Hereford 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 ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

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. 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 its headquarters. It ama ...

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 Hereford section opened 1 June 1855. It was a broad gauge track, linking eventually to

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

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 county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

and on the

South Wales Railway The South Wales Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd De Cymru) was a main line railway which opened in stages from 1850, connecting the Great Western Railway from Gloucester to South Wales. It was constructed on the broad gauge. An original aspiration was to ...

. On 29 July 1862, the line was amalgamated with the GWR. In 1869, the line was converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in a five day period. As part of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

, the

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

to Hereford line was closed on 2 November 1964.

Leominster and Kington Railway

Incorporated in 1854, the

Leominster and Kington Railway Leominster and Kington Railway was one of four branches which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire. Opened in August 1857, its peak was during World War II, when it served two US Army hospitals. Declining after the wa ...

connected

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...

with Kington and

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with ...

. Connecting to the

Hay Railway The Hay Railway was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway in the district surrounding Hay-on-Wye in Brecknockshire, Wales. The railway connected Eardisley in Herefordshire, England, with Brecon in Wales. The Brecon terminus was Watton Wharf on the Br ...

via the

Kington and Eardisley Railway The Kington and Eardisley Railway took over the Kington Tramway, which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire. In 1874 it opened a line south from Titley Junction to a junction with the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Rail ...

at Titley Junction, a proposed plan to develop a cross-Wales line via

New Radnor New Radnor ( cy, Maesyfed) is a village in Powys, Wales, to the south of Radnor Forest, and was the county town of Radnorshire. In the 2001 census, the community's population of 410 was split evenly between male and female, in 192 household ...

to Aberystwyth was never realised. Taken over by the

West Midland Railway The West Midland Railway was an early British railway company. It was formed on 1 July 1860 by a merger of several older railway companies and amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863. It was the successor to the Oxford, Worc ...

, it became a constituent part of the Great Western Railway. It was at its busiest during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and later

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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

Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway

The

Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought Parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway between P ...

(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 The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an English railway company that built a standard gauge line between those places. It opened its main line in 1853. Its natural ally seemed to be the Great Western Railway. With other lines it formed a rout ...

took place on 6 December 1853. The company was taken over by the

in 1860, which became part of the Great Western Railway in 1863. The main Hereford station and headquarters of the Newport to Hereford line was

Hereford Barton railway station Hereford Barton railway station was a station in Hereford, Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the ...

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

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 The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lon ...

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 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 first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...

. 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