150 Years of Herefordshire Trainspotting

The opening of the railway lines in Herefordshire 150 years ago is being marked by the publication of a comprehensive history of this important development on a Herefordshire Council website.

‘Historic Herefordshire On Line’, a free local website run by Herefordshire Sites and Monuments Record, features the fascinating history of railways in the County and their effects on local life.

Excerpts from historical documents have been published on the website, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the railways in the county, on December 6.

Miranda Greene, Author of the Railway Pages, said: “The railways had an immense impact on a rural county such as Herefordshire.

“Eventually there were more than 10 separate lines in Herefordshire, meaning that no matter where you lived you were never far from a station which was a boost to the local economy and tourism.”

Hereford was the last cathedral city to gain a railway and almost 30 years after the first passenger railway in Britain the first train rolled into Barrs Court Station on the 28th of October en route from Shrewsbury.

But this important event was poorly attended so it was decided to truly commemorate the occasion with a ‘Great Railway Fete’ on Tuesday the 6th of December 1853 - the day that trains would be arriving on the Shrewsbury & Hereford and the Newport, Hereford & Abergavenny Railways.

More than 60,000 people crowded into Hereford on the day with all business suspended and the city decorated with flags and banners. In the evening there was a ‘Grand Banquet’ at the Shirehall as well as numerous balls and a free firework display.

By the 1890’s there were over 10 different lines criss-crossing Herefordshire opening up the county to the rest of England. By the 1930’s there were over 50 stations and halts enabling rural folk to visit the local towns thus increasing the transportation of goods and people.

Sadly during the 1960’s the majority of the lines were closed and the track ripped up with only three lines surviving in use in the county today.

The Historic Herefordshire On Line website includes the history of all of the railway lines of Herefordshire as well as maps and photographs of the lines and stations.

All the railway information and a whole host of other Herefordshire history and archaeology can be accessed for free at www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk.