Clitsome railway station

Last updated

Clitsome
Location Roadwater, Somerset
England
Coordinates 51°08′36″N3°22′35″W / 51.1432°N 3.3765°W / 51.1432; -3.3765 Coordinates: 51°08′36″N3°22′35″W / 51.1432°N 3.3765°W / 51.1432; -3.3765
Grid reference ST038391
Platforms0 [1] [2]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyWest Somerset Mineral Railway
Key dates
4 September 1865Opened for passengers
7 November 1898Closed [3]

Clitsome was a recognised stopping place, not a formal station, on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR). The railway's prime purpose was to carry iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. It was "general practice to pick up or set down passengers .. at Clitsome." [1]

Contents

The line was unconnected to any other, though it passed under what is now the West Somerset Railway south of the village of Watchet.

The stopping place was next to a level crossing. [2] [4]

Services

The line 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. [5] Passengers were carried from Comberow up a rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and on to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk. [6]

The initial passenger service consisted of four trains a day out and back. [7]

Like other railways built to serve one industry, such as iron ore carrying lines in Cumbria, the WSMR's 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. [8]

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 [9] no passenger service was provided. The venture collapsed in March 1910. [10]

After closure in 1910 the line through Clitsome was subject to minimal maintenance. [11] [12]

The line's tracks were lifted in 1917 as a contribution to the war effort. [11]

Abandonment

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. [13]

Evocative contemporary descriptions of the line in its later years have been preserved. [14]

Afterlife

By 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
Torre
Line and station closed		  West Somerset Mineral Railway   Roadwater
Line and station closed

Related Research Articles

Watchet Human settlement in England

Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Somerset, with a population of 3,785. It is situated 15 miles (24 km) west of Bridgwater, 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Taunton, and 9 miles (14 km) east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of the Washford River on Bridgwater Bay, part of the Bristol Channel, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park.

Brendon Hills

The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in west Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. The highest point of the range is Lype Hill at 1,388 feet (423 m) above sea level with a secondary summit several kilometres to the southeast at 1,350 feet (411 m). Both points are marked by Ordnance Survey trig points and are located within enclosed farmland. Early versions of the name include Brunedun and Brundon reflecting an original name of Bruna or Brune, meaning 'brown one'. Dun is a common Old English word for a fairly flat and extensive hill. This name is not connected with the village of Brendon in Devon, the name of which has a different origin.

West Somerset Mineral Railway

The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a standard gauge line in Somerset, England. Originally expected to be 13 miles 420 yards (21.3 km) long its length as built was 11 1⁄2 miles (18.5 km), with a 310 yards (280 m) branch to Raleigh's Cross Mine. The line's core purpose was to carry iron ore northwards from mines on the Brendon Hills to Watchet harbour on the Bristol Channel. From there the ore was shipped northwards to Newport where it was unloaded onto railway wagons and hauled to ironworks at Ebbw Vale. The line opened as intended in 1861. Passenger services commenced in 1865. The mines' and line's "period of prosperity" ended in 1875 and by 1883 all mining had ceased. The line lingered on for passengers and small goods until 1898, when it closed.

Watchet railway station

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.

High Harrington railway station Disused railway station in Cumbria, England

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Arlecdon railway station Disused railway station in Cumbria, England

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Gillfoot railway station

Gillfoot railway station was on the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway line half a mile north of Egremont station, in Cumbria, England.

Oatlands railway station Disused railway station in Cumbria, England

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Parton Halt railway station Disused railway station in Cumbria, England

Parton Halt railway station was opened by the LNWR and FR Joint Railway in January 1915 and closed by the LMSR fourteen years later in 1929.

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.

Washford was an intermediate station on 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.

The Roadwater railway station was an intermediate station on 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 north of Roadwater.

Comberow was an intermediate station on 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. The station was located at the foot of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope-hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%).

Brendon Hill railway station

Brendon Hill was an intermediate station on 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. The station was located at the top of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope-hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%).

Luxborough Road was an intermediate station on 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. The station was located west of the top of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope-hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%).

Gupworthy railway station

Gupworthy was originally intended as an intermediate station on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), but neither the proposed extension to Heath Poult nor that to Joyce's Cleeve was built, leaving Gupworthy as the line's southwestern terminus. The WSMR 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. The station was located west of the top of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope-hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%).

Mining on the Brendon Hills

The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in western Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. Iron ore and other minerals have been extracted for industrial purposes, primarily by the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company in the later half of the 19th century.

Torre was a recognised stopping place, not a formal station, on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR). The railway's prime purpose was to carry iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. It was "general practice to pick up or set down passengers .. at Torre."

Morgan Morgans (1814–1888) was a civil engineer particularly involved with mining.

References

  1. 1 2 Sellick 1970, p. 96.
  2. 1 2 Jones 2011, p. 233.
  3. ↑ Quick 2009, p. 459.
  4. ↑ Sellick 1981, p. 54.
  5. ↑ Carpenter 1988, p. 44.
  6. ↑ Sellick 1981, p. 6.
  7. ↑ Sellick 1970, pp. 104-5.
  8. ↑ Jones 2011, p. 399.
  9. ↑ Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 10.
  10. ↑ Jones 2011, p. 327.
  11. 1 2 Sellick 1981, p. 35.
  12. ↑ Jones 2011, pp. 349 & 360.
  13. ↑ Jones 2011, p. 352.
  14. ↑ Sellick 1970, pp. 66-67 & 76-77.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Sellick, Roger J. (1981) [1976]. The Old Mineral Line. Dulverton: Exmoor Press. ISBN   978-1-84114-692-8.
  • 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.

Further reading

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