Williton railway station
| Williton | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Place | Williton |
| Area | West Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°10′00″N 3°18′33″W / 51.1667°N 3.3092°WCoordinates: 51°10′00″N 3°18′33″W / 51.1667°N 3.3092°W |
| Grid reference | ST085415 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | West Somerset Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Operated by | West Somerset Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1862 | Opened |
| 1971 | Closed |
| 1976 | Opened in preservation |
| Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
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Williton railway station is a station in Williton, Somerset, England. It was opened by the West Somerset Railway in 1862 and closed by British Rail early in 1971. It was reopened in 1976 by the present day West Somerset Railway, a heritage line. Locomotive workshops are situated here and it is the headquarters of the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group (DEPG).
The station was first opened on 31 March 1862 when the West Somerset Railway started operations between Norton Junction and Watchet. A virtual copy of Bishops Lydeard, it consisted of a single platform on the down-side (left) of trains travelling towards Watchet. With the extension of the West Somerset Railway from Watchet to Minehead, a loop became necessary at a mid-way point on the line. Hence in 1874 a second broad gauge track and associated platform was opened, allowing trains to pass within the station. To enable this, a new road bridge was built at the south end of the station before the loop was opened, but the level crossing next to the platform was left in place.
The railway was operated from its opening by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, which became a part of the Great Western Railway in 1876. But the West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922, when it too was absorbed by the Great Western. In 1907 and again in 1937 the passing loop was extended to allow longer summer through-trains on their way to Minehead to pass at Williton. In 1948, the line became a part of the Western Region of British Railways as a result of nationalisation in 1948, after which in the 1960s the loop line was shortened back towards the original level crossing point.
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