The Clifton Extension Railway was a joint railway

Joint railway

A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...

 in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, owned by the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 (GWR) and the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 (MR) companies.

Description of line

The railway ran from a junction with the GWR at Narroways Hill, just north of Stapleton Road railway station

Stapleton Road railway station

Stapleton Road railway station lies in the inner city area of Easton, Bristol, England.It is a railway station on the Severn Beach Line; although it is also served by hourly trains between Gloucester and Westbury....

, to Avonmouth Docks

Avonmouth Docks

The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avonmouth....

. The branch was joined at Ashley Hill junction, just beyond Narroways Hill, by a line which left the Midland main line

Bristol and Gloucester Railway

The Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...

 at Kingswood Junction, south-west of Fishponds station

Fishponds railway station

Fishponds railway station was a station in Fishponds, Bristol, England, a victim of Dr Beeching's cuts in the 1960s.Fishponds station was just south of where Wm Morrison's supermarket car park is today. The railway line was built in 1835 for transport of coal from Coalpit Heath to industry in the...

.

The first section of line through Montpelier

Montpelier railway station

Montpelier railway station is located in Montpelier, Bristol, England. It is a single-platformed station, north-west of Bristol Temple Meads on the Severn Beach Line. The station is managed and the service is operated by First Great Western. It is next to Cromwell Road, Cromwell Road itself is...

 to Clifton Down

Clifton Down railway station

Clifton Down railway station is located on Whiteladies Road in Clifton, Bristol, England. The station is west of Bristol Temple Meads on the Severn Beach Line...

 opened on 1 October 1874. The greatest engineering feature of the branch was a mile-long tunnel underneath Clifton Down

Clifton Down

Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and team sports...

. The section through the tunnel from Clifton Down station to Sneyd Park

Sneyd Park

Sneyd Park is a suburb of Bristol, England, lying on the western fringe of Clifton Down, adjacent to the Avon Gorge and the Sea Walls observation point. Home to many millionaires, Sneyd Park was originally developed in Victorian times. Many Victorian and Edwardian villas line the edge of the Downs...

 Junction, where it connected to the Bristol Port Railway, opened to goods traffic in 1877 and to passenger trains on 1 September 1885.

Legal history

Originally the railway was promoted by the Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company, incorporated under the Bristol Port Railway and Pier Act of 17 June 1862. In 1871 the railway was transferred to the Great Western

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 and Midland

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 railway companies jointly, under the Great Western and Midland railway companies (Clifton and Bristol) Act of 25 May 1871, and the Midland Railway (Additional Powers) Act of 25 July 1890. The line was administered by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee until 1894, and from then the Great Western and Midland Railways Joint Committee.

Recent history

The line from Narroways Hill is now part of the Severn Beach Line

Severn Beach Line

The Severn Beach Line is a local railway in Bristol, UK. It runs from Narroways Hill Junction to Severn Beach, and is the successor to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, which ran from a Bristol terminus in the Avon Gorge to a station and pier on the Severn Estuary.Passenger trains run from Bristol...

.

The connection to the Midland Railway closed in 1965, and the thirteen arch viaduct over the River Frome

River Frome, Bristol

The River Frome is a river, approximately long, which rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire, and flows in a south westerly direction through Bristol, joining the former course of the river Avon in Bristol's Floating Harbour. The mean flow at Frenchay is The name Frome is shared with...

valley was demolished in 1968.