Polsham railway station
Encyclopedia
Polsham was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Railway in the village of Polsham, Somerset
in England
. Opening in December 1861 on the Somerset Central Railway, which was at that time worked by the Bristol and Exeter Railway
, it was the only intermediate station on the short branch from Glastonbury
to Wells (Priory Road) railway station
, which had opened in 1859. The station consisted of one short platform with a station building, with a single siding for freight. In 1950 unloading of wagons was effected by opening the side door and allowing this to rest on the adjacent fence. A lorry was then driven through an orchard to receive the goods.
The adjacent level crossing was controlled from a signal box
.
Polsham was downgraded to a halt in 1938, with tickets being sold by the train guard. Only a year before closure, six of the seven different types of ticket that were issued by the guard for travel from Polsham were still marked as being issued by the "Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Committee", an illustration of the poor usage of the line. The station closed with the Wells branch in 1951.
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Opening in December 1861 on the Somerset Central Railway, which was at that time worked by the Bristol and Exeter Railway
Bristol and Exeter Railway
The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter.The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station...
, it was the only intermediate station on the short branch from Glastonbury
Glastonbury and Street railway station
Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe...
to Wells (Priory Road) railway station
Wells (Priory Road) railway station
Wells was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells in the county of Somerset in England. Opening on 15 March 1859 as Wells, on the Somerset Central Railway, at that time a broad-gauge line operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, it was the terminus of the branch from...
, which had opened in 1859. The station consisted of one short platform with a station building, with a single siding for freight. In 1950 unloading of wagons was effected by opening the side door and allowing this to rest on the adjacent fence. A lorry was then driven through an orchard to receive the goods.
The adjacent level crossing was controlled from a signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
.
Polsham was downgraded to a halt in 1938, with tickets being sold by the train guard. Only a year before closure, six of the seven different types of ticket that were issued by the guard for travel from Polsham were still marked as being issued by the "Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Committee", an illustration of the poor usage of the line. The station closed with the Wells branch in 1951.
The Site Today
The site is now a private house but the platform survives.http://www.nevard.com/sdjr/polsham.htmExternal links
- http://www.sdjr.net/locations/polsham.html
- Station on navigable O.S. map