Ross-on-Wye railway station explained

Ross-on-Wye railway station
Status:	Disused
Borough:	Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
Country:	England
Coordinates:	51.9163°N -2.5745°W
Grid Name:	Grid reference
Platforms:	3
Original:	Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway
Pregroup:	Great Western Railway
Postgroup:	Great Western Railway
Years:	1 June 1855
Events:	Opened
Years1:	2 November 1964
Events1:	closed for passengers
Years2:	1 November 1965
Events2:	Closed for freight traffic

Ross-on-Wye railway station is a former junction railway station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway constructed just to the north of the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye. It was the terminus of the Ross and Monmouth Railway which joined the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway just south of the station.

History

The station was opened on 1 June 1855 by the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway four years after line had received parliamentary consent to be constructed. A line from Ross-on-Wye to Tewkesbury was authorised by parliament in 1856 but was never built.

On 29 July 1862 the line was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway and in 1869 the line was converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in a five-day period. In 1873 the Ross and Monmouth Railway to Monmouth via Lydbrook was opened and it terminated at the station. The station then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The lines to Ross closed in stages. On the Ross and Monmouth Railway passenger services were withdrawn and the section from Lydbrook Junction to Monmouth Troy was closed on 5 January 1959. The remaining section remained open until 1 November 1965 for freight traffic only. The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway closed to passengers on 2 November 1964 and the line south to the junction at Grange Court closed on 1 November 1965. The line going north to Rotherwas Junction and Hereford Station closed when passenger service were withdrawn in 1964.^[1]

The brick built station building has been demolished and the site redeveloped into an industrial estate.^[2] The brick goods and engine sheds still stand.

The Severn Valley Railway station at Kidderminster Town is based on the design for Ross-on-Wye even down to the decorative cast roof crestings; the patterns for which were derived from measurement of segments of the original ones.^[3]

Stationmasters

• Mr. Grundy ca. 1856
• James Rycroft 1865^[4] - 1885^[5]
• William Francis Marvin 1889 - 1899^[6] (afterwards station master at Gloucester)
• Ernest C. Peglar 1900^[7] - 1911 (formerly station master at Abergavenny)
• W.P. Roberts 1911 - 1915^[8] (afterwards station master at Stroud)
• A.J. Bannister D.S.O. 1915 - 1921^[9] (afterwards station master at Paignton)
• W.J. Fey 1921 - 1925^[10] (formerly station master at Lydney and Grange Court)
• C.J. Rees 1925^[11] - 1930 (formerly station master at Whimsy)
• R.W. Kilvington 1931^[12]
• Allan A. Crabbe 1931 - 1932^[13] (afterwards station master at Cheltenham)

Further reading

• Book: Branch Lines around Ross-on-Wye. Vic. Mitchell. Keith. Smith. figs. 26-43. Middleton Press. 2008. 9781906008307. 370350430.

External links

• Station on 1952 OS Map
• Photographs of the station site today
• Local history site about the railway in Ross

Notes and References

1. Web site: Herefordshire Through Time - Welcome. 2 March 2015.
2. Web site: Ross-on-Wye - The Railway in Ross - The Station . 2011-02-15 . ross-on-wye.com . 2022-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210612223226/http://www.ross-on-wye.com/index.php?page=ross_540-The_Railway_in_Ross&pg=3 . 2021-06-12.
3. Web site: Ross-on-Wye Civic Society - Ross Railway Station lives on . 2005 . Ross-on-Wye Civic Society . 2022-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220220021816/http://www.rosscivic.org.uk/index.php?page=civic_510-Ross_Railway_Station_lives_on . 2022-02-20.
4. . 1835 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol.5 . Great Western Railway . 43 . 19 August 2021.
5. News: . Ross. The retirement of the Stationmaster . Gloucester Citizen . England . 17 October 1885 . 19 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
6. News: . Ross. The Testimonial to Mr. W.F. Marvin . Gloucester Citizen . England . 28 December 1899 . 19 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
7. News: . Presentation to the Stationmaster . Hereford Journal . England . 31 March 1900 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
8. News: . Gloucester G.W.R. Station-master . Gloucester Citizen . England . 7 January 1926 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
9. News: . West of England News . Western Morning News . England . 1 April 1921 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
10. News: . Ross. Stationmaster's Retirement . Gloucester Journal . England . 29 August 1925 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
11. News: . Mr. C.J. Rees . Gloucestershire Echo . England . 22 August 1925 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
12. News: . G.W.R. Tributes in Gloucester. Mr. Kilvington's New Post . Gloucester Journal . England . 7 February 1931 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
13. News: . Death of a Cheltenham Stationmaster . Gloucestershire Echo . England . 11 July 1933 . 15 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .