The Coley branch line ( ELR:COY), also known as the Coley goods branch, was a single-track branch railway running from the Reading to Basingstoke line at Coley Branch Junction to Reading Central goods depot.

History

The railway was built by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and was authorised for construction by the ''Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1905'', as a means to reduce goods traffic on the main line, and to reduce

cartage Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk - from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to cloth ...

by providing a goods facility on the opposite side of the town centre to the

main railway station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

. The depot was built by Henry Lovatt of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

and was partly on the site of a

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

. The line and depot opened in 1908. The line never had a regular passenger service, although occasional railway enthusiast's specials reached the line. After a reduction in demand, the line and depot closed in July 1983. Since the line's closure, part of the route of the line at the goods depot end has been reused by the

A33 road The A33 is a major road in the counties of Berkshire and Hampshire in southern England. The road currently runs in three disjoint sections. Route Reading–Basingstoke The first stretch of the A33 is a relatively new road, built as the A33 re ...

, whilst the rest has become a de facto walking route although not an official public right of way.

Route

After diverging south-eastwards from the Reading to Basingstoke Line at Coley Branch Junction, which was adjacent to

Southcote Junction Reading West railway station serves West Reading, Berkshire, about west from the town's main retail and commercial areas. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway. It is down the line the zero point at . Histo ...

, the track was crossed by a brick and iron footbridge that formed a pedestrian link between the Reading suburbs of

Coley Park Coley Park is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is largely built on the country estate of the same name, surrounding Coley House. It is primarily a residential area, although it is also home to the Berkshire ...

and Southcote. Since the line has been closed, the bridge has been demolished and replaced by a ramp and footpath across the trackbed of the branch, which also gives access to the walking route along the trackbed. The line then entered a

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

. Emerging from the cutting, the line traversed an embankment which raised it from the surrounding

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

flood plains. A

skew arch A skew arch (also known as an oblique arch) is a method of construction that enables an arch bridge to span an obstacle at some angle other than a right angle. This results in the faces of the arch not being perpendicular to its abutments and its ...

bridge took the line over the

Holy Brook Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

, after which a semaphore signal from the junction was situated. A number of ditches and channels were

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

ed under the embankment, which reduced in height as the line entered Reading. At about from the junction, the line reached its first lineside industry, a jam factory belonging to the

Co-operative Society A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

that was served by sidings. At the same point today, the walking route along the trackbed finishes, and the trackbed disappears under the busy dual carriageway road that is the A33. After serving a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, the line passed under Berkeley Avenue. The road is carried on a typical iron railway bridge that still exists, but today carries Berkeley Avenue over the A33. Just before the bridge, the line started to spread out into a number of sidings, which after the bridge became Reading Central Goods depot Centralgoodsmap

Located between the

River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...

and the

, the depot yard had 12 sidings—located in six pairs—with accommodation for approximately 300

wagons A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

carrying goods such as coal, timber, brick, stone, hay, straw and fertiliser. The yard served local businesses such as the Anglo-American Oil, Gascoignes (manufacturers of dairy machinery and inventors of the

Kee Klamp A Kee Klamp is a structural pipe fitting commonly used in the construction of handrails and barriers. Fabricated installations comprise the fittings and separate tubing components, which can be sized on site. The system was devised in 1934 and i ...

), Baynes's timber yard and several coal merchants. The yard closed with the rest of the line in 1983, and most of the space it occupied is now occupied by the A33 road and its junction with the town's

Inner Distribution Road The Inner Distribution Road or IDR is a mostly dual carriageway ring road that encircles the town centre of Reading, Berkshire, England. It forms part of the A329 that runs from Wentworth in Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire. History The Inner ...

, together with an

apartment block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

. Originally one siding continued north-east to Simonds Brewery crossing Fobney Street on the level. At Bear Wharf, adjacent to

County Lock County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading town centre in the English county of Berkshire. It is now administered by the Canal & River Trust as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Downstream from the lock is Brewery Gut, a particularl ...

on the Kennet, another siding was built to allow trans-shipment of goods between rail and barge, with locomotives sometimes being used to tow vessels short distances against the current. With the decline of the river's use for goods transport the wharf closed in 1969, whilst the brewery siding was severed by the building of the Inner Distribution Road, opened the same year. Today the brewery and wharf sites are occupied by housing.

References

External links

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Google Earth map showing route
{{Railway lines in South East England, state=collapsed Disused railway goods stations in Great Britain Rail transport in Berkshire Railway branch lines Railway lines closed in 1983 Railway lines constructed by the Great Western Railway Railway lines opened in 1908 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1983 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1908 Transport in Reading, Berkshire 1908 establishments in England