A bridge carrying a minor road over the railway trackbed near Rudford church

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 in 1892.[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

  1. ^ Historic England. "Gloucester and Ledbury Branch Railway (113567)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "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.
  5. ^ Stan Yorke, Lost Railways of Gloucestershire, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0
  6. ^ "SO7038 : Old railway bridge, Ledbury". Geograph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  7. ^ "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

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