Midsomer Norton | |
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Station on heritage railway | |
General information | |
Location | Midsomer Norton, Bath and North East Somerset England |
Coordinates | 51°16′51″N2°28′58″W / 51.2809°N 2.4828°W |
Grid reference | ST664537 |
Owned by | SR and LMSR Western Region of British Railways |
Managed by | Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Key dates | |
20 July 1874 | Opened (Midsomer Norton) |
16 October 1898 | Renamed (Midsomer Norton and Welton) |
26 September 1949 | Renamed (Midsomer Norton South) |
7 March 1966 | Closed [1] |
1995 | Leased to Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust and reopened. |
Midsomer Norton railway station (originally Midsomer Norton, later Midsomer Norton and Welton and finally Midsomer Norton South) was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway between Bath Green Park and Shepton Mallet. It served the town of Midsomer Norton in the English county of Somerset, which was also served by a second station known as Midsomer Norton and Welton railway station on the Bristol and North Somerset Railway.
The station opened in 1874. In the 1948 nationalisation the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. Along with the rest of the line it closed in 1966. In the early to mid 1990s Norton Radstock College used the station building and goods shed as their art department base prior to relocating to a newly built art department in the college. Following that The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust took the lease on the station in 1995 to restore it. They have restored many of the buildings and laid a short section of track. Future plans for further extension of the track have been proposed.
The station was part of the Somerset and Dorset Railway's extension from Evercreech Junction railway station to Bath. It opened on 20 July 1874. [2] The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway was nationalised in 1948 and became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. [3]
The S&DJR station was on a fairly steep slope which took the railway up from the valley floor at Radstock into the Mendip Hills, heading south to the summit of the line at Masbury. It had extensive gardens which were cultivated by the station staff and won many prizes. [4] [5]
The station was mentioned in 1964 in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann. [6]
It was closed in 1966, with the closure of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, under the Beeching Axe. [7]
The station was sold in 1969 to a local school, and then in 1995 to the Wansdyke district council, [8] who leased it to the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust to restore to its 1950s condition. [9]
Today the trust runs an operational railway centre and museum at the site, and are relaying the 2 miles 2 chains (3.3 km) of track southwards up the gradient towards Chilcompton. [10] [11] The plan is to eventually operate a ride-round trip over the route, which would require restoration of the former Chilcompton railway tunnel. [12] A road bridge over the railway, north east of the station has been removed, therefore relaying track on this side of the station would be expensive.
Neighbouring land leased to the station restoration project that had been part of the grounds of the now-demolished mansion Norton House has now been transferred to Silver Street Nature Reserve. [13]
In November 2023, Somerset and Dorset Heritage Trust purchased track bed close to where the former railway tunnel linking Chilcompton and Midsomer Norton stations was located. [14] During this time, a track extension was discussed but nothing has since materialised.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Chilcompton Line and station closed | Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway LSWR & Midland Railways | Radstock North Line and station closed |
Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in Somerset, South West England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset.
Norton Radstock is a former civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, which covered the conurbation of Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Westfield. Created in 1933, the parish was abolished in 2011 and replaced by three smaller parishes.
Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about 9 miles (14 km) south-west of Bath and 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radstock built-up area had a population of 9,419 at the 2011 Census.
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Bath, 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Wells, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Frome, 12 miles (19 km) west of Trowbridge and 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Bristol. It has a population of around 13,000. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, but is now a town council in its own right. It is also part of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an English railway line connecting Bath and Bournemouth, with a branch from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater. Strictly speaking, the main line ran from Bath Junction to Broadstone, as the line between Broadstone and Bournemouth was owned by the London and South Western Railway, while the line between Bath Junction and Bath was owned by the Midland Railway.
The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust (S&DRHT) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England, that runs on a restored section of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The line is approximately 1 mile long and operates from Midsomer Norton South.
Chilcompton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 3.0 miles south-west of Westfield. It is on the B3139 road between Radstock and Wells, close to the A37.
The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a tunnel at Combe Hay, then via Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal. This link gave the Somerset coalfield access east toward London. The longest arm was 10.6 miles (17.1 km) long with 23 locks. From Midford an arm also ran via Writhlington to Radstock, with a tunnel at Wellow.
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) Sentinel locomotives were two small vertical-boilered, chain-driven steam locomotives for shunting. They were built by Sentinel Waggon Works, who also produced similar designs for industrial customers.
Kilmersdon is a village and civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells and Trowbridge in Wiltshire. The settlement is recorded in William I's Domesday book and dates back at least 1,000 years; though the core of the village dates from the mid nineteenth century. The parish includes the hamlets of Charlton, South View and Green Parlour.
The Radstock rail accident took place on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in south west England, on 7 August 1876. Two trains collided on a single track section, resulting in fifteen passengers being killed.
Chilcompton railway station was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Chilcompton in the county of Somerset in England and opened on 20 July 1874. Originally the station consisted of a single platform on the Down side with a station building and possibly also a siding. In 1876 a loop and second platform were opened on the Up side, controlled from a 16-lever signal-box on the Down platform, which also controlled access to the goods yard. The line to Binegar was doubled in 1885. In 1886 the line to Midsomer Norton and Radstock was doubled and a replacement 13 lever signal box provided just beyond the Binegar end of the Up platform. The station closed to goods in 1964 and the signal-box closed in 1965; passenger services were withdrawn when the SDJR closed on 7 March 1966.
The River Somer is a small river in Somerset, England.
The Somerset Coalfield in northern Somerset, England is an area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973. It is part of a larger coalfield which stretched into southern Gloucestershire. The Somerset coalfield stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and from Bath in the east to Nailsea in the west, a total area of about 240 square miles (622 km2). Most of the pits on the coalfield were concentrated in the Cam Brook, Wellow Brook and Nettlebridge Valleys and around Radstock and Farrington Gurney. The pits were grouped geographically, with clusters of pits close together working the same coal seams often under the same ownership. Many pits shared the trackways and tramways which connected them to the Somerset Coal Canal or railways for distribution.
The Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with Radstock, through Pensford and further into northern Somerset, to allow access to the Somerset Coalfield. The line ran almost due south from Bristol and was 16 miles (26 km) long.
Shillingstone railway station was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR), serving the village of Shillingstone in the English county of Dorset. Shillingstone is the last surviving example of a station built by the Dorset Central Railway.
Westfield is a village and civil parish in Bath and North East Somerset in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The village lies on the Fosse Way between the towns of Radstock and Midsomer Norton.
The New Somerset and Dorset Railway, formed in early 2009, aims to restore the complete line of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway as a modern transport system for the 21st century. The group also has a heritage aspect, to encourage future use by steam specials, etc. Work is currently concentrated on five sites, Midford - Midsomer Norton - Gartell - Shillingstone - Spetisbury. Some of these are operated by independent groups.
Midsomer Norton and Welton was a station on the Great Western Railway line from Bristol to Frome via Radstock. The station was originally named just Welton, being located in a valley at the village of Welton, Somerset. It closed to passengers in 1959 with the closure of the line to passenger traffic, and to goods in 1964.
Norton House was a mansion in Midsomer Norton, Somerset. It was built around 1789 by the Savage family, investors in mines in the Somerset Coalfield. It was demolished in 1937-8 to make way for housing but several features from the house and its estate survive to this day.