Washford (WSMR) railway station
| Washford (WSMR) | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Washford |
| Area | Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°09′42″N 3°21′42″W / 51.1617°N 3.3616°WCoordinates: 51°09′42″N 3°21′42″W / 51.1617°N 3.3616°W |
| Grid reference | ST048411 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | West Somerset Mineral Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| April 1857 | Opened for goods |
| 4 September 1865 | Opened for passengers |
| 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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Washford 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 line's seven stations were designed by Rice Hopkins. Washford was one of the five which showed a clear family resemblance. It offered the usual goods and passenger facilities.
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 a rope-hauled incline to Brendon Hill and on to Gupworthy on a wagon, free of charge, but at their own risk.
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, 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.
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 no passenger service was provided. The ore which was extracted in this period was ill-suited to the furnaces and was almost unsaleable, so the Syndicate built a plant at Washford station to extract relevant impurities and waste and form the resulting material into briquettes which it hoped would be cheaper to transport and more attractive to customers.
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Wikipedia