Looking north from platform 1 at Craven Arms station in rural Shropshire. The semaphore signals in this area and also the gates of the level crossing the yellow 4x4 van is on are controlled from the cream building on the right of the track. The crossing between rail lines visible in the middle foreground allows southbound trains from Crewe and Shrewsbury access to platform 1 at the station and then onto the Heart of Wales line south of the station. Southbound services to Hereford and south-east Wales call at platform 2.
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The small town in Shropshire owes its existence and unusual name to the railway. The rail junction with the Heart of Wales Line immediately south of the station (this photograph is looking north) was named after a nearby inn the <i>Craven Arms</i>, which was named after Lord Craven, who held the marno house of Stokesay Castle about a mile to the south. The station itself was named for the rail junction. The railway brought trade and population to what had been a tiny village called Newton, and expanded it so much that it eventually took the name of the station.
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Photo by <a href="mailto:cmckenna@sucs.org?subject=rail-photo at railfaneurope.net">Chris McKenna</a> 17/12/2005.<br>
Larger, higher quality copies of most of my pictures are available, please email if you want a copy. If you wish to use this, or any other of my photographs, under a different license see <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Thryduulf/Relicensing">my relicensing policy</a>.

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