Narroways Hill Junction

Narroways Hill Junction is a railway junction in Bristol, England. It is where the Severn Beach Line branches off from the Cross Country Route, and also where the old Midland Railway line to Mangotsfield left the Severn Beach Line.

In snowy conditions, a First Great Western Class 158 DMU passes Narroways Junction, headed north along the Cross Country Route.
The remains of the Midland Railway's connecting line from Narroways to its main Bristol-Gloucester Line.

History

The junction was built in 1874 as part of the Clifton Extension Railway, a joint venture by the Midland Railway and Great Western Railway to connect the Bristol Port Railway and Pier to their main lines. The line from Narroways initially extended only as far as Clifton Down station, and it wasn't until 1 September 1885 that the line began carrying passengers all the way to Avonmouth as originally envisaged, some eleven years later.[1]

Narroways Hill Junction was named after nearby Narroways Road, which has been known locally as Three Bridges Lane, Goosey Gander Lane, and even Cut-Throat Lane after a woman was murdered there by her ex-fiance in 1913.[2]

Description

The junction is the meeting point of the twin-track Cross Country Route (XCR) and the single-track Severn Beach Line (SBL). The SBL line diverges from the XCR's "up" line at grade. Both lines are crossed by footbridges, and a bridge, now removed, once carried the Midland Railway's line towards their main Bristol-Gloucester Line. This was demolished in 1965, although the abutments are still in place.[3]

The XCR was originally 4-track, but the two eastern tracks were removed in 1984,[4] and the SBL's second track was taken up in 1970.[3]

The line, commonly known as Filton Bank, is due to be four-tracked and electrified as part of the 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line,[5] which will see electric trains running from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads via Bristol Parkway.[5]

References
  1. Oakley, Mike. Bristol Railway Stations: 1840–2005. Bristol: Redcliffe Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 9781904537540.
  2. "Walking Bristol: Walk 1 – Gas Lamps and Cut Throats" (PDF). Travelwest. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  3. "Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach". Cornwall Railway Society. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  4. "Narroways Hill Junction". Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. "We're modernising the Great Western route, increasing capacity for passengers and freight". Network Rail. Retrieved 29 August 2018.

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