Historic Eardington water tank removed
A PIECE of Severn Valley Railway modern history disappeared on April 20 with the removal of the Eardington Halt water tank, which had become a landmark and was instrumental in the heritage line's early days.
It is to be re-sited at the southern end of Bewdley's island platform, where the present water column stands.
The tank came from Withymoor, Netherton on the GWR Stourbridge Junction to Dudley line and was installed at Eardington in time for the 1968 gala. There were serious problems with the quality of the hard water in Bridgnorth but Eardington had soft water, which is much more suitable for the steam locomotives.
In the early days, trains were given a five minute stop for watering, but restarting on the 1-in-100 was interesting. Eventually watering took place in Bridgnorth after water treatment, but during the 1980s serious boiler issues ensued due to poor water quality there, so locomotives were sent to Eardington.
Once the tank itself was removed, it was the pillars' turn. The first pillar was not a problem but some proved extremely stubborn to remove. They are cast iron and hollow so great care had to be taken to avoid damaging them.
Eventually all were successfully removed and loaded onto a flat wagon for transportation by around 8.30pm as the light was fading.