Brendon Hill railway station

Brendon Hill

Derelict wheelhouse at the summit of Brendon Hill incline
Location
Place Brendon Hill
Area Somerset
Coordinates 51°06′00″N 3°23′51″W / 51.1000°N 3.3975°W / 51.1000; -3.3975Coordinates: 51°06′00″N 3°23′51″W / 51.1000°N 3.3975°W / 51.1000; -3.3975
Grid reference ST022343
Operations
Original company West Somerset Mineral Railway
Platforms 1[1]
History
March 1861 Opened for goods[2]
7 November 1898 Closed
1907 Reopened
1910 Closed[3][4]
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal
West Somerset
Mineral Railway (WSMR)
Legend
Western Pier
Eastern Pier
Watchet Harbour
West Somerset Railway
to Taunton
Watchet
Watchet (WSR)
Engine shed
Washford (WSR)
Washford
West Somerset Railway
to Minehead
Roadwater
Timwood Tunnel
Comberow
Colton Mine
Inclines
Winding houses
B3224
2ft Gauge
Tramway
Brendon Hill
Raleigh's Cross Mine
Luxborough Road
Langham Hill Mine
Aerial ropeway
Gupworthy New Pit
Kennesome Hill Mine
Gupworthy
Extension not built
Hoult Point

Brendon Hill 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 south of the village of Watchet. The station was located at the top of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4.

The station was built in anticipation of offering the usual goods and passenger facilities, but no regular passenger service ever ran south of Comberow. The "Disused Stations" website adds that the station was sometimes referred to as "Raleigh's Cross".

Services

The stone-built station opened for goods traffic in 1861. The railway introduced a passenger service in September 1865, connecting Watchet with the village of Washford and the hamlets of Roadwater and Comberow. Passengers were carried from Comberow up the rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and on to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk.[5]

The initial passenger service consisted of four trains a day out and back.

Like other railways built to serve one industry, such as iron ore carrying lines in Cumbria, their 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.

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[6] no passenger service was provided. The Colton mine was two miles from Brendon Hill, so the Syndicate built a 2 ft gauge steam-hauled tramway, complete with its own rope-hauled incline, to bring iron ore from the pit to Brendon Hill, where it was tipped into standard gauge wagons to be lowered down the main incline to Comberow then hauled to Watchet harbour bound for the furnaces of Ebbw Vale.[7]

The venture collapsed in March 1910.

Abandonment

After closure in 1910 the line was subject to minimal maintenance[8] 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.

Afterlife

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.

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Comberow
Line and station closed
  West Somerset Mineral Railway   Luxborough Road
Line and station closed
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