Taunton railway station
Encyclopedia
Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

, 143 miles (230.1 km) from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....

, 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and is operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

. It is also served by CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 trains and by 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...

 on special event days or for mainline steam excursions.

History

Originally opened on 1 July 1842 as part of 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...

, Taunton was the terminus of the line until a new temporary terminus was opened on 1 May 1843 further west at Beambridge.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...

's original design was for a single-sided station with two platforms, each with their own buildings and train shed
Train shed
A train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...

s, placed on the south side of the line. An hotel was built between them and the Grand Western Canal
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands End...

. Having both platforms on the town side of the line was meant to help passengers but was found to be problematic as the railway became busier, with each train having to cross the line used by trains in the opposite direction. An engine shed
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...

 was provided at the west end of the station.

A series of branches opened in the area during the next thirty years. While none of them had a junction in Taunton, the trains were generally run through to Taunton to provide connections. These were the Yeovil branch line (1 October 1853); 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...

 to Watchet
Watchet railway station
Watchet railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in Somerset, England. It is situated in the small harbour town of Watchet.-History:...

 (31 March 1862); the Chard branch (11 September 1866); and the Devon and Somerset Railway
Devon and Somerset Railway
The Devon and Somerset Railway was a branch line from near in Somerset to in North Devon. It was operated from the outset by the Bristol and Exeter Railway which became part of the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876.-History:...

 (8 June 1871, extended to Barnstaple
Barnstaple Victoria Road railway station
Barnstaple Victoria Road railway station was the terminus of the Devon and Somerset Railway line from Taunton railway station. It served the town of Barnstaple in Devon, England and was opened when the Devon and Somerset line was extended from Wiveliscombe to Barnstaple on 1 November...

 1 November 1873).

The station was unable to cope with all these extra trains and passengers so a major rebuilding was completed on 17 August 1868. The "up station" at the east end was demolished and replaced by more conventional platform on the north side of the line; the "down station" was extended onto the site now vacated, and a new single 200 feet (61 m) train shed was provided covering the whole station. Goods traffic was moved away from the passenger platforms by the opening on 1 November 1896 of a pair of avoiding lines that skirted around the south side of the station behind the old hotel. A larger engine shed was opened in the same year.
The platforms were extended again in 1895. Now covering the whole length of the original single-sided station, they were the longest platforms on 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...

 which had amalgamated
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

 with the Bristol and Exeter company on 1 January 1876. New bay platforms were added to handle the trains from the branch lines.

In the 1930s the lines through Taunton from Cogload Junction
Cogload Junction
Cogload Junction is a railway junction in Durston, Somerset, England. It is where the 1906-opened London to Penzance Line via Castle Cary joins the original line that runs via Bristol...

 to Norton Fitzwarren
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...

 were widened from two to four tracks; those east of Taunton were brought into use on 13 December 1931 and those to the west on 14 February 1932. This work forced another rebuilding of the station. The train shed was dismantled and new buildings constructed on the up (north) side along with a new island platform in the middle of the station. This gave a platform face for each of the four through lines, which were brought into use on 7 February 1932. Work included a new subway that replaced the old footbridge, and a new booking office at road level on the north side of the station. The old goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...

 was replaced by a two-storey goods warehouse next to the avoiding line, east of the station on 20 February 1932.

The goods depot closed for general traffic in 1965, although bulk coal was handled until 1972. The engine shed closed on 1 January 1972 by which time it only served as a fueling point for local diesel shunting locomotives. The various branch lines closed during the 1960s and 1970s so only one bay platform was retained for local trains starting towards Bristol
Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

, and even the island platform was taken out of regular use for a few years, although it could be opened up in an emergency but it had no platform numbers nor a lift. This has now been reversed, the platforms being reopened in 2000 and a new lift installed in 2007 to replace an electric "stair lift" which could carry one seated person at a time but no luggage. A west-facing bay platform has also been reinstated for passeneger use, although there are no regular trains timetabled to use it.

Today the original "down station" building survives, along with the hotel and the extensions added in 1868. An examination of the brickwork on the south-side building reveals where the footbridge was removed in favour of the present subway. On the north side, the ticket office dates from 1983 but the remaining buildings generally date from the 1932 rebuilding and stand on foundations from 1868. The goods warehouse is largely derelict and most of the engine shed has been razed to the ground except for an asbestos-clad repair shop built in 1932 and the ramp that used to serve an elevated coaling stage. The engine sidings are still used by engineers' plant machines; Freightliner locomotives are generally stabled at Fairwater Yard but occasionally use the old engine shed sidings for additional storage space. The avoiding line is truncated but serves as a headshunt for the long engineers trains using Fairwater Yard.

Description

The station is situated on an embankment and a bridge above road level. The ticket office is at ground level on the north side although the town centre lies to the south of the station, about 1 miles (1.6 km) away. There is a car park on both sides of the station and bus services to the town centre call at a bus stop in front of the ticket office; those from the town call at a stop on the main road that passes beneath the station. The south block is a Grade II listed building.

The platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

 above the ticket office is Platform 5, which is the main platform used by trains towards London Paddington and also Bristol
Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

 and the north. The station buffet is situated on this platform. An east-facing bay platform, Platform 6, is beyond this; it only sees occasional use nowadays, mainly being used for local trains towards Bristol.

In the centre of the station is an island platform. The face on the north side is Platform 4 which can be used by similar trains to Platform 5. The face on the south side is Platform 3, which is used as an extra platform for services towards Exeter
Exeter St Davids railway station
Exeter St Davids station is the most important of seven National Rail stations in the city of Exeter in southwest England. Today the station is owned by Network Rail and operated by First Great Western.-History:...

 but is mainly used for terminating services from the Bristol direction that can also start back from this platform.

The southerly platform is Platform 2 and is the main platform for services to Exeter and beyond. Trains can also start from this platform towards London and Bristol if required. At the north end is the bus shelter for rail-link buses to Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...

 and Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...

. It has level access from a second car park.

At the west end of this platform is another bay platform, Platform 1. This is not signalled for use by passenger trains but is sometimes used for stabling. Behind this are some sidings used by the engineers department for stabling on-track plant, and the disused engine shed
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...

. The line behind this is the headshunt for Fairwater Yard.

Terminating trains from Bristol
Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

 that need to cross to Platform 2 or 3 have to run forward towards Fairwater and then return to the station once the driver has changed ends. To reach Platform 6 they have to make this move and then run right through the station, the driver change ends, and then reverse into Platform 6. First Great Western have proposed that alterations be made to the layout at the east end of the station to allow terminating trains from Bristol to run straight into Platform 6.

The platforms were completely renumbered from the scheme which applied from after the 1932 rebuilding until the 1980s. This former scheme was numbered :

1 — The down through platform, principally used by expresses from Bristol.

2 — A bay at the east end, used for arrivals from Chard, Yeovil, Castle Cary.

3 — The inner bay at the west end, double sided around the single track, principally used for Barnstaple departures.

4 — The outer bay at the west end, principally used for Minehead departures.

5 — The down fast platform, mainly used by expresses from London.

6 — The up fast platform, mainly used by expresses to London.

7 — The up through platform, mainly used by expresses to Bristol.

8 — A bay at the west end, occasionally used for Minehead/Barnstaple arrivals.

9 — A bay at the east end, used for stopping train departures to Bristol and Yeovil.

Although some have fallen out of use, all the platform structures remain

Until 1970 it was normal for express trains on the London and Bristol lines to run on independent tracks from Cogload Junction, some miles to the east of Taunton, to the station, where they used separate platforms as shown here. In 1970 the central island platform was closed off and all London trains stopping at Taunton used the outer through platforms.

Services

First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 operates regular intercity services from Taunton to London Paddington with around 1–2 trains per hour. The Atlantic Coast Express service calls at Reading and London Paddington only. First Great Western also operate the Night Riviera
Night Riviera
The Night Riviera is a sleeper train service operated by First Great Western. It is one of only two remaining sleeper services on the railway in Great Britain...

 sleeper service from Penzance to London.

The high speed service from London Paddington continues to then either or and . These services usually run via but some operate via Bristol Temple Meads
Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

. They also run an hourly service to Bristol Temple Meads and .

CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 operates long distance services between Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 or the north of England and Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance.

Taunton is also one of over 100 stations in the UK which offers a Eurostar connection, allowing people to travel from Taunton to destinations such as Paris with one fare and one ticket to London's St Pancras International.

Other services that call at Taunton on a less frequent basis include:
  • Occasional special services between through to 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...

    .
  • The "Torbay Express
    Torbay Express
    The Torbay Express is a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom.-Great Western Railway:Historically, the Torbay Express name was applied to services operated by the Great Western Railway from London Paddington to Torquay and Paignton....

    " steam-hauled service from Bristol and Weston-super-Mare to Kingswear on summer weekends.

Fairwater Yard

A marshalling yard was opened to the west of the station on 30 July 1946. It was used for many years by the British Railways' Civil Engineer and was home to a Ruston and Hornsby
Ruston (engine builder)
Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...

 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...

 diesel shunter, PWM652
British Rail Class 97/6
The British Rail Class 97/6 0-6-0 diesel shunting locomotives were purpose-built for departmental duties by Ruston & Hornsby at Lincoln in 1953 or 1959...

. After the end of this permanent way work the sidings were little used, mainly being a place to store unwanted wagons.

During 2006 they were relaid and in January 2007 were returned to use. Fairwater is now the home for a High Output Track Renewal System. This is engaged on renewal of track on the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...

 west of Swindon
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...

 , the Reading to Exeter Main Line
Reading to Taunton line
The Reading to Taunton line also known as the Berks and Hants is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line that diverges at Reading, running to Cogload Junction near Taunton, where it joins the Bristol to Exeter line....

 and the Bristol to Taunton Line. The equipment based in the yard is a Plasser and Theurer High Output Ballast Cleaner, a Matisa High Output Track Renewal Train, and smaller on-track plant.

Taunton Concrete Works

Taunton Concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 Works, situated to the north of the line east of the station, cast items for the railway such as bridge beams, platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

components, cable troughs and fence posts. The facility was closed in 1994.

External links




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