Tenbury and Bewdley Railway

Tenbury and Bewdley railway
Tenbury Wells railway station in 1916
Overview
Other name(s)Wyre Forest line or Tenbury Line
StatusDismantled
LocaleWorcestershire and Shropshire
Termini
Former connectionsSevern Valley railway, Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors light railway, Tenbury railway.
Stations6
Service
Operator(s)West Midland Railway, then the Great Western Railway, then British Railways
History
Opened13 August 1864
Closed8 May 1965
Technical
Line length15 mi (24 km)
Number of tracksSingle track.
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
SignallingTrain staff system, then token.

The Tenbury and Bewdley Railway was an English railway company that built its single-track standard-gauge line from Bewdley to Tenbury Wells between 1860 and 1864. The line connected the Severn Valley Railway at Bewdley with the Tenbury Railway at Tenbury. The Tenbury and Bewdley railway and the Tenbury railway were sometimes collectively referred to as the Wyre Forest line or simply the Tenbury Line. The railway was operated from opening by the West Midland Railway, then by the Great Western Railway, then by British Railways until closure.

The line closed to passenger trains in 1962 and to goods traffic in 1965; the tracks, sleepers and some infrastructure were subsequently dismantled and removed after 101 years of operation. There is now no railway activity on most of the former line, but its trackbed is still extant in sections, particularly where it forms part of National Cycle Route 45 through the Wyre Forest.