Berkeley Road railway station

Berkeley Road railway station served the towns of Berkeley and Dursley in Gloucestershire, England.

Berkeley Road
Berkeley Road railway station in 1961
Location
PlaceStinchcombe
AreaStroud
Grid referenceSO718002
Operations
Original companyBristol and Gloucester Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway / Severn and Wye Railway (joint)
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway / S&W (joint)
Platforms4
History
8 July 1844 (1844-07-08)Opened as Dursley and Berkeley
1 June 1845Renamed Berkeley Road
4 January 1965Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History
A 1909 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Berkeley Road

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 Midland Railway and converted to standard gauge. It was two miles east of Berkeley and three north-west of Dursley, and for the first year of its life it was called "Dursley and Berkeley Road".[1] Dursley acquired a station of its own in 1856 with the opening of the Dursley and Midland Junction Railway branch from Coaley Junction.

Sharpness branch line
For canal icons used below, please refer to waterways legend instead.
Dean Forest Railway
(To Parkend)
Severn Bridge
Gloucester–Newport line
(From Newport to Gloucester)
Severn Railway Bridge over River Severn
(Dismantled 1970)
Swing bridge over Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Locks onto River Severn
Sharpness
(closed 1964)
Sharpness Docks
New Docks Branch
Locks onto River Severn
Berkeley
(closed 1964)
Cross Country Route
Berkeley Road
(closed 1965)
Berkeley Loop
 Cross Country Route
(To Bristol)
View southward, towards Bristol
View NE, towards Gloucester in 1961

In 1875, a branch line from Berkeley Road station was built to the new docks at Sharpness, passing around three quarters of a mile to the north of the town of Berkeley. The branch opened for goods traffic that year and to passenger services in 1876, with a station at Berkeley. In 1879 with the completion of the Severn Railway Bridge the Sharpness branch became a through-route to Lydney and the Forest of Dean.

As with the Stonehouse and Nailsworth Railway junction at Stonehouse (Bristol Road) railway station further up the Bristol and Gloucester line towards Gloucester, the actual junction for the Sharpness line was to the north of Berkeley Road station, and branch line trains departed from and arrived at a new set of platforms built at a tangent to the existing Brunel-designed station. The junction was controlled by a signalbox at the north end of the branch line up (towards Gloucester) platform.

Berkeley Road, like Stonehouse to the north and Mangotsfield to the south, was considered one of the more important stations on the Bristol and Gloucester line and some long-distance trains called there.[2] The Sharpness branch, however, became less important and was reduced to single track in the 1930s. Damage to the Severn railway bridge in 1960 led the branch to cease being a through-route and passenger services were withdrawn in November 1964, though it remains open for some goods traffic.

Passenger services were withdrawn entirely from Berkeley Road in January 1965 with the withdrawal of stopping services on the Bristol to Gloucester line. Goods facilities at the station remained open to November 1966, except for a private siding which has since closed. The station was demolished after closure.

In November 2019, it was revealed that there were plans to reopen the station to serve two new garden villages nearby.[3]

Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Charfield
Line open, station closed		   Bristol and Gloucester Railway
Midland Railway		   Coaley Junction
Line open, station closed;
Resited and reopened as Cam and Dursley
Berkeley
Line and station closed		   Sharpness Branch Line
Midland Railway		  
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References
  1. Mike Oakley (2003). Gloucestershire Railway Stations. Wimborne: Dovecote Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 1-904349-24-2.
  2. Bradshaw's April 1910 Railway Guide (1968 reprint ed.). David and Charles, Newton Abbot. p. 573. ISBN 0-7153-4246-0.
  3. RAIL Issue 892 p.28

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