Speech House Road railway station

Speech House Road railway station is a disused railway station opened by the former Severn and Wye Railway in 1875, it remained open for 88 years until the line, north of Parkend, closed to freight in 1963. Passenger trains on the Severn and Wye Railway, north of Lydney, were withdrawn from 1929.[1]

Speech House Road
Sign marking the site of the former station.
LocationCannop, Forest of Dean
England
Coordinates51.8020°N 2.5665°W / 51.8020; -2.5665
Grid referenceSO610116
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companySevern and Wye Railway
Pre-groupingSevern and Wye and Severn Bridge Railway
Post-groupingSevern and Wye and Severn Bridge Railway
Key dates
23 September 1875Opened
8 July 1929Closed to passengers
12 August 1963Closed to freight

History
A 1911 RCH map of railways in the vicinity of Speech House Road.

The station was built by the Severn and Wye Railway which ran from Berkeley Road, over the Severn Railway Bridge between Sharpness and Lydney, following the route of the River Lyd to Parkend and finally onto Cinderford.

The station was situated on the south side of the Speech House Road (now the B4226).

The station consisted of one platform with a small building, a passing loop, a signal box opposite the platform building, next to the road crossing. It also had a small goods yard with a facilities for coal, timber and general freight, the station being home to a wooden derrick crane.[2]

The Seven and Wye Railway opened the station as a halt in 1875. The facilities were then expanded by 1878. Cannop Colliery closed in 1960, removing most of the freight traffic that passed through the facilities. In 1963 the line was closed north of Coleford Junction.[3]

Current usage

Nothing remains of the station except the track bed (which is in use as a cycle track). A rail and sleeper name board marks the location of the platform (and the altitude at 78 m / 256 feet) and a pair of false wooden crossing gates - marking where the cycle track crosses the B4226.[4]

The Dean Forest Railway (based at Norchard) plans to eventually extend a further 2½ miles to the site at Speech House Road, (bringing the line up to total of 6¾ miles in length).[5] This could also include a station at Bicslade Wharf, as part of this proposed forthcoming project.[6][7]

Services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Bicslade Wharf   Severn and Wye Railway
Later Severn and Wye Joint Railway (MR and GWR)		   Serridge Platform
  Proposed Heritage railways
Bicslade Wharf   Dean Forest Railway   Terminus

References
  1. Stanley C Jenkins, The Ross, Monmouth and Pontypool Road Line, revised second edition 2009, ISBN 978-0-85361-692-4
  2. "Speech House Road in 1922". Flickr. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  3. "Forest of Dean Railways - Speech House Road". Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  4. "Speech House Road in 2010". Flickr. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  5. "The Future". Dean Forest Railway. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  6. "Tempting Kent heritage railway fans to visit Dean Forest Railway in Gloucestershire". Hawkinge Gazette. 5 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. "The future". Dean Forest Railway. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
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