The Railway stand: a pictorial history
In this picture series, we take a look at how certain sections of the Vale Park ground have developed over the years. This time it’s the turn of the Railway Stand, one of the most popular areas of the stadium…
Covered terrace – the original design:
The original plan for the stand on that side of the ground was to have been a large covered area of terracing as the diagram below shows.
However, when the Vale Park stadium opened in 1950, lack of finances had seen many cost-cutting measures. Even the artists impressions from 1950 show an uncovered Railway side:
1955 – a new stand takes shape
This dramatic image shows workmen completing the ironwork for the stand. The work took place in 1955, just months after Port Vale’s epic Iron Curtain season had seen the side reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
The stand was now split into two sections – the upper section containing wooden seats and the lower section containing terracing. This image (below) shows the view from the Railway stand seats looking down to the terracing of the Railway Paddock.
1970s and 1980s – the Railway in action…
Two photos taken pre-game show a sparsely populated Railway stand before a match takes place in the early 80’s. Much of the original 1950’s design remains in place.
1990s – seating is introduced
The 1990’s saw the end of the Railway Paddock terracing as the Taylor Report reforms came into effect. The paddock was seated with orange seats to match the rest of the stadium.
Modern Day Railway stand
The rear of the stand shows the large grass bank which it is built upon.
This final image shows the Railway stand as it looked in 2016 – the original white seats that spelt out “PVFC” are now black. It remains one of the more popular areas of the Vale Park stadium.