Midford railway station

Midford
Station building and platform in 1962
Location
Place Midford
Area Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset
Grid reference ST761607
Operations
Pre-grouping Somerset and Dorset Railway
Post-grouping SR and LMSR
Western Region of British Railways
Platforms 1
History
20 July 1874 Opened
10 June 1963 Closed to goods traffic
7 March 1966 Closed to passenger traffic
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–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Midford railway station was a single-platform station on the Bath extension of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, just to the north of the point where the double-track became a single track. It served the village of Midford. The station was closed with the rest of the line in March 1966 under the Beeching axe, though it had been unstaffed for some years before that.

There was a small goods yard to the north of the station, towards the entrance to the Combe Down Tunnel, which loaded Fuller's earth from Tucking Mill.[1] South of the station, a signal box presided over the double track junction: the railway then ran across the Midford valley on a high viaduct that still exists.

For about four years from 1911 to 1915, Midford had a second railway station, Midford Halt located on the GWR Camerton Branch, which passed under the S&DJR viaduct.

Contents

Services

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Wellow
Line and station closed
  Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
LSWR and Midland Railways
  Bath Green Park
Line and station closed

The Site Today

After a long period in private hands the site is now part of a surfaced cycleway and footpath — the Two Tunnels Greenway. The platform and remains of the goods shed survive.

The station is now owned by the New Somerset and Dorset Railway and has been cleared prior to rebuilding of the station building etc. Track laying may well take place in the not too distant future once the cycleway has been diverted.[2]

The New Somerset and Dorset Railway

The New Somerset and Dorset Railway[3] formed in early 2009 aims to restore the complete line to mainline operations, so it is possible that Midford will one day see passengers again.

As the initial objectives of the New S&D are focused on the southern end of the line (notably Blandford-Bournemouth), in the short term Midford will be restored as a cafe and information centre, along much the same lines as the existing Shillingstone Station Project.

References

  1. ^ Macmillen, Neil (2009). A history of the Fuller's Earth mining industry around Bath. Lydney: Lightmoor Press. p. 39. ISBN 9781899889327. 
  2. ^ http://www.gebejay.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/s&d-midford.html
  3. ^ http://www.somersetanddorsetrailway.co.uk

External links