Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway

The Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway was a 24.5-mile (39.4 km) single track branch railway line, that ran between a junction near Bransford Road on the West Midland Railway line south of Worcester (present day Cotswold Line) to the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway line south of Leominster.

The proposed line received Royal Assent on 1 August 1861, authorising a single track 24.5-mile (39.4 km) railway line from a point near Bransford Road on the West Midland Railway, through Bromyard to the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway at Leominster. Authority was also given for £200,000 capital to be raised by the selling of £10 shares, with a quarter to be purchased by the West Midland Railway, plus an additional £65,000 in loans if necessary.

The limited company was formed under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Hastings, founder of the British Medical Association. Originally authorised to be constructed in five years, it eventually took 36 years to construct the complete line, opened in four sections, finishing in 1897.

In a special General meeting in March 1864, it was revealed that the company had already spent £20,000, yet neither had all the land been purchased nor had the construction contract been signed. The shareholders voted for the board to apply for an extension, which was agreed until 1869. Construction work on the line ceased in December 1866 when the contractor was declared bankrupt, with the contract re-let to a Mr. Jackson for completion by January 1867. In June 1867, with only £67 cash left in the company's accounts, a plea was made by the company to local farmers, tenants and landowners. By 1869, the company had made a successful application to the Board of Trade for a certificate allowing them to abandon the plans for the Bromyard to Leominster section, and a further extension to 28 June 1871.

In 1874, a new company was formed, the Leominster and Bromyard Railway Company, authorised to construct 12-mile (19 km) from Bromyard to Leominster. It had to raise £210,000, with authorisation for an additional £70,000 via a mortgage if needed.

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