Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

has seen a history of expansion and decline in its railway history.

Hereford Railway

Incorporated in 1826, this was a tramroad which linked with other earlier tramroads to form a continuous line between Hereford and Abergavenny. It was bought by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway in 1846.

Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway

This railway was incorporated in 1859. It opened between Hereford and Moorhampton to goods traffic on 24 October 1862, to Eardisley for goods and passengers on 30 June 1863 and reached

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...

on 11 July 1864. Initially, the company used the short-lived Moorfields station, to the west of the city, but later used Barton and then Barrs Court station. The railway was taken over by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

in 1874. The line closed to passengers on 31 December 1962 and was shut completely in 1964.

Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway

This railway was incorporated in 1851 and the final section from Hopesbrook to

section opened 1 June 1855. It was a broad gauge track, linking eventually to London Paddington through a 22-mile section from the Grange Court Junction in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

and on the South Wales Railway. On 29 July 1862, the line was amalgamated with the GWR. In 1869, the line was converted from broad gauge to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

in a five day period. As part of the Beeching cuts, the

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

to Hereford line was closed on 2 November 1964.

Leominster and Kington Railway

Incorporated in 1854, the Leominster and Kington Railway connected Leominster with Kington and Presteigne. Connecting to the Hay Railway via the Kington and Eardisley Railway at Titley Junction, a proposed plan to develop a cross-Wales line via New Radnor to

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

was never realised. Taken over by the West Midland Railway, it became a constituent part of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. It was at its busiest during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when RAF Shobdon acted as a casualty distribution centre to local hospitals for both the British and later

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. It closed to passenger traffic in 1955, and shut pre-Beeching in 1963.

Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway

The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR) was incorporated in 1846, formed by the amalgamation of the Hereford Railway, the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway. A joint opening with the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway took place on 6 December 1853. The company was taken over by the West Midland Railway in 1860, which became part of the

in 1863. The main Hereford station and headquarters of the Newport to Hereford line was Hereford Barton railway station to the west of the city. There was a short link which continued northwards to the Shrewsbury & Hereford line at Barrs Court junction, allowing for through North-South services. Later, in 1866, a connecting line was built branching East from the NA&HR to the south of the city from Red Hill, to Rotherwas on the Hereford Ross and Gloucester line which continued into Barrs Ct. Station. This enabled NA&HR trains to use Barrs Court station. Barton station was closed to passengers on 2 January 1893, with all services transferred to Barrs Coutt (the current Hereford station). Barton station was demolished in 1913, although facilities there remained open for freight until 1979. The through route from Red Hill to Barrs Court Junction, passing through Barton, remained open until around this time as a goods only line, avoiding the busy Barrs Court passenger station.

Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway

The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was incorporated in 1846. The Hereford section of the line officially opened at Barrs Court station on 6 December 1853, although the line had been used for goods traffic since the earlier in the year. It was leased jointly by the London & North Western Railway and GWR from 1862 and was transferred to joint ownership in 1868.

Worcester and Hereford Railway

Incorporated in 1853. This railway was opened by the Worcester and Hereford Railway in stages from 1859 to 1861 with the final section Malvern Wells to Shelwick Junction (Hereford) opened on 17 September 1861.

and the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

both collaborated in the line - the solicitor, Samuel Carter, was also solicitor to both of these major companies. The Worcester and Hereford Railway became part of the West Midland Railway on 1 July 1861 and the GWR on 1 August 1863.

West Midland Railway

Incorporated in 1860. This was originally the Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway. It changed its name in 1860 and absorbed the Newport Abergavenny & Hereford plus the Worcester & Hereford. It also had agreements to work or leases on numerous branch lines in the English

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level for Statistics, statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known tradit ...

. The West Midland Railway's independent life was very short. It was leased to the GWR in 1861 and amalgamated with it in 1863.

References

A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 13 - Thames and Severn. Rex Christiansen. 1981. {{ISBN, 0-7153-8004-4