Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway extraction industry in the Forest of Dean. The Monmouth and Hereford Railway was incorporated in 1845, but limited in scope by Parliament, and the powers were not exercised. However, in 1851 the "Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway" received its authorising Act of Parliament, and it opened a line on a similar alignment from Hereford to Grange Court on 1 June 1855. The GWR itself built the connecting section from Grange Court to Gloucester, and the South Wales Railway opened its line progressively from Grange Court to Chepstow. The South Wales Railway took over the "Forest of Dean Railway", successor to
Forest of Dean Central Railway at Blackpool Bridge and another cutting to Howbeach Colliery. Beyond the line rose at 1 in 103, then 1 in 54 to New Fancy. Note: Cobb shows the Forest of Dean Central Railway making a converging junction with the Mineral Loop of the Severn and Wye Railway, but this is a mistake. It crossed it, although both railways eventually had a connection to New Fancy Colliery. Forest of Dean Central Railway The Forest of Dean Central Railway was a mineral railway line designed to connect certain collieries in the central part of the Forest of Dean to a new dock