mi-ch from Hotwells The Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at Hotwells (originally called Clifton), northwards to west of Bristol city centre between the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bridge Valley Road, to a terminus at Avonmouth.

Upon leaving Hotwells, the line ran north alongside the River Avon through two tunnels, to a halt and passing point, then to Sneyd Park Junction, where the Clifton Extension Railway joined it.

The line curved west around Horse-Shoe Bend, then went slightly inland to Shirehampton, then turned back north-west.

[3] The railway opened on 6 March 1865, although this was not announced in advance so that the line would not be overwhelmed by more people than the single locomotive could haul, and timetables were posted at Hotwells only minutes before the first departure.

An extension from Hotwells to the city's main station at Temple Meads would have required crossing a large amount of developed land, and so was prohibitively expensive.

The MR obtained parliamentary powers to install block signalling on the line at the BPRP's expense, and through trains eventually started on 1 September 1885.

[3] The Avonmouth terminus closed to passengers in 1902 to allow construction of the Royal Edward Dock, although workers' trains continued into 1903.

Portnalls Number One Railway Tunnel, just north of Hotwells station, was used during the Second World War as an air-raid shelter by the people of Bristol.

The tunnel was once again used in the late twentieth century by the Bristol Gun Club, who converted a portion of it into a firing range.

Two extra trains per day were laid on when Avonmouth Docks was opened, and by summer 1887 there were ten up and down, with four each way and an Avonmouth-Shirehampton return on Sundays.