Fencote railway station was a railway station on the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway in Hatfield and Newhampton, Herefordshire, England.
Fencote | |
|---|---|
 Fencote railway station, October 2008 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Hatfield, Herefordshire England |
| Coordinates | 52°13′39″N 2°35′08″W / 52.2274°N 2.5856°W |
| Grid reference | SO601589 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Leominster and Bromyard Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 September 1897 | Station opened |
| September 1949 | Unstaffed |
| 15 September 1952 | Closed |
Opening edit
Opened as part of the final section of the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway, the railway was bought out of bankruptcy by the Great Western Railway in 1888, who completed the line in 1897.[1]
Closure edit
After the Second World War, and with the greater use of the motorbus and private cars, traffic on the line fell considerably. Unstaffed as a station from September 1949, the line closed to regular passenger services on 15 September 1952.[2]
On 26 April 1958, a special train organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society ran from Worcester via Bromyard to Leominster, calling at Rowden Mill, Fencote and Steens Bridge. The 50 society members and passengers rode on the last train that would run on the complete track before it was removed. The Worcester to Bromyard section, kept open for the storage of disused and soon to be scrapped railway wagons, was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964.[3]
Present edit
In 1980, Fencote was bought by an ex-railway employee and restored as a private residence. The signal box has since been restored, and sections of the track either side of station have been re-installed.[3] In 1984, neighbouring station Rowden Mill was bought and restored. Both sites are occasionally open for public access and viewing, but without operational trains.[3]
References edit
- ^ "The Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster Railway". Herefordshire County Council. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
- ^ Leslie Oppitz. "The Lost Railway". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ a b c "Bromyard to Leominster". Geoff Pages. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
Further reading edit
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2004). Worcester to Hereford. Middleton Press. figs. 34-36. ISBN 9781904474388. OCLC 862604858.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steens Bridge Line and station closed |
Great Western Railway Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway |
Rowden Mill Line and station closed |