| Notes: Whittington High Level Station, which opened as Whittington, was situated on what became the Cambrian Railways main line from Whitchurch to Welshpool. The section of line on which the station was located was originally promoted and built by the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway as part of a line between Oswestry and Whitchurch. The first |
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section of the line officially opened from Whitchurch to Ellesmere on the 4th May 1863. On the 25th July 1864 the Oswestry and Newtown and the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railways amalgamated with the Newtown and Machynlleth, and the Llanidloes and Newtown Railways to form the Cambrian Railways (Joined in 1865 by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway). Just two days later on the 27th of July 1864 the section of line from Ellesmere to Oswestry opened for business. Whittington Station opened on this date. By 1866 the Cambrian Railway had a mainline running all the way from Whitchurch to Aberystwyth.
The line was built as a single track railway but a passing loop was provided at Whittington. Because of this the station, which was situated on an embankment, was provided with two timber platforms. The platform buildings were also built of timber. The station had a small goods yard with a single long siding to the south of the station. A small timber signalbox on the platform controlled the passing loop and siding.
The station was served by mostly local trains running between Welshpool, Oswestry and Whitchurch. The station became an important facility for local farmers who brought in supplies and dispatched produce. Trains, both goods and passenger, passed through the station from areas far beyond the Cambrian network, particularly from cities in the North-west of England.
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At the1923 grouping the Cambrian Railway was taken over by the Great Western Railway. They renamed it as Whittington High Level on 1st July 1924 as they had a station in Whittington on their Chester to Shrewsbury main line. Otherwise little changed other than the gradual introduction of GWR motive power and rolling stock. Whittington High Level lost its |
goods service at an early date in October 1937. In the late GWR period Whittington High Level was served by seven trains in each direction running between Whitchurch and Oswestry. During the Second World War the line became very busy due to location of large camps in the Ellesmere and Oswestry areas.
On the 1st January 1948 Whittington High Level became part of the nationalized British Railways Western region. Again very little was to change with GWR locomotives and rolling stock remaining the norm. By the end of the 1950s competition from road transport had reduced services and those that did run often only carried a handful of passengers. Whittington High Level was damaged by fire in 1958 and closed on the 4th January 1960. Trains continued to pass through its site.
| Dr Richard Beeching’s ‘The Re-shaping of British Railways Report’ of 1963 recommended the complete closure of the line. During the same year as the Beeching report was published the line was transferred to the London Midland Region. On the 18th January 1965 the line closed completely. Today nothing remains of the station. A few courses of brickwork |
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show the site of a bridge that once carried the line over the B5009.
Source: Stanley Jenkins, Steam Days Magazine, December 2008. Tickets from Michael Stewart
To see other stations on the Oswestry - Whitchurch line click on the station name: Whitchurch STILL OPEN, Fenn's Bank, Bettisfield, Welshampton, Ellesmere, Frankton, Tinkers Green Halt & Oswestry |
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