Wanstrow railway station was a small station on the East Somerset Railway serving the village of Wanstrow in Somerset. The East Somerset Railway opened between its junction with the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway at Witham and

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

in 1858, but the railway company did not build a station at Wanstrow. The cost of a building a station was estimated at between £600 and £800, and annual costs of £100. With other stations at Bruton four miles away, and Witham only two miles distant, it was considered there would be very little traffic. Local people paid for a small building, and a platform was built later. The station opened on 1 January 1860. The East Somerset Railway was extended to Wells in 1862 and then, in 1878, linked through Wells to the

Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & 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 ...

Cheddar Valley line 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 fr ...

. With both the railway companies involved coming under the ownership of the

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 ...

, through services began between Witham and

Yatton Yatton is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located south-west of Bristol. Its population in 2011 was 7,552. The parish includes Clav ...

. Wanstrow station was one of the smallest stations on this line, and for many years the platform was only long enough for two railway coaches. It was unstaffed until 1909 and the buildings were wooden. It closed to passenger traffic with the rest of the line on 9 September 1963 and was then demolished, although the line through the site is still used for goods traffic from local quarries and for transport to and from the preserved East Somerset line.

References

* ''Somerset Railway Stations'', Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, Wimborne, 2002. Disused railway stations in Somerset Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1860 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1963 Former Great Western Railway stations {{Somerset-struct-stub