The next barge about to depart from Platform 1 is…

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THE former GWR station at Newent in Herefordshire is to be rebuilt to serve transport needs again.

Newent station 21st century style: an artist’s impression of the unique railway station that will serve a canal. HGCT

However, the station will not see trains. Instead, the space between the surviving platforms will be filled with water and used by canal boats.

The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust wants to recreate the station building in its original style to use as a tea room and visitor centre to serve a revived waterway.

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The Ledbury and Gloucester Railway (also known as the Daffodil Line) which ran between Ledbury, Newent and Gloucester, opened in 1885 and closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964.

In turn, it was partially laid on the trackbed of the 34 mile Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, which was opened in two phases in 1798 and 1845, and closed in 1881, when the southern section was used for the railway.

In a unique case of reverse transport technology, the trust is now converting the long-vacant trackbed back to its original use as a canal.

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The trust, which became a registered charity in 1992 after evolving from a revivalist society which was formed in 1983, and which now has 1400 members, aims to rebuild the entire waterway.

Read more in Issue 223 of Heritage Railway


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