Churchdown | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Churchdown, Tewkesbury England |
Grid reference | SO886202 |
Platforms | 4 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Birmingham and Gloucester Railway |
Pre-grouping | Midland Railway/Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway/Great Western Railway |
Key dates | |
9 August 1842 | Opened |
27 September 1842 | Closed |
2 February 1874 | Re-opened |
2 November 1964 | Closed |
Churchdown railway station was situated on the main line between Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa. It served Churchdown and surrounding areas.
The railway line between Cheltenham and Gloucester opened on 4 November 1840, the final section of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&G) which had been authorised in 1836. [1] At first, there were no intermediate stations, but on 9 August 1842 the first station at Churchdown was opened by the B&G; it proved to be temporary, being closed again on 27 September. [2] Less than a year later, on 22 August 1843, a station opened closer to Cheltenham at nearby Badgworth. [3] [4] Both stations were built in response to request from the residents of Badgeworth for a station closer than Cheltenham or Gloucester; Churchdown was the first choice of the railway company since it was closer to the half-way point between the two towns. [5]
The permanent station at Churchdown was opened on 2 February 1874, and was the joint property of the Midland Railway (successor to the B&G) and the Great Western Railway, [2] [6] who had shared the line since 1847. [7]
The station closed on 2 November 1964, [2] as part of the reshaping of British Railways or more commonly known as the Beeching Axe by Dr Beeching.
The site of the station is 89 miles 65 chains (144.5 km ) from Derby. [4] Little remains of the station itself next to what is now Station Close, but through traffic continues on the line.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cheltenham Malvern Road | Great Western Railway Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway | Gloucester | ||
Gloucester | Birmingham and Gloucester Railway | Badgworth | ||
Gloucester Eastgate | Midland Railway | Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown) |
The Lickey Incline, south of Birmingham, is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain. The climb is a gradient of 1 in 37.7 for a continuous distance of two miles (3.2 km). Constructed originally for the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) and opened in 1840 it is located on the Cross Country Route between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove stations in Worcestershire.
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) was the first name of the railway linking the cities in its name and of the company which pioneered and developed it; the line opened in stages in 1840, using a terminus at Camp Hill in Birmingham. It linked with the Bristol and Gloucester Railway in Gloucester, but at first that company's line was broad gauge, and Gloucester was a point of the necessary but inconvenient transhipment of goods and passengers onto 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge that became the national standard. Nearly all of the original main line remains active as a "trunk" route, also known as an arterial route or line.
Cheltenham Spa railway station serves the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. Situated on the Bristol–Birmingham main line, it is managed by Great Western Railway, although most services are operated by CrossCountry. The station is about one mile from the town centre. The official name of the station is Cheltenham, however when the station was renamed in 1925, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway chose to add Spa to the station name. It is a regional interchange and the second busiest station in Gloucestershire, as well as one of the busiest railway stations in South West England.
Ashchurch for Tewkesbury is a railway station on the main Bristol–Birmingham main line, serving the market town of Tewkesbury and the village of Ashchurch in Gloucestershire, England. It is located less than 1⁄4 mile (400 m) from junction 9 of the M5 motorway. Originally opened in 1840 but closed in 1971. The station was reopened on 1 June 1997 by Railtrack. There are regular bus connections from the station to Tewkesbury town centre, Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Gloucester Eastgate railway station was a station in Gloucester, England, used by trains from Birmingham to Bristol. Originally the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway used a terminus station roughly on the site of the current Gloucester station car park.
The Bristol and Gloucester Railway was a railway company opened in 1844 to run services between Bristol and Gloucester. It was built on the 7 ftBrunel gauge, but it was acquired in 1845 by the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge Midland Railway, which also acquired the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway at the same time.
Honeybourne railway station serves the village of Honeybourne in Worcestershire, England. Opened in 1853, it is on the Cotswold Line and was formerly a busy junction with five platform faces, also serving trains on the Great Western Railway's Honeybourne Line between Cheltenham Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, which formed part of a strategic route between the West Midlands and the West of England.
The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a railway company intended to link Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon, in England. It was authorised in 1836 but it found it very hard to raise money for the construction, and it opened only a part of its line, between Swindon and Cirencester, in 1841. It sold its business to the Great Western Railway, which quickly built the line through to Gloucester in 1845 and Cheltenham in 1847; part of that route was shared with other companies.
Fishponds railway station was a station in Fishponds, Bristol, England, which was closed by Dr Beeching's cuts in the 1960s.
Ebley Crossing Halt was opened on 12 October 1903 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Stroud and Stonehouse. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line for the local passenger service.
The Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad, also known as the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, connected Gloucester and Cheltenham with horse-drawn trams. Its primary economic purpose was the transport of coal from Gloucester's docks to the rapidly developing spa town of Cheltenham and the transport of building stone from quarries on nearby Leckhampton Hill.
Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road railway station was a station in the town of Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station was a station in the town of Cheltenham.
Cheltenham High Street railway station was built by the Midland Railway to serve the north-western part of Cheltenham.
Tetbury Road railway station was built by the Cheltenham & Great Western Union Railway to serve the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Coates, and the town of Tetbury.
Bredon railway station was on the Birmingham–Gloucester railway line to the north of Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station. The station closed in 1965.
Westerleigh Junction is a railway junction in Gloucestershire, England, where the Cross Country Route (XCR) from York to Bristol Temple Meads meets the South Wales Main Line (SWML) from London Paddington to Swansea, near the village of Westerleigh.
Hayles Abbey Halt railway station is a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the hamlet of Hailes in Gloucestershire, as well as the nearby Hailes Abbey, between 1928 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1985 and opened in 1987 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although for many years no new halt was provided. The halt was eventually reopened on 5 June 2017 after being rebuilt by volunteers. Unlike the original, however, it only has a single platform. It lies between Toddington and Winchcombe stations.
Gretton Halt railway station was a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the small village of Gretton in Gloucestershire between 1906 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1997 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although no new halt was provided.
Spetchley railway station was an intermediate stop on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, opened in 1840. Besides the village of Spetchley, it served the city of Worcester until 1850. It closed to passengers in 1855 but remained open for goods until 1961.