Rowden Mill railway station

Rowden Mill
Open day, August 1997
Location
Place	Wacton, Herefordshire
Area	Herefordshire
Coordinates	52°12′21″N 2°32′49″W / 52.2057°N 2.5469°WCoordinates: 52°12′21″N 2°32′49″W / 52.2057°N 2.5469°W
Grid reference	SO627566
Operations
Original company	Leominster and Bromyard Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
History
1 September 1897	Station opened
September 1949	Unstaffed
15 September 1952	Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Rowden Mill railway station was a railway station located on the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway in England.

Opening

Opened as part of the final section of the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway, the railway was bought out of bankcruptcy by the Great Western Railway in 1888, who completed the line in 1897.^[1]

Closure

Post 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.^[2]

On 26 April 1958 a special train organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society ran from Worcester via Bromyard to Leominster, calling in at Rowden Mill, Fencote and Steens Bridge. The 50 society members/passengers rode on the last train that would run on the complete track before it was removed. The Worcester to Bromyard section, kept open for the storage of disused and soon to be scrapped railway wagons, was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964.^[3]

Present

View of Rowden Mill station in 2010, showing British Rail Class 03 shunter No.D2371, GWR Toad brake van and various wagons

Rowden Mill was bought and restored from 1984,^[2] as a private residence. Later sections of the track either side of station were reinstalled, on which are presently housed various Wickham self-propelled trolleys, some carriages and goods wagons. At private gatherings, the stock is propelled along the line, while the site is opened occasionally for public access and viewing, but without operational trains. 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.^[4]

References

1. "The Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster Railway". Herefordshire County Council. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
2. Leslie Oppitz. "The Lost Railway". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
3. "Bromyard to Leominster". Geoff Pages. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
4. Leslie Oppitz. "Westwards from Worcester". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Retrieved 2012-06-13.