West Midland Railway

West Midland Railway

Company type	Private company
Industry	Railway
Predecessor	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Founded	July 1, 1860 (1860-07-01)
Defunct	August 1, 1863 (1863-08-01)
Fate	Merged into Great Western Railway
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Area served	West Midlands, England

The West Midland Railway was an early British rail enterprise established on 1 July 1860 through the West Midland Railway Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. lxxxi), which consolidated several pre-existing railway companies. It acted as the successor to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR) before being incorporated into the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863.

Founding Companies

The initial companies forming the West Midland Railway included the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (formed in 1846, commenced operations in 1854), the Worcester and Hereford Railway (established in 1853, opened in 1859), and the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (created in 1845, began service in 1850), which had previously absorbed the Stratford and Moreton Tramway (incorporated in 1821, operational from 1826).

Starting from 1 July 1861, the West Midland Railway (WMR) entered into a lease agreement for the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway (formed in 1853, opened in 1857). Subsequently, in 1862, it also leased both the Leominster and Kington Railway (which opened in 1857) and the Severn Valley Railway from its inauguration.

Integration with the GWR

The West Midland Railway ceased to exist as an independent entity following the Great Western Railway (West Midland Amalgamation) Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. cxiii) on 1 August 1863, whereby its rights and responsibilities were transferred to the Great Western Railway. Despite this transfer, the West Midland Railway Company formally remained until its complete merger under the provisions of the Great Western Railway Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. cxxix).

See also

• List of early British railway companies