The End Of The Railway
Catching The Last Train
On 5th February 1955 the last passenger train left Pembridge. Passenger traffic had been dwindling for some time. Bus services were more convenient for local travel, and car ownership began to spread. Below is an extract from a letter written by one of the last passengers:-
“Saturday evening was mildly a riot, though compared with some recent closures elsewhere it was quiet. We arrived at Pembridge with 61 people on board and 72 when we left. We arrived and departed amidst a perfect barrage of exploding detonators.
On the return trip we arrived amongst an even longer barrage, plus an accompanying blast on the engine’s whistle.
Ten people left the train, the guard solemnly shook hands with the porter and flashed his green lamp. With a two-minute blast on the whistle, and amidst cheering and more exploding detonators, we puffed sadly on to Leominster.”
Freight Trains Continue
Passenger trains ceased in 1955 but freight trains didn’t reach the end of the line until 1964. Freight had always been a more important source of revenue for the railway.
Herefordshire’s narrow and twisty roads meant that transporting heavy goods by rail still made more sense. Residents living along the A44 may wish that the railway was still there to take the strain.
The transportation of freight was important to the local economy. Timber was carried from the Welsh border to the sawmills at Kingsland. Wool and sugar beet to Wiltshire and Worcestershire for processing. Lime and stone from the quarries, and iron goods from the iron works of Kington. Another type of cargo were the horses and hounds of the Radnorshire and West Herefordshire Hunt.
Welsh farmers drove their sheep to Kington where they boarded en route to Hereford. Market days were especially busy at Pembridge when 7 or 8 cattle truckstook livestock to market in Kington. Extra passenger cars were added to the trucks for farmers to accompany their animals. This all ended in September 1964.
Closure of the Leominster to Kington Railway
A Valedictory Poem
Come all you sons of Herefordshire.
And listen to my song.
With downcast look and tearful eye.
The people went their way.
For a last trip upon this line.
That closes on this day.
It’s not so very many years.
People were wont to say:
“From Kington up to Town and back
You do it in a day”
But now alas! Those days are gone.
The line no longer pays.
At crack of Dawn, you catch the “Bus”.
And go by other ways!
Alas! The shameful day is come.
Bureaucrats’ voices say:
“Passenger trains no more shall run.
Such trains no longer pay”.
So now of this let all take heed -
State trading never pays.
Leave business in the hands of those.
Who stick to proven ways!
By J M Langston
