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The Ledbury and Gloucester Railway, (also known as the Daffodil Line), was a railway line in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, running between Ledbury and Gloucester. It opened in 1885 and closed in 1964. [1]
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The Ledbury and Gloucester Railway, (also known as the Daffodil Line), was a railway line in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, running between Ledbury and Gloucester. It opened in 1885 and closed in 1964. [1]
Most of the line followed the route of the southern section of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, which was inaugurated in 1798.
| Newent Railway Act 1878 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for extending the time for the completion of the Newent Railway; and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 41 & 42 Vict. c. xx |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 16 April 1878 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Ross and Ledbury Railway Act 1878 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for extending the time for the completion of the Railway No. 3 authorised by the Ross and Ledbury Railway Act, 1873; and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 41 & 42 Vict. c. xxi |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends |
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
After a period of financial struggle, the canal was leased to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1863. Conversion to a railway began in 1881 [2] The railway was built by two companies: the Newent Railway and the Ross and Ledbury Railway. Colonel F. H. Rich inspected the line in July 1885, and it officially opened on 27 July. [3] The GWR operated the railway, eventually merging with both smaller companies via the Great Western Railway Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. ccxxxiii). [4]
The line closed to passenger traffic in 1959, with the Dymock to Gloucester section remaining open to goods traffic until 1964. [2]
The line followed a south and then south-easterly route between Ledbury railway station and Gloucester Central railway station, it joined the Gloucester to Newport Line at Over Junction. [5] Stations were established at Ledbury Town Halt, Greenway Halt, Dymock, Four Oaks Halt, Newent, Malswick Halt, and Barbers Bridge. Notably, a skew bridge that carried the line over Hereford Road in Ledbury remains in use as part of the Ledbury Town Trail footpath. [6] [7]
Dymock is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles south of Ledbury. In 2014 the parish had an estimated population of 1,205.
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 1798 and 1845, and closed in 1881, when the southern section was used for the course of the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It is the subject of an active restoration scheme.
Newent is a market town and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The town is 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Gloucester. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, The population was 6,777 at the 2021 Census. Once a medieval market and fair town, its site had been settled at least since Roman times. The first written record of it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book.
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.
Ledbury railway station is located on the outskirts of the town of Ledbury, on the Worcester to Hereford line in the English Midlands. It has regular services to Birmingham, plus several direct trains a day to London Paddington.
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.
Brimscombe Bridge Halt was opened on 1 February 1904 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud. 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. This halt opened following the introduction of the GWR steam railmotor services between Stonehouse and Chalford. The halt was between Brimscombe and Stroud, and featured staggered platforms either side of the overbridge for the local road "Brimscombe Hill", with the down platform on the East side and the up platform on the West. Access to the basic wooden platforms was from the overbridge. Each with GWR pagoda style shelters soon after opening and electric lighting was installed in February 1939 at an estimated cost of £90.
Berkeley railway station served the town of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, England. The station was on the Sharpness Branch Line, part of the Midland Railway (MR), which connected the Bristol and Gloucester Railway main line at Berkeley Road station with the docks at Sharpness.
The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway (CMU&PR) was a standard gauge railway of 16 miles (26 km) which ran from Monmouth to Little Mill, near Pontypool in Monmouthshire, Wales. It was intended to convey the mineral products of the Forest of Dean to the ironworks of South Wales, by connecting to the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway at Little Mill Junction. The NAHR made the onward connection over its Taff Vale Extension line. The CMU&PR intended to acquire the Monmouth Railway, actually a horse-operated plateway, and convert it to locomotive operation.
Greenway Halt was a request stop on the former Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It opened on 1st April 1937 and closed in 1959 when the line was closed to passengers. It was situated along the profile of what is now the Dymock Road, 4 miles from Ledbury. The Victorian station house remains today on the site opposite the Old Nail Shop. It continues to run in parallel to the River Leadon another mile before it reaches the village and Dymock station.
Dymock railway station was a stop on the former Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It opened in 1885 and served the Gloucestershire village of Dymock. It had a passing loop, as well as a goods shed and goods yard. It was closed for passengers in 1959 but remained open for freight traffic until 1964 when the line was closed.
Newent railway station served the town of Newent in Gloucestershire, England.
The River Leadon is a river in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, a tributary of the River Severn. It rises just south of the village of Acton Beauchamp, and flows south past Bosbury to the town of Ledbury, which takes its name from the river. It then flows south and east past Dymock, Upleadon and Highleadon to join the Severn at Over, just west of Gloucester. The river is approximately 32 miles (51 km) long.
Ross-on-Wye railway station is a former junction railway station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway constructed just to the north of the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye. It was the terminus of the Ross and Monmouth Railway which joined the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway just south of the station.
Hereford Road Skew Bridge is a disused railway bridge in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Built in 1881 to carry the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway across the Hereford Road at an angle of approximately 45°, it was built as a ribbed skew arch with stone spandrels and wing walls, and ribs of blue brick. The railway line was closed in 1959 and the bridge is now used as part of the Ledbury Town Trail footpath.
The Cirencester branch line was a five-mile-long single-track branch railway line in Gloucestershire, England that connected Cirencester to the main line at Kemble. It was opened by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1841. The main line was extended from Kemble to a junction near Gloucester in 1845, by the GWR which had taken over the C&GWUR. The branch supported a busy passenger and goods business, but these declined in the 1930s, and closure was threatened in the 1950s. To reduce costs and maintain the viability of the line, lightweight four-wheel diesel railbuses were introduced, and they proved popular. Nevertheless, the line's decline was inexorable, passenger service closed in 1964 and the goods service ending the following year.
Ledbury Signal Box is a typical Great Western Railway traditional lever frame signal box which remains in daily use at Ledbury Station, Herefordshire, England on the railway line from Worcester to Hereford.
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust is a British organisation whose main aim is the restoration of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal. It was formed as a canal society in 1983, and became a Trust in 1992.
The Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean Junction Railway was an independent railway company incorporated in 1871, to provide a northerly outlet for iron ore and coal products from the Cinderford and Whimsey area in the Forest of Dean, to the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway line; mineral traffic to industrial centres in South Wales and the Midlands was foreseen.
Malswick is a village in the civil parish of Newent, in the Forest of Dean district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It contains the ground for the Newent FC.