[Source: Darren Kitson]
Moreton-in-Marsh Station: Gallery 5
June 1983 - April 2013 16.jpg) A June 1983 view of the station building from an Up train. Compared to the similar January 1974 view, the lamp post nearest the building now carries a much more obvious nameplate. This and the running-in Board on the left convey the BR corporate image that most people above a certain age are familiar with. The typeface style, using upper and lower case, was also to appear on DMU and EMU destination blinds as well as on omnibus blinds and made at-a-glance reading much easier by reason of visual word familiarity. At the south end of the building the Renault advertisement has been replaced and a new door has been fitted. To the left, the area has been given over to car parking, the grounded body once such a familiar sight and having long since disappeared.
Photo by Alan Young 17.jpg) A view of the Down platform from an Up train in June 1983. New electric lights have been installed ready to replace the concrete type products of the Taunton Concrete Works of the GWR and BR(W). The cable suspended between the concrete posts carried the electricity supply. This was quite common practice and was a quick and cheap alternative to underground cable conduits although the new lighting would have been so supplied. The locomotive is an English Electric Class 50 in the BR 'large logo' livery introduced experimentally (on a Class 56) in 1978. This livery included the entire cab areas being painted yellow with windscreen surrounds picked out in black. Rumour has it that enthusiasts liked the 'large logo' livery although in general its attractiveness, or otherwise, was a matter of opinion. Class 50 was introduced in 1967 for use on the (then) non electrified section of the West Coast Main Line north of Preston, frequently working in pairs to speed up the service. When this line was electrified through to Glasgow, Class 50 was transferred to the Western Region. The class appeared ‘new’ in BR blue livery as D400 - D449. Several survive in preservation and a small number of these can still be seen, as of 2024, in action on the main line.
Photo by Alan Young  On Sunday the 16th of June 1985, Class 117 DMU set no. L419 rasps away from Moreton-on-Marsh with the 2A81 15:55 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford service. At this time L419 would have been formed Driving Motor Second W51398 + Trailer Lavatory Composite W59508 + Driving Motor Brake Second W51356 with car W51398 being nearest the camera. Class 117 is best remembered for Paddington suburban services with the 'L' of the set number representing 'London district' but as this photograph shows they operated well beyond the London area and this was true of most DMUs allocated to a certain area or depot. As built, Class 117 had no gangways between cars but these were added later allowing all passengers to access the lavatories of which there were two. All three vehicles of set L419 have survived in preservation albeit dispersed. Of the passengers who have alighted, most are exiting the station via the footbridge but two or three ladies appear to be heading for the barrow crossing. Other people are sitting on a platform bench as if waiting for another train but there will not be another Up train for quite some time. The signal box appears to have either had new windows fitted or existing frames repainted. In due course it would receive such exotica as double-glazed windows which rather disfigured its appearance.
Photo by Martin Loader from his Hondawanderer web site 18.jpg) With reference to the previous view of the 3rd of May 1986, the photographer has shot along the platform to capture the other end of Class 117 set B436 before it rasps away northwards on the then lengthy single track section towards Evesham. The Down Starter signal, just visible beyond the far end of the train, is 'Off'. This time Driving Motor Second W51376 is nearest the camera. Both Driving Motor cars of Pressed Steel Co. set B436 were among a few members of Class 117 which had a more pronounced curve to the top of their four-character headcode boxes which by the time of this photograph were out of use. The remainder had flatter tops which made them difficult to tell apart from the Birmingham RC&W built Class 118 other than by car numbers and builder's plates attached to the solebars. Cars 51376 and 59500 have survived into preservation. Indeed a large number of Class 117 vehicles have survived and in no small part due to the class not having blue asbestos insulation. The points at left foreground led to the goods shed road and while not obvious in this view the edge of the platform ramp was curved to allow for this.Photo by Alan Young 19.jpg) On Saturday the 3rd of May 1986, Class 117 DMU set number B436 arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh from the Oxford direction and is presumably heading for Worcester. This unit was formed of cars W51334+W59500+W51376 with Driving Motor Brake Second W51334 being nearest the camera. The 'B' indicated a Bristol area unit but as with the 'L' (London area) units the diagrams took them well away from their home areas. The Home signal positioned between the tracks was a legacy of the Great Western Railway, whose locomotives were righthand drive. On the left we can see the rather uninviting prefabricated Up side waiting room which replaced the original and long-lived wooden structure in 1967. However, in saying "uninviting" many would argue not unreasonably that this waiting room was far better than the omnibus shelter type structures which so many stations today have to make do with.
Photo by Alan Young 21.jpg) The north, Gentlemen's lavatory, end of the station building in May 1986 and viewed from the Up platform. While one might expect a main station building to be on an Up platform this was not always the case. Rather, main buildings were placed on the platform nearest to the centre of the town, village, or in some cases the city that the station served. On the platform it would appear some effort was still being made to maintain the flower beds though a general air of shabbiness is beginning to set in. Beneath the canopy is a GWR type bench seat while a little further along is another bench with heavy wooden feet which was probably once inside the waiting room. The eviction of such benches from waiting rooms on to platforms was not uncommon. At extreme left can just be seen that the connection to the goods shed road is still in situ. Some years later it was disconnected at this end and in due course the siding was lifted.
Photo by Alan Young 20.jpg) Moreton-in-Marsh station looking south from the station footbridge in May 1986. The engineers siding running through the Shipston-on-Stour platform is still in place. The main station building on the up platform survives, largely unaltered but the waiting room on the down platform has been replaced by a modern building.
Photo by Alan Young  Moreton-in-Marsh signal box, north end, seen in July 2008. The signal box is now fitted mostly with modern double-glazed windows and while neatly done it is something of a shock to the eyes. The original signal box at Moreton-in-Marsh had been installed by 1880 but no further details are known. The present signal box dates from circa 1883 and is a GWR Type 4B with GWR Type VT3 40-lever frame, many of which latter will now be spare. A Block Switch, allowing the signal box to be switched out at times of low traffic, was once fitted but this has now been removed.
Photo by Edward, reproduced from Signalling Photos Archive under creative commons licence  Moreton-in-Marsh signal box, south end, seen in July 2008. It is coded “MM” as indicated by the signal number “MM 4”. At bottom right can be seen a section of what had been the east face of the island platform, the west face ending just before the signal box steps. Whether the east face was extended at some point in time or the west face was truncated circa 1883 to make room for the signal box is not known. Photo by ‘Edward’ and reused under Creative Commons Licence from the indicated source.
Photo by Edward, reproduced from Signalling Photos Archive under creative commons licence  Part of the interior of Moreton-in-Marsh signal box seen in July 2008. The lever colours are Red – stop signals, Black – points, White – spare. Blue levers, not visible here, are for facing point locks. Like many surviving mechanical signal boxes the instrument shelf has a mix of the old and the new. Photo by ‘Edward’ and reused under Creative Commons Licence from the indicated source.
Photo by Edward, reproduced from Signalling Photos Archive under creative commons licence 22.jpg) Looking south from the footbridge in April 2013. Withing a few years the new Down platform building seen here on the left will be demolished and replaced with a bus shelter.
Photo by Alan Young 23.jpg) Looking south along the Down platform in April 2013.
Photo by Alan Young 24.jpg) The main station building seen from the Down platform in April 2013.Photo by Alan Young
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