Ledbury and Gloucester Railway

Legend

For canal icons used below, please refer to waterways legend instead.

Cotswold Line

Ledbury

Ledbury Tunnel

Hereford Road Skew Bridge

Ell Brook

Gloucester–Newport line

Over Junction

River Severn

Alney Island

Gloucester Docks branch

River Severn

Gloucester and

Sharpness Canal

Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Central

Gloucester Eastgate

Tuffley Loop

Cross Country Route

to Bristol

Cross Country Route

to Birmingham

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]

History

Most of the line followed the route of the southern section of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, which was inaugurated in 1798.

Construction and opening

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]

Closure

The line closed to passenger traffic in 1959, with the Dymock to Gloucester section remaining open to goods traffic until 1964.^[2]

Route

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]

References

^ Historic England. "Gloucester and Ledbury Branch Railway (113567)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Ledbury Transport History". Barry harples. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
^ "The Gloucester to Ledbury Branch". www.steamindex.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ MacDermot, E T (1931). History of the Great Western Railway. Vol. 2 (1863-1921) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.
^ Stan Yorke, Lost Railways of Gloucestershire, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0
^ "SO7038 : Old railway bridge, Ledbury". Geograph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
^ "Photo by D. J. Norton, Ledbury". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2009.

51°56′36″N 2°26′00″W / 51.9434°N 2.4333°W / 51.9434; -2.4333

[1] Historic England. "Gloucester and Ledbury Branch Railway (113567)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 23 July 2020.

[led-2] "Ledbury Transport History". Barry harples. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2020.

[3] "The Gloucester to Ledbury Branch". www.steamindex.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.

[4] MacDermot, E T (1931). History of the Great Western Railway. Vol. 2 (1863-1921) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.

[stan_yorke-5] Stan Yorke, Lost Railways of Gloucestershire, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0

[geograph-6] "SO7038 : Old railway bridge, Ledbury". Geograph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.

[norton-7] "Photo by D. J. Norton, Ledbury". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2009.

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