Station Name: GRANGE COURT JUNCTION[Source: Darren Kitson] old18.jpg)
On 23 October 1964 a BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 passes Grange Court on the Down South Wales line. The train appears to be loaded, perhaps with iron ore as the coal flow along this line was largely, if not entirely, in the opposite direction. Information with this photograph states the 9F was No. 92240 but it actually appears to be No. 92243. Checking allocations of the time the latter is far more likely. The 9F class was not introduced until 1954 and the number of years service some of them put in could be counted on one hand, such was the farce that was the BR Standard steam types. This was no reflection on the locomotives, rather it was British Railways' rather sudden haste to eliminate steam in favour of diesel traction as part of the 1955 Modernisation Programme. Very occasionally the 9Fs would appear on passenger trains and despite their small (5 feet) driving wheels were capable of reaching 90mph. This was all very exhilarating, the problem being only the first and fifth driving axles had full flanges. Axles two and four had reduced depth flanges while the centre wheelset was unflanged to help negotiate curves. Once the 'brass' heard about the high speeds they therefore quickly put a stop to it. Note the running-in board on the right announces only 'Grange Court'.
Copyright photo from Colour-Rail old13.jpg)
On 30 October 1964 a coal train from South Wales was captured by the camera at Grange Court. The locomotive was recorded as being 2-8-0 No. 3812, this being a member of the 2884 class which was a Collett development of the Churchward 2800 class. The majority of the 2884 class were built during the Second World War and No. 3812 was one such. She lasted until June 1965. The exhaust tell us the locomotive is under power and therefore the train is moving but the fireman watching the camera and the man on the platform convey the impression the train had for some reason paused in the station. On the Down South Wales line is a Brush Type 4 (later Class 47) diesel locomotive. The '7V' of the four-character headcode tells us the train is an unfitted (unbraked) goods working onto and terminating in the Western Region from another region, for example the London Midland Region. In all likelihood the train was coal empties bound for South Wales. Four character headcodes are still used today although they have long since ceased to be displayed on locomotives and certain types of multiple unit. At far right an enamel 'YOU MAY TELEPHONE FROM HERE' sign is affixed to the wall. In an age when few people had a telephone at home and long before the internet and mobile devices this facility was very common at staffed railway stations and other places. These signs have become collectors' items but a small number remain in situ, forgotten in plain sight.
Copyright photo from Colour-Rail
old15.jpg) On 23 October 1964 4300 class 2-6-0 No. 7318 departs towards Gloucester with a train from the Hereford line. The signalman is about to receive the single line token from the fireman and it appears a fair degree of arm stretching was required. These trains typically were formed of three carriages as here, but on this occasion two vans were attached at the rear. At the Down Hereford platform is an 0-6-0 Pannier Tank with a single truck and 'Toad' brake van. Grange Court station and the Hereford line passenger service had just one week left when this photograph was taken and the end was also in sight for No. 7318, she being withdrawn from Gloucester Horton Road shed on 6 November 1964.Copyrigh photo from Colour-Rail old59.jpg) On the final day of passenger services over the Hereford line and of course of Grange Court station, Saturday 31 October 1964, a train has just departed the station on its way to Hereford. Enthusiasts can be seen in the rare carriage, a Hawksworth Brake Second, and this may have been the same train as seen in another photograph but travelling in the opposite direction. If so the implication is of a group of enthusiasts indulging in a round trip on the line. However the other photograph is undated and a different locomotive was in charge although it may well have been changed at Gloucester. The train seen here is being signalled by the signal to the left of the stabled wagons. This seemingly odd position for the signal would have been for sighting purposes from the station, GWR locomotives being righthand drive and therefore drivers would be able to see this signal when at the station. The wagons are fouling the points leading to the private siding and under magnification the private siding appears to be out of use. Grange Court goods yard had closed in 1963 and this scene strongly suggests the private siding had fallen out of use by October 1964. This should not be taken as fact however, as use of the private siding may have been infrequent and the wagons only stabled fouling the points temporarily. Note the man taking a photograph while standing between the Up South Wales line and the Up loop. He may have been a railway employee but in those days enthusiasts not in railway employment could get away with this and nobody really bothered. Nevertheless and whoever the man was, he would have been looking out and station staff probably knew of his presence, advising him of when a train was due. It was possible at one time to obtain a Track Permit and enthusiasts armed with cameras sometimes did but it depended very much upon who you were and who you knew within the railway
at a senior level. Photo by Francis Proctor old14.jpg)
On 31 October 1964, the final day of trains calling at Grange Court, an eastbound Swindon 'Cross Country' DMU (later Class 120) rasps away from Grange Court with what is presumably the secondman making sure he gets into the photograph. The train is bound for Cheltenham Spa (St. James) and will have started at Cardiff General, as what is now Cardiff Central was once named. There were half a dozen or so of these local trains per weekday, the majority of which ran to St. James. Cheltenham once had several stations, a legacy of originally being served by different railway companies. St. James was a GWR terminus and closed to passengers on 3 January 1966. Note the Down South Wales line, foreground, has been re-laid with flat bottom rail and fresh ballast. Beyond the bridge lurks a locomotive and under magnification it appears to be a Pannier Tank. The wagons also visible through the bridge arch are on the siding which ran alongside the Hereford line.
Photo from Jim Lake collection court_old30.jpg)
A very common sight across the network during the 1960s was trains of withdrawn locomotives en route to the then numerous scrapyards which dealt with redundant locomotives and rolling stock. These scrapyards could be found across the country but were fairly prominent in South Wales. Many of them were pre-existing, dealing with shipbreaking and other heavy equipment while others were 'pop ups', as we might say today, set up for the sole purpose of scrapping redundant railway equipment only to vanish when this supply of work dried up. In this scene No. 7816 Frilsham Manor hauls a train of withdrawn locomotives through the closed Grange Court station on 10 August 1965. It was not unknown for locomotives hauling trains of withdrawn stock to be going for scrap themselves, being driven into a scrapyard, the fire dropped and simply left there. This was not the case with No. 7816 however. She was to remain in service until 18 November 1965, being scrapped in February 1966 by John Cashmore, Newport. This is one of three photographs showing this same train and details of the other locomotives are given in other captions
Photo by Graham Turner court_old29.jpg)
This is the second of three photographs of the train of withdrawn locomotives going for scrap as they passed through Grange Court on 10 August 1965. Out of view coupled behind No. 7816 hauling the train was Fowler 4F No. 44123 destined for Woodham's scrapyard at Barry from where she was eventually rescued for preservation. At the time of writing she was at the Avon Valley Railway awaiting restoration. Next and visible here was Fowler 4F No. 44422, another one destined for Woodham's and was also to survive into preservation, this time at the Churnet Valley Railway where she has steamed. Next was Castle Class No. 7034 Ince Castle, destined for the Bridgend scrapyard of Richard Hayes which she did not survive, being scrapped in October 1965. The final locomotive was Castle Class No. 7022 Hereford Castle and her fate was the same as that of No. 7034. The two Castles were by no means old, having been built at Swindon under British Railways. All of these locomotives including No. 7816 had come from Gloucester Horton Road shed.
Photo
by Graham Turner
court_old31.jpg)
The third of the three photographs showing the train of withdrawn locomotives, this time having passed through the closed Grange Court station. In order behind No. 7816 hauling the train are nos. 44123, 44422, 7034 and 7022. As was the usual practice the two Castles have had their name and number plates removed but all four of the withdrawn locomotives have their coupling rods in situ; often these were removed to prevent bearings running hot and seizing but it would depend upon how long the journey to the scrapyard was. Commonly these journeys would not be undertaken in a single move and in this case the train would have been placed onto a siding somewhere, possibly at Newport, as the four withdrawn locomotives were destined for two different destinations. Bringing up the rear of the train is an example of the very familiar GWR 'Toad' brake van. Photo by Graham Turner court1.jpg) This was the scene viewed from the road bridge facing towards Gloucester in January 1981. Right of centre stands the only surviving fragment of the former station and to its right the former stationmaster's house. Also visible is the overgrown remains of the former goods dock. Grange Court stands in the right background. At this time both Up and Down loops and crossovers were still in situ, the Down loop being visible in the distance. The Up loop, left, was quite lengthy and occupied what had been the Up side siding west of the station and part of the Up Hereford line formation albeit on a slightly different alignment. The purpose of the loops was as with most such, to get relatively slow moving goods trains out of the way of passenger trains. While goods traffic still passes through Grange Court, or at least paths exist, the days of the plodding goods train have long gone. In about 2010 the track at Grange Court was simplified with the Up loop being removed and the Down initially disconnected before being removed entirely and the signalling modified accordingly. Today just plain double track runs through the site.
Photo by David Burrows from his Flickr photostream court2.jpg)
The Junction inn photographed in January 1981. The inn stands on the west side of Grange Court Road, south of the railway and almost opposite the entrance to the former goods yard and extant former stationmaster's house. This is the second Junction inn, the original being north of the railway and at the east end of Northwood Green (see maps).
A close-up of the then inn sign in January 1981. It incorporates a decent representation of part of the station and a reasonable representation of a GWR passenger train. The signs of most inns with a railway connection have reasonable and historically accurate depictions, but unfortunately a small number do not. The sign seen here has since been replaced.
Photo by David Burrows from his Flickr photostream court4.jpg)
On 2 October 2005 a Class 150 DMU heads towards Gloucester through the site of Grange Court Junction station. The loop on the left did not appear to be used very often. It was roughly on the alignment of what was once the Up Hereford line and has been lifted since this photograph was taken. To the right of the DMU is the only surviving structure from the former station and to its right stands the former stationmaster's house. Further back on the right stands the house that is Grange Court, more specifically Grange Court Farm.
Photo by David Stowell. Reproduced from Geograph under creative commons licence court10.jpg)
On 31 July 2006 Central Trains Class 170 No. 170 634 approaches the site of Grange Court Junction station with 1M66, the 12:45 Cardiff to Nottingham service. Use of a zoom lens makes the background buildings appear closer than they actually are. The former line to Ross-on-Wye and Hereford swung away not at the gap in the trees as one might assume but at what is now a group of trees and above the second carriage of the DMU. After leaving Grange Court the Hereford line followed a very gentle curve for some distance and was all-but straight until Church Lane, after which it gradually turned northwards towards Longhope. The South Wales line, as seen here, followed a much more pronounced curve as it headed towards Newnham. The farm building seen through the gap, right of centre, stands just north of the former Church Lane level crossing at 31 chains from Grange Court. The buildings in the left background are of, at the time of writing, Severn Valley Woodworks and on the site of what was in the dim and distant past the Albion Carriage & Wagon Works. As can be seen, in 2006 the Up loop was still in situ. The National Express owned Central Trains franchise was to disappear, thankfully some many say, in 2007 after a little over ten years existence. Photo
by Jules Hathaway from his SmugMug web site court6.jpg) The Junction inn as caught by the camera on 3 November 2011. The new inn sign is in position and a running-in board adorns the front wall of the building. This board looks like that which once stood on the Up Hereford line platform, being shallower than other boards on the station. However, at the time of writing it was not known if this board is a restored original or a replica and contradictory claims have been seen on the internet. Inside the building are, it is said, railway photographs and various artefacts.
Photo by by Jonathan Billinger reproduced from Geograph under creative commons licence 
A close-up of the new, or more accurately replacement, inn sign. The depiction is of the station's Hereford platforms with a train at the Down platform. The locomotive would appear to be a 4800 or 1400 Class 0-4-2T. There is something slightly whimsical about the artwork but it is quite
attractive nevertheless. Photo
by Jan Mellor
court8.jpg)
Shortly before midday on 25 March 2017 Castle class No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe passes the remaining fragment of Grange Court Junction station and the site of the now-lifted Up loop with Vintage Trains The Welsh Marches excursion to Hereford. The train started and ended at Tyseley (Birmingham, where the locomotive is based) with the outward leg being via Kidderminster, Cheltenham Spa and Gloucester. To reach Hereford it was necessary to travel via Abergavenny, the more direct route via Ross-on-Wye having of course long since ceased to be an option. The return from Hereford was via Cravens Arms, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. Within the train formation are three of the Pullman cars built be Metro-Cammell 1960 - 1961 and based upon the BR Mark I design. They are the fourth, fifth and sixth vehicles. No. 5043 was new to traffic in March 1936 and named Barbury Castle until renamed the following year, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe name being previously on a Duke class locomotive dating from the Dean era. The name Barbury Castle was later given to another Castle class member, No. 5095. The human rendition of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was a Director of the Great Western Railway and the original naming, of the Duke class locomotive, was probably the 5th Earl, Piers Alexander Hamilton Edgcumbe although this has proved difficult to confirm. Not too obvious in the photograph is that No. 5043 carries a double chimney. She was withdrawn in December 1963 and sent to the famous Barry scrapyard were she lingered for about a decade before being rescued for preservation. As such she is one of eight class members to have survived.
Photo by Mick Rogers from his Flickr photostream 
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court3.jpg)
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