Roadwater railway station

Roadwater
General information
Location	Roadwater, Somerset England
Coordinates	51°08′06″N3°23′04″W / 51.1351°N 3.3845°W / 51.1351; -3.3845
Grid reference	ST032382
Platforms	1 [1] [2] [3] [4]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	West Somerset Mineral Railway
Key dates
April 1857	Opened for goods [5]
4 September 1865	Opened for passengers [6]
7 November 1898	Closed
1907	Reopened
1910	Closed [7] [8] [9]

v t e West Somerset Mineral Railway
Legend
Western Pier Eastern Pier Watchet Harbour West Somerset Railway to Taunton Watchet Watchet (WSR) Engine shed Washford (WSR) Washford West Somerset Railway to Minehead Torre Clitsome Roadwater Loading platform Timwood Tunnel Comberow Colton Mine Inclines Winding houses  B3224  2ft Gauge Tramway Brendon Hill Wooden viaduct Loading platform Raleigh's Cross Mine Carnarvon New Pit Carnarvon Old Pit Burrow Farm Mine Bearland Wood Mine Betsy Mine Incline Luxborough Road Horse whim Baker's Pit Langham Hill Pit Aerial ropeway Gupworthy Old Pit Kennesome Hill Mine Gupworthy New Pit Horse-drawn tramway Gupworthy Unbuilt extensions Joyce's Cleeve Heath Poult

The Roadwater railway station was an intermediate station on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which was constructed primarily to transport iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. The line was isolated from other rail networks, though it passed beneath what is now the West Somerset Railway north of Roadwater.

The line's seven stations were designed by Rice Hopkins. ^[10] Roadwater was one of five stations that shared a distinctive architectural style. It provided typical goods services, ^[11] as well as coal and passenger facilities. ^[12] A Temperance Hall was also constructed nearby. ^{[13] [14]}

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. ^[15] Passengers were transported from Comberow up a rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and onward to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk. ^[16]

The initial passenger service operated with four trains daily in each direction. ^[17]

Like other railways built to support a single industry, such as iron ore lines in Cumbria, the WSMR’s fortunes were tied to the iron industry. Iron and steel production was highly susceptible to economic cycles and faced a severe downturn in the 1870s, worsened by imports of cheaper, higher-quality ore from abroad. The iron mines that provided the WSMR's primary traffic gradually ceased operations between 1879 and 1883. Although the line did not close immediately, only two mixed trains continued to run daily until 1898, when all traffic ceased. ^[18]

In 1907, the Somerset Mineral Syndicate attempted to revive the line by reopening Colton mine and starting a new bore at Timwood. Apart from a special reopening service on 4 July 1907, ^[19] no passenger service was offered. This venture ultimately collapsed in March 1910. ^{[20] [21]}

Abandonment

After its closure in 1910, the line through Roadwater received minimal maintenance, ^{[22] [23]} until its tracks were requisitioned for the war effort in 1917.

With no track, rolling stock, or future prospects, an Act of Parliament was sought and passed to formally abandon the railway. Its assets were auctioned on 8 August 1924, and the company was officially wound up in 1925. ^[24]

Evocative contemporary descriptions of the line during its later years have been preserved. ^[25]

Afterlife

By 2016, much of the route could still be traced on the ground, in maps, and on satellite images. The incline from Comberow to Brendon Hill is a listed structure. Roadwater station has been extended into a bungalow but remains unmistakably recognizable as a former railway station. ^[26]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Clitsome Line and station closed		West Somerset Mineral Railway		Comberow Line and station closed

References

1. Sellick 1981, p. 44.
2. Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 11.
3. Jones 2011, pp. 217, 239–241 & 350–351.
4. Holland 2015, p. 31.
5. Sellick 1981, p. 5.
6. Thomas 1966.
7. Oakley 2002.
8. Sellick 1981, p. 7.
9. Quick 2009, pp. 399 & 459.
10. Jones 2011, pp. 100–104 & 377.
11. Jones 2011, p. 259.
12. Jones 2011, pp. 239–241.
13. "Roadwater Temperance Hall 1877". West Somerset Mineral Railway Project.
14. Jones 2011, p. 350.
15. Carpenter 1988, p. 44.
16. Sellick 1981, p. 6.
17. Sellick 1970, pp. 104–105.
18. Jones 2011, p. 399.
19. Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 10.
20. Sellick 1970, p. 76.
21. Jones 2011, p. 327.
22. Sellick 1981, p. 35.
23. Jones 2011, pp. 349 & 360.
24. Jones 2011, p. 352.
25. Sellick 1970, pp. 66–67, 76–77.
26. Sellick 1981, p. 55.

Sources

• Carpenter, Roger (Winter 1988). Karau, Paul; Beale, Gerry (eds.). "Comberow Incline - West Somerset Mineral Railway". British Railway Journal (20). Didcot: Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISSN   0265-4105.
• Holland, Julian (2015). Exploring Britain's Lost Railways. Glasgow: Harper Collins. ISBN   978-0-00-794901-4.
• 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.
• Oakley, Mike (2002). Somerset Railway Stations. Wimborne Minster: Dovecote Press. ISBN   978-1-904349-09-9.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & 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 (2nd ed.). 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.
• 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.

Further reading

• Dale, Peter (2001). Somerset's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84033-171-4.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Branch Line to Minehead: Preservation Perfection. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN   978-0-906520-80-2.

External links

• "The station on a 1902 OS map with overlays". National Library of Scotland.
• "Line and features overlain on OS maps". Rail Map Online.
• "The station and its history". Disused Stations.
• "A walk on the West Somerset Mineral Railway". Friends of the West Somerset Railway. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
• "West Somerset Mineral line inclines". Dr. Mark Hows.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Industrial Railway Record.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Exmoor National Park.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Transport Trust.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway". John Speller.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway Project". Exmoor National Park.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway Project". The Project itself.
• "West Somerset Mineral Railway". The Train Web.
• "West Somerset Mineral Line Association". The Association itself.