For the first time in over 40 years, scheduled services are stopping at Eardington, which is the Severn Valley Railway‘s smallest station.

On the first day of the railway’s Autumn Steam Gala yesterday, Thursday, 14 September, steam locomotive No. 43106 ‘The Flying Pig’ on a local service from Bridgnorth made a spectacular arrival at Eardington at 2.15 pm on the historic occasion for an official reopening ceremony.

Hauling a short rake of LMS coaches, it reprised one of the first trains to stop at Eardington in 1970, when the Severn Valley opened as a preserved railway.

Eardington is often referred to as the railway’s hidden gem, as for the past four decades it has effectively been a ‘ghost’ station, with no timetabled trains stopping. However, it has not been forgotten as a dedicated group of volunteers has been working to maintain the 155-year-old station building and preserve its unique history. The station is unique as it is the only one left in the UK that is lit entirely by oil lamps as it has never had an electricity supply.

Volunteers at Eardington have worked closely with the railway’s operations department to receive permission from the Office of Rail and Road for trains to stop again. Because the station has a very short platform, only trains with a few carriages will be able to stop at the station for safety reasons,

Visitors can experience stopping at the station as local trains from Bridgnorth will stop there throughout the rest of the four-day Autumn Steam Gala, and again station during the Autumn Diesel Bash between Friday, 29 September and Sunday, 1 October.

Steve Downs, Eardington’s station master, said “We’ve been working towards this for such a long time, I definitely felt a lump in my throat today, it’s quite an emotional time.

“The place has been buzzing, with lots of photographers about, lots of trains. It’s everything we wanted it to be.

“Our team members have had to do a lot of training, especially in dispatching trains and crossing duties. We’ve had plenty of help from our colleagues at Arley station and it’s all paid off. The Eardington staff have performed magnificently.”