Cam and Dursley railway station

Cam and Dursley railway station is a railway station serving the large village of Cam and the market town of Dursley in Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the main Bristol-Birmingham line, between Yate and Gloucester, at a site close to where Coaley Junction railway station was situated from 1856 to 1965.

Cam and Dursley
National Rail
General information
LocationCoaley, Stroud
England
Coordinates51°43′05″N 2°21′32″W / 51.718°N 2.359°W / 51.718; -2.359
Grid referenceSO753021
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCDU
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyRailtrack
Key dates
14 May 1994Opened for limited service
30 May 1994Opened for full service
Passengers
2019/20Increase 0.226 million
2020/21Decrease 42,818
2021/22Increase 0.132 million
2022/23Increase 0.183 million
2023/24Increase 0.208 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The new station

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Following a campaign for the reopening of Coaley Junction, the new station called Cam and Dursley opened on 14 May 1994, about 420 yards (380 m) north of the original site, although full opening did not occur until 30 May 1994.[1] The new station is unstaffed, and consists of two platforms, linked by a footbridge, a car park covered by CCTV and a bus stop with shelter. Passenger facilities consist of shelters with seats on both platforms and a ticket machine, with passenger help points installed in late 2010.

Passenger services are provided by Great Western Railway on a largely hourly basis on the Bristol to Gloucester route. It is the nearest station to the town of Wotton-under-Edge, which is seven miles away.

Bus services, operated by Stagecoach West, run infrequently to the station as of timetable changes in August 2021. The 65 service runs 5 services, 3 in the morning, 2 in the evening to provide links to Gloucester, via Stonehouse and to Stroud, via Dursley and Uley.

Cam and Dursley Train Station, runs to a GWR timetable that links in with services towards Gloucester or towards Bristol.

There is a rail user group for the station, Coaley Junction Action Committee (CoJAC), which, following the opening of the new station, continues as a group to press for improvements in the service.

The previous station

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Coaley Junction station, with the Dursley branch train on the right, 1960

Coaley Junction station was originally the junction for the short Dursley and Midland Junction Railway branch to Cam and Dursley, built in 1856 and later taken over by the Midland Railway. The station, also known as Dursley Junction, opened to goods on 2 August 1856 and to passengers on 18 September 1856. The station had two short platforms on the main line with a very short and sharply curved platform on the branch. Goods facilities were limited, but included a brick goods shed (still in situ) with a crane. The signal box stood at the end of the platform between the branch and mainline.[2]

The branch closed to passenger traffic on 10 September 1962, although the mainline platforms remained open for passengers until 4 January 1965. The station closed to goods on 28 June 1968, although the branch remained as a long siding to R A Lister and Company's works at Dursley until 13 July 1970.

Stationmasters

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  • J. Harris until 1863[3] (afterwards 119)
  • F. Burdett 1863 - 1865[3] (afterwards station master at Wickwar)
  • B. Derry 1865 - 1866[3]
  • J. Baines 1866[3] (afterwards station master at Defford)
  • J. Dawson from 1866[3]
  • James Boughton ca. 1870
  • Reuben Stevens ca. 1871[4] - 1879[5] (afterwards station master at Radlett)
  • Charles Jobbins 1879[5] - 1881 (formerly station master at Burton Joyce, afterwards station master at Weston, Bath)
  • Thomas Viney 1881 - 1892[6] (formerly station master at Selly Oak)
  • George J. Goscombe 1892[6] - 1902[7] (formerly station master at Wadborough, afterwards station master at Charfield)
  • H.G. Cooper 1902[7] (formerly station master at Staple Hill, afterwards station master at Staplehill)
  • Charles Henry Shill 1902[7] - 1911 (formerly station master at Staple Hill, afterwards station master at Blackwell)
  • T. Edgar Brown 1911[8] - 1926 (formerly station master at Rubery, afterwards station master at Charfield)
  • William John Havard from 1926[9] (formerly station master at Sea Mills)

Services

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Great Western Railway's local services operate all services at this station. A new timetable was brought out on 10 December 2006 which saw the introduction of a mostly hourly "clockface" service, and a considerable increase in the number of trains calling, with northbound services (on Mondays to Fridays) increased from 11 to 15 and southbound services increased from 13 to 16. Northwards, services are to Gloucester with alternate services continuing on to Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill and Great Malvern. Southbound, services are to Bristol Temple Meads and onwards to Bath and Westbury, with some services carrying on to Weymouth and occasionally Southampton Central and Brighton.[10] A two-hourly service runs on Sundays between Bristol and Gloucester only.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Yate   Great Western Railway
Great Malvern/Gloucester - Bristol/Westbury/South Coast
  Gloucester
  Historical railways  
Stopping at Coaley Junction railway station
Berkeley Road
Line open, station closed
  Bristol and Gloucester Railway
Midland Railway
  Frocester
Line open, station closed
  Sharpness Branch Line
Midland Railway
  Terminus
Disused railways
Cam
Line and station closed
  Dursley and Midland Junction Railway
Midland Railway
  Terminus

References

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  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 51. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. ^ Peter K. Smith (1985). An historical survey of the Midland in Gloucestershire: station layouts and illustrations. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. pp. 95–97. ISBN 0-86093-301-6.
  3. ^ a b c d e "1859-1866". Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts: 118. 1914. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  4. ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 369. 1871. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 869. 1871. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 450. 1881. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1027". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 230. 1899. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Midland Railway Notes". Railway News. England. 17 June 1911. Retrieved 26 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Berkeley Vale Gleanings". Cheltenham Chronicle. England. 17 April 1926. Retrieved 26 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ Table 123 & 134 National Rail timetable, May 2016
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  • CoJAC, the rail user group for Cam and Dursley station