The Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway was an early mineral railway, opened in two stages in 1832 and 1834, which connected collieries near Coalpit Heath with Bristol, at the river Avon. Horse traction was used. It was later taken over by the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, and much of the route became part of the main line between Birmingham and Bristol, though that was later by-passed and closed. Part of it now forms the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.
This railway should not be confused with the later Bristol and Gloucester Railway, which opened in 1844.
Origins
As a large and flourishing city, Bristol had a huge demand for coal, for domestic use and industrial purposes, in the latter part of the eighteenth century; although there were some limited coal resources in the immediate area, a more fruitful source of coal was in the district called Coalpit Heath, north-east of the city. Before the era of reliable roads, transport of the mineral to Bristol was difficult and expensive, and this seriously limited commercial activity.
A number of attempts were made over several years to have a form of guided transport—a wooden wagonway or a tramway—built, but nothing was successful until on 27 October 1827 a meeting of interested businessmen resolved to form a company to build a double line of railway between Bristol and Coalpit Heath. The cost was considered to be £49,727; a single line would be about £9,000 less. The meeting adopted a proposal from the Kennet and Avon Canal company that a branch should be added to the River Avon (with which the canal connected) near Keynsham. It appears that the meeting decided to make the Keynsham line a separate undertaking, heavily sponsored by the Canal company, and that line became the Avon and Gloucestershire Railway.
The line was to be called the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway, but in the early days it seems to have been referred to also as the Coalpit Heath Railway. The engineer W H Townsend was appointed as surveyor and engineer, and he prepared a formal estimate for a single line from Cuckold's Pill in Bristol to Orchard Pit at Coalpit Heath, in the sum of £41,819 14s 2d. (In fact the construction cost about double that sum.)
The scheme received the Royal Assent for its Act of Parliament on 19 June 1828, with a share capital of £45,000 and borrowing powers of £12,000. By now the Avon & Gloucestershire Railway was being actively promoted, forming a separate connection from the Avon near Keynsham, and the branch that had been suggested earlier was dropped from the Bristol proposals.
The Act laid down maximum tolls for conveying minerals and other goods on the line, wharfage and cranage.
Construction
At this late time it was decided to build the line for double track, while only single track. Tenders for the earthworks were advertised in January 1829 and by August 1830 the route was ready for tenders for the trackwork to be invited.
The northern half of the line, from Mangotsfield to Coalpit Heath, was opened in July 1832; this enabled the Avon and Gloucestershire Railway to convey coal from the mines to the River Avon; it had been a condition of some of the subscription that priority would be given to this section.
By now the available money was nearly exhausted, and a further Act of Parliament in 1834 authorised the raising of a further £20,000, and work continued on the southern section of the line.
This opened on 6 August 1835 with a gala procession by horse-drawn train, which covered the nine miles in three hours.
Track
The track gauge was The edge rail was in sections of malleable cast iron at , with five fish-belly webs. The rails were supported on stone blocks, being held in iron chairs. Some of the stone blocks were obtained from the Avon and Gloucestershire company's quarry near Keynsham.
Operations
The railway was operated as a toll highway, with private carriers and traders operating on the line and paying a toll based on tonnage and distance. Toll rates and distance posts had to be provided. Regulations specified the general dimensions of permitted wagons. Neighbouring proprietors were permitted to make siding connections to the railway, subject to certain regulations.