Present Day
Formed in 2015 as the Vale of Berkeley Railway Trust, the VoBR aims to bring steam and diesel heritage services back to the Sharpness–Berkeley line. Phase 1 involved leasing and clearing Oldminster Sidings at Sharpness (granted by Network Rail in 2017), establishing a workshop/engine shed.
History
The line originated in 1875, built by the Midland Railway as the Gloucester & Berkeley New Docks branch, connecting Berkeley Road on the Gloucester–Bristol mainline to Sharpness Docks. Passenger services began in 1876. With the completion of the Severn Railway Bridge in 1879, the branch became a through route to Lydney and the Forest of Dean, operated jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and Midland Railway, later the Severn & Wye Joint Railway. On 25 October 1960, a collision between two barges severed the Severn Bridge irreparably, collapsing two spans and ending through services. Passenger services on the Sharpness branch ceased in November 1964, with regular freight operations continuing until year 2000.