Rowden Mill railway station

Opened as part of the final section of the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway, the railway was bought out of bankruptcy by the Great Western Railway in 1888, who completed the line in 1897.[1]

Post the Second World War, and with the greater use of the motorbus and private cars, traffic on the line fell considerably. Unstaffed as a station from September 1949, the line closed to regular passenger services on 15 September 1952.[2]

On 26 April 1958 a special train organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society ran from Worcester via Bromyard to Leominster, calling in at Rowden Mill, Fencote and Steens Bridge. The 50 society members/passengers rode on the last train that would run on the complete track before it was removed. The Worcester to Bromyard section, kept open for the storage of disused and soon to be scrapped railway wagons, was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964.[3]

View of Rowden Mill station in 2010, showing British Rail Class 03 shunter No.D2371, GWR Toad brake van and various wagons

Rowden Mill was bought and restored from 1984,.[2] Sections of the track either side of station were also reinstalled. Rolling stock of various types including coaches, brake vans and goods vans have been located on the line at various times in the recent past. In March 1989, Rowden Mill received the British Rail Award in the Ian Allan Publishing Railway Heritage Awards for the Best Renovated Non-Working station.[4] Rowden Mill Station now operates as a holiday letting business, making the station buildings available as accommodation to visiting guests.

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• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2004). Worcester to Hereford. Middleton Press. figs. 32-33. ISBN 9781904474388. OCLC 862604858.