Portskewett Railways
Portskewett
is
a
village
situated
on
the
Welsh
bank
of
the
Severn
Estuary
between
the
M4
and
M48
road
bridges.
The
village
entered
the
railway
age
in
1850
with
a
small
station
on
the
newly
opened
South
Wales
Railway,
but
for
23
years
between
1863
and
1886
was
the
junction
for
the
first
railway
and
steamship
ferry
crossing
of
the
Severn
from
South
Wales
to
Bristol.
The
opening
of
the
Severn
Tunnel
in
1886
made
the
ferry
redundant,
and
the
infrastructure
for
the
crossing
was
dismantled
but
Portskewett
retained its small country station until 1964 when it became a victim of the Beeching cuts.
In
the
1870s
my
great
grandfather
travelled
from
his
birthplace
in
Somerset
to
South
Wales
via
the
ferry
in
order
to
find
work.
He
later
joined
the
Great
Western
Railway
and
his
final
posting
was
to
Portskewett
in
1900
where
he
lived
in
one
of
the
old
railway
cottages
that
used
to
be
opposite
the
station.
My
family
remained
in
the
village
and
I
grew
up
in
the
1950s
when
Portskewett
still
had
a
railway
station,
some
of
the earliest railway houses were still standing, and Black Rock had a small community living there.
The
story
of
the
railway
development
at
this
location
has
been
researched
from
contemporary
records
and
newspaper
reports
and
is
now
available
as
an
84
page
book
containing
many
plans,
drawings
and
photographs:
Please click or tap on the cover illustration for purchase details.
Chapters include:
Before the Railway
South Wales Railway and the First Portskewett Station
Early Traffic on the Line
Bristol & South Wales Union Railway and the New Passage Ferry
Traffic Working at Portskewett Junction and the Pier Branch
The Severn Tunnel and Closure of the New Passage Ferry
Into the 20th Century
British Railways and Final Closure
Royal Visits
Station and Track Layout
20th Century Photographs
Accidents and Incidents
Railway Staff
The Railway Today
There
is
inevitably
some
overlap
with
my
other
book
on
the
Bristol
&
South
Wales
Union
Railway
which
I
have
tried
to
keep
to
a
minimum.
For
detailed
information
on
the
piers,
ferry
service
and
ferry
steamers
the latter book is more appropriate.
Sample pages can be viewed
here
.
© Richard Smith 2013-19. All rights reserved.