Thornbury Branch Line
Encyclopedia
The Thornbury Branchline is a railway line from Yate
to Thornbury
. It is now closed to passengers, and only remains to serve a quarry at Tytherington
.
The 7.5-mile (12 km) branch of the Midland Railway
line between Bristol
and Gloucester
opened on 2 September 1872, and started at Yate and finished at Thornbury, with stops at Iron Acton
and Tytherington
. The Line's services first consisted of two trains in each direction per day, connecting at Yate with mainline trains. Later trains appeared to be running from Thornbury down to Bristol Temple Meads, although the services were infrequent. By 1910, there were four trains in each direction every weekday.
On 19 June 1944, the line was closed to passenger traffic. In the 1960s, the stations were demolished, apart from , which was closed and then re-opened in 1989. The section of track from Tytherington to Thornbury was dismantled, but the rest of the line itself remains open to goods traffic, as the line goes to Tytherington Quarry
, which means it is now used for occasional freight services to and from the quarry. Nowadays there is usually only one train in each direction per week.
Yate
Yate is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, at the southwest extremity of the Cotswold Hills, 12 miles northeast of the city of Bristol. At the 2001 census the population was 21,789. The town of Chipping Sodbury is continuous with Yate to the east...
to Thornbury
Thornbury
-Placenames:Australia*Thornbury, Victoria*Thornbury railway station, MelbourneCanada*Thornbury, OntarioEngland*Thornbury, Devon*Thornbury, Herefordshire*Thornbury, South Gloucestershire**Thornbury Castle*Thornbury, West YorkshireNew Zealand...
. It is now closed to passengers, and only remains to serve a quarry at Tytherington
Tytherington, Gloucestershire
Tytherington is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. The quarry to the west belongs to Hanson plc.The former Yate to Thornbury railway branch line passes nearby, with two bridges in the village and a tank engine near the quarry entrance as reminders of the railway...
.
The 7.5-mile (12 km) branch of 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....
line between Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
opened on 2 September 1872, and started at Yate and finished at Thornbury, with stops at Iron Acton
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north....
and Tytherington
Tytherington, Gloucestershire
Tytherington is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. The quarry to the west belongs to Hanson plc.The former Yate to Thornbury railway branch line passes nearby, with two bridges in the village and a tank engine near the quarry entrance as reminders of the railway...
. The Line's services first consisted of two trains in each direction per day, connecting at Yate with mainline trains. Later trains appeared to be running from Thornbury down to Bristol Temple Meads, although the services were infrequent. By 1910, there were four trains in each direction every weekday.
On 19 June 1944, the line was closed to passenger traffic. In the 1960s, the stations were demolished, apart from , which was closed and then re-opened in 1989. The section of track from Tytherington to Thornbury was dismantled, but the rest of the line itself remains open to goods traffic, as the line goes to Tytherington Quarry
Tytherington Quarry
Tytherington Quarry is a 0.9 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Tytherington, South Gloucestershire, notified in 1989.-Source:*...
, which means it is now used for occasional freight services to and from the quarry. Nowadays there is usually only one train in each direction per week.