Watchet railway station

Watchet
265px
Location
Place	Watchet
Area	West Somerset
Coordinates
Grid reference	ST071432
Operations
Original company	West Somerset Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Operated by	West Somerset Railway
Platforms	1
History
1862	Opened
1971	Closed
1976	Opened in preservation
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
UK Railways portal

Watchet railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in Somerset, England. It is situated in the small harbour town of Watchet.

History

Terminus:1862-1873

The station opened on 31 March 1862 when the West Somerset Railway (WSR) opened from Norton Junction, serving as the WSR's original terminus. The station forecourt originally linked both station building and goods shed, hence the now unusual alignment of the station building facing towards Taunton. An engine shed located east of the station remained until 1882.

The station was built as a terminus, as part of the commercial aim of the WSR was to provide a wider and cheaper distribution route for goods from the port of Watchet. The harbour was served by a network of tracks reached by way of a steep incline down from the goods shed, restricting maximum shunting length to six railway wagons. The harbour was also linked to the independent West Somerset Mineral Railway, that brought iron ore from mines in the Brendon Hills south west of the town. The mineral railway tracks roughly paralleled the main line as far as Washford.

Development: 1874

On 16 July 1874 the line was extended westwards by the Minehead Railway Company, and an industrial railway siding was also provided for Wansbrough Paper Mill. The footbridge was built to maintain the public right of way when the line was extended across the original forecourt to Minehead. A signal box on the embankment above the platform was provided to handle traffic on the line to Minehead.

Both lines were operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway which became a part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1876. The Minehead Railway was taken over by the Great Western in 1897, but the West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922 when it too was absorbed by the Great Western.

GWR 1930s development

The GWR increased the capacity of the line in the 1930s. Because of the position of the goods shed opposite the platform, it was not possible to add a second track and platform, and a passing loop was constructed at Kentford just 0.75 miles (1.21 km) west of the station. It opened on 10 July 1933 but the signal box was only used during the daytime each summer.

Nationalisation in 1948 saw the GWR become the Western Region of British Railways. On 24 August 1952 the signal box at Washford closed, and the one at Kentford remained open until 7 May 1964 when it also closed. Freight traffic was withdrawn on 6 July 1964 and passenger trains on 4 January 1971.

Preservation

The station was reopened by the new West Somerset Railway on 28 August 1976.

Description

File:Watchet railway station building.jpg

The ticket office

The station still has a single platform and station building, located on the opposite side of the single track running line from Watchet town centre and harbour. It is connected to them by a footbridge at the west end of the station, and a pedestrian level crossing at the east end. The former goods shed on the opposite side of the track is now occupied by the Watchet Boat Museum.

Services

Trains run between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard at weekends and on some other days from March to October, daily during the late spring and summer, and on certain days during the winter.

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Washford		West Somerset Railway		Doniford Halt

External links

• West Somerset Railway - Watchet Station
• Watchet Station on unofficial web site