Lydney station serves the small industrial town of Lydney, on the eastern edge of the Forest of Dean. Although it is not anything to look at now, it has a long history.
The first railway in the area was built very early a tramroad for carrying coal opened from the Forest to Lydney Docks, passing close by the station, in 1813. The main Cardiff- Gloucester line was built in 1851, and a station provided at the present location (then some miles from the town). In 1869 the tramroad was converted to a traditional railway, and a station provided adjacent to the main line station both became known as Lydney Junction.
A new line from this junction was built in 1879 across the River Severn to Sharpness on an impressive viaduct of 21 spans. Alas, this closed in 1960 when a ship collided with the bridge and demolished two of the spans, and the whole bridge was dismantled between 1967 and 1970.
To-day, Lydney station is a fairly basic unstaffed halt, with small waiting shelters, electronic departure boards, a large car-park and that's about it. There's not even a footbridge you cross by the level crossing next to the station, and there are (steep) ramps up to the platforms. It's served by the infrequent (hourly or less) service from Cheltenham to Cardiff, most of which are now extended west to Maesteg.
The main of interest to-day is that it is adjacent (5-10 minutes' walk) from the preserved Dean Forest Railway station at Lydney Junction, and provides for rail interchange between the two. The DFR's station is also pretty basic, but does have a ticket office and toilets, as well as extensive sidings with all sorts of locomotives (mostly diesel) awaiting restoration. Details at:
http://www.deanforestrailway.co.uk read more