The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a 22.75-mile (36.6 km) heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset Council. The railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc, which is supported and minority-owned by the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) charitable trust and the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT). WSR operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains.
The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a 6.7-mile (10.8 km) heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tourists from the resorts of Torbay, who travel to Kingswear, where the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry takes them across the River Dart to Dartmouth.
The Looe Valley Line is an 8+3⁄4-mile (14 km) community railway from Liskeard to Looe in Cornwall, England, that follows the valley of the East Looe River for much of its course. It is operated by Great Western Railway.
The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary for about half of its route, from just outside Topsham to Exmouth, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the pied avocet, which lives in the estuary.
The Riviera Line is the railway between the city of Exeter, towns Dawlish and Teignmouth, and the English Riviera resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. Its tracks are shared with the Exeter to Plymouth Line along the South Devon sea wall. It is part of the Network Rail Route 12.
Brushford is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Dulverton and 12 miles (19 km) north of Tiverton in Devon, in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 535 in 243 households, reducing to 519 at the 2011 Census. It covers an area of 1,149 hectares (11 km2) of which 3 hectares (0.030 km2) is within the Exmoor National Park.
Morebath is an upland village in the county of Devon, England. It is mostly given over to sheep-farming, and situated on the southern edge of Exmoor.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with the Great Western Railway (GWR), which built its main line between London and Bristol, and in time formed part of a through route between London and Cornwall.
Worcester Shrub Hill is one of two railway stations serving the city of Worcester, England; the other is Worcester Foregate Street in the city centre. A third, Worcestershire Parkway, is located just outside the city to the south-east. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, operating here under the West Midlands Railway brand, and is also served by Great Western Railway.
Coombe Junction Halt railway station serves the villages of Coombe and Lamellion near Liskeard, Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated on the Looe Valley Line and operated by Great Western Railway. All trains on this line have to reverse at Coombe Junction, but very few continue the short distance into the platform to allow passengers to alight or join the train.
The Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR) was a cross-country line that connected Barnstaple in Devon, England, to the network of the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) near Taunton. It was opened in stages between 1871 and 1873 and closed in 1966. It served a mostly rural area although it carried some through services from east of Taunton to the seaside resort of Ilfracombe.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.
There are 22 disused railway stations on the Bristol to Exeter line between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids. The line was completed in 1844 at which time the temporary terminus at Beambridge was closed. The most recent closure was Tiverton Junction which was replaced by a new station} on a different site in 1986. 12 of the disused stations have structures that can still be seen from passing trains.
The Exe Valley Railway was a branch line built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Devon, England, to link its Bristol to Exeter line with its Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR), thereby connecting Exeter with Dulverton. The line was in use from 1884 until 1964.
The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, England. Whereas the GWR route from Exeter followed the coast to Newton Abbot and then went around the southern edge of Dartmoor, the LSWR route followed the northern and western margins of Dartmoor, passing through the towns of Crediton, Okehampton, and Tavistock.
Tiverton railway station served the town of Tiverton, Devon, England. It opened in 1848 as the terminus station of a broad gauge branch line from the Bristol and Exeter Railway main line: the main line junction station four miles away had originally been called Tiverton Road but was renamed as Tiverton Junction when the branch opened.
The Langport and Castle Cary Railway is a railway line from Castle Cary railway station to Cogload Junction near Taunton, Somerset, England, which reduced the length of the journey from London to Penzance by 20+1⁄4 miles (32.6 km).
Shillingford is a village two miles (3 km) northeast of Bampton on the River Batherm in Mid Devon, England, close to the border with West Somerset. It is near the Exe Valley.
Junction Road Halt, also known as Junction Road (for Hawkhurst), was a halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was located on the eastern side of the level crossing across the B2244 Junction Road near the hamlet of Udiam in East Sussex, England. Closed for passengers in 1954 and freight in 1961 with the line, The line through Junction Road Halt may yet be revived as the Rother Valley Railway, a preservation society, is proposing to reopen the line from Robertsbridge to Bodiam.
The Bristol to Exeter line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line in the West of England and runs from Bristol, to Exeter, from where it continues as the Exeter to Plymouth line. It was one of the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now part of the Network Rail system.
