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General information | |||||
Location | Yeovil, South Somerset England | ||||
Coordinates | 50°56′42″N2°36′47″W / 50.945°N 2.613°W | ||||
Grid reference | ST570163 | ||||
Managed by | Great Western Railway | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | YVP | ||||
Classification | DfT category E | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | Great Western Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1854 | Opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | ![]() | ||||
2020/21 | ![]() | ||||
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2021/22 | ![]() | ||||
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2022/23 | ![]() | ||||
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2023/24 | ![]() | ||||
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Yeovil Pen Mill is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Yeovil,Somerset,England. It is situated just under a mile to the east of the town centre. The station is located 59.5 miles (96 km) south of Bristol Temple Meads,on the Heart of Wessex Line. It is managed by Great Western Railway,who operate services along with South Western Railway.
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) as part of the Wilts,Somerset and Weymouth route on 1 September 1856. The route was completed to Weymouth on 20 January 1857. The Bristol and Exeter Railway's (B&ER) line from Taunton,which initially terminated at Yeovil Hendford,was extended to connect with the GWR at Yeovil Pen Mill from 2 February 1857. Both these lines were built using the 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge. The GWR line was converted to what become the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in June 1874. The B&ER line was mixed and had trains of both gauges from 12 November 1868 but broad gauge trains ceased operation after 30 June 1879 by which time the B&ER had been taken over by the GWR. [1]
The station originally had two platforms, one for each direction, with a train shed for protection. A fire on 18 April 1859 resulted in one building being burnt down. All trains then used the 'up' platform (that built for trains towards Frome and London Paddington) until the station was rebuilt in the 1880s. [1]
The GWR opened a locomotive depot at the station in September 1856, which operated until January 1959, when it was closed and the locomotives transferred to Yeovil Town depot.
A connection between the GWR line and the Southern Railway line to Exeter was established during World War II to allow trains direct access between Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill. This was opened on 13 October 1943 and offered a new route for trains of war materials as well as a diversion route in the event of bomb damage. [1]
A passenger train, hauled by GWR City Class 4-4-0 No. 3710 City of Bath, overran a signal on 8 August 1913 and hit the rear of another passenger train. Two people were killed and ten injured. [2] [3]
Yeovil Pen Mill has three platform faces but only two are in use. Platform 1 is used predominantly by trains heading north and platform 3 is used mostly by trains heading south to Weymouth. The former platform 2 is now unused; there is only a single track between platforms 1 and 2 but trains open their doors on the platform 1 side.
Great Western Railway operate the majority of services at Pen Mill on their route between Weymouth and Gloucester, via Bristol Temple Meads. [11]
South Western Railway operate a few services between London Waterloo and Pen Mill, some via Yeovil Junction and others via Westbury. [12]
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
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Castle Cary | Great Western Railway Heart of Wessex Line | Thornford | ||
Castle Cary | South Western Railway Heart of Wessex Line | Yeovil Junction |
The town is also served by Yeovil Junction, around two miles away, on the West of England Main Line; it is also served by South Western Railway. Commencing in December 2015, a limited regular passenger service began using the connection between the two lines.
Yeovil Junction is the busier, but less central, of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in Somerset, England; the other is Yeovil Pen Mill. The station is sited 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the town, in the village of Stoford; although Yeovil is in Somerset, the station was in Dorset until 1991. It is located 122 miles 48 chains (197.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, was an English railway line jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bath and Bournemouth, with a branch in Somerset from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater. Strictly speaking, its main line only ran from Bath Junction to Broadstone, as the Bath to Bath Junction section was wholly owned by the MR and the Broadstone to Bournemouth section was owned by the LSWR.
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.
Cheltenham Spa railway station serves the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. Situated on the Bristol–Birmingham main line, it is managed by Great Western Railway, although most services are operated by CrossCountry. The station is about one mile from the town centre. The official name of the station is Cheltenham, however when the station was renamed in 1925, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway chose to add Spa to the station name. It is a regional interchange and the busiest station in Gloucestershire, as well as one of the busiest railway stations in South West England.
Gloucester, formerly known as Gloucester Central, is a railway station serving the city of Gloucester in England. It is located 114 miles 4 chains (183.5 km) west of London Paddington, via Stroud.
Cam and Dursley railway station is a railway station serving the large village of Cam and the market town of Dursley in Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the main Bristol-Birmingham line, between Yate and Gloucester, at a site close to where Coaley Junction railway station was situated from 1856 to 1965.
Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
Dorchester West is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England, the other is Dorchester South. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates all services that stop here. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line between Castle Cary and Weymouth, at the southern end of a single track section from Maiden Newton. It is sited 161.63 mi (260.12 km) from London Paddington, via Swindon and Westbury. The line becomes double at the station and remains so to just before nearby Dorchester Junction, where the line joins the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.
Maiden Newton railway station is a railway station serving the village of Maiden Newton in Dorset, England. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line, 154.12 miles from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Swindon and Westbury.
Castle Cary railway station is on the Reading to Taunton line 115.25 miles (185.48 km) south west of London Paddington and the Bristol to Weymouth line 47.75 miles (77 km) south of Bristol Temple Meads. The two routes share tracks between Westbury and Castle Cary stations and are both operated by Great Western Railway, which also manages the station. The station is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the market town of Castle Cary and 5 miles (8 km) south of Shepton Mallet in a largely rural area of Somerset, England.
Bruton railway station serves a largely rural area in the county of Somerset in England. The station is situated in the market town of Bruton. The station is on the Bristol to Weymouth line some 32.75 miles (53 km) south of Bath Spa. Trains on the Reading to Taunton line pass through the station but do not normally stop. Services are operated by Great Western Railway and South Western Railway.
Highbridge and Burnham railway station is situated on the Bristol Temple Meads - Exeter St David's Line in the town of Highbridge, Somerset and also serves the neighbouring town of Burnham-on-Sea. It is 145 miles 25 chains from the zero point at London Paddington via Box. It is unstaffed but managed by Great Western Railway who operate all the regular services.
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.
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, running between Yatton and Witham. It was opened in parts: the first section connecting Shepton Mallet to Witham, later extended to Wells, was built by the East Somerset Railway from 1858. Later the Bristol and Exeter Railway built their branch line from Yatton to Wells, but the two lines were prevented for a time from joining up. Eventually the gap was closed, and the line became a simple through line, operated by the Great Western Railway.
Frome railway station serves a largely rural area of the county of Somerset in England, and is situated in the town of Frome. The station is located on a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long branch line which loops off the main line railway, which carries services on both the Reading to Taunton line and Bristol to Weymouth route. Most of the trains which take the loop line in order to serve Frome station are on the Bristol to Weymouth route, and most trains on the Reading to Taunton line by-pass the station on the main line. The station is 22.25 miles (36 km) south of Bath Spa on the Bristol to Weymouth line, it is owned by Network Rail and is operated by Great Western Railway.
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.
The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway from Westbury to Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Wessex Main Line.
The Reading–Taunton line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line from which it diverges at Reading railway station. It runs to Cogload Junction where it joins the Bristol to Exeter and Penzance line.
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.
The Yeovil–Taunton line was a railway line in England, built by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) to connect its main line with the market town of Yeovil in Somerset. It opened in 1853, using the broad gauge of 7 ft 1⁄4 in and was the first railway to serve Yeovil. It ran from a junction at Durston although, in later years, passenger trains on the line ran through to and from Taunton where better main and branch line connections could be made.