Watchet (WSMR) railway station

Watchet was the northern passenger terminus of the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which was built primarily to carry iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. The line was unconnected to any other, though it passed under what is now the West Somerset Railway south of the village of Watchet.

For the station on the West Somerset Railway, see Watchet railway station.

Watchet (WSMR)
Watchet (WSMR) railway station
Location
PlaceWatchet
AreaSomerset
Coordinates51.1826°N 3.3319°W / 51.1826; -3.3319
Grid referenceST070434
Operations
Original companyWest Somerset Mineral Railway
Platforms1[1][2][3][4]
History
April 1857Opened for goods[5]
4 September 1865Opened for passengers[6]
7 November 1898Closed
1907Reopened for goods
1910Closed[7][8][9]
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

As well as the usual goods and passenger facilities the station housed the company offices. A single track engine shed stood at Whitehall, a short distance to the south.[10][11][12]

All station buildings on the line except Gupworthy and Watchet were built to a common design. Watchet station was larger and laid out differently, with no obvious "family resemblance" to the others.[13]

Services

The stone-built station opened for goods traffic in 1857. A passenger service began in September 1865, connecting Watchet with the village of Washford and the hamlets of Roadwater and Comberow.[14] Passengers were carried up a rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and on to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk.[15]

The initial passenger service consisted of four trains a day out and back.[16]

Like other railways built to serve one industry, such as iron ore carrying lines in Cumbria, their fortunes were at the mercy of that industry. Iron and steel making was given to boom and bust and suffered a significant downturn in the 1870s, exacerbated by imports of cheaper and better ore from abroad. The iron mines which provided the WSMR's staple traffic stuttered to complete closure between 1879 and 1883. The line did not close immediately, two mixed trains a day continued to run until 1898, when all traffic ceased.[17]

In 1907 the Somerset Mineral Syndicate made an attempt to revive the line, reopening Colton mine and starting a new bore at Timwood. Apart from a reopening day special on 4 July 1907[18] no passenger service was provided. The venture collapsed in March 1910.

Abandonment

After closure in 1910 the line was subject to minimal maintenance[19][20] until its metals were requisitioned for the war effort in 1917.

With neither track, rolling stock nor prospects an Act of Parliament was sought and passed to abandon the railway. Its assets were auctioned on 8 August 1924 and the company was wound up in 1925.[21]

Evocative contemporary descriptions of the line in its later years have been preserved.[22]

Afterlife

Since closure the station building in Market Street has been converted into a private house complete with part of the platform. In 2016 the former locomotive shed was converted into use as a car repair workshop and the former goods shed stands[23] in modern-day use.

In 2016 much of the route could still be traced on the ground, on maps and on satellite images. The incline from Comberow to Brendon Hill is a Listed structure.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   West Somerset Mineral Railway   Washford
Line and station closed

References
  1. Sellick 1981, p. 16.
  2. Jones 2011, pp. 106-7, 215, 220, 306 & 343.
  3. Sellick 1970, Opposite p.17.
  4. Dale 2001, Front cover.
  5. Sellick 1981, p. 5.
  6. Thomas 1966.
  7. Oakley 2002.
  8. Sellick 1981, p. 76.
  9. Quick 2009, pp. 399 & 459.
  10. Griffiths & Smith 1999, p. 24.
  11. Jones 2011, pp. 278-279, 340 & 344.
  12. "The station and town". West Somerset Mineral Railway Project.
  13. Jones 2011, pp. 281-285.
  14. Carpenter 1988, p. 44.
  15. Sellick 1981, p. 6.
  16. Sellick 1970, pp. 104-5.
  17. Jones 2011, p. 399.
  18. Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 10.
  19. Sellick 1981, p. 35.
  20. Jones 2011, pp. 339-340, 349 & 360.
  21. Jones 2011, p. 352.
  22. Sellick 1970, pp. 66-67 & 76-77.
  23. "Watchet WSMR goods shed". Historic England.

Sources
  • Carpenter, Roger (Winter 1988). Karau, Paul; Beale, Gerry (eds.). "Comberow Incline - West Somerset Mineral Railway". British Railway Journal. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications Ltd (20). ISSN 0265-4105.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Dale, Peter (2001). Somerset's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-171-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Griffiths, Roger; Smith, Paul (1999). The Directory of British Engine Sheds and Principal Locomotive Servicing Points: 1 Southern England, the Midlands, East Anglia and Wales. OPC Railprint. ISBN 978-0-86093-542-1. OCLC 59458015.
  • Jones, Michael H. (2011). The Brendon Hills Iron Mines and the West Somerset Mineral Railway. Lydney: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899889-53-2. OCLC 795179029.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Oakley, Mike (2002). Somerset Railway Stations. Wimborne Minster: Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-09-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Scott-Morgan, John (1980). British Independent Light Railways. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7933-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sellick, Roger J. (1981) [1976]. The Old Mineral Line (2nd ed.). Dulverton: The Exmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-84114-692-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sellick, Roger J. (1970) [1962]. The West Somerset Mineral Railway and the story of the Brendon Hills Iron Mines (2nd ed.). Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4961-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Thomas, David St John (1966). Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The West Country v. 1. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-946537-17-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • Gathercole, Clare (2003) Watchet Archaeological Assessment (Somerset County council)
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Branch Line to Minehead: Preservation Perfection. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-0-906520-80-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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