Bettisfield Railway Station
Details
The station was situated to the west of the minor road that passes through Bettisfield. There was a single platform to the north of the tracks, with a two-storey station building, in which the station master lived. The layout included a 19-chain (1,300 ft; 380 m) passing loop, which was only used by goods trains, as there was no platform. The loop passed under the bridge at the eastern end of the site, before rejoining the main line. There was a smaller loop to the south of the main loop, and a siding to a substantial goods shed, which was designed to handle most traffic, including coal, minerals, livestock, general merchandise and vehicular traffic. About 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the east was a private siding, which served the Midland Moss Litter Company peat works on Fenn's Moss.
To the west of the platform was a signal box. The locking room was built of brick, and it had a gable roof. The box could be "switched out", to enable the section from Whitchurch to Ellesmere to be operated as a single section. When it was not switched out, sections from Ellesmere to Bettisfield and Bettisfield to Fenn's Bank were controlled by Tyer's No.6 Tablet.
Legacy
The station building is now used as a private dwelling, while the goods shed has been converted into apartments. The owner of the station building has laid a short length of track alongside the platform, and a Baguley Drewry 4-wheel diesel mechanical shunter has been parked there since at least 2012. The track to the east of the station acts as a drive for a number of houses that have been built near to the formation, and then provides access to Fenn's Moss and the derelict peat processing factory of Fenn's Old Works, where there was once a private siding.
References
- ^ "Station Name: Bettisfield". Disused Stations. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Bettisfield Station 1:2500 map". Ordnance Survey. 1912.
- ^ Jenkins & Loader 2015, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Jenkins & Loader 2015, p. 24.
- ^ "Miscellaneous Diesel or Electric Locos". smugmug.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map, 2018
Further reading
- Jenkins, Stanley C; Loader, Martin (2015). The Great Western Railway Volume 5: Shrewsbury to Pwllheli. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-4286-4.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Oswestry to Whitchurch. Middleton Press. figs. 42-50. ISBN 978-1-906008-81-9. OCLC 751631667.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welshampton Line and station closed |
Cambrian Railways Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway |
Fenn's Bank Line and station closed |
