The Bristol to Portishead Branch with the Bristol Harbour Railway and Canon's Marsh Branch

By the middle of the 19th century larger ships had difficulty navigating the River Avon up to Bristol. Two ports, at Avonmouth and Portishead, were built at the mouth of the Avon to surmount this problem and both were served by railways. Post-war car ownership and the resultant declines in railway passenger traffic causes the 1964 closure of the branch, but the 1978 opening of the Royal Portbury Dock resulted in a £21m investment in rail access. Meantime rush hour road congestion demanded a rethink of the 1964 closure and in 1989 Royal Assent was given to construct a light railway from Wapping Road via Portbury to Portishead to where by 2021 or 2022 passengers may again be able to travel. In this new book Colin Maggs tells the story of these branch lines from early days to recent developments.