Ross-on-Wye’s Lost Railway: Part 1

Herefordshire History
Written By The Herefordian Historian .

In his 1892 book Nooks and Corners of Herefordshire, artist Henry Thornhill Timmins recounts his departure from Hereford as he heads south on the train to Ross-on-Wye. He describes leaving Barrs Court Station and speeding past the ‘pretty villas’ of Hampton Park, where many of the city’s wealthy lived.

It would have been at this point that the train crossed Eign Bridge, with the River Wye winding beneath it. Passing Rotherwas Junction, the passengers would no doubt have seen the Hereford Curve split off to join the line leading to Abergavenny and Newport. They would soon be greeted by the view of Dinedor Hill to the west, which at the time was apparently ‘beloved of picnic parties’.

Of all that has been described in the preceding paragraphs, the only railway infrastructure remaining is Eign Bridge – albeit it is not the bridge Timmins would have crossed, as the present one was built in 1931 – the Hereford Curve, and what was once known as the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.

Rotherwas Junction is no more, and the line heading south towards Ross has completely disappeared. Based on the few signs that remain today, one could be forgiven for thinking that a railway never scarred the landscape of southeast Herefordshire. But it did, and its story begins almost two centuries ago.

The Royal Hotel in Ross

It was during the 1830s that a railway between Hereford and Gloucester, via Ross, was first proposed. Unfortunately, it would remain simply that, an idea, until the middle of the century. In 1844, a route was surveyed for the line, and in August a meeting was held at the Royal Hotel in Ross, but these two events amounted to nothing.

Then, three years later, a financial crisis gripped the country, and the railway was put on the backburner until 1850. That year, it was decided that a capital of £275,000 would need to be raised to lay the twenty-two and a half miles of rail from a junction at Grange Court in Gloucestershire to Barrs Court Station in Hereford.

A bill was sent to Parliament to permit the construction work to begin, and this was passed in April 1851. On the fifth day of that month, another meeting was held in Ross, and the first steps were taken towards making the railway a reality. As they were to soon find out, the journey would not be a quick or easy one.

By 11 June 1853, the first five miles had been completed from Grange Court to Hopesbrook. It would take a further two years to complete a series of deep cuttings, four tunnels, and four bridges over the Wye, all of which were needed to steer the track through the countryside of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.

The route of the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway

Finally, on 1 June 1855, the railway reached Hereford, but it would not be until the next day that the line was officially opened to the public. First, it needed to be tested. On that late spring day, hundreds of miles to the southeast, a group of Great Western Railway representatives boarded a fifty-ton train, bound for Hereford.

Though they would not own the line, as that honour belonged to the directors of what had now been termed the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway, the Great Western Railway had agreed to offer the use of their locomotives on the condition that they received sixty percent of the profits.

Among them was the famed Isambard Kingdom Brunel. When the idea for the line had been proposed and then scrapped in the 1840s, he had been in the midst of building a railway from Swindon to Gloucester. He was interested in the thought of laying a track from Gloucester into Herefordshire, and it was he who suggested that it should run all the way to the county’s capital.

Soon the train had steamed clear of the smoke and muck of London, and its complement had time to savour the views of the English countryside as they headed towards Gloucester. Once there, they stopped to pick up the railway’s local directors before continuing to Ross, where they were greeted by some 5,000 spectators.

A view of Ross in 1855, showing the railway to the left

It seemed as though the town’s whole population had turned up to witness the momentous occasion. Children lined the platforms of the new station, each vying for the best view of the train as it pulled in, and around the entrance of the building, travelling confectioners and amusement arcades raked in profits from the crowd.

A huge flag depicting an engine and its tender was hoisted, and on it were the words ‘God Save the Queen’ and ‘Success to the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway’. The whole of Ross was decorated in bunting and flags, and in the excitement, one local newspaper went as far to compare the station to the Crystal Palace in London.

Once the procession had made its rounds, the train departed for Hereford, where it promptly turned around and steamed back down the entire length of the track again. With the new line declared safe and the celebrations over, the working life of the railway could begin at last, but it wouldn’t be long before the first teething troubles began to present themselves.

Sources

  • Hereford and Worcester County Council., Rural Development Commission., South Herefordshire District Council. (1995). Fiveways Enhancement. [Information Boards]. Five Ways, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7AS.

  • Oppitz, L. (2004). Lost Railways of Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Countryside Books.

  • Timmins, H. T. (1992). Nooks and Corners of Herefordshire. Lapridge Publications.

Images

The Herefordian Historian . https://herefordianhistorian.co.uk
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Ross-on-Wye’s Lost Railway: Part 2