The traffic was chiefly minerals from the Forest of Dean, in the Whimsey and Churchway areas, near modern-day Cinderford, for onward conveyance from Bullo Pill at first, and later by the Great Western Railway.

A number of short tramways were built in the Forest, but the road network was extremely difficult and transportation of mineral products to market was expensive and uncompetitive.

The first railways—in fact plateways—in the Forest of Dean were designed to connect the rivers Severn and Wye, and it was not until 1806 that a serious proposal came forward to take minerals down the eastern area, southward along the Cinderford valley.

The track was of the L-plate form in which plain wagons wheels could run, guided by the upstand of the L. There are uncertainties about the gauge, but four feet measured between the outer faces of the vertical flanges, is generally assumed.

4. c. xlvii) was obtained on 5 May 1826[3][page needed] authorising the new company to purchase and maintain both the Bullo Pill Railway and the private line, and to make the latter public.

The chairs weighed 11 lb; they had two bosses fitted into holes in the sleeper blocks, and a dovetail form seat, into which the plate was keyed with an iron wedge.

In April 1838 a fall in trade produced a 17s dividend, but in the following year the directors noted with satisfaction how the Dean Forest (Mines) Act 1838 (1 & 2 Vict.

Bidder could only plead the difficulty of complying with the new and complicated standing orders, and dismissed a 12 feet inaccuracy in a level as "purely clerical ... not significant".

Daniel Gooch, for the SWR, agreed that they could preserve the tramroad down to Findall Mine level, near the tunnel, to meet S&WR objections to a break of gauge at Churchway.

c. cix) was passed on 2 July 1847, and the SWR was authorised to rent or purchase the FODR and to divert, widen and improve it, constructing a locomotive railway.

[1][page needed] Isambard Kingdom Brunel, as engineer of the South Wales Railway, was not satisfied with the proposed conversion because of the steep gradients involved and the uncertainty as to whether the line might continue to be worked by horses.

c. lii) was dated 3 July 1851, and it authorised the construction of a single-line broad-gauge locomotive railway from Churchway Engine and Whimsey to the main line (using parts of the tramroad), and a new wharves branch at Bullo; this was in substitution for the 1847 act.

The account recalls an instance when, a train of 99 wagons having been made up at Bilson, the yard was vainly searched for one more, and the guard had to leave with only ‘99 on’, to his great disappointment.

On discovering the shortage, the driver stopped below Shakemantle siding, whereupon the 30 truant wagons ran into the train, creating a confusion of wreckage which took five days to clear.

Occasionally, a train would take wagons to Grange Court, the guard riding on the last truck carrying a red flag and a supply of detonators.

He also mentioned that some of the collieries served—Churchway, Quidchurch, Spero, Bilson, Prospect, Winnings, Cinderford Bridge, Woodside and Paragon—had ceased work after the broad gauge line had been completed.

"Mr Crawshay’s Engine Driver" was to maintain only such a speed as will enable him to pull up with certainty clear of the crossing, and every instance of his failing to do this must be reported by the signalman.

They were to be propelled up to the colliery from Bilson, with a brake van leading, the open end at the head, and the guard warning anyone on the line by means of a horn.

The very limited power of the small traction unit was always an issue, and on the steeply graded Forest of Dean Railway section it proved impracticable.

Work proceeded quickly with the construction of halts at Bullo Cross, Upper Soudley, Staple Edge, Bilson, Whimsey and Steam Mills.

[2][page needed] The service was instituted on 3 August 1907, from Newnham to Steam Mills Crossing, with the intention of extending it to Drybrook, and to Cinderford (S&WJR).

A short run was made from Bilson to Steam Mills and back early in the morning, and on Saturday there was a late evening service from Newnham to Whimsey.

Halts were provided at Ruddle Road (on the main line), Bullo Cross, Upper Soudley, Staple Edge, Ruspidge, Bilson (Cinderford), Whimsey, and Steam Mills, and in the first six weeks’ working 20,824 passengers were conveyed, including 3,319 on August Bank Holiday.

[1][page needed] In June 1910, five hundred men from Lightmoor Colliery travelled to Blackpool (via Grange Court, Hereford, Crewe, Manchester and Wigan).

[2][page needed] Bilson was re-opened from 2 April 1917 and closed again from 1 October 1920, but unadvertised use was made of it in later years and it appeared in official timetable alterations in March 1930.

On 28 September 1910 the Board of Trade belatedly authorised the use of the branch for passenger traffic by means of "motor cars", also for excursion trains run between Cinderford and the main line, provided these did not call at the halts.

[1][page needed] By the late 1920s the sheer volume of traffic in the movement of coal, and the corresponding flow of empty wagons, had created serious problems on the branch once again, this time complicated by the passenger service.

The output from both Eastern and Northern United Collieries kept the Forest of Dean branch very busy, but the somewhat restricted accommodation at Bullo Junction was critical.

Another curve, under a road bridge, brought the line to Eastern United colliery, near the site of Staple Edge brickworks, themselves served by sidings existing in 1856.

Behind it was a large sawmill, once served by a siding, and Berry, Wiggins & Co.'s depot, established in 1949 for transferring bitumen from rail tanks to road tankers.