The Lambourn Valley Railway

Great Shefford is the one Station on the old line that holds special memories for me personally. I grew up here and as a consequence used the rail facilities quite regularly, in fact, right up until the the blight of closure was inflicted on us by the short-sighted government of the day. The Station itself was situated in the village just north of centre. Formally called 'West Shefford', it under went a name change in November 1900.

Looking North in the direction of Lambourn, this early view of the refurbished GWR Station shows that the original wooden LVR office at the far end of the platform, had been extended to effectively double it's size. This new building was constructed by the GWR between 1908 and 1911. The post and wire platform fencng remained intact until closure in 1960. At rest in the loading dock, a privately owned horse-box, most likely one of three belonging to R.C.Dawson of Whatcombe Stables

Viewed from the Lambourn end, the Station looks resplendent with it's new coat of paint. In this picture the variation to the extended wooden office becomes apparent, no windows and only plain, non-patterned barge boards. Built on marshy ground the station handled a considerable amount of traffic, far more than the other intermediate stations.

Photo : J.H Moss

In view of this, The original configuration of a single loop siding was enhanced by the GWR in 1910 as part of the line's general upgrading process. An 80 ft horse loading dock was constructed with rail access from the Lambourn end by means of a scissors crossover. An additional dead end siding was installed to serve this newly built Loading dock.
The scissors crossover was controlled from a ground frame (south) with 3 levers incorporating point discs. Access to the opposite end of the yard was gained via a 2 lever frame (north).

The total cost of this upgrade to the line was listed as being £1,284, this included the raising of the platform and the erection of the now mandatory, GWR pagoda waiting shelter.

Traffic at Great Shefford gained rapid momentum from the early 1900s. It's location being ideally suited to the many local farmers. The transference of milk from the surrounding area was a major factor, one farm alone being responsible for the despatch, in large churns, of more than 200 gallons of milk daily. Hay and corn were also dealt with in large quantities. Bales of straw would be dispatched to Swanwick during the strawberry season, Swanwick of course being the main strawberry growing area of Hampshire. Tail traffic was well supported both in and out or the station. The transportation of Cattle and Sheep along with the occasional race meeting contender made up the bulk of the content for this form of traffic.

Photo : Unknown

Coal was stored in the yard under the business control of W Sayers. Messrs. Gear also traded from the here. Business was increasing to such an extent that as early as 1914 the GWR found it neccessary to employ an additional porter to augment the duties with the existing man. The Two Porters operated shifts that had a considerable amount of overlap built in to them. The reason for this measure was to alleviate the need for the early shift porter to return to the station to deal with the early evening train to Lambourn.	m
		Looking South towards Newbury, The station as it was in 1919.

Local man, Arthur Smith, was porter at Great Shefford for as long as I can remember. He was an extremely kind and patient man who always had time for people, regardless of their age or background. The trains were a draw to most of us village children and Arthur would always allow us to watch the comings and goings from an area he defined as safe. Two other long serving members of staff here were Reg Hatter and Sid Alexander. Bert Nimms was also a well known, much respected member of the railway staff.

In 1923, to facilitate the handling of larger, heavier loads, a 64 ton capacity crane was installed in the Station Yard at a cost of £179. It was mainly used for dealing with timber. Travis & Arnold were handling supplies here arround that period. The lorry parked at the rear of the crane belonged to Mr. Bates' a local carrier.

The station furniture is superbly depicted in this photo from the 1930s Two platform hand trucks were provided both clearly marked 'G.W.R. Lambourn'. The office accommodation, was in line with the other intermediate stations, and could, at best be described as Adequate.
A bench seat ran along the back wall of the building with a counter and fixed shelf at one end. A ticket rack was mounted on the wall over a second bench at the other end. A desk, a cupboard and A tortoise stove were provided along with a wall-mounted lamp.
In the early 1940s, a passing engine set alight the thatched roof that is just visible to the rear the pagoda shelter, resulting in it's complete replacement.

Milk Churns can be seen on the platform awaiting collection for onward transmission. From the late 1920s, approximately twenty of these churns were being loaded daily for the outward journey. Sundays were no exception with farmers stacking their own churns on the platform to await collection.

Approaching Great Shefford Station from the Newbury Direction. The crossing in the foreground doubled as a foot crossing and an access track for a local farm.

Engine 9791 photographed in April 1959 arriving from Newbury. I have it on good authority that the three children shown in the picture are Ian Wilson, by the fence. Anne Wilson in the doorway and Pauline Wilson in full flight.

The GWR provided a 12 ton capacity weighbridge consisting of a 12' x 8' bridge table and a brick office which can he seen here at the rear of the Horse loading Dock

A Staff meeting alongside a Newbury bound Diesel railcar photographed in 1951

Circa 1952 and photographed from the Northern end of the goods yard, this delightful study of a "Dean Goods" gaining speed as it heads for East Garston. Just to the right of the picture, the afore mentioned crane and beyond the goods wagons, two height gauges. On a personal note, the black nissan type building behind the arched height guage was rented from a local farmer by my Dad and used for the purpose of growing his own mushrooms. Yard maintenance was not at a premium in 1952, as can clearly be seen in the foreground.