Station Name: SHIPSTON ON STOUR[Source: Darren Kitson]
 On Friday 12 September 1952, this feature was published by the Birmingham Weekly Post. It included the Stratford & Moreton Railway, (the horse tramway) and the Shipston-on-Stour branch railway. It is really self-explanatory but a few points are worth elaborating upon.
The placing of water cans beside the track was once a very common sight as remote railway cottages often had no mains services connected. This was so, even in the 1950s and in some cases later. The train guard would drop off filled cans and remove the empties, with the process being repeated at intervals. The cans contained drinking water, other water requirements being met by a well, a butt (for collecting rainwater) or both. Towards bottom left, the former tramway embankment at Alderminster no longer exists. The advertisement at bottom right is a reminder that the WWII rationing continued into the 1950s. In Britain, rationing was eased in stages and finally ended on the 4th of July 1954 though certain items, especially cheese, remained difficult to obtain for many years afterwards. The feature mentions that the branch "carries one train daily". This was weekdays only and soon afterwards the goods train was reduced to Tuesdays and Thursdays only.
|
Home Page