Midsomer Norton railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Midsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton railway station in 1967
Location
Location	Midsomer Norton
Area	Bath and North East Somerset
Grid reference	ST664537
Operations
Pre-grouping	Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Post-grouping	SR and LMSR Western Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
20 July 1874	Opened (Midsomer Norton)
16 October 1898	Renamed (Midsomer Norton and Welton)
26 September 1949	Renamed (Midsomer Norton Upper)
7 March 1966	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D-F G H-J K-L M-O P-R S T-Z
UK Railways Portal

Midsomer Norton railway station (originally Midsomer Norton and Welton, later Midsomer Norton Upper and finally Midsomer Norton South) was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway between Bath Green Park and Shepton Mallet. It served the town of Midsomer Norton. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann. It closed in 1966 with the closure of the S&DJR under the Beeching Axe.

The S&DJR station was on a fairly steep slope which took the railway up from the valley floor at Radstock into the Mendips, heading south to the summit of the line at Masbury. It had extensive gardens which were cultivated by the station staff and won many prizes. The station buildings are still well-preserved.

Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Centre in former goods shed at Midsomer Norton

Midsomer Norton and Welton was also the name of a second station on the Great Western Railway line from Bristol to Frome via Radstock (originally the Bristol & North Somerset Railway). This station was in the valley at Welton. It closed in 1959 with the closure of the line to passenger traffic and has now been demolished.

The station is now preserved by the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust which has returned full size steam locomotives to the station in recent years and plans to run passenger trains in the near future.

[edit] External links

• http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/
• http://www.sdjr.co.uk Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust restoring Midsomer Norton South station
• http://somersetanddorset.blogspot.com/ Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust blogsite (official)