Avonmouth railway station was the terminus of the

Bristol Port Railway and Pier The Bristol Port Railway and Pier (occasionally referred to as the Bristol Port and Pier Railway) was a railway in Bristol, England. Route The Bristol Port Railway and Pier company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at (originally called Clifton), ...

, a self-contained railway which ran along the River Avon in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. The station, which opened in 1865, was adjacent to a pier on the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

. It had two platforms and an adjacent hotel, as well as an engine shed and water tank. The station was closed in 1902 as the land was required for the expansion of

Avonmouth Docks The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avon ...

, although it remained in use for workers' trains until 1903. The hotel continued in operation until 1926, when it too was demolished to make way for the docks. The station site is now in the middle of Avonmouth Docks.

History

Construction

The station was opened on 6 March 1865 when services began on the

(BPRP), a self-contained railway owned by the

Bristol Corporation Bristol City Council, formerly known as The Bristol Corporation (and colloquially as "The Corporation"), is the local government authority governing the city of Bristol, England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, successive royal c ...

. The line ran along the north bank of the River Avon in

, England, to a deep water pier on the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

. The route was standard gauge and mostly single track, with Avonmouth being the line's northern terminus, from the southern terminus at .Railways in the United Kingdom are, for historical reasons, measured in miles and chains. There are 80 chains to the mile. Avonmouth had two tracks, aligned roughly north–south, with a platform on either side. The western platform was long, the eastern one . The eastern platform had a booking office, and was connected by a path to the neighbouring Avonmouth Hotel. A gate led to a pontoon and floating bridge across to a -long pier, which opened on 3 June 1865. The western platform fell out of use early in the station's operation. The station also had an engine shed and water tank.

Operation and closure

The BPRP ran into trouble by 1871 when the terminal pier at Avonmouth became difficult to use due to a build-up of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

. With no prospect of a proper dock being funded without a connection to the national rail network, the

Clifton Extension Railway The Clifton Extension Railway was a joint railway in Bristol, owned by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Midland Railway (MR) companies. Description of line The railway ran from a junction with the GWR at Narroways Hill, just north of Sta ...

(CER) was approved. This was a joint venture by the BPRP,

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

. It ran from Sneyd Park Junction, south of , via , to join up with the national network at Narroways Hill Junction. The new line opened in 1877, but passenger trains from the national network terminated at Clifton Down as the link from Clifton to Sneyd Park Junction was not cleared for passenger use until 3 August 1878. Even after services were allowed to run, the Midland and Great Western Railways did not think the BPRP track was in a suitable condition and so refused to run any passenger trains beyond Clifton Down. When through services finally began operation in 1885, they did not reach the original Avonmouth terminus, instead running to (the modern day Avonmouth station), back down the line towards Bristol. Despite the increased traffic the BPRP suffered financially, and was taken over by the CER in 1890. A single-track, freight-only line was built past the Avonmouth railway station in 1900, linking to the

Bristol and South Wales Union Railway The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry w ...

at . The expansion of Avonmouth Docks, and particularly the construction of Royal Edward Dock, led to the closure of Avonmouth station, as the land was required for construction. Services for the general public were withdrawn on 1 October 1902, but the station was used for unadvertised workers' trains until 15 May 1903, with the official closure the following day. After the closure of the station, all trains terminated at Avonmouth Dock. The station site is now in the middle of Avonmouth Docks.

The Avonmouth Hotel

When the station opened, the surrounding area was almost entirely rural, and would remain so throughout the station's existence. Indeed, in 1902, John L Dunk wrote in

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in t ...

that he could not think why trains ran only to an inn and a few cottages. The area did however see some development, as the Avonmouth Hotel was built adjacent to the station, as well as of pleasure gardens. The gardens boasted a concert hall, as well as an ornamental lake, and hosted fêtes at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...

. Despite

excursion train An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customer ...

s to the gardens, they were not viable financially. The hotel remained in business after the station's closure, albeit isolated from public transport. It provided accommodation for many Europeans emigrating to the Americas via Avonmouth, and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it housed the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. It was finally demolished in 1926 when the Royal Edward Dock was expanded.

Notes

References