Ashcott railway station
Ashcott railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. 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.
Ashcott | |
|---|---|
 Site of the station in 1995 | |
| Location | Ashcott, Sedgemoor England |
| Grid reference | ST449397 |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Pre-grouping | Somerset Central Railway |
| Post-grouping | SR and LMS Western Region of British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| July 1856 | Station opened as Ashcott and Meare |
| 1876 | Renamed Ashcott |
| 7 March 1966 | Station closed |
History
The station was opened by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, a joint line run by a committee for the Midland Railway 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 The station closed when trains were withdrawn during the Beeching Axe, taking effect on 7 March 1966.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
.5 miles (0.80 km) west of Ashcott existed Alexander Siding, which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the Eclipse Peat Works 2 ft (610 mm) industrial tramway system, and hence distribution of cut peat products across the United Kingdom.[1] The Eclipse also had a level crossing on the SD&JR branch further towards Glastonbury.
On 19 August 1949,[2] 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.[3]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glastonbury and Street Line and station closed |
Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway LSWR and Midland Railways |
Shapwick Line and station closed |
Further reading
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120207022852/http://www.sdjr.net/locations/ashcott.html
- Station on navigable O.S. map
References
- "Ashcott". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
- "Accidents". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.