Ashcott railway station

Last updated

Ashcott
Ashcott station site geograph-3239392-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Site of the station in 1995
Location Ashcott, Sedgemoor
England
Grid reference ST449397
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-grouping Somerset Central Railway
Post-grouping SR and LMS
Western Region of British Railways
Key dates
July 1856Station opened as Ashcott and Meare
1876Renamed Ashcott
7 March 1966Station closed

Ashcott railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Opened by the Somerset Central Railway in 1856 as Ashcott and Meare, the name changed to Ashcott in 1876. Consisting of a short wooden platform and station building, the station was next to a road level crossing. This was operated with a 10 lever ground frame.

Contents

History

The station was opened by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, a joint line run by a committee for the Midland Railway and the Southern Railway. The line became a joint operation of the Southern Railway and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after the grouping of 1923. It was placed in the Western Region when the railways were nationalised in 1948. The station closed when trains were withdrawn during the Beeching Axe, taking effect on 7 March 1966.

Eclipse Peat Company

.5 miles (0.80 km) west of Ashcott existed Alexander Siding, which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the Eclipse Peat Works 2 ft (610 mm) industrial tramway system, and hence distribution of cut peat products across the United Kingdom. [1] The Eclipse also had a level crossing on the SD&JR branch further towards Glastonbury.

On 19 August 1949, [2] a British Railways passenger train from Highbridge collided with an Eclipse narrow gauge diesel locomotive crossing on the level and left the track, ending up in the Glastonbury Canal. [3]

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Glastonbury and Street
Line and station closed
  Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
LSWR and Midland Railways
  Shapwick
Line and station closed

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Ashcott Human settlement in England

Ashcott is a small village and civil parish located in the Sedgemoor area of Somerset in the south-west of England. The village has a population of 1,186. The parish includes the hamlets of Ashcott Corner, Berhill, Buscott, Nythe and Pedwell.

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, 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.

Highbridge, Somerset Human settlement in England

Highbridge is a small, former market town on the edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. It is in the County of Somerset, and is about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Taunton, the county town of Somerset. It is no longer a market town, the market site is now a housing estate. Highbridge is in the District of Sedgemoor, being about 7 miles (11 km) north of Bridgwater, the district's administrative centre. Highbridge closely neighbours Burnham-on-Sea, forming part of the combined parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge and shares a town council with the resort town. The 2001 Census recorded Highbridge's population as 5,986. In the 2011 Census the population of the town was included in the ward of Highbridge and Burnham Marine, which totalled 7,555.

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Highbridge and Burnham railway station

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Ascott-under-Wychwood railway station

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Alsager railway station

Alsager railway station serves the town of Alsager in Cheshire, England. It stands next to a level crossing and is approximately 600 yards from the town centre. The station is 6 12 miles (10.5 km) east of Crewe on the Crewe to Derby Line which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.

Evercreech Junction railway station

Evercreech Junction was a railway station at Evercreech on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.

Blandford Forum railway station

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Corfe Mullen Halt was a station in the English county of Dorset. It was located between Bailey Gate and Broadstone stations on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. This section was built to enable trains to avoid the time-consuming reversal at Wimborne. The station consisted of a single platform and shelter lit by a solitary gas lamp.

Charlton Marshall Halt railway station

Charlton Marshall Halt was a station in the English county of Dorset. It was located between Blandford Forum and Bailey Gate on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The station consisted of two short platforms and shelters.

Henstridge railway station

Henstridge railway station was a station at Henstridge in the county of Somerset, in England. It was located on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Sited on a single line stretch, the station had one short platform with a modest station building. A siding was controlled from a ground frame, and an adjacent level crossing operated by hand.

Pylle railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Opened 3 February 1862 on the original S&DJR main line, the railway was reduced to branch status when the extension from Evercreech Junction to Bath was opened. It was built with a passing loop on the single line however the loop was removed in 1929 at the same time as the signal box. It was reduced to halt status on 4 November 1957 and closed with the railway, on 7 March 1966.

West Pennard railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Opened on 3 February 1862, it was reduced to halt status on 25 June 1962. Originally the S&DJR main line, the railway was reduced to branch status when the extension to Bath was built. A passing point on the single line, the station was adjacent to a level crossing on the A361 road from Shepton Mallet to Glastonbury. The station closed with the railway on 7 March 1966.

Glastonbury and Street railway station

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. It was the junction for the short branch line to Wells which closed in 1951.

Polsham railway station

Polsham was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Railway in the village of Polsham, Somerset in England.

Shapwick railway station

Shapwick railway station was a railway station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Opened by the Somerset Central Railway in 1854, the station consisted of a goods yard, a passing loop with two platforms, and a wooden station building which burned down and was replaced in 1900. The passing-loop and a level crossing were operated from a 17-lever signal box, which was opened in 1901 to replace one destroyed in the 1900 fire. The station was two and a half miles from the village of Shapwick and appeared in some early timetables as "Shapwick Road", though this does not seem to have ever been an official name. The station closed with the SDJR on 7 March 1966.

Bason Bridge railway station

Bason Bridge railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, serving the village of East Huntspill.

Asfordby railway station Former railway station in Leicestershire, England

Asfordby railway station was a station serving the villages of Asfordby and Kirby Bellars in Leicestershire. The station was situated at a level crossing on the road between the two villages. It opened in 1846 and was originally named Kirby, but had been renamed Asfordby by 1863. It closed to passengers in 1951 but remained in use for goods until 1964.

Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels

Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels, in South West England has occurred since the area was first drained by the Romans, and continues today on an area of less than 0.5% of the total geography. The modern system in recycling land back to farm use and conservation has resulted in the creation of numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

References

  1. "Ashcott". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 44. ISBN   0-906899-01-X.
  3. "Accidents". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.

Coordinates: 51°09′14″N2°47′21″W / 51.15389°N 2.78921°W / 51.15389; -2.78921