page_title: West Somerset Railway
section_title: Watchet to Bishops Lydeard
hierarchical_section_title: West Somerset Railway / Route / Watchet to Bishops Lydeard
caption_attribution_description: English: Minehead - Taunton branch train near Williton. View NW, towards Minehea: ex-GW Taunton - Minehead branch, closed 4/1/71, but reopened by the heritage West Somerset Railway on 28/3/76. The train is the 13.50 Minehead - Taunton, headed by Collett '4575' 2-6-2T No. 5554 (built 11/28). Beyond is Woolston Moor (292 ft.), an outlier of the Quantock Hills.
context_page_description: The West Somerset Railway is a 22.75-mile heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc; which is supported and minority-owned by charitable trust the West Somerset Railway Association and the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust. The WSR plc operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains.
  It originally opened in 1862 between Taunton and Watchet. In 1874 it was extended from Watchet to Minehead by the Minehead Railway. Although just a single line, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the significant number of tourists that wished to travel to the Somerset coast. The line was closed by British Rail in 1971 and reopened in 1976 as a heritage line.
  It is the longest standard gauge independent heritage railway in the United Kingdom. Services normally operate over just the 20.5 miles between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard.
context_section_description: The platform at Watchet is on the right of the train but the station building is unusually set back from the line and faces Taunton, a hangover from its construction as the terminus of the original West Somerset Railway. The old goods shed is opposite the platform and now houses the Watchet Boat Museum. A footbridge crosses the line at the Minehead end of the station and a foot crossing leads across the track at the other end of the platform which gives access to the harbour for train passengers.
  The line climbs away into a cutting through a headland but soon swings round to a south-easterly direction along the cliff above Helwell Bay. Passing under the Watchet to West Quantoxhead road, the line turns southwards and passes the concrete platform at Doniford Halt, which is on the left of the train 9 miles (14 km) from Minehead. The agricultural landscape is then soon supplanted on the right by the sidings around the West Somerset Railway Association's (WSRA) workshops, which are housed in a corrugated iron building known as the Swindon Shed as it was originally built there more than 100 years ago. Watchet is being used as the terminus of trains from Bishops Lydeard in March and April 2019 due to engineering works at Minehead.
  Williton railway station, at 9.75 miles (15.7 km), is near the midpoint of the operational railway and the second passing loop. Behind the platform on the right, next to the WSRA workshops, are the old goods shed and the more modern workshop which is the home to the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group's fleet of diesel locomotives. The main station building is also on this platform, as is the oldest signal box on the line which stands above the level crossing. This sees little road traffic as most crosses the railway on the A39 road bridge that stands just beyond the end of the passing loop. Next to the level crossing on the left of the line is a garden with a decorative box hedge that is over 100 years old.
  Leaving Williton, the railway crosses over the A358 road and climbs up onto the side of the Quantock Hills. Passing close to the village of Bicknoller, it crosses the Macmillan Way West, a long distance footpath. Following the eastern side of a steep valley, it continues to rise with sections at 1 in 100 and 1 in 92 (1.1%) as it approaches the small station at Stogumber, 13 miles (21 km) from Minehead. This station unusually has its platform on the right of the train but the station offices are on the left. The space alongside the offices is now a well-maintained garden but is where the goods shed used to stand.
  The line continues to climb 1 in 92 up the valley until, 15.75 miles (25.3 km) from Minehead, it reaches the summit of the line at Crowcombe Heathfield. This is another passing loop but the down platform (on the right) is signalled to allow trains to run in either direction; the original platform was on the left of the line and so the main buildings are all on this side of the line. From the Minehead end, they include the old station master's house, some modern housing in sympathetic style and the station offices.
  After leaving Crowcombe Heathfield, it is downhill, with sections as steep as 1 in 81 (1.2%). At Combe Florey, the line crosses the A358 two more times in quick succession and this remains close on the left of the line to Bishops Lydeard. This station has another passing loop and is the terminus of regular operations, 19.75 miles (31.78 km) from Minehead. Locomotives are kept in a secure compound on the left at the Taunton end of the station. Both platforms are signalled for running in either direction and most trains run from the one on the left, although the original buildings are all on the right. These include the goods shed which now houses a railway museum and the old station master's house.
caption: A train near Williton in 1960
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "EPSON scanner image", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "157", "Image YResolution": "157", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2011:08:09 20:00:22", "Image ExifOffset": "204", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "342", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4953", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2211", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1449"}