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From: "A & P Bolton" <>
Subject: Re: Worcester and Hereford Railway 1852
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 12:02:50 +1300
References: <3d.37d0855.2742b85c@aol.com> <005f01c04e55$bde71a80$53cd28c3@pc>


Hi Robert

I hope that the following is of some interest:-

From Old Worcester People and Places

"The Railway Comes to Worcester

Most of the railway companies had their origins in the desire of country
people to get access to London. By 1845 no fewer than 36 railway schemes
were projected in Worcestershire and 13 of them affected the City. Six only
received legislative sanction.

The G.W.R. had its interests in Worcester and in 1844 Brunel addressed a
meeting at the Guildhall in favour of the Oxford, Worcester and
Wolverhampton Railway Company (the O.W. & W. for short). Most of the 36
schemes were dropped and the real struggle lay between the O.W. & W.
Railway and a line from Worcester to Tring, supported by the London and
North Western Railway. Worcestershire became the cockpit in which was
fought out the battle of the rival systems of Stephenson and Brunel. The
contest became famous in railway history as The Battle of the Gauges. The
G.W.R., which backed the O.W. & W. had a gauge of 7 feet and the other
lines had 4 ft 8½ inches, a width decided accidentally from the pit rails
in the north.

Up to 1845 the Broad Gauge had not made way north of Gloucester and the
control of the valley of the Severn was expected to decide its future. The
battle was long and costly. It was a battle of Titans. All the great
engineers and the pick of the Parliamentary bar were engaged. The
Committee of the Commons sat for 20 days before declaring the preamble of
the Bill proved. The Broad Gauge champions one all along the line, largely
by the help of Worcester witnesses but the legal and engineering expenses
cost £1,000 for every mile of the Company's line, with the G.W.R. providing
a guarantee.

The line cost more to construct than had been anticipated and this led to
disputes between the O. W. & W. and the G.W.R. as to the guarantee. The
'Narrow Gauge Interest' intervened and offered to finance and work the
railway but the contract with the G.W.R. prove a stumbling block. Peto and
Betts, the great railway contractors, ultimately took the construction in
hand and it became known as 'a contractors line', the cost being paid in
shares at a discount. The company fell into hopeless financial
embarrassment and its shares fell from £100 to £14. By 1849 two and a
half million pounds was spent without opening one mile of track.

On the running side too things went very badly. The carriages were old and
let in water, the engines were ramshackle and frequently broke down. One
at Evesham broke the crank axle and, at the shed, both driving wheels fell
out on each side. On October 18, 1855, an express from Worcester was
delayed at Hartlebury for over six hours and four engines, which were
detailed to take it, broke down. It is no wonder that the O.W. & W. line
came to be known as the 'Old Worse and Worse' line.

Worcester a Railway Centre

It was not until 1850 that the railway came to Worcester and after years of
frustration and mismanagement the O.W. & W. brought in A.C. Sherriff, a
former schoolmaster, but trained in railway management. He became the
Worcester stationmaster and brought tremendous Yorkshire skill and energy
to the job so that under his control, chaos was reduced to order.

Traffic developed, new lines were laid in the areas around, and Worcester
became a really important railway centre. The O.W. & W. became the West
Midland Railway, absorbing the newly constructed Worcester and Hereford
line, the Newport and Abergavenny and Hereford, and the Severn Valley
Companies, and ultimately controlling over 200 miles of line. The West
Midland was, in turn, absorbed by the G.W.R., 19 years after Brunel's first
visit.

The absorption of the West Midland line into the G.W.R. proved the death
knell of the Broad Gauge. Both gauges were tried on the O.W. & W. in its
independent career. The narrow gauge survived and, for a time, a mixed
gauge became a necessity also. It was thought that if the Broad Gauge
could have held out for another 20 years it might have become permanent.
Edward Corbett remembered travel on the Broad Gauge and wrote: 'Future
generations will never know the delight and smoothness of the Broad Gauge.
It was marvellous to see the final scene, when working against time, by the
light of flaring oil lamps, men who had spent their lives upon the Broad
Gauge system, hurriedly tore up the abandoned rails; watched, we fancied,
by the great shade of Brunel.'

Harbour Hill becomes Tunnel Hill

Harbour Hill became Tunnel Hill when the railway came to Worcester. The
tunnel was longer that it is at present, for when the line was extended
westward over the Severn in 1859, part of the tunnel was bared to provide
ballast for the great embankment across Sansome Fields to Foregate Street
Station. The path overlooking the railway yards have provided
entertainment to generations of Worcester children (and their fathers)
right to the end of steam, in the early 1960's. The great cutting provided
grandstand viewing for half Worcester who watched the disastrous fire that
swept away the carriage works of the West Midland Company and dealt a
staggering blow to the prosperity of the City. Amalgamation with the
G.W.R. and the loss of these great works provided the incentive to remove
further works to Swindon and Worcester, from being the headquarters of a
railway system, declined into a mere divisional centre. "


What specifically are you looking for. I can also give you the following
excerpts which are all connected to the railway:-

Harp Fort and Shrub Hill Station
Alexander Clunes Sherriff
The Railway Line that Failed to Get There
The Railway Institute at Shrub Hill
Sir Edward Watkins and Son
Samuel Morton Peto
The Signal Works, Shrub Hill
The Worcester Engine Works.

Unfortunately I cannot find anything on Hugh D'loyde


Regards

Patricia
Whangarei, NZ

Researching: BOLTON, PARTRIDGE, WYNN in Worcestershire & Warwickshire










s

----- Original Message -----
From: "r.deloyde" <>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 November 2000 05:10
Subject: Worcester and Hereford Railway 1852


>
> Greetings
>
>
> Does anyone have any information on the Worcester
> and Hereford Railway 1852 at all many thanks
>
>
>
>
> I will give a directory (of my choice) to anyone
> who has further information on Hugh D`loyde
> a licensed Victualler. subject to conformation
>
>
> Robert Deloyde
>
>
> ==== ENG-WORCESTER Mailing List ====
> FreeREG Project: parish register database
> http://freereg.rootsweb.com
> FreeBMD Project: GRO indexes database
> http://freebmd.rootsweb.com
>

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