Summary : A Victorian and 20th century railway. Clevedon was the headquarters of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway which opened from Weston to Clevedon in 1872 and was extended to Portishead in 1907. A steam tramway had been proposed but a standard gauge railway was built, becoming a light railway in 1899. In 1904 the company was taken over by another and eventually both went into liquidation. The line was then operated by Colonel H.F. Stephens until 1940 when sold to the GWR, but as they had no light engine to run on it, the rails were dismantled. Aerial photographs taken in 1946 show that the track has been dismantled and the railway's halts had been demolished, although the former course of the railway was still clearly visible. In aerial photographs taken in 1985, some of the railway's course was still visible as a linear/curvilinear earthwork, but many other sections were either only visible as a cropmark or had been destroyed and were no longer visible. |
More information : (ST 32906167 - ST 47127700) Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway (NAT) (1)
Track of Old Railway (NAT) (2)
Clevedon was the headquarters of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway which opened from Weston to Clevedon in 1872 and was extended to Portishead in 1907. A steam tramway had been proposed but a standard gauge railway was built, becoming a light railway in 1899. In 1904 the company was taken over by another and eventually both went into liquidation. The line was then operated by the late Col. H.F. Stephens until 1940 when sold to the GWR, but as they had no light engine to run on it the rails were finally dismantled. (3-4)
Additional reference. (5)
The course of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead railway between Wick St Lawrence and Clevedon, visible as linear and curvilinear earthworks, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946. The track has been dismantled and the railway's halts have been demolished, although the former course of the railway was still clearly visible as an earthwork embankment. In aerial photographs taken in 1985, some of the railway's course was still visible as a linear/curvilinear earthwork, but many other sections were either only visible as a cropmark or had been destroyed by Clevedon's urban expansion and were no longer visible. (6-11)
The course of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead railway between Clevedon and Weston-in-Gordano, visible as linear and curvilinear earthworks, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946. The air photos show that the track has been dismantled, but that the former course of the railway track and sidings is still clearly visible as a linear/curvilinear earthwork bank or ditch in Gordano Valley and Swiss Valley. Some sections of the track in Clevedon town centre were already difficult to identify. Aerial photographs taken in 1989 show that the railway's course has been completely destroyed in Clevedon and the Swiss Valley. However, along the Gordano Valley, the railway's embankment and cuttings survive as earthworks, with only a short 270 metres section in Weston-in-Gordano village having been built upon. (12-19)
The former course of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946, visible as a series of linear and curvilinear earthworks, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946 and 1947. The roughly 1600 metres of the railway's former course snakes north-south (ST 4694 7633 to ST 4649 7500), between the Portishead terminus railway station (HOB UID 500058/ ST 47 NE 82) and 320 metres south of Clapton Road Halt (HOB UID 1468010/ ST 47 NE 134). The Portishead extension of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway was opened in August 1907 and is 13.8 miles from the line's other terminal at Weston-Super-Mare. Originally the railway terminated at the Portishead station, but the track was extended north of the station to link to the Great Western Railway (GWR) Portishead from Bristol (Ashton) branch line (HOB UID 1361435/ LINEAR 951), coming into use on 2 Nov 1908. Sidings on the railway line also provided a link to both the Mustad's Horseshoe Nail Factory and to a coal merchant. The railway closed in 1940 and the track was lifted in 1942. Aerial photographs taken in 1989 show that, in Portishead town, the railway's course has been destroyed by residential and industrial expansion. However, in the fields south of the town, between North Weston and Clapton-in-Gordano, the railway's course in still visible as a fragmentary linear cropmark. (20-25)
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