Golden Valley Railway

The Golden Valley Railway was a British railway company in Herefordshire in England. The company consisted 1875-1901 and linked with a 30 -kilometer-long railway line the places Hay-on -Wye and Pontrilas.

History

Hoping to reduce transport costs and times for their goods, some landowners, sharecroppers and merchants from the region between Pontrilas and Dorstone for the construction of a railway line between the towns put a. In Pontrilas could be connected to the railway line of the Great Western Railway. A first meeting of interested parties took place on September 30, 1875. First managing director of the company was Gavin Robinson. The capital was fixed at 60,000 pounds and borrowing to 20,000 pounds.

The Company received on 13 July 1876, the concession to build a railway line between Pontrilas and Dorstone. Ground was broken on August 30, 1876. Subsequently, the traders and farmers in Hay -on-Wye requested a connection to the railway line. On the one hand they feared economic losses and on the other hand they hoped on revenue from railway operations. The concession was granted in 1877 and approved additional equity of 72,000 pounds and a loan of 24,000 pounds. A groundbreaking ceremony was first performed on 31 August 1877.

The construction work was slow, as the company was unable to solicit enough funds to pay the contractor. The contractor therefore repeatedly stopped the work. Negotiations with land owners and the Great Western Railway for the integration of the railway line extended the construction period. The operation on the route between Pontrilas and Dorstone was taken on September 1, 1881.

The operation on the section between Pontrilas and Dorstone was initially carried out with a rented by the GWR locomotive. It was three trains a day and every two days offered an additional fourth train. Already from the beginning they tried to reach for the operation of the route an agreement with the Great Western Railway. Deals of the GWR were rejected regularly as inadequate.

The company was not able to generate enough revenue. So neither dividends nor necessary lending rates were generated. The operation could ever be maintained only through loans and guarantees of the board members as well as agreements with the lenders. An increase in working capital in 1883 by 20,000 pounds did not improve the financial situation. After also due to lack of payments presented the GWR for a month no engine available, the Company had at year-end report record loss.

The construction of the section between Dorstone and Hay-on -Wye delayed due to further negotiations on the terminus of the line. Thus, a connection to the railroad of the Midland Railway in Hay was approved by the directors of GVR instead of a stand-alone station. In addition, we hoped thus the basis for an extension of the route to be able to lay up to Monmouth. The corresponding license for this plan amendment was issued on 1884. In addition, further £ 45,000 was approved to equity and £ 15,000 in loans.

1884 had the passenger traffic between Pontrilas and Dorstone be suspended for a time, since defects in the track position is no longer allowed for a safe operation. At an extraordinary general meeting on 16 April 1885, came to a violent confrontation. A group under Chairman Robinson wanted to accept an offer of the GWR to take over the operation, repair the track and the suspension of work on the extension to Hay while the opposing group Richard Green -Price asked for a continuation of the construction and for it in London corresponding wanted to organize capital. The meeting ended with the resignation of Robinson as chairman of the company. Green -Price moved according to this post. It was also set on July 2, 1885, due to the still unsettled financial situation and the link state of the operation. After a new shareholders' meeting on July 18, 1885 could be resumed on 19 August 1885, the passenger traffic.

The financing of the second section to Hay proved even more difficult than the first part. So the offer of the contractor amounted to 154,000 pounds more than the planned amount of 60,000 pounds. As the resources of the local business operators shall no longer sufficient, they tried to find investors in 1886 on London broker. The track was completed in late 1888, but still had some security flaws. So it was officially opened on 27 May 1889.

Due to still unpaid bills of the GWR and other creditors, the Company from March 1887 to April 1888 was placed in receivership. In the meantime, many of the local investors from the Board of the Company had resigned. The nunmehrige Board tried in the planned continuation of the route to Monmouth ensure the company's success. For the planned extension to Monmouth and the concession was granted in 1889.

After the distance between Hay and Pontrilas could be completely traveled, passenger numbers rose sharply. There were five passenger trains and a freight train offered daily. Nevertheless, it was not possible to make a profit in 1889, the loss 723 pounds and 2,129 pounds in 1890. As a result, some investors doubted the correctness of the share prospectus from the year 1886. Green -Price was able to achieve in the negotiations that they filed no complaint. But in return he had to do without the planned project of the railway line to Monmouth. Between the lenders for the original route and the extension there was in the aftermath still regularly dispute.

Beginning of 1891 could no longer pay the wages of the employees, the Company from time to time so that they threatened to strike. In February 1891, the majority of the directors of the Company resigned, so Green -Price henceforth led the company alone. The continued operation of the company designed largely irregular. In many cases, could not be used locomotives and cars, as the Golden Valley Railway was paying rent and entertainment services in the residue. Nevertheless, 1893 44.891 persons, 4,361 tons of cargo and 3,760 tons of ore was transported. The net loss was 881 pounds.

In 1895 a newly elected Board endeavored again to reach an agreement with the Great Western Railway to operate the GVR. In August 1897 there was a train derailment between Westbrook and Clifford, after which the operation was set to the distance between Hay and Dorstone on 23 August 1897. On October 28, 1897, agreement was reached with the GWR on the acquisition of the company for 10,000 pounds. The necessary parliamentary approval was not granted, because one of the main creditors ( the contractor Chambers as a contractor for the Monmouth extension) and the London and North Western Railway, however, were opposed. And the operation was set on the section between Dorstone and Pontrilas on April 20, 1898 in the sequence.

On December 15, 1898, a new agreement between the GWR and the GVR was hit. The purchase price of £ 9,000 has been set, Chambers also received for his share of more than £ 100,000 at the GVR a separate payment of 2,000 pounds. With effect from 1 July 1899, the Golden Valley Railway was incorporated into the Great Western Railway. The existing vehicles were scrapped. After a further investment of 17,280 pounds, the operation was resumed on May 1, 1901.

The passenger was discontinued on 15 December 1941. An on-demand excessive freight was carried on until 1957.