A GRADE II-listed Victorian footbridge that was only restored six years ago has been damaged after being hit by an engineering train on the Dean Forest Railway heritage steam line.

The St Mary’s Halt footbridge was dismantled and repaired

The 133-year-old Victorian lattice iron bridge at St Mary's Halt in Lydney was removed and restored before being reinstalled in 2019 after a £150,000 fundraiser – and is thought to be the last surviving piece of infrastructure from the historic Severn and Wye Railway.

Workers keep a close eye on things as the St Mary’s footbridge is held by the Dean Forest Railway’s heritage rail crane.

Dean Forest Railway posted on Thursday: “At approximately 10:55 hours this morning there was an incident involving an engineering train and the Grade II listed bridge at St. Mary’s Halt on our line at the Dean Forest railway.

“Thankfully, nobody was harmed by the incident, and our staff and volunteers are now working with the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

“We will be running a reduced service this weekend – half the line between Norchard and Parkend, and we will give further updates when we are able to do so.”

The bridge has been cordoned off while the investigation takes place and the area is made safe.

The wrought and cast iron bridge, which also borders Bathhurst Park, was deemed unsafe to use in 2007 and was fenced off for 12 years before its repair re-established the historic footpath route around Lydney Lake and through St Mary’s churchyard.

Rail historian Neil Parkhouse said the railway was opened in 1868 on the route of the old Severn and Wye tramroad, and its heavy use ferrying coal to Lydney Docks saw the bridge constructed at St Mary’s Halt in 1892.

With workmen from Lydney Tinplate Works crossing the line near the engine shed and works sidings, plus people attending church services taking the shortest route, the Severn and Wye Railway (SWR) feared being liable for a major accident.

And although a long trade downturn meant severe financial difficulties for the firm, they funded the new bridge for the sum of £267, built by Glasgow firm G Smith and Co and opened on September 26, 1892.

Children loved the new bridge’s handrails for sliding down, but their fun was ended in 1901 when iron nuts were fixed because of fears that youngsters might fly onto the iron railings below.

St Mary’s Halt station, where a River Lyd culvert crosses beneath the track and bridge, was reopened by FDR in 1991, but also closed in 2014. The bridge is the last surviving SWR infrastructure on the line, said Mr Parkhouse, author of Forest of Dean Lines and the Severn Bridge.