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| The busy station right next to the harbour... |
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Watchet Station was the original terminus of the West Somerset Railway, at the end of the fourteen mile line from Norton Fitzwarren opened in 1862. This explains the rather odd position of the main station building set at right angles to the line. Before the line was extended to Minehead in 1874, by an "end-on" junction, the station forecourt stretched right across to the goods shed with railings where there is now railway track.
The footbridge - one of only two on the line - was added later to maintain the public right of way.
The harbour was connected to the "main line" by a steep incline up to the goods shed, and the whole area was once a hive of activity. The signal box was built into the bank behind the platform, and was quite lofty so as to give a good view of the harbour lines.
To the east of the platform is Govier's Crossing, once protected by a gong sounded at the approach of a train, but now this job is done by mini red and green lights to warn pedestrians.
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Panoramic view of the Station
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Map showing the location of the Station
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View Larger Map
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Trains today and tomorrow
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| Postcode: TA23 0AU |
| OS Grid Reference: ST072432 |
| Geographic Coords: -3.3291, 51.1806 |
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Google Earth and Google Maps
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| See the Stations on Google Earth |
| If you have Google Earth, use the WSR KMZ file to see the WSR Stations. For a trip along the line from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard in Google Earth, once the KMZ file is loaded, click on the "West Somerset Railway" link (the one above "Minehead" in "Places" in Google Earth) and then find the "Play" symbol a little lower down, and then Google Earth will do the rest. Enjoy. |
| » Download the WSR KMZ file |
| See the Stations on Google Maps |
» Google Maps |
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