Broadway Station Gallery 2: March 1962 - May 1968

Broadway station in March 1962, two years after closure to passengers. Although demolition did not take place for another year, the early signs are already there: The signal box has gone, the running-in boards taken down, and all the boards under the canopy except for the ‘Way Out’ sign have gone. The entrance gate by the footbridge has been taken off its hinges and leant against the fence, while grass starts to erupt from the platform.
Photo by Ben Brooksbank

A late picture, just before demolition. The photographer has written ‘Broadway GWR’ on a slab in the platform in the foreground.  The concrete shed on the right with the door hanging off was for bicycles, and was not original. The platform benches have gone; at least one ended up outside one of the railway cottages next door.
Photo by J L Smith

View of the closed Broadway station from platform 2, which is now covered in weeds. The goods shed in the distance no longer has any doors, and all the signals have gone. The running lines, however, remain well used. This picture would have been taken shortly before demolition.
Photo by J L Smith

A view of Broadway station taken after closure to passengers and before demolition in 1963. The platform furniture has gone, and all the signs except 'Way Out' have been removed. The two posts on the left used to carry a smaller sign with 'Broadway' on it, a sort of repeater to the main running in board. The signals and crossover by the horse dock have been removed, and the up starter is lying on its side beyond platform 2. The platforms are already covered in weeds, but the rails are still shiny showing that they are in regular use.
photo from John Mann collection

9453 has trundled through Broadway station with a freight from the Honeybourne direction in July 1962. The station by this time is disused, although the goods yard is still open, and this indeed is the next stopping point of this train. The 'Broadway' sign behind the train has been removed following the closure of the station to passengers, but the cast iron posts remain in situ. The construction of the platform is evident in this picture. This southern part was on made-up ground and, while the earth was fresh, the new platforms were made of wood. At a later date concrete foundations were cast, and the platform extension built of blue engineering bricks, as in the photograph. The edge of the platform was made of 3ft and 4ft heavy concrete slabs, with thinner slabs behind, and gravel behind them. A GWR spear head fence closed off the rear.
Photo by Brian Parsons

Castle class GWR 7037 'Swindon' with the up 'Cornishman' approaching the closed station from the south on 31 July 1962. The typical 'Cornishman' headboard can just be made out above the smokebox. 7037 was built in August 1950; it was withdrawn on 31 March 1963 and cut up two years later on 31 August 1965 at Cashmores in Newport. 'Swindon' was the last of the Castle class, of which 171 were built over 28 years. From 30 June 1952 the name 'The Cornishman' was introduced by the Western Region of British Railways to a train from Wolverhampton Low Level (9.15 am) and Birmingham Snow Hill (9.50 am) to Plymouth and Penzance (5.55 pm), travelling via Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham and Bristol. The return working left Penzance at 10.30 am reaching Birmingham at 6.36 pm and Wolverhampton at 7.28 pm. The train was diverted via the Lickey route from 7 September 1962.
Photo by Brian Parsons

A view from the drive up to the station cottages during demolition in November 1963. The station has lost its roof. The station was so designed as to have its front door on the platform, and the car park side had no doors. Passengers were expected to enter the station through the gates on the right, at the foot of the footbridge, turn left and walk along the platform to the booking office. The gates here have been removed and stood against the wall of the station building. The platform slabs on platform 2 have been lifted and turned on their backs, out of the way of passing trains which were still using the line for another 13 years.
Photo from GWSR (Broadway Area Group) collection

The demolition here is in full swing in November 1963. The footbridge has already gone, with part of its valancing visible in the foreground, as well as a rail from the horse dock. On the far right can be glimpsed a cast iron post from the platform 1 running-in-board. The area in front of the station is stacked with large and small slabs from the demolished platforms. The pile of steel rods in the centre has not been identified. This view was taken from the north-east corner of the car park.
Photo from GWSR (Broadway Area Group) collection

Looking south-west along the platform during demolition in November 1963. The slabs have already been removed. The station building is still there, but the awning has lost its roof. The platform 2 running-in board has gone, but the waiting room and gents' are still there; the signal box has also gone. The goods shed is just visible in the distance, the only original part of the station complex to survive today.
Photo from GWSR (Broadway Area Group) collection

Broadway station during demolition in November 1963. The waiting room walls are still there, but the roof and awning have gone. The two cast iron supports at the foot of the footbridge are still in their positions. These were subsequently bulldozed and buried in the remains of the station further up the bank. They were dug out in 2012, buried 2ft deep in the earth, while mining for bricks and platform slabs. Some of these had been stacked ready for removal, but were never taken. Instead, the slab piles were bulldozed over backwards, and they were found stacked end-on deep in the dirt. Many were still useable, and are now back on platform 2!
Photo by Brian Parsons

Broadway goods shed looking south from the rear cab of D1749 in May 1969, with the Evesham Road bridge in the foreground. The signal box that used to stand behind the wall on the left has gone, but the LH track is newly ballasted. The capstones on the road bridge are missing, but the guard rails are still brightly painted in light grey. Photographer Brian Parsons' notes for the day show that they had left Worcester with D1749 and had been to Ashchurch, back to Worcester, Long Marston, then finally to Toddington where they picked up 18 wagons for Worcester.
Photo by Brian Parsons

Click here for Broadway Station Gallery 3:
May 1969 - April 2014

[Source: Jo Roesen]