The Worcester and Hereford railway

(Historic Environment Record number 27035)

The Worcester & Hereford Railway was a line which incorporated stations and halts at Hereford, Withington, Stoke Edith, Ashperton, Ledbury Junction, Colwall and then ran out of the county to Malvern and Worcester.

The first proposal for a line between Hereford and Worcester was made at the height of "Railway Mania" in 1845, but like two other such schemes in 1846, the idea never quite got off the ground. The line was finally incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 15th August 1853 and was to run the 27 miles on narrow gauge track to Shelwick Junction.

The first traffic started on the line in 1859, but only between Henwick and Malvern in Worcestershire. A through route to Barrs Court Station in Hereford opened on 15th September 1861.

[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2003]