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 As motor bus services became dominant, the passenger services became unprofitable and they were withdrawn in 1958.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 of Great Britain should be "grouped" into four large companies, under the Railways Act 1921. The Great Western Railway absorbed many small networks in its area of influence, and the Forest of Dean Central Railway was absorbed by the GWR from 1 January 1923. No shareholders could be traced, and the line was gifted to the GWR; it had spent £141,000 on the line. During the Second World War, traffic was quite heavy because charcoal, a war material, was made in the Forest and there was a storage depot at Blakeney. After the war the traffic fell off and the