Berkeley Road railway station served the towns of Berkeley and Dursley in Gloucestershire, England. It was opened in 1844 and closed in 1965.
History
The station was one of the original six stations on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway which opened for passengers on 8 July 1844 and for goods on 2 September 1844. This was a broad gauge line engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1846 and converted to standard gauge in 1854. It was two miles east of Berkeley and three north-west of Dursley, and for the first year of its life it was called 'Dursley and Berkeley Road'. Dursley acquired a station of its own in 1856 with the opening of the Dursley and Midland Junction Railway branch from Coaley Junction.
The Sharpness Branch Line was built in 1875 from Berkeley Road station to the new docks at Sharpness, passing around three quarters of a mile to the north of the town of Berkeley. The branch opened for goods traffic that year and to passenger services in 1876, with a station at . The Sharpness branch became a through-route to and the Forest of Dean in 1879 with the completion of the Severn Railway Bridge. The junction for the Sharpness line was to the north of Berkeley Road station. The branch line trains used two new platforms built at a tangent to the existing Brunel-designed station. The junction was controlled by a signal box at the north end of the branch line up (northbound) platform. A footbridge between the platforms was provided in 1883.
Berkeley Road was considered one of the more important stations on the Bristol and Gloucester line and some long-distance trains called there. The Sharpness branch, however, became less important and was reduced to single track in the 1930s. Damage to the Severn railway bridge in 1960 led the branch to cease being a through-route and passenger services were withdrawn in November 1964, though it remained open for some goods traffic.
Berkeley Road closed to passengers on 4 January 1965 with the withdrawal of stopping services between and . Goods facilities at the station remained open until 1 November 1966, except for a private siding which has since closed. The station structure was demolished after service ended.
Services
References