Ashcott railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an English railway line connecting Bath (in north-east Somerset) and Bournemouth (now in south-east Dorset but then in Hampshire), with a branch from Evercreech ...

. 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 Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, th ...

History

The station was opened by the

, a joint line run by a committee for the

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 ama ...

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 The station closed when trains were withdrawn during the Beeching Axe, taking effect on 7 March 1966.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

west of Ashcott existed ''Alexander Siding'', which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the Eclipse Peat Works industrial tramway system, and hence distribution of cut

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

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 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 The Glastonbury Canal ran for approximately through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge in Somerset, England, where it entered the River Parrett and from there the Bristol Channel. The canal was authorised by Parliament in 1827 and op ...

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