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The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry was replaced by the Severn Tunnel in 1886 but part of the route continues to be used, forming parts of the Cross-Country Route and the South Wales Main Line.
A "Bristol and South Wales Junction Railway" was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1846. Isambard Kingdom Brunel surveyed a route across the Severn and the ferry at New Passage was purchased, but the line failed to raise enough money so was not built. The "Bristol, South Wales and Southampton Union Railway" proposed in 1854 to carry a line through the centre of Bristol and along the Avon Gorge to New Passage, where a train ferry would cross the water. This became the "Bristol and South Wales Union Railway" (B&SWUR) which received its Act on 27 July 1857 but using a route to the east and north of Bristol. Brunel died in 1859 and the works were completed by Robert Pearson Brereton. [1]
Construction started in 1858 and the single-track 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge line opened from South Wales Junction, half a mile east of Temple Meads, as far as the landward end of New Passage Pier on 8 September 1863, a distance of 11 miles (18 km). The distance by rail between Bristol and Cardiff was reduced from 94 miles (151 km) to 38 miles (61 km). [2] Stations were opened at Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Filton, Patchway, Pilning and New Passage. The short section on the opposite side of the Severn officially opened on 1 January 1864. On 13 August 1864 Ashley Hill station was opened between Stapleton Road and Filton.
In 1868 the B&SWUR was amalgamated with the GWR which had operated its trains from the outset. [3]
Under GWR ownership, the Portskewett branch was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge on 13 May 1872 along with all the other broad gauge lines on that side of the river. The Bristol section was closed for one day on 8 August 1873 and reopened the following day as a standard gauge line.
On 1 October 1874 a junction was put in at Narroways Hill, just north of Stapleton Road railway station, to connect the GWR with the Clifton Extension Railway, a joint venture with the Midland Railway to serve the affluent Clifton district. The line from Temple Meads to Narroways Hill Junction was doubled at the same time. [3]
Work had started on the Severn Tunnel a little way downstream from New Passage in 1872 and sidings were laid at both Portskewett and New Passage in connection with sinking shafts to the tunnel workings. On 29 May 1886 a curve was opened near South Wales Junction (between Dr Day's Junction and North Somerset Junction) to allow trains to run directly from London to the new Tunnel. The line between Narroways Hill Junction and Patchway was also doubled to carry the heavier traffic. Just short of Pilning railway station the new route diverged to south and a new station was built. The ferry and Pilning-New Passage line ceased operation after 30 November 1886 and the tunnel opened for passenger trains the following day, although goods trains had already been using the new route. A new 1,440 yards (1,320 m) single track tunnel alongside the old tunnel at Almondsbury carried the Up line on a more gentle gradient from 1887. [1] The increased traffic caused the line from Dr Day's Junction to Narroways Hill Junction to be widened to four tracks in 1891. [3]
The B&SWUR had been authorised to construct a line from Pilning to a proposed new dock at Avonmouth in 1862, but neither the dock nor railway was built. The GWR reopened a section of the old line for goods traffic on 5 February 1900, this ran from Pilning to New Passage and then connected with a new route to Avonmouth railway station. Passenger trains ran from Avonmouth as far as a new Severn Beach railway station from 10 July 1922, and continued to new stations at New Passage and Pilning (known as "Pilning Low Level") from 9 July 1928. The service was withdrawn from 23 November 1964. [1]
Two steam ferries had crossed the River Severn near Aust for many years before the coming of the railway. The upper ferry between Old Passage and Beachley continued as before but the lower ferry, about 2 miles (3.2 km) away at New Passage, was sold to the Bristol and South Wales Junction Railway in 1847. The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway eventually built new piers for the ferry, that at New Passage being 546 yards (499 m) long and that at Portskewett just 258 yards (236 m). On the night of 21 May 1881 Portskewett Pier was badly damaged by a fire; it was reopened on 16 June 1881, during which time a limited train service between Bristol and Cardiff was operated over the Bristol and Gloucester line of the Midland Railway. [1]
A steam ferry, the Saint Pierre had been built by Pride and Williams for the New Passage crossing in 1825 and it worked there until 1831. The B&SWUR bought a new steamer, the Gem in 1863 but it proved unsuitable and was soon replaced by the Relief. John Bland, a carrier and shareholder in the railway, was contracted to operate the ferry. The next vessel purchased was the Dragon Fly, this had been used by the contractors to build the piers but was too small to work as the ferry. Instead, two paddle tugs, the Ajax and the Atlas were hired in to cover for the Relief.
A new paddle steamer arrived in June 1864, named Christopher Thomas after the chairman of the B&SWUR, it had been built for the company by Henderson, Coulborn and Company at Renfrew in Scotland. A slightly larger vessel named the Chepstow arrived from the same shipyard on 11 February 1875. [1] These two continued in service until the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886. They were sold to WS Ogden at Cardiff in 1880, the Chepstow being renamed the Rover. [4] The funnels were generally painted black with a red band. [1]
| Paddle steamer [1] | Period | Length | Gross tons | HP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gem | 1863 | 122.2 feet (37.2 m) | 100 | 50 |
| Relief | 1863–1864 | 117.6 feet (35.8 m) | 163 | 70 |
| Christopher Thomas | 1864–1886 | 132.0 feet (40.2 m) | 159 | 100 |
| Chepstow | 1875–1886 | 140.6 feet (42.9 m) | 188 | 100 |
The Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1873 and 1886 for the purpose of dramatically shortening the journey times of their trains, passenger and goods alike, between South Wales and Western England. It has often been regarded as the crowning achievement of GWR's chief engineer Sir John Hawkshaw.
Severn Tunnel Junction railway station is a minor station on the western side of the Severn Tunnel in the village of Rogiet, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is 123.5 miles (198.8 km) from London Paddington and lies at the junction of the South Wales Main Line from London and the Gloucester to Newport Line.
The Severn Beach line is a local railway line in Bristol and Gloucestershire, England, which runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach, and used to extend to Pilning. The first sections of the line were opened in 1863 as part of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier; the section through Bristol was opened in 1875 as the Clifton Extension Railway.
Pilning railway station is a minor station on the South Wales Main Line near Pilning, South Gloucestershire, England. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol Temple Meads and is the last station on the English side before the Severn Tunnel through to Wales. It is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide the two train services per week from the station.
Stapleton Road railway station is on the Severn Beach Line and Cross Country Route, serving the inner-city district of Easton in Bristol, England. It is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. Its three letter station code is SRD. The station has two platforms, four running lines and minimal facilities. It is managed by Great Western Railway, the seventh company to be responsible for the station, and the third franchise since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, the standard service being two trains per hour along the Severn Beach Line and an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood.
The South Wales Main Line, originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the core London-Bristol line at Royal Wootton Bassett beyond Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.
Filton Abbey Wood railway station serves the town of Filton in South Gloucestershire, England. It is 4.4 miles (7.1 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. There are four platforms but minimal facilities. The station is managed by Great Western Railway that operates all services. The general service level is eight trains per hour - two to South Wales, two to Bristol Parkway, two toward Weston-super-Mare and two toward Westbury.
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.
Patchway railway station is on the South Wales Main Line, serving the town of Patchway and village of Stoke Gifford in South Gloucestershire, England. It is 6 miles (10 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. Its three letter station code is PWY. It is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide all train services at the station, mainly a train every hour in each direction between Cardiff Central and Taunton.
Lawrence Hill railway station is on the Severn Beach Line and Cross Country Route, serving the inner-city districts of Easton and Lawrence Hill in Bristol, England. It is 1.0 mile (1.6 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. Its three letter station code is LWH. The station has two platforms, four running lines and minimal facilities. It is managed by Great Western Railway, the seventh company to be responsible for the station and the third franchise since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, the standard service being two trains per hour along the Severn Beach Line and an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood.
New Passage is a hamlet in South Gloucestershire, England, on the banks of the Severn estuary near the village of Pilning. It takes its name from the ferry service which operated between there and South Wales until 1886.
The South Wales Railway was a main line railway which opened in stages from 1850, connecting the Great Western Railway from Gloucester to South Wales. It was constructed on the broad gauge. An original aspiration was to reach Fishguard to engender an Irish ferry transit and transatlantic trade, but the latter did not materialise for many years, and never became an important sector of the business. Neyland was the western terminus of the line until 1906.
The Clifton Extension Railway was a joint railway in Bristol, owned by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Midland Railway (MR) companies.
The Severn Bridge Railway was a railway company which constructed a railway from Lydney to Sharpness in Gloucestershire, England. It was intended chiefly to give access for minerals in the Forest of Dean to Sharpness Docks, and the company built a long bridge, 1,387 yards (1,268 m) in length, over the River Severn. The line opened in 1879.
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.
North Filton Platform was a railway station which served the northern part of Filton, Gloucestershire, England. It was on the railway line between Filton and Avonmouth, and was situated on the western side of Gloucester Road.
Portskewett railway station is a former station serving Portskewett, Wales, four miles south west of Chepstow and one mile east of Caldicot. It was opened as a broad gauge line with the South Wales Railway in 1850 and closed to passengers in 1964.
New Passage Pier was the original terminus of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, located on the south bank of the River Severn at New Passage, South Gloucestershire, England. At New Passage, passengers would disembark from trains and use a boat across the Severn.
The Badminton railway line is a railway line opened in 1903 by the Great Western Railway between the Great Western Main Line at Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire and Patchway and Filton, north of Bristol, England. Forming the eastern section of the South Wales Main Line, it shortened the distance between South Wales and London for heavy mineral traffic and for express passenger trains, and relieved congestion on the line through Bath.
Portskewett Pier was a station on the Bristol & South Wales Union Railway. The pier at Black Rock, near Portskewett, was the Welsh side of the New Passage Ferry across the River Severn. The ferry linked rail services between Bristol and South Wales, avoiding the previous long detour through Gloucester. The ferry service lasted for nearly twenty five years, from 1863 to 1886, until the opening of the railway tunnel beneath the river.
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