Severn Bridge railway station
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Lydney Junction railway station
Lydney Junction railway station is a railway station near Lydney in Gloucestershire. The station is now the southern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway...
on the north bank of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
with Sharpness Docks on the south bank via the Severn Railway Bridge
Severn Railway Bridge
The Severn Railway Bridge was a crossing across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney, Gloucestershire. It was badly damaged in an accident involving river barges in 1960 and demolished in 1970.-Construction:...
. The railway joined up at Sharpness
Sharpness
Sharpness is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
with the Sharpness Branch Line which had been built from Berkeley Road railway station
Berkeley Road railway station
Berkeley Road railway station served the towns of Berkeley and Dursley in Gloucestershire, England.-History:The station was one of the first six stations built on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, originally a broad gauge line overseen by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but later taken over by the...
on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway
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:...
to the docks in 1875. The opening of the bridge in 1879 provided a cross-Severn route for Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
and south Wales coal both to Sharpness docks and to Bristol.
On the north side of the river, the bridge was approached on a series of arches, one of which traversed the Gloucester to Chepstow and Newport main line. Severn Bridge station was on the embankment leading up these arches, on a section of the line that ran almost parallel with and to the north of the main line as both went into Lydney Junction, about two miles to the west.
Severn Bridge station had a passing loop, small shelters on the two platforms and a signalbox. There was a short siding with a cattle pen at the end of the station nearer to the bridge, which closed in 1957. At times, the station was known as "Severn Bridge for Blakeney
Blakeney, Gloucestershire
Blakeney is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It is the largest village in the parish of Awre. It has views of the Forest of Dean.It dates back to AD 75, and was home to Thomas Sternhold, a groom of King Henry VIII's Robes.-References:*...
".
The Severn Railway Bridge was hit by petrol barges in a shipping accident on 25 October 1960 which demolished two of its 22 spans, and it was judged to be beyond economic repair. All services on the line were suspended, though it was not officially closed until November 1964. The Severn Bridge station site, according to a book published in 2003, was then "just left to rot".