Kington and Eardisley Railway
| Kington and Eardisley Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| Status | closed |
| Locale | Herefordshire |
| Termini |
New Radnor Eardisley |
| Stations | 8 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 3 August 1874 to Eardisley, 25 September 1875 to New Radnor |
| Closed | 1 July 1940 to Eardisley, 31 December 1951 to New Radnor, 1958 remainder of line |
| Owner | Kington and Eardisley Railway until Great Western Railway buy out in 1897 |
| Operator(s) | Great Western Railway |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 13 miles (21 km) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
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The Kington and Eardisley Railway took over the Kington Tramway, which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire. In 1874 it opened a 6 miles 72 chains (11.1 km) line south from Titley Junction to a junction with the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway, 5 chains (330 ft; 100 m) east of Eardisley. A year later it replaced the remainder of the tramway with a branch west to New Radnor. Between these two branches it had running powers on the Titley Junction to Kington section of the Leominster and Kington Railway. The Eardisley branch closed in 1940, the New Radnor branch in 1951.
The two branches cost £263,459 to build, of which £5,100 was lent by the Great Western Railway (GWR). The company was bought by the GWR on 1 July 1897. Debenture shares were bought for £62 10s per £100 share and ordinary £100 shares for £2.
When the Hay Tramway was authorised for conversion to a railway in 1859, it was decided that its extension, the Kington Tramway, would also need to be converted. The tramway shares were bought for £45 for each £100 share by an agreement dated 19 December 1861. The Kington and Eardisley Railway Act received Royal Assent on 30 June 1862, authorising the company to raise £100,000, buy and convert the Kington Tramway to standard gauge and build a link from Lyonshall to Marston, which was never built. Thomas Savin, the railway contractor, backed the scheme, though his £16,000 of shares were sold when he went bankrupt in January 1866. Running powers over the Leominster and Kington Railway from Kington to Titley Junction were agreed on 14 April 1868. The line opened on 3 August 1874.
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Wikipedia