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.

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 The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

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 The station closed when trains were withdrawn during the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 The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

, taking effect on 7 March 1966.

Eclipse Peat Company

west of Ashcott existed ''Alexander Siding'', which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the

Eclipse Peat Works An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three cel ...

industrial tramway system, and hence distribution of cut peat products across the United Kingdom. The Eclipse also had a level crossing on the SD&JR branch further towards Glastonbury. On 19 August 1949, a

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

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.

References

{{coord, 51.15389, -2.78921, type:railwaystation_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST449397), display=title Disused railway stations in Somerset Former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England

History

Eclipse Peat Company

Further reading

References