Hampton Loade railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line, close to the hamlet of Hampton on the western bank of the River Severn; Hampton Loade itself is on the eastern bank, and can no longer be reached by the Hampton Loade Ferry across the river as this has ceased operation. History Hampton Loade station opened as part of the Severn Valley Line on 1 February 1862, appearing as 'Hampton' in the public timetable. It was originally built with one platform and siding; a passing-loop and second platform being added in 1883. There was also a weighbridge located on the river side of the site at one point. The station is actually on the west side of the River Severn in the hamlet of Hampton but was renamed within a month of opening after Hampton Loade, the larger hamlet on the eastern side of the river. Due to the presence of Hampton Loade station in Hampton most residents now refer to their hamlet as Hampton Loade. Most of the local passenger traffic came from the eastern side of the river using the current operated foot reaction ferry to get to the station. The station was always popular with anglers due to the easy access to the river. The station was host to a GWR camp coach in 1939. Although closed by British Rail during the implementation of the Beeching Axe in 1963, plans for its closure had already been made before Beeching's report was published. Following closure all signalling equipment was removed from Hampton Loade, and the signal box was almost completely demolished after purchase from BR by the residents of Station House for use as a chicken coop. Preservation From 1970 to 1974, Hampton Loade was the southern terminus of the SVR, just 4 miles from Bridgnorth. Although at the time the SVR was said to go from "somewhere" to "nowhere" the terminus was a quaint and peaceful place to end services. When preservationists first arrived at Hampton Loade from Bridgnorth, signalling was reinstated as a priority during the early days, mainly using equipment from the closed Stourport-on-Severn station. A legacy of Hampton Loade's former guise as the SVR's southern terminus is the now rarely used down starting signal No. 13 at the north end of the up loop. The platforms at Hampton Loade can only accommodate around four coaches at a time, this or