Status closed Operator Great Western Railway | Type of business Heavy rail Locale Gloucestershire | |
Termini Awre
New Fancy Colliery Opened 25 May 1868 to Howbeach,
1869 to New Fancy Closed 1877 beyond Howbeach,
October 1922 no regular trains beyond Blakeney,
2 August 1949 official closure Owner Forest of Dean Central Railway until Great Western Railway absorbed it in 1923 Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge [converted 11-13 May 1872 from 7 feet ⁄4 inch (2.140 m)] | ||
The Forest of Dean Central Railway (also known as the Middle Forest Railway) was a short line in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It was built to serve the collieries in the heart of the forest. From its opening in 1868, the line was operated by the Great Western Railway and run by the Central Company until 1923. The GWR took over the line in 1923 and ran it until its closure in 1949. It ran from Awre Junction to Blakeney along the valley of Blackpool Brook. It served several mines and quarries as well as the corn mills in the nearby village of Blakeney.
Contents
Opening
Plans for a railway in the heart of the forest were first drawn up in 1826, however nothing was completed until the Forest of Dean Central Line opened in 1868. A branch line to the New Fancy Colliery was opened in 1869. The original plan was to open the line to a new dock at Brimspill on the River Severn; the railway never reached its target and stopped at its junction on the Gloucester to Newport Line. It was built mainly to serve Howbeach Colliery; a goods station was situated at Blakeney as well as a six arched viaduct to carry the railway over the A48 road. The original objective was a colliery at Foxes Bridge - the formation there was fenced and a bridge built for the S&W's Mineral Loop - but no track was laid north of the link to New Fancy.
Decline and closure
The opening of the Severn and Wye Railway in April 1872 was a major blow for the line and the railway lost most of its traffic to the new company. In 1875 the section to the central mines and the New Fancy Colliery was abandoned and most of the traffic north of Blakeney stopped in 1921. The GWR continued to run some trains on the north stretch until all services north of Blakeney ceased in 1932. For most of its life the branch was served by three goods trains a week.
Route
From Awre the line climbed 1.75 miles (2.82 km) at 1 in 69 to a goods shed at Blakeney. At 1 in 60 it crossed the main road, a 10-span viaduct, went through two deep cuttings, crossed the Roman road at Blackpool Bridge and another cutting to Howbeach Colliery. Beyond the line rose at 1 in 103, then 1 in 54 to New Fancy.