Tenbury and Bewdley Railway

Tenbury & Bewdley Railway
Welsh Marches line to Hereford Woofferton Woofferton Junction Welsh Marches line to Shrewsbury Easton Court Tenbury Wells Newnham Bridge Neen Sollars Cleobury Mortimer Cleobury Mortimer & Ditton Priors Light Railway Brown Clee Hill quarries Wyre Forest Wyre Forest Dowles Bridge over River Severn dismantled 1964 Severn Valley Railway to Bridgnorth Bewdley Severn Valley Railway to Kidderminster

Tenbury Wells Station, with ex-Great Western Diesel railcar in 1949

The remains of Dowles Bridge

The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway was a railway that ran from Bewdley in Worcestershire to Tenbury station which was in Shropshire, England. From Tenbury the railway continued to Woofferton via the Tenbury Railway; the route formed by the two railways sometimes being referred to as the Wyre Forest line or simply the Tenbury Line.

Early history

The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1860 to form a connection between the Tenbury Railway and the Severn Valley Railway, both railways then being under construction. Construction of the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway began in 1861 and was completed in August 1864. The railway was operated from opening by the GWR, who also took over the operation of the Tenbury Railway from that time.^[1]

The Tenbury & Bewdley Railway ceased to exist as a separate company when ownership was fully transferred to the GWR in February 1870.^[2]

Route

From Bewdley the Wyre Forest line 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. The Tenbury Railway began at Tenbury Wells (Shropshire) (originally Tenbury) and continued via Easton Court (serving Little Hereford) to Woofferton. Between Woofferton and Newnham the railway was largely built along the line of the disused Leominster Canal.

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^[3] and for freight on 6 January 1964.

A number of the station buildings survive in private hands; many share similar architectural features to others in and around the Severn Valley area. For much of its working life it was operated by the Great Western Railway and subsequently the Western Region of British Railways.

Stations

There were stations at:

• Bewdley
• Wyre Forest
• Cleobury Mortimer, junction for Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway
• Neen Sollars
• Newnham Bridge
• Tenbury Wells (originally Tenbury)
• Easton Court (for Little Hereford)
• Woofferton.

References

External links

• Severn Valley Railway