford train as it departs towards Gloucester. The locomotive appears to be a 'Large Prairie' 2-6-2T running bunker first. The good yard, closed the previous year, can be seen to the right and some of the track plus the crane has already been removed leaving just its pivot post. The small hut probably housed the yard's scales which can be seen mounted on a trolley in another photograph. The black hut in the distance was probably for the permanent way gang.
Photo by FG Steinle

In July 1964 Manor Class No. 7814 Fringford Manor approaches Grange Court with a mixed goods train which includes what appears to be a crawler crane. This locomotive was withdrawn on 10 September 1965 being scrapped by Bird's, Long Marston. One of her nameplates was sold by auction in 2018 for £6,000. It was sold complete with the receipt of purchase from Swindon.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

In this scene looking towards Oakle Street and Gloucester two Hereford line trains are about to cross. Both are hauled by 'Large Prairie' 2-6-2T locomotives, that of the ex Hereford train running bunker first. On the right, the goods yard is out of use having closed on 12 August 1963 so the photograph will date from sometime in the final year of the life of both the station and the Hereford line. A check of the final timetable for the Hereford line suggests the trains are the 14:25 ex Gloucester and the 13:40 ex Hereford. Departure time from Grange court was 14:38 and 14:36 respectively and indeed the ex Hereford train does appear to be departing. If these trains have been correctly identified the period will be between 7 September 1964 and 31 October 1964. To the left, the winching equipment for the 'Challow' lamps can be seen marginally more clearly near the bottom of the lamp post than in other photographs. During daylight hours the lamps would be lowered, removed and taken to the lamp room for refilling with paraffin and for any other maintenance which may be required. Shortly before dusk the lamps would be fired up and winched back to the top of the lamp posts. One wonders if the motor car in the goods yard belonged to the photographer.
Photo from obsolete Grange Court Junction web site (2004 - 2012)

In August 1964 Collett 2251 Class 0-6-0 No. 2287 shuffles away towards Gloucester with a Class 8 goods working. At this time Class 8 covered a variety of traffics, as indicated here by the various types of wagon, but not fitted with the automatic brake and restricted to 35mph maximum speed. A look at the complex Working Timetable for this period shows the Hereford branch goods departed Gloucester New Yard at 5am and did not reach Hereford until some four hours later. The single line between Grange Court and Rotherwas Junction (Hereford) was worked by Electric Train Token. Points to sidings at Blaisdon, Backney, Ballingham and Holme Lacy were unlocked by key attached to train token (more commonly referred to as 'Key attached to train staff'). There was in addition an intermediate token instrument at Holme Lacy North Ground Frame. As was common practice, especially on single track lines, the Hereford branch goods operated only in the Down direction until the line closed to passengers in November 1964. The implication is therefore that the train in this photograph has not come from Hereford but from the private siding west of the station. No. 2287 was a Hereford locomotive at this time and she would not necessarily work back to her home shed on that same day. She was transferred to Gloucester Horton Road shed in November 1964, this date being significant because not only did Grange Court close on 2 November 1964, along with the Gloucester - Hereford passenger service but Hereford shed also closed on that day. Withdrawal for No. 2287 apparently came on Friday 21 May 1965, an odd day of the week for a withdrawal, with other records showing during the four weeks ending 13 June 1965.
Photo from John Mann collection

An unidentifiable BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T pauses with a Hereford train, within a few months of closure. How these BR Standard locomotives came to be on this line is explained briefly in another caption. To add to that however, they would have replaced older locomotives being withdrawn but even so use of these then modern locomotives feels something of a waste on services such as this - ambling along with just three or four vehicles in tow. While the South Wales line did see diesel multiple-units, initially of the Swindon 79xxx series, they never did venture onto the Gloucester - Hereford services or at least not on a regular basis.
Photo from obsolete Grange Court Junction web site (2004 - 2012)

In October 1964 5101 Class, or 'Large Prairie' No. 4107 pauses with a Hereford train. She had been a Hereford locomotive since September 1963, moving to Severn Tunnel Junction in November 1964. She thus outlived both Grange Court station and the line to Hereford via Ross-on-Wye but not for long as she was withdrawn in June 1965 and scrapped four months later. Under the Whyte Notation system for locomotive wheel arrangement 'Prairie' was the name given to 2-6-2 types but in practice the name was rarely used for 2-6-2 tender locomotives. As 'Large Prairie' suggests, the GWR also had a 'Small Prairie' type and the general label 'Prairie Tank' became somewhat synonymous with the GWR.

Photo from Jim Lake collection

In October 1964 'Modified Hall' No. 6993 Arthog Hall has just stormed through Grange Court station with a train of empties. The Modified Hall was a Hawksworth development of Collett's original Hall class. At the time of the photograph No. 6993 was a Gloucester Horton Road resident. She would be transferred to Oxford in July 1965 and withdrawn on the last day of that year. Her final journey was to John Cashmore's scrapyard at Newport. The signal to the left was the Down Starter for the Hereford line, its short stature being to ensure visibility from the east side of the bridge.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

In mid to late October 1964 5700 Class 0-6-0PT No. 8745 was caught just west of Grange Court station with a short ballast train. The ballast wagons appear to be 'Dogfish' types, later coded 'ZFV'. Animal, in particular marine species, names were used for numerous types of wagon in engineering department service and there was a very comprehensive range of them. The names originated as telegraphic codes and the GWR also so-coded passenger and other non departmental stock. The GWR did not however only stick with the names of marine species, 'Toad' and 'Beetle' being just two examples. By no means all GWR locomotives were built at Swindon as is sometimes believed. No. 8745 for example had been built by W. G. Bagnall & Co. at its Castletown, Stafford works in 1931. The Bagnall works was situated just north of Stafford station, next to Stafford engine shed, and rail access was via the now-abandoned line between Stafford and Wellington. No. 8745 had been transferred from Bath Green Park to Gloucester Horton Road on 12 October 1964. She remained in service until 25 August 1965, ending her days at John Cashmore's Newport yard in December 1965.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

An eastbound goods train passes Grange Court in October 1964 with some wagons apparently loaded with timber. The locomotive, which is unidentified, looks to be in appalling condition. It is missing its smokebox numberplate which suggests withdrawal was imminent or it had been withdrawn and then temporarily reinstated. Scenes like this were not uncommon as the steam era drew to a close. Steam on the Western Region ended over the winter of 1965/6 apart from two Pannier Tanks at Croes Newydd shed which lasted until July 1966 although by that time Croes Newydd (Wrexham) had become a London Midland Region shed.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

In October 1964 a BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 rumbles through Grange Court with an eastbound train of coke. Coke is produced from Coking Coal which is baked (hence 'coke ovens') in an oxygen-less environment and burns cleaner and hotter than coal. It is used in blast furnaces, forges, certain types of stove and in the dim and distant past was the fuel for early British locomotives. Coke is lighter than coal by volume, therefore railway wagons could carry greater volumes of coke than coal, the reason why coke wagons were larger in terms of height and as seen here were very distinctive in appearance.
Photo from Jim Lake collection

The island platform waiting shelter seen here from the Up Hereford platform on 14 October 1964. The shallower canopy this side of the structure is obvious as is the lack of bench seating. Passengers waiting on the main line side were somewhat better catered for. This station was also notable for its lack of bench seating on the open air sections of its platforms, perhaps indicative of the station not being noted for large volumes of passengers.

Photo from obsolete Grange Court Junction web site (2004 - 2012)

Photographed in October 1964, this is one of the relatively few close-up views of the main station building. It's dirty condition will be noted, one of the drawbacks of steam locomotives, as will the boarded-up windows on the nearest end of the building. The design is quite typical of GWR intermediate stations, including the bay window, and several such still exist but sometimes with orientation reversed to suit requirements of individual stations. The room behind the bay window is thought to have originally been a telegraph office. The small building seen in the left background is, at the time of writing, the only surviving structure of this former station.
Photo from obsolete Grange Court Junction web site (2004 - 2012) (2004 - 2012)

Click here for Grange Court Junction: Gallery 6
23 October 1964 - 25 March 2017

[Source: Darren Kitson]

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Station Name: GRANGE COURT JUNCTION