Tenbury Railway

Tenbury Railway
Welsh Marches line
to Hereford
 Woofferton
 Woofferton Junction
Welsh Marches line
to Shrewsbury
 Easton Court
 Tenbury Wells
Tenbury and Bewdley Railway
to Bewdley
Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram of 1903, including the Tenbury Railway and the connection to the GWR-owned Tenbury and Bewdley Railway

The Tenbury Railway was a railway that ran between Woofferton and Tenbury station in Shropshire, England. Early in its history a through connection was made to the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway which continued to Bewdley in Worcestershire; the route formed by the two railways sometimes being referred to as the Wyre Forest line or simply the Tenbury Line.

Construction and early history

The Tenbury Railway opened in August 1861 as a 5 mile branch line connecting the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway (S&HR) at Woofferton to a terminus at Tenbury via an intermediate station at Easton Court. The line was operated by the S&HR on behalf of the Tenbury Railway from opening.[1] In July 1862 the S&HR (including the Tenbury Railway) was jointly leased by the LNWR, the GWR and the West Midland Railway (WMR). Working of traffic on the Tenbury Railway was taken over by the LNWR on behalf of the joint companies.[2]

Following the opening of the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway in August 1864, working of the entire line between Woofferton and Bewdley was taken over by the GWR, with the LNWR retaining running powers.[3] Although the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway was soon absorbed by the GWR, the Tenbury Railway Company remained as an independent company until nationalisation in January 1948.[4]

Route

The Tenbury Railway began at Tenbury Wells (Shropshire) (originally Tenbury) and continued via Easton Court (serving Little Hereford) to Woofferton. The remainder of the Wyre Forest Line was formed by the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway which began at Bewdley and ran north from the GWR station on a single line track alongside the Severn Valley Railway for a distance of about a mile before diverging to the west to cross the river Severn at Dowles Bridge (52°23′08″N 2°19′30″W / 52.3855°N 2.3249°W / 52.3855; -2.3249 (Dowles Bridge)). The intermediate stations on the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway were Wyre Forest, Cleobury Mortimer (Shropshire), Neen Sollars and Newnham Bridge. Engineers Line references place the junction of the two railways at a point 7 chains (154 yards) from Tenbury Station.[5]

In 1878 the GWR opened a loop line between Bewdley and Kidderminster. Most of the traffic from the Wyre Forest Line continued via this route, which was described in working timetables as the “Woofferton, Tenbury Wells, Bewdley and Kidderminster Branch”.

Closure

The former Tenbury Railway between Woofferton and Tenbury Wells closed on 31 July 1961, although the station at Tenbury remained in use until the section between Tenbury Wells and Bewdley closed for passengers on 1 August 1962[6] and for freight on 6 January 1964.

Stations

There were stations at:

References

  1. ↑ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Country Railway Routes, Kidderminster to Shrewsbury. Midhurst: Middleton Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-906008-10-9.
  2. ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007), p. 23.
  3. ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007), p. 27.
  4. ↑ Mitchell and Smith (2007), p. 139.
  5. ↑ ELR on railwaycodes.org.uk
  6. ↑ Daniels, Gerald David; Dench, Leslie Alan (May 1973) [1964]. Passengers No More (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 23. ISBN 0-7110-0438-2. OCLC 2554248. 1513 CEC 573.
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