Avon Valley Railway - History

History

The railway is part of the otherwise-dismantled Midland Railway Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line, which was closed during the late 1960s as a result of the Beeching Axe and due mainly to the Great Western Railway being just a few miles to the south, which also connected Bristol and Bath.

The railway is perhaps best known for connecting the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR), whose northern terminus was at Bath Green Park station, with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The Midland Railway lines along the Avon Valley thus opened up the S&D lines to travellers from the British industrial Midlands. This was particularly so during summer Saturdays when families flocked south to the beaches of Dorset and the English south coast. Many extra trains thus had to be added to the schedule to accommodate this increased demand. Although owned and run by the Midland Railway, many S&D locomotives were often seen working trains along this line.

After the lines were removed, from 2000 the northern section from Mangotsfield to Warmley was used to build a dual carriage development of the A4174 road, although both station sites presently still exist. The remainder of the line was passed from the British Railways Board to Sustrans, who in co-operation with the local councils developed the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. Further development of the preservation railway is wholly dependent on a usage agreement with Sustrans.