Herefordshire station was saved after years of neglect

But for over 100 years, locomotives steamed through Herefordshire on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway.

Opened in 1855, the line carried goods and passengers between Hereford Station and Gloucester, with stations at Holme Lacy, Ballingham, Fawley, Ross, Mitcheldean Road, Longhope, and Grange Court, with halts at Blaisdon, Weston under Penyard, and Backney.

But as car ownership and road travel grew in popularity, passenger numbers and freight traffic gradually dropped.

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The line between Hereford and Ross was to fall victim to the Beeching cuts, which aimed to improve efficiency of the railway system by closing many of Britain's smaller stations and branch lines.

The line was closed completely in November 1964.

But despite the line closing, its existence is in clear evidence along many parts of its length.

Fawley Station in 1983 before it was converted (Image: Hereford Times)

And one such piece of evidence is Fawley station, which the Hereford Times reported at the time, was bought in 1983 by John Randall of Kings Caple.

The agricultural engineer said he had happy memories of the old station.

"My mother used to take me there twice a week when we went to market and it was always a very happy outing," he told the Hereford Times that year.

"It was a tragedy when it closed."

Mr Randall planned to convert the Victorian building, which was then 100 years old and suffering from neglect, with a scheme to create a dwelling that would retain the essential character of the station approved and work set to start that summer.

Fawley Station in 2009 (Image: John Winder/Geograph)

There were four main station on the line, in Ross-on-Wye, Fawley, Ballingham, Holme Lacy and Hereford, with halts in Backney and Penyard.

Fawley, like Ballingham Station, which was closed in 1964 and later extended to become a private house, is now a home, while Holme Lacy station was demolished to foundation level.

Holme Lacy station (Image: Belinda Olsen)

Platforms, fencing, and other items are still in evidence at Holme Lacy.

Ross-on-Wye's station was replaced with an industrial estate.

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