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One purpose of the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway was for freight traffic to gain access to the expanding markets of the West Midlands. However at the time of opening, this journey would require traveling to the SVRs southern terminus at Hartlebury, with a reversal to reach the West Midlands via Kidderminster. This was hampered by a lack of siding space at Hartlebury and resulted in frequent delays, leading to construction of 'The Loop' from Bewdley to Kidderminster. After the GWR built 'The Loop', the majority of services from Stourbridge and Kidderminster to Bewdley continued on the Wyre Forest Line.
In January 1869, ownership of the Tenbury Railway was transferred jointly to the LNWR and GWR. It nominally remained an independent company until nationalisation in January 1948. The Tenbury & Bewdley Railway ceased to exist as a separate company the when ownership was transferred to the GWR in February 1870. Both the GWR and the Tenbury Railway became part of British Railways Western Region after nationalisation. In 1908 the [[Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway]] opened. This connected with the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway at [[Cleobury Mortimer]] and ran as a spur for 12½ miles to Ditton Priors.
The Wyre Forest Line closed in various stages. The old Tenbury Railway (Woofferton to Tenbury) was first to close in July 1961, after which only one passenger train ran from Kidderminster to Tenbury each day. Passenger services ceased a year later on 1 August 1962. The daily Stourbridge - Tenbury goods service ended in January 1964, with all traffic ceasing in April 1965. Much of the line was demolished shortly after closure, with Dowles Bridge being dismantled in March 1966.