Fenn’s Bank Station
The following is a precis of an article prepared by Paul Wright for ‘disused-stations.org.uk’. The original article can be found at: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/fenns_bank/index.shtml
The section of line on which the station sits was promoted by the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway in 1860. Following permission from Parliament, in August 1861, they built the line, with the station opening on 4th May 1863. A primary purpose for building the line was to assist in the regeneration of Ellesmere which had suffered compared to other nearby towns who already had railway facilities. The route proposed engendered strong opposition from land owners so, in the end, they had to build the line across Fenn’s Moss. This created problems as ‘the moss’ was considered ‘soft’ and so the track had to be built on a combination of heather, peat, faggots (bundles of sticks 2-3 feet long and 2 foot in circumference) and a thick bed of sand.
Fenn’s Bank station opened with the first section of line and served both passengers and goods between Whitchurch and Ellesmere. In July of 1864 the section of line between Ellesmere and Oswestry opened and by 1866 the line extended right through to Aberystwyth.
Although passengers were carried on the line Fenn’s Bank station was primarily to service goods and, as such, the station itself was simple – only a single platform and a simple single storey building with basic passenger facilities. For goods it had better facilities – a small goods yard with two sidings one of which served a covered goods shed. There were also facilities for handling livestock.
During World War 1 the station was an intermediate staging area for troops stationed at Prees Heath camp coming to the Mosses to make use of the rifle ranges, and peat, peat litter and peat dust extracted for war time use left from the Fenn’s Bank sidings. In fact the peat litter didn’t go far, only as far as the Hamner Estate which was a major staging post for horses destined for the front line. During WW2 many extra trains passed through the station as there were large military depots and camps at Ellesmere and around Oswestry.
Fenn’s Bank station looking south westPhoto © Tony Harden collection
Fenn’s Bank station and goods yard looking north east
Photo ©Tony Harden collection
The remains of Fenn’s Bank station today is as a private dwelling with the goods shed also being private.
Sources from the original article: Stanley Jenkins, Steam Days Magazine, December 2008. Tickets from Michael Stewart.