Gloucester Docks &
the Sharpness Canal

Railway Lines Beside Victoria Dock

In February 2010, contractors clearing the area to the east of the Victoria Dock, prior to repaving, uncovered over 100 yards of railway track. This page explains what was found and what it had been used for.
 

The railway lines, mounted on concrete sleepers, mainly ran parallel with the east side of the Victoria Dock, although there was a slight curvature at the south end and the indication of a junction leading to another pair of lines to the left which had been removed some years ago. The existence of the surviving lines was known from earlier survey work, and they will be reset in the paving that is due to cover the area.

This old photograph shows the two lines as they were. Two travelling steam cranes on the left hand track are discharging cement from the steamer, some being loaded on to wagons (when available) on the right hand track and the remainder being stored temporarily in the transit shed on the right. The foundations of the transit shed were also found by the contractors, being an array of concrete blocks, each having the remains of bolts once used for fastening a cast-iron column.