Ashcott Railway Station
History
The station was opened by the Somerset Central Railway and became part of the Somerset and Dorset Railway when the SCR merged with the Dorset Central Railway in 1862. From 1875, the line was called the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, as a joint line run by a committee for the Midland Railway and the Southern Railway. The line became a joint operation of the Southern Railway and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after the grouping of 1923. It was placed in the Western Region when the railways were nationalised in 1948. The station closed when trains were withdrawn during the Beeching Axe, taking effect on 7 March 1966.
Eclipse Peat Company
0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of Ashcott existed Alexander Siding, which allowed exchange between the SD&JR and the Eclipse Peat Works 2 ft (610 mm) industrial tramway system, and hence distribution of cut peat products across the United Kingdom. The Eclipse also had a level crossing on the SD&JR branch further towards Glastonbury.
On 19 August 1949, a British Railways passenger train from Highbridge collided with an Eclipse narrow gauge diesel locomotive crossing on the level and left the track, ending up in the Glastonbury Canal.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glastonbury and Street Line and station closed |
Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway LSWR and Midland Railways |
Shapwick Line and station closed |
Further reading
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120207022852/http://www.sdjr.net/locations/ashcott.html
- Station on navigable O.S. map
References
- ^ "Ashcott". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
- ^ "Accidents". SDJR.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.