Back to Tewkesbury Quay Branch

For this week's blog post we return to the Tewkesbury Quay branch, the small 'branch within a branch' that ran from the Malvern-Ashchurch line down to Quay Street in Tewkesbury. This tiny line is really interesting when compared with the genteel country nature of the rest of the route, featuring as it did trains running through industrial and urban areas, as well as sections with on-street running. By far the best part of the Quay branch, however, was the evocative engine shed with its cobbled road and high brick walls. These pictures by Ben Brooksbank are among my favourite shots of the whole railway, so enjoy!
 
As a small aside, I have noticed in the last couple of days that 'Britain from the Air' have recently recatalogued all of their photographs. This has broken all of the links on my page to their shots, so please bear in mind while I track down and restore these resources over the next few days.

'Tewkesbury Old Station: View SW along Mill Branch towards High Street (level) crossing and Healing's Mill, showing remains of the original (1840) Tewkesbury Station'. Used under licence via Creative Commons 2.0.

'Tewkesbury Engine Shed: The small engine-shed, on the Mill Branch, with two occupants: ex-GWR '57XX' class 0-6-0PT no.7788 (built 12/30, withdrawn 7/62), behind it an ex-MR 3F 0-6-0'. Used under licence via Creative Commons 2.0.

'Tewkesbury Engine Shed, with a Midland 0-6-0 prominent: View eastward, towards Tewkesbury Junction and Ashchurch. The line is the original (1840) branch from Ashchurch to the terminus by the High Street that closed to passengers on 16/5/1864, when a new station was opened on the line to Upton-on-Severn and Great Malvern. Ex-Midland 3F 0-6-0 No. 3604 dominates the scene; ex-Midland 1P 0-4-4T is just outside the little shed'. Used under licence via Creative Commons 2.0.

'Tewkesbury Engine Shed, with a Midland 0-4-4T: View eastward, towards Tewkesbury Junction and Ashchurch. Ex-Midland Johnson/Deeley 1P 0-4-4T No. 1338 is beside the makeshift 'coaling stage''. Used under licence via Creative Commons 2.0.

'Tewkesbury Quay branch: View westward from near Tewkesbury Junction, towards the Engine Shed, Old Station and across the High Street to the Quay. The branch was closed in 12/57, some years before the line through the 'New' station to Upton-on-Severn closed in 1961'. Used under licence via Creative Commons 2.0.

Photos of Tewkesbury and Ashchurch from Roger Smith

This week's update takes us away from my familiar stamping ground to the other end of the Malvern-Ashchurch railway. The following pictures come courtesy of Roger Smith's excellent Flickr page and show the Northway Lane bridge over the railway at Ashchurch, as well as the Mythe embankment and tunnel portal outside Tewkesbury. The tunnel picture is particularly interesting: I haven't been able to find many shots of the Mythe tunnel so far and Roger's shot clearly shows the small bridges that were ripped up as part of flood prevention works in 2013. The Northway bridge photos are worth a look too: so much of the site around Ashchurch station was levelled but as far as I know the bridge remains, even if its original purpose has long since disappeared. One to look out for in future.

'Last train to Upton-on-Severn entering Mythe Tunnel', 14th August 1961

The Northway Lane bridge pulls into view outside Ashchurch.

Letting off some steam under Northway Lane bridge.

The Colin Allbright Collection Part V: The Bridges of Malvern County

Another out-of-sequence post this week, this time showing the area between Great Malvern station and Tewkesbury Junction. Of particular interest here are the pictures of the old coal yard and the site now occupied by County Builders - another view of the old junction between the GWR and LMS railways which has now been lost to the undergrowth. The fourth shot too has been lost to the ages, taken from the embankment just south of Clarence Road bridge. I'm not even sure how you would get up there any more today! Bringing up the rear are two more photographs of the bridges that carry the railway south away from Great Malvern station: not a lot has changed in these, but they are interesting nonetheless (especially for fans of 'vintage' cars!)

The old coal yard at Tewkesbury Junction.

This is a great angle, showing the old junction sidings site before it became hidden.

Clarence Road bridge.

The view towards Malvern from behind Clarence Road bridge.

Woodshears Road bridge.

Thirlstane Road bridge.

Merry Christmas!

As my usual Saturday update schedule falls on Christmas Eve this year, I'd just like wish all of my visitors a very Merry Christmas! Many thanks to all of you who have supported this site during its first year. In keeping with the season, here's a small gift by way of a recap of one of Richard Moreton's snowy scenes from Malvern Common. All the best for the festive season!

Malvern and Tewkesbury Junction Signal Box

I've been waiting to write this post ever since seeing this old picture in Brian Iles' Around Malvern. The historical shot below shows the old GWR signal box that guarded the junction between the LMS's Malvern-Ashchurch railway and the surviving GWR Worcester-Hereford line until the former's demise in the early 1950s. I've done my best to provide a matching shot, taken by sticking my camera through the steel fence on Network Rail's wasteland site opposite County Builders on St Andrew's Road. The site is closed to the public and I had to be supervised for my visit, so please don't head up there yourself - in truth, there isn't much left to see anyway and what little there is I have snapped exhaustively for the Tewkesbury Junction page. I'm very pleased to have finally got this posted, anyway. Now to find some shots of the Midland signal box further out on the Common...

Malvern and Tewkesbury Junction GWR signal box.

My matching shot from February 2016. Apart from the overgrowth and the colour of the gables on the College houses, not much has changed from this perspective.

More Pictures of Tewkesbury Junction

This week's blog post features some additional of pictures of the old Malvern and Tewkesbury Junction site on Malvern Common. I have been trying recently to find some pictures of the two signal boxes that stood here, namely the GWR box on the surviving Worcester-Hereford line (which would have stood opposite the Network Rail wasteland by County Building Supplies) and the Midland box on the long-removed route to Ashchurch. The latter would have stood somewhere in the middle of what is now the eastern side of Malvern Common, near Peachfield bridge:

If anyone has any pictures of either of these signal boxes, please let me know as photographs of these sites are extremely rare.

The old water tower at Tewkesbury Junction.

'Site of Tewkesbury Junction, Malvern, approx 1959.'

The view north-east towards Malvern. Christ Church can be seen in the distance.