Place Crewkerne Station code CKN DfT category E Opened 1860 | Grid reference ST453085 Managed by South West Trains 2011/12 0.125 million Number of platforms 1 | |
 | ||
Address Crewkerne TA18 8AU, United Kingdom Original company London and South Western Railway Similar Tisbury railway station, Whimple railway station, Pinhoe railway station, Templecombe railway station, Cranbrook (Devon) railway st | ||
Crewkerne railway station is located in Misterton, Somerset, England, and serves the area around the town of Crewkerne. It is 131.4 miles (211.5 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England Main Line to Exeter. The main building is listed Grade II and is surrounded by several other old railway buildings.
Contents
History
The station was opened on 19 July 1860 when the LSWR opened its Yeovil and Exeter Railway. A wooden signal box was erected in 1875 on the eastbound platform, just east of the main offices.
In 1923 the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway following the Railways Act 1921, and on 1 January 1948 the Southern Railway was itself nationalised to become the Southern Region of British Railways. On 24 April 1953 it was the scene of an accident when an axle of Merchant Navy Class 35020 Bibby Line broke while it was passing the station. This caused the platform canopy to be demolished.
A new signal box was built in 1960 a little to the east of the old one, which was then demolished. In January 1963 all the lines in the area transferred to the Western Region and on 7 May 1967 the main line was rationalised. The 21.5 miles (34.6 km) section between Sherborne and Chard Junction was reduced to just a single track, although this has since been shortened to just 16.8 miles (27.0 km) between Yeovil Junction and Chard Junction.
Description
The station is about a mile southeast of Crewkerne on the A356 road, which crosses the platform and railway on a bridge. The entrance and platform are on the north side of the line, which is climbing westwards at 1 in 80 (1.25%) to the 206-yard (188 m) Crewkerne Tunnel. The main building was designed by Sir William Tite and has been designated as a Grade II listed building. North of the station is a builder’s yard which is on the site of the old railway goods yard. The office (converted to a cafe in late-2013) by the main road was used to operate the weighbridge, and the old goods shed can be seen near the railway line. Between this and the platform is the disused signal box.
Services
The station is managed by South West Trains who operate an hourly service throughout most of the week between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo station.