Bilson Halt - Railways of the Forest of Dean

Title
Go to content
Bilson Halt

Bilson was the point where the FoD branch diverged into the  Churchway and Whimsey branches, and later the Cinderford Extension as well. When  passenger services started on the FoD branch, the Cinderford Extension was not  completed so a temporary halt was built at Bilson to serve Cinderford. The halt  was originally opened in August 1907 and closed in April 1908. However, it may  have been used unofficially after this by colliers and was reopened for  passengers in April 1917, only to "officially" close again in October 1920.  However, it does seem that it was "unofficially" in use after that. It is a  little unclear as to when exactly the halt was removed but it would certainly  have been removed after passenger services were withdrawn in November  1958.

Goods traffic was in abundance at Bilson by the very nature of  its junction status, and at times during the line's history, there were  congestion problems. However, the industry of Cinderford went into decline after  World War Two and the goods yard at Bilson was closed in August 1967, along with  what was left of the FoD Branch at this time. The area around Bilson is now,  rather ironically, an industrial estate, an idea proposed in the early 1940's  but not implemented until after the closure of the railway.
Back to content