real time web analytics
Report - - Lydney Tunnel & Severn Bridge Railway Station, June 2017 | Underground Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Lydney Tunnel & Severn Bridge Railway Station, June 2017

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

jimmenstein

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Hello 28DL!

I've been a long-time lurker, but this is the first time I've done anything worth posting.

Severn Bridge station was on the eastern edge of the former railway bridge across the River Severn; its other end was at Sharpness. Originally opened in the 1870s, the bridge was damaged in 1960 when a couple of barges collided with one of the columns and was eventually demolished by the end of the 60s. The station was pretty much left to rot and is now used by a farmer. Lydney tunnel is just to the west.

Visited June 2017 with a non-member, on probably the hottest day of the year! Took a couple of hours fighting through brambles & nettles, probably sweating enough to flood the Severn itself, before we got onto the trackbed, but worth it nonetheless. Photos were taken using a cheap point-&-shoot camera, and lighting courtesy of my 500 lumen cycle light, so I'm afraid my photos won't be up to the standards of you chaps. (Not to mention that I was determined to do this in spite of claustrophobia, so once in the tunnel I was going to spend as little time as possible not moving!)

Before we got to the tunnel, noticed some strange collapsed pipework in the embankment. No idea what it was for, but looked interesting...
Dscf165901a7a.jpg


Our first thought on seeing the tunnel mouth in the distance was "Damn, it looks like they've blocked it off..."
Dscf166108253.jpg


...but it was actually just an insane amount of mist!
Dscf1663ba0fa.jpg


One of the refuges:
Dscf16653934b.jpg


It appears some of the brick lining has collapsed at some point, and been crudely patched up:
Dscf1670e1261.jpg


The obligatory pile of tyres near the east entrance. Time spent on these forums tells me this is apparently quite a common find in old tunnels...
Dscf1676ddbf7.jpg


One of the refuges look in pretty poor shape; the brick lining was falling away and we could see bare rock and empty space behind it (sorry, this one's a particularly poor photo!)
Dscf1673b4712.jpg


And out the other end! The first thing I noticed, literally the moment I crossed the threshold, was the heat and humidity of the outside world hit me like a sledgehammer to the face. (Also, somewhat strangely, I suddenly found myself short of breath and remained so for most of the day - is this normal when exploring tunnels??)
Dscf16806f121.jpg


Outside the runnel, the trackbed itself quickly became impassable for a hundred yards or so...
Looking west (no idea why the farmer appears to have a stinging nettle enclosure!):
Dscf16835bf78.jpg

And looking east:
Dscf16823e333.jpg


Underneath that pile of unassailable junk & nettles, however, was a rather nicely cut occupation bridge:
Dscf1681e2216.jpg


And then we found our way into the station site itself:
Westbound platform:
Dscf1685aa6e8f.jpg

And eastbound:
Dscf1686af1591.jpg


Found this on one of the platforms. Kinda looks like a fishplate, but what it's attached to doesn't look like rail. Any clues would be appreciated!
Dscf16872bc75.jpg


The station was pretty much the end of the embankment; beyond it was a short section of impenetrable nettles leading to a long drop and a sudden stop, but looking across the river, you can just make out the supports for the opposite end of the bridge:
Dscf169276724.jpg

Extreme zoom is helpful but grainy:
Dscf1693147e1.jpg


Thanks for looking, and hope you enjoyed it!

Jimmenstein
 

jimmenstein

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Just realised a basic schoolboy error - the station was on the *western* end of the bridge, not eastern!

(Sorry for double post - couldn't work out how to edit the original... :oops:)
 

Polo

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice one, pretty good for a first report!

My first report was on this tunnel too - I remember that mist and how it stopped us from seeing the other portal on one visit.

Look forward to seeing more from you, are you local?
 

jimmenstein

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice one, pretty good for a first report!

My first report was on this tunnel too - I remember that mist and how it stopped us from seeing the other portal on one visit.

Look forward to seeing more from you, are you local?

Thank you! No I'm not, I was just visiting the area. I'm actually based in the Midlands...
 

Fluffy_munki

28DL Member
28DL Member
Hi I visited here yesterday, the tunnel was partiality flooded as was the track bed beyond, I was looking for the station but I obviously went on the wrong direction ‍♂️ I am hoping to discover more abandoned railways in this area
 
Top