Williton railway station in

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. Williton sta ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, was opened by the

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which i ...

in 1862 and closed by British Rail in 1971. It was reopened in 1976 as a heritage line. The locomotive workshops here are the headquarters of the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group (DEPG).

History

The station opened on 31 March 1862 when the West Somerset Railway started operations between

Norton Junction Worcestershire Parkway is a split-level railway station where the Cotswold and Cross Country lines cross near Norton, Worcester, England. It opened on 23 February 2020. Purpose The Cross Country Route from Birmingham to Cardiff, Bristol a ...

and . A virtual copy of , it consisted of a single

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

on the down-side (left) of trains travelling towards Watchet. With the extension of the West Somerset Railway from to , a loop became necessary at a mid-way point on the line. Hence in 1874 a second broad gauge track and associated platform was opened, allowing trains to pass within the station. To enable this, a new road bridge was built at the south end of the station before the loop was opened, but the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

next to the platform was left in place. The railway was operated from its opening by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, which became a part of the Great Western Railway in 1876. The West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922, when it too was absorbed by the Great Western. In 1907, and again in 1937, the passing loop was extended to allow longer summer through-trains on their way to to pass at Williton. In 1948, the line became a part of the

Western Region of British Railways The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex-Great We ...

as a result of nationalisation in 1948, after which in the 1960s the loop line was shortened back towards the original level crossing point. The station closed on 4 January 1971. On 28 August 1976, a new West Somerset Railway reopened the station. It was the terminus of the line from until 7 May 1978 when the line was extended to . The goods shed and yard have since been adapted for restoring and repairing locomotives and carriages.

Description

Williton_Highbridge_Nursery_topiary_garden

The main station building is on the northbound platform, being typical of a Bristol and Exeter Railway stations of the 1860s complete with an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

chimney, and next door is a matching small cafe. To the south is the signal box which dates from 1875, the only Bristol and Exeter Railway one still in use, it still operates the signals and overlooks the level crossing at the south end of the station. Beyond this is a small store which dates from 1862, and the road bridge. On the north side of the station building is the goods shed, now used as a diesel heritage visitor centre, and the locomotive workshops. The opposite platform was built in 1874 (the original broad gauge loading gauge still reflected in the platform's spacing), and has always been the site of a wooden waiting room. Behind this platform is a

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

hedge garden which is over 100 years old. The original B&ER footbridge was installed towards the south end of the station close to the signal box, but was removed by British Railways in the 1960s, when they shortened the passing loop. A new original GWR footbridge that had previously been in use at

Trowbridge railway station Trowbridge railway station is a railway station on the Wessex Main Line serving the town of Trowbridge in Wiltshire, England. The station is south east of and is managed by Great Western Railway. Originally opened by the Wilts, Somerset an ...

, was brought into use on the north side of the main station building on 16 July 2011, so that people can cross to the second platform without having to cross the tracks on the level crossing. The newspaper kiosk, plate layers hut, signal box, waiting room and east platform and booking office are

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Railway workshops

The station is a major site for the WSR's workshops. The former

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

was converted for use by the DEPG as a locomotive workshop; this has since been supplemented by a purpose-built workshop nearby. At the far end of the station yard is a pre-fabricated building that is used for steam locomotive and coach overhauls by the

West Somerset Railway Association The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which i ...

, the volunteer supporters of the West Somerset Railway; it was originally erected at

Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...

in 1899 and is Grade II listed and was donated by Tarmac Ltd following the closure of the works.

Services

Trains run between and at weekends and on some other days from March to October, daily during the late spring and summer, and on certain days during the winter.

References

External links

Williton Station website
{{Somerset railway stations West Somerset Railway Heritage railway stations in Somerset Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1971 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1976 Former Great Western Railway stations Grade II listed buildings in West Somerset Grade II listed railway stations 1862 establishments in England