Dursley railway station
Encyclopedia
Dursley railway station served the town of Dursley
in Gloucestershire
, England
, and was the terminus of the short Dursley and Midland Junction Railway
line which linked the town to the Midland Railway
's Bristol to Gloucester
line at Coaley Junction.
The railway, just 2.5 miles (4 km) long, ran along the valley of the river Cam
. Dursley station was situated at the bottom of the town, in a marshy area that was later developed by the engineering group R A Lister and Company
. Though Listers and other factories provided considerable freight traffic for the railway, the distance from the town limited passenger numbers.
The station opened with the line in 1856 and consisted of a single platform with a small brick building. The basic arrangements for passengers stayed much the same throughout the station's life, with some expansion of the station building. But Dursley developed considerably for goods traffic with increased sidings and a goods shed, and further facilities inside the Lister works which came to surround the station.
Journeys between Coaley Junction railway station and Dursley took only 10 minutes and around half a dozen trains were provided each day, with excursion traffic in the summer. The trains that ran on the line were affectionately known as the "Dursley Donkey".
Passenger traffic was vulnerable to competition from buses which served the town centre, and they ceased on 10 September 1962. Goods services continued under British Rail
regularly to 1966 and irregularly to 1968, and even after that the line was retained as a private siding to Listers, closing only in 1970 after a road accident severed the line. The station was subsumed within the Lister factory and no trace now remains.
Coaley Junction, where the Dursley line joined the main line, remained open for passenger traffic until 1965 when it was closed with the withdrawal of stopping train services between Bristol and Gloucester. However, local pressure for a station resulted in the opening of a new station close to Coaley in 1994, and this is known as Cam and Dursley
.
Dursley
Dursley is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. It is under the North East flank of Stinchcombe Hill , and about 6 km South East of the River Severn. The town is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and was the terminus of the short Dursley and Midland Junction Railway
Dursley and Midland Junction Railway
The Dursley and Midland Junction Railway was a company formed to build a short railway in Gloucestershire, England linking the town of Dursley to the Midland Railway's Bristol to Gloucester line at Coaley. The line was built in 1856 and was long...
line which linked the town to the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
's Bristol to Gloucester
Bristol and Gloucester Railway
The Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...
line at Coaley Junction.
The railway, just 2.5 miles (4 km) long, ran along the valley of the river Cam
River Cam, Gloucestershire
The River Cam is a small river in Gloucestershire, England.The river rises on the Cotswold escarpment above the village of Uley, and flows through Dursley, Cam and Cambridge to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal as a feeder to that waterway...
. Dursley station was situated at the bottom of the town, in a marshy area that was later developed by the engineering group R A Lister and Company
R A Lister and Company
R A Lister & Company was founded in Dursley, Gloucestershire, in 1867 by Sir Robert Ashton Lister , to produce agricultural machinery. The family was originally from Yorkshire but Ashton's father relocated to Dursley in 1817....
. Though Listers and other factories provided considerable freight traffic for the railway, the distance from the town limited passenger numbers.
The station opened with the line in 1856 and consisted of a single platform with a small brick building. The basic arrangements for passengers stayed much the same throughout the station's life, with some expansion of the station building. But Dursley developed considerably for goods traffic with increased sidings and a goods shed, and further facilities inside the Lister works which came to surround the station.
Journeys between Coaley Junction railway station and Dursley took only 10 minutes and around half a dozen trains were provided each day, with excursion traffic in the summer. The trains that ran on the line were affectionately known as the "Dursley Donkey".
Passenger traffic was vulnerable to competition from buses which served the town centre, and they ceased on 10 September 1962. Goods services continued under British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
regularly to 1966 and irregularly to 1968, and even after that the line was retained as a private siding to Listers, closing only in 1970 after a road accident severed the line. The station was subsumed within the Lister factory and no trace now remains.
Coaley Junction, where the Dursley line joined the main line, remained open for passenger traffic until 1965 when it was closed with the withdrawal of stopping train services between Bristol and Gloucester. However, local pressure for a station resulted in the opening of a new station close to Coaley in 1994, and this is known as Cam and Dursley
Cam and Dursley railway station
Cam and Dursley railway station is a railway station serving the towns of Cam and Dursley in Gloucestershire. It is located on the main Bristol-Birmingham line, between Yate and Gloucester, at a site close to where Coaley Junction railway station was situated from 1856 to 1965.-The new...
.