Polsham railway station

Polsham was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Railway in the village of Polsham, Somerset in England.

Polsham
The site of the station in 1979
General information
LocationPolsham, Mendip
England
Grid referenceST517428
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingSomerset Central Railway
Post-groupingSR and LMS
Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
December 1861Opened (Polsham)
July 1938Renamed (Polsham Halt)
29 October 1951Closed

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.[1] The siding and the adjacent level crossing were controlled from a small covered ground-frame.

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",[1] an illustration of the poor usage of the line. The station closed with the Wells branch in 1951.

The site today edit

The site is now a private house but the platform survives.[1]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Glastonbury and Street
Line and station closed
  Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
LSWR and Midland Railways
  Wells (Priory Road)
Line and station closed

References edit

  1. ^ a b Farr, Michael (October–December 1989). "Slow & Dirty". Steam Days (15). Weybridge: Ian Allan Ltd: 26–29. ISSN 0269-0020.

External links edit

51°10′57″N 2°41′32″W / 51.1825°N 2.6922°W / 51.1825; -2.6922