A look at Sharpness Docks Railways UK

Sharpness Dock was, in its heyday a thriving port. Built to serve the southern end of the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal, it had extensive rail connections and substantial marshalling yards, this film goes in search of visible remains. There was a direct link here to the mighty Severn Rail Bridge of 17 spans which crossed to South Wales at a point just north of the docks. Unfortunately the bridge lost two spans in an accident with two river tankers in dense fog, and was never rebuilt. Although a lot of rail has been lifted, a substantial amount remains when you look carefully. The layout of the rail system can easily be traced with both high level and low level crossings of the canal. The high level crossing with its associate embankments enabled goods to be loaded into ships and barges by gravity thereby saving time and effort. Surprisingly there is still a rail presence here in the form of ‘The Vale of Berkeley Railway. A group of enthusiasts restoring locomotives and railway stock to eventually run on Sharpness rails again. They were kind enough to show us around the workshops and explain what was there. The docks are still in use so certain areas have no access and you need to be aware that the commercial considerations take precedence over public accessibility, but there are still lots to see.

• #entertainment
• #marshalling_yards
• #sharpness_railways
• #berkely_railway_preservation
• #severn_rail_bridge_crossing
• #sharpness_dock
• #rail_crossing_accident
• #vale_of_berkely_railway_group
• #lock_gate_crossing