Chard Central railway station
| Chard Central | |
|---|---|
Chard Central as it is today
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| Location | |
| Place | Chard |
| Area | South Somerset |
| Coordinates | 50°52′43″N 2°57′16″W / 50.8785°N 2.9545°WCoordinates: 50°52′43″N 2°57′16″W / 50.8785°N 2.9545°W |
| Operations | |
| Original company | B&ER and LSWR |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| 1866 | Chard Joint opened |
| 1928 | Renamed Chard |
| 1949 | Renamed Chard Central |
| 1962 | Closed to passengers |
| 1966 | Closed entirely |
| 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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Chard Central railway station was the principal railway station in Chard, Somerset, England. It was opened in 1866 and closed in 1962, during which time it was known by three different names.
The first railway to serve Chard was the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) which opened Chard Road on its new Yeovil to Exeter line in 1860. On 8 May 1863 a second station was opened at Chard Town as the terminus of a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) branch from Chard Road.
A second railway was opened on 11 September 1866 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER). This line terminated at a new station a short distance north of Chard Town and was served by trains from Taunton. Eleven weeks later, on 26 November, a connecting line was opened between Chard Town and the B&ER station, which was known at this time as 'Chard Joint', and the station was then used as the terminus for both railways. Both railway companies provided staff and there were even separate signal boxes controlling train movements at each end of the station The LSWR was built to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge but the B&ER was a 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge until 19 July 1891.
From 1 January 1917 the Great Western Railway (GWR, which had amalgamated with the B&ER in 1876) took over the operation of trains on the LSWR branch. This allowed some economies to be made, although the trains to Taunton and Chard Junction were still mostly advertised as separate services. In 1923 the LSWR became a part of the larger Southern Railway (SR). The SR platform and sidings were removed by the end of 1927 and the following year their signal box was closed. It was renamed as plain 'Chard' on 1 March 1928, but it appeared as such in GWR timetables before that date.
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Wikipedia