Forest of Dean Central Railway

It was authorised by the Forest of Dean Central Railway Act 1856, but serious difficulties were encountered in raising the money to build it.

The limited traffic potential resulted in a continuing inability to pay routine outgoings, and it was leased to the Great Western Railway in 1885.

For centuries, the Forest of Dean has been an important site of mineral extraction: coal and iron ore, and also stone.

Moreover, the extremely poor road network in the area, due in part to the very hilly terrain, added cost to the products of the Forest.

A coal mine was being developed at Foxes Bridge, about a mile east of Speech House, and the promoter Edward Protheroe proposed a "Steam Carriage Road", that is, a steam tramway to convey the output via Howbeach Slade to the Severn at Purton Pill, near the site of the later Severn Railway Bridge; it was to be about eight miles in extent.

A considerable number of proposals were put forward in the following years to construct a tramroad or railway from the area to the River Severn, but all failed to materialise.

In 1849 a similar line was proposed from Brimspill on the Severn to Howbeach Slade and Foxes Bridge; this did not go ahead, and a further scheme was put forward in 1850.

[1][3] Heartened by the support of the commissioners, promoters put forward a bill in Parliament for the line; they included William Racster Wagstaff, Timothy Bennett and James Teague.

It was decided that the sections from the South Wales Railway to New Fancy Colliery, and from Moseley Green to Foxes Bridge with the branch at Brimspill, should be built in two successive years.

Plans were already being made for extending the line, and on 29 November 1856 an application was published for the Forest of Dean Central, Lydbrook & Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Junction Railway.

(In the 1870s a line was built on part of the intended route by the Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean Junction Railway.

)[1][3] The engineer Richard B. Grantham considered various forms of permanent way and he recommended 100 lb per yard Barlow rail with cross sleepers at the joints, at a cost of £1,960 per mile.

[3] In 1859 the confidence of the directors was such that they declared that "Since the line was projected, large coalfields have been got into working order, and consequently the expectations formed with regard to traffic has been so far realised."

To save expense the company moved its office from London to Blakeney, and at the meeting there on 15 August 1858 it was reported that work had been suspended because many shareholders had not paid up their calls.

Bad weather had also held up work, but the company now owned the land down to the Severn, and the building of the bridge over the South Wales main line could proceed.

[1] On 24 August 1860 the directors complained of large arrears on share calls, but the contract for rails and sleepers had been let and they declared that they anticipated an early opening.

Powers to construct the dock at Brimspill, and further sidings at Awre Junction were secured by the Forest of Dean Central Railway Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict.

[1][3] By December 1861 the directors were impatiently suggesting opening as much of the line as was ready, working it with horses, and changing to locomotives as soon as traffic warranted.

He observed that three difficult and deep cuttings could easily have been avoided altogether, as each is quite close to the end of a spur round which the line could have been carried.

Further trouble arose when the Office of Woods threatened to resume possession of the Crown leases because rents were in arrears and fences had not been kept up.

Only two months later the county sheriff seized the line under a writ at the suit of the Crown for a debt of £1,339, and posted two men to prevent traffic from being worked.

[1] At length the GWR, having been indemnified against any legal action that might arise if they worked the railway, opened it for goods traffic on Monday 25 May 1868.

The service terminated at Howbeach because the branch to New Fancy, although licensed by the Crown on 6 April 1868 to the Park End Coal Company, was not ready until early in 1869.

At the lower end, the final approach to Brimspill, east of the South Wales Railway was constructed but also never completed.

[1] Meanwhile, the New Fancy branch was in danger of competition from the Severn and Wye Railway (S&WR), which was applying for powers to construct a new route to be called the Mineral Loop.

There was some difficulty over the intersection crossing with the New Fancy branch, as the latter was on a sharp curve with heavy superelevation and a steep gradient, and there was a slight level difference.

[3] The commercial position of the FODCR was extremely poor; the fears that the Severn and Wye Railway's Mineral Loop would take away most of the New Fancy traffic proved correct.