Lines from Ross-on-Wye
Hereford to Gloucester
Ross-on-Wye got its first railway in 1855, connecting it to Hereford to the north and Gloucester to the east. There had been somewhat of a delay in building this line: the route had been surveyed in 1844, but an economic downturn in the late 1840s resulted in construction being abandoned. Construction was restarted in the early 1850s, and the line was partially opened from Grange Court to a temporary station at Hopesbrook, just east of Lea Line tunnel in 1853. The remaining line was finished two years later.The route north of Ross to Hereford was fairly direct, but due to the course of the River Wye between the two locations, meant that several viaducts and tunnels were required. The route to Gloucester generally followed the route of what is now the A40 whilst in Herefordshire, but turned south through Longhope upon entering Gloucestershire, most likely to avoid boring a tunnel in the Dursley Cross area. At Blaisdon, the route turned east before joining the South Wales line at Grange Court. This route was not particularly convenient for the larger population clusters of the area, particularly Mitcheldean, whose “official” station was 1½ miles to the north of village (the station at Longhope was slightly closer), but any attempts to route the line further south would have been hampered by the terrain.
Mitcheldean Road Station very nearly became a junction station as a line was constructed from there to the Cinderford area in 1880. However, the line was rendered obsolete by the opening of the Severn and Wye route to Lydbrook Junction, and the section between Mitcheldean Road and Drybrook was never used.
Despite being the most direct link between Gloucester and Hereford (as of 2025, a rail journey between the two requires going by either Worcester or Newport), the nature of the line meant it was never an important route, and the line closed to passengers in 1964. Some freight services continued until 1965 when the line was closed completely.
Ross-on-Wye to Monmouth.
The from Ross to Monmouth opened in 1873, having taken eight years to complete, mainly due to issues boring the tunnel at Symonds Yat. The line generally followed the River Wye between the two towns, meeting the Wye Valley line just south of Monmouth Troy Station. As previously stated, there was a junction with the Severn and Wye Railway at Lydbrook Junction.
The line was never heavily used during its lifetime, although there was quite a bit of day-trip traffic, due to the scenic nature of the area. There was some freight traffic, particularly from the works at Lydbrook Junction which would keep the section between there and Ross open until 1965 for freight traffic only; everything else on the line being closed in 1959.
An Opportunity Lost?
This might not have been the end of the story for these lines. Having campaigned to try and stop the original line closures, Eric T Rawlins formed the Wye Valley Railway Ltd in 1985 in an attempt to restore the railways around Ross and Monmouth, not as heritage railways, but as modern, fully operational links to the existing main line network. However, for various reasons, the scheme never came to fruition, and efforts petered out after 1995. Subsequent developments in the Ross and Monmouth areas probably now mean that any chances of the lines being restored are extremely slim.
This might not have been the end of the story for these lines. Having campaigned to try and stop the original line closures, Eric T Rawlins formed the Wye Valley Railway Ltd in 1985 in an attempt to restore the railways around Ross and Monmouth, not as heritage railways, but as modern, fully operational links to the existing main line network. However, for various reasons, the scheme never came to fruition, and efforts petered out after 1995. Subsequent developments in the Ross and Monmouth areas probably now mean that any chances of the lines being restored are extremely slim.
What Rawlins and his team were proposing was perhaps several decades ahead of its time: A privately-run, non-heritage electric railway, for the people, by the people (something that Britain has yet to see, even in the 21st century). Whether or not it could have worked will probably never been known, but even a partial restoration of these lines would have been an achievement.