East Somerset Railway (1856)
The East Somerset Railway was a British railway company based in Somerset , England.
The company was founded on June 5, 1856 to build a railway line from Witham Junction to Wells in the broad gauge of 2140 mm.
On November 9, 1858, the line was opened to Shepton Wells and on March 1, 1862 finally to Wells. On July 21, 1873, the Great Western Railway received approval to convert the route to standard gauge . On June 30, 1874, the takeover of the company by GWR was approved. Passenger traffic ceased on September 9, 1963. Freight traffic was reduced to operating a quarry from Foster Yeoman near Merehead and from Cranmore for bitumen transport.
In 1975 a heritage railway was established on the section between Cranmore and Mendip Vale (east of Shepton Mallet ).
literature
- Christopher Awdry: Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies . Stephens, Wellingborough 1990, ISBN 1-85260-049-7 .