Dursley and Midland Junction Railway
Encyclopedia
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 2.5 miles (4 km) long. Apart from the terminus and the junction stations, there was also a station at Cam
, about halfway between the two.
The railway company built all three stations on the line, including the junction station, but the passenger trains were run by the Midland Railway. Passenger numbers disappointed, and the Midland absorbed the company entirely from 1861. Much of the traffic on the line was freight, and Dursley railway station
, rather inconveniently situated for the town, became surrounded by the Lister
engineering company which provided a lot of the goods.
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".
The railway survived both the Grouping
and nationalisation, but closed to passenger traffic in 1962. Stopping passenger services continued between Bristol and Gloucester, calling at Coaley Junction, until 1965. Goods traffic on the branch, primarily from Lister's, continued until 1968 and after that the line was worked as a private siding until it was severed by a road accident in 1970.
A few traces of the Dursley branch still remain. The original station buildings at Coaley Junction station have gone, but some remains of the platforms and the Goods shed still exist, although in private hands. The course of the railway can be followed most of the way into Dursley (although almost all in private hands), but disappears entirely near where the station used to be and there is no evidence at all of Dursley station. Structures still existing include the crossing keepers house on Coaley Lane, the 1930s concrete bridge over the River Cam at Draycott and a footbridge over the railway between Cam station and Church Road in Cam.
A new station called Cam and Dursley
opened on the Bristol to Gloucester line in 1994 about 300 yards north of the original site of Coaley Junction station.
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...
linking the town of 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...
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 line
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:...
at Coaley
Coaley
Coaley is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire roughly 4 miles from the town of Dursley, and 5 miles from the town of Stroud. The village drops from the edge of the Cotswold Hills, overlooked by Frocester Hill and Coaley Peak picnic site, towards the River Cam at Cam and Cambridge and...
. The line was built in 1856 and was 2.5 miles (4 km) long. Apart from the terminus and the junction stations, there was also a station at Cam
Cam, Gloucestershire
Cam is a large village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, situated in the Cotswolds. The Cotswold Way runs less than a mile from the village. It has a boundary with the town of Dursley.Cam had approximately 8,500 residents in the 2001 census...
, about halfway between the two.
The railway company built all three stations on the line, including the junction station, but the passenger trains were run by the Midland Railway. Passenger numbers disappointed, and the Midland absorbed the company entirely from 1861. Much of the traffic on the line was freight, and Dursley railway station
Dursley railway station
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....
, rather inconveniently situated for the town, became surrounded by the Lister
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....
engineering company which provided a lot of the goods.
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".
The railway survived both the Grouping
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
and nationalisation, but closed to passenger traffic in 1962. Stopping passenger services continued between Bristol and Gloucester, calling at Coaley Junction, until 1965. Goods traffic on the branch, primarily from Lister's, continued until 1968 and after that the line was worked as a private siding until it was severed by a road accident in 1970.
A few traces of the Dursley branch still remain. The original station buildings at Coaley Junction station have gone, but some remains of the platforms and the Goods shed still exist, although in private hands. The course of the railway can be followed most of the way into Dursley (although almost all in private hands), but disappears entirely near where the station used to be and there is no evidence at all of Dursley station. Structures still existing include the crossing keepers house on Coaley Lane, the 1930s concrete bridge over the River Cam at Draycott and a footbridge over the railway between Cam station and Church Road in Cam.
A new station called 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...
opened on the Bristol to Gloucester line in 1994 about 300 yards north of the original site of Coaley Junction station.