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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Rowden Mill Railway Station

Rowden Mill railway station was a stop on the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway; it served an area to the north-west of Bromyard, in Herefordshire, England.

History

Opening

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, which completed the line in 1897.

Closure

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.

On 26 April 1958, a special train organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society ran from Worcester Shrub Hill to Leominster, via Bromyard, calling at Rowden Mill, Fencote and Steens Bridge. The 50 society members rode on the last train that would run on the complete track before it was removed. The Worcester to Bromyard section was subsequently closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Fencote
Line and station closed
  Great Western Railway
Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway
  Bromyard
Line and station closed

The site today

A view of Rowden Mill station in 2010, showing a Class 03 shunter no. D2371, GWR Toad brake van and various wagons

The Rowden Mill site was purchased privately in 1984 and was restored. Two sections of track were also reinstalled. Rolling stock of various types including coaches, brake vans and goods vans have been located on the line at various times in the recent past.

In March 1989, Rowden Mill received the British Rail Award in the Ian Allan Publishing Railway Heritage Awards for the Best Renovated Non-Working Station.

Rowden Mill station now operates as a holiday letting business, making the station buildings and a British Railways Inspection Saloon is available as accommodation to visiting guests.

References

  1. ^ "The Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster Railway". Herefordshire County Council. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. ^ Oppitz, Leslie (14 February 2008). "The Lost Railway". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  3. ^ Pages, Geoff (14 September 2002). "Bromyard to Leominster: Oddities on a long-gone line". Geoffpages.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. ^ Oppitz, Leslie (18 June 2008). "Westwards from Worcester - part 3". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Rowden Mill Station". Rowdenmillstation.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2025.

Further reading