Brendon Hill railway station
| Brendon Hill | |
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.jpg)
Derelict wheelhouse at the summit of Brendon Hill incline
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| Location | |
| Place | Brendon Hill |
| Area | Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°06′00″N 3°23′51″W / 51.1000°N 3.3975°WCoordinates: 51°06′00″N 3°23′51″W / 51.1000°N 3.3975°W |
| Grid reference | ST022343 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | West Somerset Mineral Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| March 1861 | Opened for goods |
| 7 November 1898 | Closed |
| 1907 | Reopened |
| 1910 | Closed |
| 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 |
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Brendon Hill (occasionally referred to as "Raleigh's Cross") 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 (25%).
The line's seven stations were designed by Rice Hopkins. Brendon Hill was one of the five which showed a clear family resemblance. It was built in anticipation of offering the usual goods and passenger facilities, but no regular passenger service ever ran south of Comberow. The railway, the incline and especially the mines required labour, so a significant community grew up within sight of the station.
Despite its location, which remains remote to this day, Brendon Hill's situation at the head of the incline, together with the happy accidents of having an early railway photographer in the vicinity and exceptional historians interested in the railway have left a rich legacy of photographs of the station in context.
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. 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. As no fares were collected no tickets were issued to or from Brendon Hill.
The initial passenger service to Comberow 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.
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Wikipedia