A surviving 'GWR – Wagon and Sheets Received ' record book from Weston-sub-Edge, on the route from Cheltenham to Honeybourne, gives a glimpse of goods traffic dealt with at this small country station. The book starts in November 1943, so includes a record of wagons received in the latter stages of the War.There was presumably a separate ledger for outgoing traffic.
The goods siding served local firms from opening in 1904. Facilities included a weighbridge and a six-ton hand crane behind the down platform.
For passenger traffic, the station was served by Cheltenham – Honeybourne auto trains.
By 1943 it seems the signal box was only opened for goods trains to attach or detach wagons.
Second World War military developments in the area made the station busier with an adjacent RAF airfield operational from 1941, used by No.24 Operations Training Unit.
Here are some of the book's entries, selected to illustrate the variety of items transported from stations all over the UK:
The initial entry has an LNER open wagon with coke unloaded on 3 November, consigned from Gloucester to F Gould.
On 5 November a GWR van from South Lambeth consigned to the RAF was unloaded, its contents being 'Stores'. More 'Stores' for the RAF arrived from RAF Gloucester, Chilmark and Pulham over the next few days.
15 November saw a somewhat different consignment arrive, in an LNER van, a load of manure from Monmouth, the customer being Burlingham's a well-known firm in the area.
On 30 November a load of salt came in from Cheltenham for a customer named Davies.
A GWR van with apples arrived from Tenbury Wells on 4 December for local firm Hartwells.
A delivery on 10 December was 'Explosives' for the RAF from Tutbury - in an LMS open wagon.
On 29 December came 'P Bombs' from Pulham Market in Norfolk.
1944
Detonators from South Witham for the RAF were unloaded on 1 February, transported in an LMS covered van. Two days later, a rather more mundane, but necessary, delivery, in a GWR van, arrived from Wolverhampton – bedsteads for the RAF!
More detonators, bombs and P Bombs arrived during the month, but there were still wagons for locals as well, such as 'Hurdles' from Birmingham for Mrs Gill. On 30 March came 260 bags of lime for Littleton & Badsey Growers.
Five open wagons with explosives for the RAF were sent from Oxford on 1 April, all unloaded on 4 April. More arrived during the month from Eynsham. Two wagons of 'drums' arrived on 12 April consigned to 'AMWD' – Air Ministry War Department – from Victoria & Albert Docks.
Throughout May and June more supplies came in for the RAF including bombs,cartridges and hand grenades.
A 'Cleeves Western Collieries' Private Owner wagon came from Swansea with 'steam coal' for W Shorey, unloaded on 10 July.
What appears to be '6 Land Rollers' came from Cheadle for the AMWD on 1 August.
On 1 September three wagons were unloaded – one had timber from Shipston-on-Stour for the AMWD; another contained propellers from the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Heywood, Lancashire; the third had grenades dispatched from RAF Hindlow.
September also saw three wagonloads of basic slag for Wallis & Co and Gould & Son.
In October a van of farm implements arrived from Wolverhampton, the customer being Dennison.
More hardware in the form of ammunition consigned from Witham came in for the RAF. Local heating needs were catered for with an open wagon of slack coal sent from Broadway.
Four permanent way wagons of ashes came up from Cheltenham for J C B Davies.
Thirteen wagons of loco ash were received in late November and early December originating at Tyseley, Banbury and Shrewsbury, all consigned to the 'Clerk of Works'.
Oil for the RAF was received from Warsop.
Two vans made the long journey from Forres, starting on 30 November and arriving on 6 December with furniture for the RAF.
Chippings from Tintern Quarry arrived on 21 December, the customer being J C B Davies – I believe he was the GWR's Permanent Way Inspector.
1945
Late January saw seven wagons arrive with 'pipes' for the AMWD. Other deliveries that month included kindling wood, asbestos, fruit, manure, glycerine and lime.
Supplies for the RAF in February included an 'aero engine' from Didcot and bombs from Oxford.
More 'piping' for the Clerk of Works came from Cirencester Town unloaded on 14 February.
Eight more wagons of pipes for the Clerk of Works were unloaded during March, despatched from Holme – presumably the one in Cambridgeshire.
Rail keys for Ganger Smith came up from Cheltenham.
A Private Owner wagon with coal from Treharris was unloaded on 10 April for customer Shorey. The wagon's owner is recorded as 'N H C'. Possibly this was actually 'H N C' or Harris Navigation Colliery, known by this date as Ocean Colliery and in National Coal Board days as Deep Navigation, noted for its high quality steam coal.
Two open LNER wagons with propellors loaded at Handforth reached the RAF station on 20 April. The 'date on label' column shows they were loaded on 13 April.
May deliveries included ammonia from Avonmouth for the AMWD, more pipes from Holme and bombs from Eynsham for the RAF. A local customer,J Grey, got a wagon of basic slag from Corby Steelworks.
There are no entries for June.
July had a van of what looks like 'Empty Bags' and a wagon of manure for the aforementioned J Grey. Not to mention four vans of bagged manure from Scunthorpe and Frodingham for W E Riley.
Similarly in August came three wagons of bagged manure from Avonmouth, Newark and Newport for F Gould and J Grey.
Deliveries for the AMWD, Clerk of Works and RAF ceased, as the War drew to a close and the siding settled back to its normal fairly sleepy existence. This also applied to passenger traffic which had been boosted during the conflict with military personnel coming and going for duties at RAF Honeybourne and having nights out in local towns.
October had some wagons for the local Permanent Way Inspector, tools from Cheltenham and a Gate from Broadway. There were also deliveries of hay, manure, basic slag, apples and flour for local firms.
Eleven wagonloads of ashes came in November for Inspector Davies.
1946
January had just one wagon recorded as incoming, from Avonmouth for Littleton & Badsey Growers.
Ditto in February, LMS open wagon 195572 with lime from Foss Cross, on the ex-MSWJ line between Andoversford and Cirencester, for customer Thos. Elliot.
In October and November a few wagons came in empty from Honeybourne and Broadway.
1947
Starting in the Summer, a much larger number of empty wagons came from Broadway and Honeybourne, far too many to be stored here, there wasn't enough siding space.
4 empty vans and 69 empty wagons were received in August.
40 wagons received in September.
105 wagons received in October.
70 wagons received in November.
In fact, they were loaded and sent away. But what were they used for?
This was a mystery until an internet search revealed all in a book titled "Angry Skies Across The Vale" by Brian Kedward, ISBN 0 952702 20 4. Redundant Wellington bombers were brought to RAF Honeybourne and dismantled, with the scrap taken away in railway wagons.
Thus Weston sub Edge yard became very busy for a few months.
1948/49
39 empty wagons were received in February from Broadway and Honeybourne.
Two wagons of coke came in from Castle Bromwich towards the end of January consigned to the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment.
A further six wagons loaded with coke from Redhaugh Gas Works, Dunston-on-Tyne, County Durham arrived in mid February for the Regiment – wonder what that was all about?
A van containing furniture also came for the Regiment from Crossgates and was unloaded on 17 February.
Coventry Gas Department contributed a wagon of coke, the customer being Smedley & Co, who received two similar consignments from Warwick during March.
Various consignments – crates, glass jars, fertilizer, manure, coal, nitro chalk, potash, basic slag, ammonia - continued to arrive throughout 1948 and 1949 for local firms such as H Burlingham, W H Wallis, Smedley's, Chas Page, Robbins & Son, Griffith & Haydon, Allchurch Bros, Webb, Bretforton. The Hadsphaltic Construction Co. received pipes and castings from Halesowen Basin and Hall Green.
The railway's Engineering Department also received wagons of 'stores' , rail keys, ashes with November 1949 being particularly busy.
1950
In 1950 April and May were relatively busy, no doubt reflecting the seasonal nature of the agricultural and horticultural businesses which predominated in the area. Burlingham's remained regular customers until July that year.
But the honour of the very last recorded entry goes to Espley & Co with '10 Castings' unloaded from Western Region open wagon 131274 on 28 August 1950.
The official closure date for the Goods Yard at Weston was 25 September 1950.
Below: An extract from the book. The date on the far left is when the wagon arrived, next is the date on the wagon label. Then the wagon owner, number and description. The Contents come next followed by the Consignor. The date unloaded is next. 'To Whom Consigned' is on the far right.