The origin of 'parkway' railway stations

[Captain Kernow]

2 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

Oh I can

Yes, I know you understand! 

 

The 'for Tewkesbury' part of the existing signage is totally official and the local group, together with local authority support, want the renaming to Tewkesbury Parkway to be equally official and extensive discussions with the TOC and NR took place a few years ago.

 

However, since then, the local authority (Tewkesbury) have taken the lead in promoting the station and have determined, quite rightly, that increasing the service to hourly has to be the current priority.

 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Tim, re- Bristol Parkway. I posed the question on another forum and "Coppercapped" states that Bristol North was the name used by BR during the planning stage. The WR ran a public competition for the name; "Parkway" being the result.

[Rivercider]

When the new Worle station was in the planning stage I understood there was a possibility cross-country services might also call there (they never did). I am fairly sure it had been referred to in some places as Worle Parkway before opening. When it opened in September 1990 it was named simply Worle, but for years after some conductors still referred to it as Worle Parkway in on-train announcements. 

 

edit - the station has been a success, after a time the 200 space car park was regularly full, an additional car park on the down side has opened in recent years.

 

cheers

Edited December 24, 2019 by Rivercider
Additional info

[young37215]

10 hours ago, Downendian said:

The captain and myself have been in correspondence over these photos, they've appeared (or will appear) in one of Tim's books. These were taken in 1972 just after opening, note the BR flag at half mast, presumably coinciding with the death of the Duke of Windsor in May that year.

I did believe there was much hype at the time about Bristol Parkway being the first of this type of station. I have a first day cover somewhere, must dig it out. The BR strategy of course was to compete with the recently opened M4.

its my local station, very much changed from the early 1970s when I was there spotting, complete with wonderful hydraulics thundering through routinely. I recall meeting one of my friends dad there, who'd travelled back from London on the South Wales Pullman with reverse blue grey livery. Many happy memories of the old rudimentary station building, the station now is one of the 1970s railway success stories, along with the HSTs . It is now heavily used, and is complete with a multi storey car park that roughly occupies the site where all these lovely period  cars are parked. Note the empty car parking on the site of the lifted Stoke Gifford yard. The scene is very different today, even the wonderful Brunellian brick overbridge in the distance has been demolished and replaced with a concrete eyesore as part of the GWML electrification scheme. I know I'm a bit of a dinosaur, but I really can't get used to all the OHLE that dominates the local rail sites I grew up with back in the day.

 

Fantastic pictures which bring back many memories of the original station. Bristol Parkway was sold locally as being the place to go for free car parking when travelling by train. For many years this was the case before the decision to start charging for car parking was made at some stage in the 1980's. for several years from 1979 I used to park in the short stay car park almost daily whilst out haulage bashing and was only occassionally chastised by the station staff for doing so. What a contrast to the camera controlled prison camp the station car park has become.  

[caradoc]

6 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

 

The local rail group (Ashchurch, Tewkesbury and District Rail Promotion Group), run by my co-author John Stretton amongst others, have long been campaigning to (a) change the name to 'Tewkesbury Parkway' (you wouldn't believe the cost demanded by the national rail industry for this) and (b) to get a larger car park, in conjunction with Gloucester County Council (who are generally very supportive).

 

 

It might be easier to rename the town of Tewkesbury 'West Ashchurch' !

 

[jamie92208]

20 hours ago, Dave47549 said:

New Pudsey, 1967-ish was one of, if not the first.

It was certainly promoted as a station to get car born passengers to transfer to rail to access either Leeds or Bradford.  IIRC the train service was increased to every 15 minutes at or around that time.

 

It's other claim to fame is that it featured in an early episode of Monty Python.  For some pythonesque reason Mr and Mrs Smith were waiting on the platform there what tgey had to do with the giant tennis playing blancnanges that followed them I do not know.

 

Jamie

[Captain Kernow]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

 

the decision to start charging for car parking was made at some stage in the 1980's

I remember the introduction of charges well.

 

I was travelling from Bristol to Swindon to work on shifts in the WR Control office at the time and often went from Parkway, which was about as awkward to get to from my house as Temple Meads was.

 

I thought at the time that it was a cynical money-making ploy by the recently introduced InterCity sector and I remember taking issue with the InterCity manager in Swindon about it. He simply dismissed my comments as one would swat away an annoying gadfly.

 

After that, I did everything I could to avoid having to pay any parking charges at that place (on principle) and the staff eventually let me park in their staff area!

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Captain Kernow

[rogerzilla]

4 hours ago, young37215 said:

 

Fantastic pictures which bring back many memories of the original station. Bristol Parkway was sold locally as being the place to go for free car parking when travelling by train. For many years this was the case before the decision to start charging for car parking was made at some stage in the 1980's. for several years from 1979 I used to park in the short stay car park almost daily whilst out haulage bashing and was only occassionally chastised by the station staff for doing so. What a contrast to the camera controlled prison camp the station car park has become.  

There were probably half the cars on the road in those days.  The number has increased by 20% since 2000 (I can't find earlier stats, but I remember there being far, far less traffic in the 80s, on smaller roads).

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

car born passengers

There can't be too many of those around.  Most of us were born in more salubrious surroundings   Have an "e" for Christmas  

[melmerby]

13 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

'Sandwell & Dudley', on the site of Oldbury station on the WCML between Birmingham & Wolverhampton, was built on the Parkway principal, but I don't know if it's officially classed as a Parkway station. 

It is a useful connection place for destinations such as London, as it avoids the hassle of getting into Birmingham to catch an express train.

That's also a silly one as there is no such place as Sandwell. It's a Local Authority named after a geographical feature.

And *Dudley is some distance away and there are no motorway or even decent roads to connect it to the station. Dudley Port on the same line is nearer to Dudley but has a miniscule car park.

 

*Definitely larger than Mansfield. (Population of the borough is approx 300000, Mansfield is only about 100000)

[Zomboid]

7 hours ago, Rivercider said:

When the new Worle station was in the planning stage I understood there was a possibility cross-country services might also call there (they never did). I am fairly sure it had been referred to in some places as Worle Parkway before opening. When it opened in September 1990 it was named simply Worle, but for years after some conductors still referred to it as Worle Parkway in on-train announcements. 

 

edit - the station has been a success, after a time the 200 space car park was regularly full, an additional car park on the down side has opened in recent years.

 

cheers

"Worle Parkway" lives on to this day in the names of the car parks according to Google maps.

[LBRJ]

13 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

No need to add that Bristol Parkway was definitely the first - and that it was said at the time that the name was linked to the presence of the Parkway (i.e. the M32) which was fairly new at that time (the first section had opened in 1970) apart from its obvious intention to be a park and ride station.

 

Bodmin Parkway was a very different kettle of fish in terms of naming because 'Rusty' Eplett, the then Area Manager Truro, decided he wanted a bit of publicity for Cornwall and the 'Cornish Railways' idea so he proposed the renaming from Bodmin Road to, initially I believe via the PR people at Swindon, but securing agreement also from the Regional Passenger Manager.  So although the station is indeed a 'parkway' because of the way it is used it has relatively limited parking capacity with the renaming having been far more of a PR exercise rather than indicating a major change in the station's role.   Thus Bodmin Parkway today has only 70 parking spaces (which is more than it originally had) compared with over 400 at Tiverton Parkway which, like Bristol Parkway, was specifically constructed as a 'parkway' station.

 

Didcot's change to a 'parkway' name seems to have been twofold - partly to reflect its changing role as it was very much emerging as fulfilling that function for a growing hinterland to the west, but also as a sort of promotional exercise connected with new buildings at the station.  The huge multi-storey car park is a much more recent addition having been added in the past few years but specifically provided to cater for the continuing growth of park & ride business.  FGW/GWR took the view that their investment in the car park would have provided a sufficient return before their franchise expired so decided to go ahead on that basis.

 

Crikey! that is a bit of a blast from the past, to say the least.

Rusty was a bit before my time , but he dint like no non Cornishman to work on his railway - which is probably why the RO/ platform staff were all 60 plus and local and the guards and drivers were from here there and everywhere

[The Stationmaster]

10 hours ago, LBRJ said:

 

Crikey! that is a bit of a blast from the past, to say the least.

Rusty was a bit before my time , but he dint like no non Cornishman to work on his railway - which is probably why the RO/ platform staff were all 60 plus and local and the guards and drivers were from here there and everywhere

Going widely off topic here but Rusty was a fascinating chap and truly Cornish as he really knew sailing, he sailed a Troy class boat (unique to the Fowey area) was at one time Commodore of one of the Fowey sailing clubs (the less posh one).  at one time his two Asst A.Ms were both real Cornishmen although Harry definitely wasn't over 60 and he later acquired an English Asst A.M. who was down there for quite a while.

 

Back to parkways

 

Port Talbot I think acquired the suffix mainly because of the addition of a fair amount of car parking capacity although it presumably now serves more than just immediately local passengers who now arrive by car.  Didcot of course is very much more than that as it serves a rao pidly growing hinterland extending out well beyond Harwell and Steventon so is very much a parkway station in terms of usage and didcot itself has grown hugely making the station far beyond walking distance for many commuters who use the station.

 

Worle/Weston-Super-Mare- Parkway as an idea goes back a long way and at one time was being seen very much as an alternative to the existing station with ideas of longer distance trains (other than WSM terminators using it instead of going round the loop to the present station.   Thus the idea started out as something far more grandiose than what eventually emerged where it became much more in the mould of a local station to relieve road traffic ionto Weston rather than a sort of 'main line' supplement to/replacement for the existing station. 

[wombatofludham]

Tame Bridge Parkway gained the suffix after the main station was built mainly because of delays getting access to the land acquired for parking, which involved using a private road off the A41.  It's function was primarily to provide park and ride into Birmingham from West Bromwich and south Walsall so whilst a "Parkway" in that it was to function as a park and ride railhead, it's relative distance from the M6 junction 9 and lack of long-distance services (unless the planned Avanti WC service to Walsall will stop there.  I don't count the LNWR service to London as that stops at every garden shed through Northants, Bucks and Beds) possibly means it doesn't meat the usual definition of a "Parkway".

 

Sandwell and Dudley has never lived up to expectation.  In fact some of the land reserved for parking has been sold off.  

[KeithHC]

Also added to the list is my local station. Cam and Dursley opened in 1994 located 400yds to the north of Coaley Junction station. It has a large free car park that is well used and local buses connect with most stopping trains. Recently and ongoing there are now large scale house building going on around the station,

 

Keith

[Fat Controller]

20 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

Tame Bridge Parkway gained the suffix after the main station was built mainly because of delays getting access to the land acquired for parking, which involved using a private road off the A41.  It's function was primarily to provide park and ride into Birmingham from West Bromwich and south Walsall so whilst a "Parkway" in that it was to function as a park and ride railhead, it's relative distance from the M6 junction 9 and lack of long-distance services (unless the planned Avanti WC service to Walsall will stop there.  I don't count the LNWR service to London as that stops at every garden shed through Northants, Bucks and Beds) possibly means it doesn't meat the usual definition of a "Parkway".

 

Sandwell and Dudley has never lived up to expectation.  In fact some of the land reserved for parking has been sold off.  

Wasn't it at the official opening of Sandwell and Dudley, with dignitaries stood waiting on the platfrom, that the first train booked to stop ran past at line speed?

[Captain Kernow]

On 25/12/2019 at 00:51, LBRJ said:

Rusty was a bit before my time , but he dint like no non Cornishman to work on his railway

Well, I had an interview with him for an assistant AM position in the mid-1980s. He took the interview on his own, just a 'bit of a chat' really and it was quite clear to me, even at the time, that there was no way that I was going to get that job!

 

[Oldddudders]

23 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

Dudley has never lived up to expectation.

I could be quite hurt by that baseless allegation!

[johnofwessex]

On 24/12/2019 at 09:49, Peter Kazmierczak said:

....................................

 

PS Wasn't Bristol Parkway originally to have been named "Bristol North"?

 

 

Bristol North was a much missed Swimming Baths on the Gloucester Road.  It was also used as the 'Peoples Fascist Bank' and 'Peoples Fascist Police Station' in The Young Ones as 15 Credibility Street was a short walk away

[wombatofludham]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I could be quite hurt by that baseless allegation!

 

Well I could never diss Dudley if my family history research is to be believed and I am the 15x great grandson of the first Earl of Dudley and my 14x great grandmother was born in the Castle.

Which of course means I had a "family" Class 86 named after the old family home.  Apparently I'm also the seven times great nephew of Josiah Wedgwood, so that's a second 86 with a family name which, seeing as they are probably one of my favourite locos, is pretty neat.
 

[298]

I thought the Parkway designation was a modernised version of the GWR "Road" suffix, which implied that a station was merely on a route to the town, and not necessarily close enough to be of use to it.

[Edwin_m]

58 minutes ago, 298 said:

I thought the Parkway designation was a modernised version of the GWR "Road" suffix, which implied that a station was merely on a route to the town, and not necessarily close enough to be of use to it.

That may have been the case with the original ones, with Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway having it both ways (it's only a short walk to Alfreton).  But the use at places like Didcot and Port Talbot, which are close to the centres of those places, shows that now it's no more than a station which the management considers to be a good place to park and catch the train.  

[The Johnster]

The distinction between a GW 'Road' station and a British Rail Parkway station is, I contend, the specific provision of car parking facilities beyond the usual 'use the space where the old goods yard used to be' level.

[brianthesnail96]

13 hours ago, KeithHC said:

Also added to the list is my local station. Cam and Dursley opened in 1994 located 400yds to the north of Coaley Junction station. It has a large free car park that is well used and local buses connect with most stopping trains. Recently and ongoing there are now large scale house building going on around the station,

 

Keith

 

Not a large enough car park judging by the chaos on Box Road during the day...

 

I'm not sure it really counts as a Parkway type station though, although most people drive to it it's not (currently) within a large catchment area nor is it particularly accessible by major roads. It's just not quite close enough to the town it ostensibly serves to be practical for most to walk there- although being towards the Draycott end of Cam it's an easy walk for me and if they ever reopen Stonehouse Bristol Road it'll be extremely handy for work! I admit it probably is closer to the concept than a lot of other stations though.

[Enterprisingwestern]

On 25/12/2019 at 14:27, wombatofludham said:

Sandwell and Dudley has never lived up to expectation.  In fact some of the land reserved for parking has been sold off.  

 

When I was repping in the Birmingham area the station car park was a good place for lunch breaks with a bit of train spotting thrown in, although arguably the most interesting part was observing (in a non close up fashion I hasten to add!) the number of trysts and assignations which went on at the rear corners of the car park, repeat performances seemed to be regularly made. The local marriage counselling service must have been a busy place.

 

Mike.