Crowcombe Heathfield railway station
Encyclopedia
Crowcombe Heathfield railway station is a station
on the West Somerset Railway
, a heritage railway
in Somerset
, England. It is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village of Crowcombe
.
was opened from Norton Junction
to . The railway was operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway
which became a part of the Great Western Railway
in 1876, but the West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922 when it too was absorbed by the Great Western. Nationalisation in 1948 saw it become a part of the Western Region of British Railways
.
When the station first opened there was just one platform, on the east side of the line, but aloop line and second platform were opened in 1879. On 1 December 1889 the station was renamed as plain “Crowcombe” to avoid confusion with on the Moretonhampstead branch
in Devon. The loop was extended in 1934 to cope with long holiday trains running to but British Rail closed the railway on 4 January 1971.
The station reopened on 9 June 1979; the West Somerset Railway was now a heritage railway
operating steam and diesel trains from Minehead to and Bishops Lydeard. It was still known as Crowcombe for a while but the name was returned to Crowcombe Heathfield in 1991. Only a single line was operated through the station until May 1994 when the loop was reinstated.
The station has been designated by English Heritage
as a grade II listed building. The railway workers' cottages and station master's house, together with the main station building, are the only original structures left. The upper half of the signal box
which was put into use in 1994 was originally situated at . A display of permanent way can be found on the western platform and includes a portion of broad gauge
“baulk road
” as was originally used on the line.
Several films and television programmes have been shot at Crowcombe:
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
, a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village of Crowcombe
Crowcombe
Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, south east of Watchet, and from Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...
.
History
Crowcombe Heathfield station was first opened on 31 March 1862 when the West Somerset RailwayWest Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
was opened from Norton Junction
Norton Fitzwarren railway station
Norton Fitzwarren railway station is an untimetabled station on the West Somerset Railway in Somerset, England. It was built in 2009 about north of the site of the old station that served the village of Norton Fitzwarren from 1873 until 1961...
to . The railway was operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway
Bristol and Exeter Railway
The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter.The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station...
which became a part of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1876, but the West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922 when it too was absorbed by the Great Western. Nationalisation in 1948 saw it become a part of the Western Region of British Railways
Western Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
.
When the station first opened there was just one platform, on the east side of the line, but aloop line and second platform were opened in 1879. On 1 December 1889 the station was renamed as plain “Crowcombe” to avoid confusion with on the Moretonhampstead branch
Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway
The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a broad gauge railway which linked the South Devon Railway at Newton Abbot railway station with Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead, Devon, England.-History of the line:...
in Devon. The loop was extended in 1934 to cope with long holiday trains running to but British Rail closed the railway on 4 January 1971.
The station reopened on 9 June 1979; the West Somerset Railway was now a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
operating steam and diesel trains from Minehead to and Bishops Lydeard. It was still known as Crowcombe for a while but the name was returned to Crowcombe Heathfield in 1991. Only a single line was operated through the station until May 1994 when the loop was reinstated.
Description
The station stands at the highest point on the line, just under 400 feet (121.9 m) above sea level.The station has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade II listed building. The railway workers' cottages and station master's house, together with the main station building, are the only original structures left. The upper half of the signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
which was put into use in 1994 was originally situated at . A display of permanent way can be found on the western platform and includes a portion of broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
“baulk road
Baulk road
Baulk road is the name given to a type of railway track or 'rail road' that is formed using rails carried on continuous timber bearings, as opposed to the more familiar 'cross-sleeper' track that uses closely spaced sleepers or ties to give intermittent support to taller rails...
” as was originally used on the line.
Films made at Crowcombe
- A Hard Day's Night (1964) featured The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and was filmed in 1964 at London Marylebone station and on the Taunton to Minehead branchline. A scene in which the band ran alongside a train was filmed near Crowcombe. - The The Flockton FlyerThe Flockton FlyerThe Flockton Flyer was a children's TV series made by Southern TV for the ITV network. There were two series, each of six episodes. Series 1 was first transmitted in spring, 1977 and Series 2 followed in early 1978. Programmes were shown at 4.45 pm on Monday afternoons...
(1976-7) was a children’s television drama series about a preserved railway that was filmed on the West Somerset Railway and included scenes filmed at many stations including Crowcombe Heathfield. - The Land Girls (1997) was filmed on the West Somerset Railway and Crowcombe Heathfield featured as Bamford station.
- The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia (TV miniseries)The Chronicles of Narnia is a BBC-produced television serial that was aired from 13 November 1988 to 23 December 1990 and is based on four books of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series...
(1988), a BBC television mini-series, where the four Pevensie children arrived at the start of the film after being evacuated by train from LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.