Forest of Dean Railway on a contiguous line built by the GWR. Newnham was the main line junction station, although some branch trains ran through to Gloucester. As motor bus services became dominant, the passenger services became unprofitable and they were withdrawn in 1958. The network was closed completely in 1967 as mineral traffic ceased. The Forest of Dean Coalfield had long been a source of mineral working, for iron ore and coal. Free Miners had statutory rights in the Forest, which protected them from external competition. However this limited the extent to which large scale operations could be undertaken. A number of short
Forest of Dean Central Railway Thereafter, the railway continued to function to Howbeach with three goods trains a week. The coal strike of 1921 finished off Howbeach Colliery and traffic ceased beyond Blakeney about this time; the track beyond Blakeney remained in position, but was removed in 1942. Because of the lease, the line had long been simply a quiet mineral branch line of the Great Western Railway; the Forest of Dean Central Railway owned the line but took no involvement in operating it, and the huge indebtedness meant that there was no dividend distribution. After World War I the Government determined that the railways