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[[File:WyreForestRailcarColour.jpg|thumb|300px|right|In this photoshop 'colourised' image, an ex-GWR railcar runs through the Wyre Forest on a typical branch line service]] Following the completion of the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway in 1864, the GWR took over the working of traffic over the Tenbury Railway section on behalf of the joint companies, with the LNWR also having running powers. As part of this process, the GWR telegraph system was extended to Woofferton; also the LNWR agreed to a turntable being installed at Tenbury to be paid for by the GWR. This turntable was moved from Bewdley and re-erected in the goods yard at Tenbury. (Some confusion has occurred in the past, as there was a small wagon turntable at Woofferton in it's its early days.). The completed line ran north from the GWR station at Bewdley on a single line track alongside the Severn Valley Line for a distance of about a mile before diverging to the west to cross the river Severn at [[Dowles Bridge]] (the viaduct referred to by Capt. Tyler), the remains of which are visible from trains on the SVR. The abutments where the line passed over what is now the B4194 remain in-situ. The line continued to Woofferton via Wyre Forest, Cleobury Mortimer, Neen Sollars, Newnham Bridge, Tenbury (later renamed Tenbury Wells) and Easton Court.

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 SVR's 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 '[[Kidderminster Loop Line]]' 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 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.

:My hand lay empty on my knee.<ref>[https://www.housman-society.co.uk/as-through-the-wild-green-hills-of-wyre/ Houseman, A.E., ''As through the wild green hills of Wyre'', A Shropshire Lad XXXVII, The Housman Society website] (Retrieved 14 October 2018)</ref>.

Woofferton was initially a station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway (S&HR), later becoming a junction station with the Wyre Forest Line from [[Bewdley]]. The station name boards carried the name “Woofferton Junction” <Ref Name = "MS2007">Branch Lines around Cleobury Mortimer, Mitchell and Smith (2007)</ref>, although [[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership#Timetable extracts | timetables]] and tickets used the shortened name.

The station had two main line platforms, connected by a footbridge situated between the station building (nearest in the first photo above) and goods shed. It also had a bay platform used by the branch line trains and accessed via two diamond crossings over the main line. There were also a number of sidings. The signal box (SB in the OS Map of 1888-1913) stood in the junction of the S&HR line to the north and the “Bewdley Branch” to the east. [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 16.

Easton Court was a small single-platform station. It opened with the Tenbury Railway in 1861, but closed in October 1862 due to lack of use. It reopened in April 1865, 8 months after the though through connection between Woofferton and Bewdley was established.

Easton Court itself is a gentry house and landscaped park in the civil parish of Little Hereford. For a time the station name board also referred to “Little Hereford”, although this was not used on timetables.<ref group="note">The GWR Magazine of May 1914 records the retirement of Abraham Tantrum, born April 1842, who "recalls the opening of the Tenbury line from Woofferton and being entertained by Lady Northwick at Easton Court and Tenbury." [http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~fortroyal/NoakeGuide/346.html Noake's Worcestershire (p346)] notes "among the gentry in the neighbourhood are Lord Northwick, Burford House; Mrs. Bailey, Easton Court"</ref>

A whist drive in aid of the War Seal Foundation was held on 2 November 1917 raising £12/13/0. It was promoted by the Station Master WA Lloyd and F Thomas as Honorary Secretary.<ref>GWR Magazine January 1918</ref> [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 3. John Morgan, having retired from the post of Chief Goods Clerk at Tenbury Wells after 50 years service with the GWR/LMS Joint Railway and settled at Easton Court, returned to work in 1941 at that station as a Grade 1 Porter. He was still there in August 1946 after reaching his 78th birthday.<ref>GWR Magazine September 1946</ref> The station became unstaffed after September 1954, and closed with the line from Tenbury Wells to Woofferton July 1961.

The station was initially the terminus of the Tenbury Railway from Woofferton, opened in August 1861, becoming the end-on junction of two separate railways when the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway opened in 1864. Despite the Wyre Forest Line thereafter being worked throughout by the GWR, the line was still worked in two halves. Although there were through services between Bewdley and Woofferton, some local services ran only between Tenbury Wells and Woofferton, while some services from Bewdley terminated at Tenbury Wells rather than running through. At the Bewdley end, many trains continued to [[Kidderminster]].

The station had two platforms, a number of sidings and in its early years, a turntable, which had been removed from Bewdley and was still visible depicted on the OS Map of 1888-1913. It had two signal boxes until the 1920s1928, when the LNWR-built West signal box closedwas replaced by a ground frame.<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine, August 1928</ref> [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 18. In 1930 a [[Country Lorry Service and Cartage Service|Country Lorry Service]] was introduced.<ref>GWR Magazine August 1930</ref> It had much agricultural traffic, it was quoted as receiving up to 10,000 hop pockets from South Wales and the Black Country.<ref name=GWR39>GWR magazine, September 1939</ref>  In 1960, the loop capacity, for the purpose of crossing trains, was 25 wagons, plus engine and brake van.<ref name="WTT1960">Sectional Appendix to the Working Time Tables and Books of Rules and Regulations, Birmingham Traffic District, October 1960</ref>

Newnham Bridge opened with the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway in 1864. The station had a siding which could act as a passing loop, but only a single platform for passengers. A signal box was originally provided, but later replaced by three ground frames. In 1913 a 'loop mileage siding' was authorised.<ref>GWR Magazine November 1913</ref> The [[The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership# Timetable extracts | GWR Working Timetables]] included the following operating instruction: ''When necessary, a train (not conveying passengers) may be placed in the sidings at Foley Park and Newnham Bridge for another train to pass in the same or opposite direction''. The 1960 list of Loops and Refuge Sidings makes no mention of this, so presumably the practice at both locations had ceased by then.<ref>Sectional Appendix to the Working Time Tables and Books of Rules and Regulations, Birmingham Traffic District, October 1960</ref> A cart weighbridge was added in 1924 due to the "increasing number of motor-driven lorries in use".<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine, January 1925</ref> The siding capacity was authorised to be increased from 40 to 92 wagons in 1929 and a spur was to be provided to allow goods trains to be shunted clear of the running line.<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine November 1929</ref> In 1931 an intermediate token instrument was installed.<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine, January 1931</ref> Additional goods accommodation followed.<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine, January 1933</ref>

The layout of the station was also unusual in that the main station building was situated at rail level. From there, passengers had to use a barrow crossing to reach the platform via the loop and running line. Despite these arrangements, Newnham Bridge could be a busy station, particularly when fruit was in season, and was quoted as one of the centres of fruit growing in Worcestershire, particularly cherries, damsons and apples.<ref name=GWR39/> [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 4. <gallery>File:Newnham Station down platform and shelter (geograph 4329083).jpg | Newnham Bridge railway station 30 January 2015, John Winder (Wikimedia Commons)</gallery>

Neen Sollars station began with a single platform. A second staggered platform, linked by a board crossing, was added in 1878, together with a signal box. The lengthening of the crossing loop was authorised in 1923 for "the elimination of many costly delays".<ref>Great Western Railway Magazine, November 1923</ref> The station served a small village and was little used; only 2,539 passenger tickets were issued in 1933. [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 3. The 1878 platform was taken out of use and the signal box closed in August 1954; the station then became an unmanned stop in July 1961. Passenger services on the line ceased the following year.

Cleobury Mortimer was a crossing station with two platforms, a goods yard and goods shed and a cattle pen. The OS Map of 1888-1913 shows the layout before the building of the [[Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway]] which opened in 1908 and can be seen branching away to the north-west on the later 1937-1961 series map. At that time a 65 lever frame replaced the original 27 lever frame in the signal box. In 1911 'Re-classification of service conditions have seen improvements at Cleobury Mortimer signal box.'<ref>GWR Magazine December 1913</ref> South-west of the goods yard was a private siding which served nearby Bayton Colliery between 1913 and 1923.In 1913 steelwork was ordered for a new bridge from EC and J Keay of Corporation Street, Birmingham.<ref>GWR Magazine April 1913</ref>

Wyre Forest was a single-platform station which opened on 1 June 1869, five years after the line on which it stood. It also had a small goods siding. Set in the forest after which it was named, goods traffic from the late 19th century included timber from the local area. In 1896 the station was also used to deliver the pipes for the local section of the [[Elan Valley Aqueduct]]. [[SVR staff in 1922#Wyre Forest Line (Bewdley to Woofferton)|GWR staff records for 1922]] show the station had a staff of 2, the station master and a gatewoman.

On Saturday 24 January 1959 the 7.58 am autotrain, departing Tenbury Wells for Ludlow propelled by 0-4-2T No 1445, collided with the buffer stops in Tenbury Yard. In the darkness the train crew did not notice that the turnout points from the Up platform to the main running line were frozen in the wrong position by ice, and the signalman was unable to alert them in time. The only passenger aboard was shaken but unhurt; he continued his journey by bus after receiving a refund of his train fare.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] p. 179.</ref> .

In November 1960 British Railways published a proposal to close the entire line between Woofferton and Bewdley.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Magner (1997)]] p. 16.</ref> The West Midland Transport Users Consultative Committee met in March 1961 to discuss the File:Tenbury line closureposter. Many representations were made on jpg|thumb|300px|right|1964 Poster advertising the hardships that closure would cause, particularly for school children who made use of the the line. A compromise was reached whereby the old Tenbury Railway (Woofferton to Tenbury Wells) would close with effect from Monday 31 July 1961, but one passenger train each way would continue between Kidderminster and Tenbury Wells for a trial period of one year.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995services had ended in 1962)]] p. 190.</ref>

The last through passenger service In November 1960 British Railways published a proposal to close the entire line between Woofferton and Bewdley and Woofferton .<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Magner (1997)]] p. 16.</ref> The West Midland Transport Users Consultative Committee met in March 1961 to discuss the closure. Many representations were made on the hardships that closure would cause, particularly for school children who made use of the line. A compromise was reached whereby the 7.50 pm return working old Tenbury Railway (Woofferton to Kidderminster on 28 Tenbury Wells including Easton Court station) would close with effect from Monday 31 July 1961, but one passenger train each way would continue between Kidderminster and Tenbury Wells for a trial period of one year.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] ppp. 190, 195.</ref> The 'special', which was hauled by GWR 2-6-2T No 6144, can be seen at the beginning of this film by 'Cam' Camwell on [http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-camwell-personal-film-no-54-special-last-train-kidderminster-to-woofferton-junction-1961/ BFIPlayer].

The steam hauled "school childen's train" last through passenger service duly began on Monday 31 July 1961, notwithstanding that this between Bewdley and Woofferton was the school holiday period. It left Tenbury Wells at 7.55 am with the 50 pm return working leaving to Kidderminster at 4.10 pm. Over the next year BR allowed the service to run as 'mixed' if required, and also advertised cheap day excursions to Birmingham. However the one year trial was not deemed a success and BR successfully proposed a full closure from 1 August 1962. The last steam-hauled service to return to Tenbury Wells ran on 31 28 July 1962 and comprised two coaches hauled by ex-GWR 0-6-0PT No 36191961.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] ppp. 192-193190.</ref> The 'special', which was hauled by GWR 2-6-2T No 6144, can be seen at the beginning of this film by 'Cam' Camwell on [http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-camwell-personal-film-no-54-special-last-train-kidderminster-to-woofferton-junction-1961/ BFIPlayer].

The daily Stourbridge - steam hauled "school children's train" service duly began on Monday 31 July 1961, notwithstanding that this was the school holiday period. It left Tenbury Wells at 7.55 am with the return working leaving Kidderminster at 4.10 pm. On the same day Wyre Forest station became unstaffed and was closed to goods services. Over the next year BR allowed the service ended in January 1964to run as 'mixed' if required, with all traffic ceasing in April 1965and also advertised cheap day excursions to Birmingham. However the one year trial was not deemed a success and BR successfully proposed a full closure from 1 August 1962. The last steam-hauled service to return to Tenbury Wells ran on 31 July 1962 and comprised two coaches hauled by ex-GWR 0-6-0PT No 3619.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] pp. 192-193, 195.</ref>

Following the end of passenger services, Wyre Forest station closed completely on 1 August 1962. However the daily Stourbridge - Tenbury goods service continued, serving the remaining stations at Cleobury Mortimer, Newnham Bridge, Neen Sollars and Tenbury Wells. At the end of that timemonth, the Daily Telegraph reported that Tenbury Wells still had 12 staff serving no passengers and only one goods train per day. Staff numbers soon reduced, with the signal box being closed on 28 April 1963. The following day electric token working between Cleobury and Tenbury was replaced by a single wooden staff for 'one engine in steam'.<ref name=BS196>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] p. 196.</ref>  The next significant closure resulted from the end of the daily goods service on Saturday 4 January 1964. The remaining stations were closed from 6 January, as seen in the closure notice. An infrequent goods service continued to the [[Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway|Admiralty depot at RNAD Ditton Priors]], using locos from [[Kidderminster Shed]] until its closure on 10 August 1964, and subsequently from Stourbridge shed. In the meantime the line between Tenbury and Newnham Bridge was used to store up to 1,000 condemned wagons.<ref name=BS196/> By early 1965 the Admiralty had announced the closure of Ditton Priors and only a few goods services still ran 'as required'. The last of that traffic ended from Good Friday 16 April 1965. Electric token working between [[Bewdley North signal box]] and Cleobury Mortimer was considered withdrawn on 8 May 1965 along with the wooden staff to Tenbury Wells. The branch was then worked as a siding while dismantling progressively took place, ending with the demolition of Dowles Bridge in March 1966.  ==Preservation proposals==In 1961 a Mr Harmon from Southampton, other businessmen, Mr H G Hipkins as secretary of the Midlands Area of the Railway Development Association and some railway enthusiasts proposed to run the line as a possible candidate private enterprise. They were supported by [[Sir Gerald Nabarro]] and Jasper More, MPs for preservation Kidderminster and Ludlow respectively. Dr. Richard Beeching, chairman of the British Transport Commission, quickly rejected the proposal on the advice of the General Manager of BR's Western Region, as a full freight service was to continue on the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway section.<ref>Birmingham Daily Post, 5 and 16 August 1961, via British Newspaper Archive</ref> At the Coopers Arms public meeting in the Kidderminster on [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1965-1969#1965 | early days6 July 1965]] of which formed the Severn Valley Railway Society. However continued in preservation, the meeting considered it unfeasible to use of the section between Bewdley Station by and Cleobury Mortimer as BR meant this was were still using Bewdley station at that time, and so could not possiblegrant access<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Beddoes & Smith (1995)]] pp. 196-198. Much of the line was demolished shortly thereafter, with Dowles Bridge being dismantled in March 1966</ref>.

Continuing northwards, the trackbed remains in place although no track is laid. Shortly before Dowles Bridge, the level of the Tenbury and Bewdley railway falls below that of the Severn Valley Railway. A retaining wall was built between the two lines, now referred to as the [[Tenbury Wall]].