Gloucester to Ledbury – 19 miles
The Gloucester to Ledbury branch started as two separate schemes, the Ross & Ledbury Railway and the Newent Railway, both of which were authorised under Acts of 1873. The line was constructed over the course of the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal opened to Ledbury in 1798 and Hereford in 1845. The GWR stepped in with the necessary cash in 1876 and construction commenced in 1881 from Ledbury to Over Junction. The GWR took over the undertaking and opened the line to traffic on 27th July 1885, with the R&LR and NR companies being absorbed in 1892.
The Ledbury to Dymock section was built as a double-track line the remainder to Over Junction being single. The architect for the line was William Clarke and the substantially-built stations bore his mark. They were situated at Barbers Bridge, 5½ miles from Gloucester, Newent (10 miles) and Dymock (13¼ miles). The GWR provided five trains per day on weekdays only, a service which was more or less the same until the line’s closure. Prior to the opening of the Cheltenham to Honeybourne line trains formed workings to Malvern or Worcester, but from 1907 these were curtailed and trains ran from Gloucester to Ledbury only from the First World War onwards. The Ledbury to Dymock section was singled at the same time. Crossing places were provided at three stations but Barbers Bridge was reduced to a single-platform station in the 1890s.
The GWR provided new halts at Malswick in 1938 (8½ miles). Four Oaks in 1937 (12 miles). Greenway in 1937 (15¼ miles) and Ledbury Town in 1928 (18¼ miles). The GWR also introduced single-unit AEC railcars to the branch in 1940 and these worked on the line until closure, supplementing the 0-6-0 panniers and 14XX 0-4-2 tanks. A daily freight plied the line, the steepest part being the I in 64 climb from Ledbury Town Halt to Ledbury. The halt was one of the unstaffed stopping places on the line but tickets were available from an agent at No. 42 Bye Street who was the local baker and greengrocer. This arrangement ceased after 1930 when tickets were issued by the guard.
BR closed the line to passengers on 13th July 1959, the last train running two days earlier behind Collet 0-6-0 No.3203. The line was closed completely from Dymock to Ledbury at the same time. Freight continued over the remainder until 30th May 1964 when the last trip was run with Class 2 2-6-0 No. 78001, thereafter the line was abandoned. The trackbed south of Newent has been converted into the Newent by-pass. Newent station has been demolished and the site occupied by a skip hire company.
Barbers Bridge Station has survived as a private house, well restored with ‘NR’ in the roof ironwork, a relic of the former Newent Railway. All three stations had this roof adornment.
