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Upper Soudley Halt |
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Upper Soudley Halt was opened in 1907 and modified in 1908. It seems that the builders took the spelling of Soudley from the first edition Ordnance Survey map which spelt it as above rather than "Sewdley" as residents were spelling at the time. The new version eventually became official and remains as such to this day. "Up" goods and mineral trains stopped here to pin down brakes to control the descent to Bullo. In later years "Down" trains often seemed to run out of steam at Soudley, or perhaps it was more the crews; the village pub was right next to the line! Soudley was closed in 1958. The trackbed through Soudley is now a walkway, the Haie Hill and Bradley Hill tunnels have been closed up and the land between the two tunnels is now privately-owned. Blue Rock Tunnel entrance, although sealed, is accessible (the author has been there, albeit several years back). Today Soudley is best known for the Forest of Dean Heritage Museum and although it has been suggested that the Dean Forest Railway might run a line along part of the old FoD branch to the museum, the author thinks that this outcome is extremely unlikely (but would not object to being proved wrong). Backup links
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