Roadwater railway station
Roadwater | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Roadwater, Somerset England |
| Coordinates | 51°08′06″N 3°23′04″W / 51.1351°N 3.3845°W |
| Grid reference | ST032382 |
| Platforms | 1[1][2][3][4] |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | West Somerset Mineral Railway |
| Key dates | |
| April 1857 | Opened for goods[5] |
| 4 September 1865 | Opened for passengers[6] |
| 7 November 1898 | Closed |
| 1907 | Reopened |
| 1910 | Closed[7][8][9] |
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The Roadwater railway station was an intermediate station on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which was built primarily to carry iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. The line was unconnected to any other, though it passed under what is now the West Somerset Railway north of Roadwater.
The line's seven stations were designed by Rice Hopkins.[10] Roadwater was one of the five which showed a clear family resemblance. It offered the usual goods,[11] coal and passenger facilities.[12] A Temperance Hall was built nearby.[13][14]
Services[edit]
The stone-built station opened for goods traffic in 1857. A passenger service began in September 1865, connecting Watchet with the village of Washford and the hamlets of Roadwater and Comberow.[15] Passengers were carried from Comberow up a rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and on to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk.[16]
The initial passenger service consisted of four trains a day out and back.[17]
Like other railways built to serve one industry, such as iron ore carrying lines in Cumbria, the WSMR's fortunes were at the mercy of that industry. Iron and steel making was given to boom and bust and suffered a significant downturn in the 1870s, exacerbated by imports of cheaper and better ore from abroad. The iron mines which provided the WSMR's staple traffic stuttered to complete closure between 1879 and 1883. The line did not close immediately, two mixed trains a day continued to run until 1898, when all traffic ceased.[18]
In 1907 the Somerset Mineral Syndicate made an attempt to revive the line, reopening Colton mine and starting a new bore at Timwood. Apart from a reopening day special on 4 July 1907[19] no passenger service was provided. The venture collapsed in March 1910.[20][21]
Abandonment[edit]
After closure in 1910 the line through Roadwater was subject to minimal maintenance[22][23] until its metals were requisitioned for the war effort in 1917.
With neither track, rolling stock nor prospects an Act of Parliament was sought and passed to abandon the railway. Its assets were auctioned on 8 August 1924 and the company was wound up in 1925.[24]
Evocative contemporary descriptions of the line in its later years have been preserved.[25]
Afterlife[edit]
By 2016 much of the route could still be traced on the ground, on maps and on satellite images. The incline from Comberow to Brendon Hill is a Listed structure. Roadwater station has been extended as a bungalow, but remains unmistakably a former railway station.[26]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clitsome Line and station closed |
West Somerset Mineral Railway | Comberow Line and station closed |
References[edit]
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 44.
- ^ Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 11.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 217, 239-241 & 350-1.
- ^ Holland 2015, p. 31.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 5.
- ^ Thomas 1966.
- ^ Oakley 2002.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 7.
- ^ Quick 2009, pp. 399 & 459.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 100-104 & 377.
- ^ Jones 2011, p. 259.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 239–241.
- ^ "Roadwater Temperance Hall 1877". West Somerset Mineral Railway Project.
- ^ Jones 2011, p. 350.
- ^ Carpenter 1988, p. 44.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 6.
- ^ Sellick 1970, pp. 104–5.
- ^ Jones 2011, p. 399.
- ^ Scott-Morgan 1980, p. 10.
- ^ Sellick 1970, p. 76.
- ^ Jones 2011, p. 327.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 35.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 349 & 360.
- ^ Jones 2011, p. 352.
- ^ Sellick 1970, pp. 66–67, 76–77.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 55.
Sources[edit]
- Carpenter, Roger (Winter 1988). Karau, Paul; Beale, Gerry (eds.). "Comberow Incline - West Somerset Mineral Railway". British Railway Journal (20). Didcot: Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISSN 0265-4105.
- Holland, Julian (2015). Exploring Britain's Lost Railways. Glasgow: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-794901-4.
- Jones, Michael H. (2011). The Brendon Hills Iron Mines and the West Somerset Mineral Railway. Lydney: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899889-53-2. OCLC 795179029.
- Oakley, Mike (2002). Somerset Railway Stations. Wimborne Minster: Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-09-9.
- Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
- Scott-Morgan, John (1980). British Independent Light Railways. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7933-2.
- Sellick, Roger J. (1981) [1976]. The Old Mineral Line (2nd ed.). Dulverton: Exmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-84114-692-8.
- Sellick, Roger J. (1970) [1962]. The West Somerset Mineral Railway and the story of the Brendon Hills Iron Mines (2nd ed.). Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4961-8.
- Thomas, David St John (1966). Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The West Country v. 1. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-946537-17-4.
Further reading[edit]
- Dale, Peter (2001). Somerset's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-171-4.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Branch Line to Minehead: Preservation Perfection. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-0-906520-80-2.
External links[edit]
- "The station on a 1902 OS map with overlays". National Library of Scotland.
- "Line and features overlain on OS maps". Rail Map Online.
- "The station and its history". Disused Stations.
- "A walk on the West Somerset Mineral Railway". Friends of the West Somerset Railway. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
- "West Somerset Mineral line inclines". Dr. Mark Hows.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Industrial Railway Record.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Exmoor National Park.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway". Transport Trust.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway". John Speller.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway Project". Exmoor National Park.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway Project". The Project itself.
- "West Somerset Mineral Railway". The Train Web.
- "West Somerset Mineral Line Association". The Association itself.