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 As motor bus services became dominant, the passenger services became unprofitable and they were withdrawn in 1958.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 Miners' Association (AAM) in 1872, but the AAM refused strike pay to local miners during a long dispute from 1874 to 1875, and so the union left and again became independent. This dispute was less successful, with only a concession of wage being reduced by 5% instead of 10%. From 1873 to 1877, the union published a weekly newspaper, the "Forest of Dean Examiner". In 1877, the general secretary, Timothy Mountjoy, was discharged, and the union became moribund until 1882, when it was reconstituted. The union later joined the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and from 1894 until 1904, it participated in