The station is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon and which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906. The station was a centre of fruit and milk traffic, but receipts dwindled after a railwaymen's strike in 1955. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976; the track was lifted in 1979-80.
History
The main station building as viewed from Platform 2The station footbridge
Toddington station was opened on 1 December 1904.[6] It was built as a railhead for fruit traffic, with a fruit packing shed being provided in the goods yard in addition to the goods shed.[7] The shed was 60 ft (18 m) long and comprised a 0 long tons 30 cwt 0 qr 0 lb (3,360 lb or 1.524 t) goods crane.[8][9] The goods yard was the largest on the line and accommodated three main sidings which were each capable of holding 30 wagons.[10] Two more sidings led into the fruit shed.[10] The fruit was processed in a nearby trading estate established by T W Beach & Sons in 1883, where it was put into tins and shipped out again; coffee was also dealt with in a similar way.[9]
The main station building as viewed from the car park.
A temporary 29-lever signal box was brought into service to welcome the first train, the 06.43 from Honeybourne which arrived at 07.10.[11] This was replaced in January 1905 at a cost of £236 (or £26,961 in 2021[a]) for the extension of the line to Winchcombe.[12] A footbridge was provided in 1912 to link the two 400 ft (120 m) platforms;[11][8] the main station building stood on the up platform, behind which was a dock from which large quantities of milk were dispatched.[13] Opposite the main building on the down platform was a small passenger waiting shelter and a large water tank which drew its supply from the Stanway Estate.[14][9] The station was lit by acetylene gas lamps until 1917 when calcium carbide became difficult to obtain.[8][15]
The first through passenger excursions to call at Toddington began in August 1906 following the opening of the line through to Cheltenham.[12] Initially, they were a Mondays-only service from Swansea to Leamington Spa and Wolverhampton to Tintern, but became more regular following the opening of the North Warwickshire Line in July 1908.[12] Nearby Stanway House, the residence of the Earl of Wemyss, attracted a number of visitors by rail, one of the most famous of whom being J. M. Barrie.[16] Passenger tickets sold at Toddington fell from 11,580 in 1913 to 6,050 in 1933; during the same period goods forwarded and received dropped from 5414 tons to 1802 tons.[10] Fruit traffic was badly affected by a 1954 strike by railwaymen,[17][9] which turned fruit growers towards road transport.[14]
Toddington closed to passenger traffic on 7 March 1960,[6] leaving the goods yard in use until 2 September 1967[18] after which the weigh house and fruit packing shed were demolished.[19] With the line remaining open to goods and diversionary traffic, the platforms were cut away by April 1968 to facilitate the out-of-gauge loads which used the route.[20] Closure of the line along with the signal box at Toddington came on 22 October 1976 and the track was lifted in 1979-80.[20]
Stationmasters
Thomas Marsden 1904 - 1931[21] (formerly station master at Presthope)
Two Class 14 Diesels at Toddington, Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway, 1993
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway took a lease of Toddington yard from 24 March 1981, with the first working party on site on 28 March.[25] After site clearance, the first track was laid and a compound was built alongside the goods shed which was used by a small business.[25] The signal box was included in the compound, although its lever frame had been purchased and removed by the Gwili Railway a few days earlier just as the lease negotiations were being finalised.[25][26]
Toddington's first locomotive, a Hudswell Clarke D615 0-6-0diesel shunter, was delivered on 30 May 1981, to be followed by GWR 2800 Class 2807 from Woodham Brothers on 20 June 1981.[27] During the next four years, the station site was transformed with the thorough refurbishment of the station building, reinstatement of the platform and restoration of the signal box with a new frame from Earlswood Lakes.[28] Double track was laid through the station towards Stanway Viaduct to the north and extensive sidings were laid to accommodate a large collection of locomotives and rolling stock.[28] The goods shed was taken over and converted into a workshop and office,[28] whilst a water tower was brought in from Ashford.[29]
Steam Locomotives on both of Toddington's double tracks, May 2023.
The station was inspected by Major Rose of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate on 21 March 1984 and authorisation was given for operation of a 2-coach push and pull train over a ¼-mile section of track as far as Didbrook Bridge.[30] The official reopening of the station took place on 22 April 1984 when Nicholas Ridley, the local MP, cut the tape on Easter Sunday.[31][32] By 2003, the line had been extended south to Cheltenham Racecourse.[33] In late-2005/early-2006, a start was made to relay track north towards Broadway,[34] and the first 2 miles (3.2 km) of this section, as far as Laverton Halt, re-opened in March 2011.[35]
^"Toddington Stationmaster Retires". Cheltenham Chronicle. England. 21 February 1931. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"45 years with the G.W.R.". Evening Despatch. England. 11 April 1944. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Earl's Uncle Elected to R.D.C.". Gloucestershire Echo. England. 28 January 1950. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Mr. E.A. Tredwell transferred". Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 20 April 1956. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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Kingscott, Geoffrey (2009). Lost Railways of Warwickshire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN978-1-84674-174-6.
Maggs, Colin G.; Nicholson, Peter (1985). The Honeybourne Line: The continuing story of the Cheltenham to Honeybourne and Stratford upon Avon Railway. Cheltenham, Glos.: Line One Publishing. ISBN978-0-907036-12-8.
Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (August 2005) [1998]. Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN1-901706-25-7.
Oppitz, Leslie (2004) [2002]. Lost Railways of Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN978-1-85306-754-9.
Yorke, Stan (2009). Lost Railways of Gloucestershire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN978-1-84674-163-0.
