TWO restored stations on the old Leominster to Bromyard railway line will this month mark 50 years since the last passenger train journey between the market towns.

The owners of Fencote and Rowden Mill stations are holding an open weekend on April 26 and 27 and have produced a book to commemorate the occasion.

It was on April 26, 1958, five-and-a-half years after regular services on the line had been terminated, that 300 passengers from all over the country made the final journey.

Boarding the Stephenson Locomotive Society Special at Leominster at 5.30pm, they arrived in Bromyard just after 6pm before it terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.

For years afterwards the rural stops of Fencote and Rowden Mill were left to fall into disrepair, but have since been lovingly restored by their respective owners, Ken Matthews and John Wilkinson.

The two men share a passion for the old railway which is summed up by their motto: ‘Keeping the Bromyard Branch Alive’.

Now the public is being given a rare chance not only to look around the stations but also to see the locomotives, ganger’s trolleys and other rolling stock which will be on show.

Both stations will have stalls selling books and other collectables as well as refreshments while, subject to availability, a period road coach will provide a link between Fencote and Rowden Mill.

Tickets for the days, valid for both stations, are £5 for adults, £4 OAPs and £2 children. Anyone bringing an original ticket for the Leominster to Bromyard journey, dated 26/4/58, will get half-price entry.

Copies of the book, featuring pictures, timetables and press cuttings from the 1958 journey will be available at the open weekend priced at £6.95, or via a cheque made payable to Rowden Mill Station Restoration Fund, sent to Rowden Mill Station, Rowden, Bredenbury, HR7 4LS. A 95p postage charge is required on postal orders.

The book launch and open weekend will take place just weeks after the Hereford Times revealed a plan to re-open the old Leominster to Kington line, one of a number of ideas put forward by pressure group Rail for Herefordshire.