Luxurious Bed and Breakfast in Herefordshire
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By the 1930's there were 45 railway stations and halts across the county of Herefordshire linking north and south, east and west.
However, when Dr Beeching took over as Chairman of the British Transport Commission he decided to take a good hard look at which of the country's railways were the most viable and sadly for Herefordshire the railways were suffering from cheap competition from the buses and 6 of the 8 railway lines were closed in the 1960's, just over 100 years after they were first opened. Only two lines were left operational: The Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway and The Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Railway. Today these are still the only two lines that run through Barrs Court Station, the only train station in use in the city. The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company (SMR 9412)
The first railway line to be built in Herefordshire was the work of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company. In 1846 Parliament had sanctioned an Act allowing the new line to be built using the narrow gauge system. The line was to cover a distance of 50.5 miles.
The man appointed engineer of this line was the Liberal MP for Shrewsbury, Mr Henry Robertson. Due to financial problems work on the line didn't begin until 1850 when Thomas Brassey took over the project as engineer and agreed to work at his own risk and put up 3.5% of the cost. In 1854 this percentage of the cost was transferred to an 8 year lease, which proved to be very profitable for Mr Brassey.
The first section of the line from Shrewsbury to Ludlow opened on the 21st April 1852 and there was a commemorative luncheon at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms. The Hereford section of the line opened at Barrs Court Station to the east of Hereford City on the 6th of December 1853, although the line had been used for the transportation of goods since the 30th July.
Although the 6th December 1853 was chosen as the official day of celebration the first passenger train to arrive at Hereford Barrs Court Station arrived on Saturday 28th October en route from Shrewsbury. It consisted of two engines decorated with flags, which carried the Chairman of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company, Mr Ormsby-Gore and the railway contractor Thomas Brassey. There were also 6 new first class carriages and a luggage van, which was occupied by a band of musicians. When the train arrived in Hereford the passengers had to disembark at the site of the station for as yet there were no buildings save an unfinished engine house and a water house. (Cavalcade of a Century, 1832-1932, 100 years of the Hereford Times: Hereford Record Office - BH74)
The First Train
A banquet had been arranged at the Shire Hall and catered for by the manager of the City Arms in Broad Street but the reception to the trains was distinctly lukewarm, with few people turning out to see their arrival into the city. The organisers put the lacklustre reception down to the fact that it was a busy market day and few traders or customers were willing to put business on hold to greet the train.