The Clifton Extension Railway initially ran from to Narroways Hill Junction north through Bristol, then part of the GWR; and over a viaduct from Narroways Hill to the MR's Bristol to Gloucester Line near . The line was managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee, a triumvirate of the Port Authority, City Council plus the GWR and MR; but in 1894 responsibility was passed to the Great Western & Midland Railways Joint Committee. Services began to Clifton Down on 1 October 1874.