Fairwater Yard
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Taunton railway station is a junction
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the route from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
, west of
London Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...
, measured via Box, although most London bound services traverse the shorter route via . It is situated in
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, and is operated by
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
. The station is also served by
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
trains and by the
West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset Council. The railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc), which is suppor ...
on special event days and by mainline steam excursions.


History

Originally opened on 1 July 1842 as part of the
Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied wi ...
, 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 ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
's original design was for a single-sided station with two platforms, each with their own buildings and
train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
s, placed on the south side of the line. A hotel was built between them and the
Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton, Devon, 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 ...
. 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 was provided at the west end of the station. A series of branches opened in the area during the next thirty years. These were the Yeovil branch line (1 October 1853), the
West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset Council. The railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc), which is suppor ...
to Watchet (31 March 1862), the Chard Branch Line (11 September 1866), and the Devon and Somerset Railway (8 June 1871, extended to
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
1 November 1873). While none of these branches had a junction in Taunton, the trains were generally run through to Taunton to provide connections. 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 a more conventional platform on the north side of the line; the "down station" was extended onto the site now vacated, and a new single 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 The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
(which had amalgamated 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 to
Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope of Norton Camp, a large hillfort that s ...
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 A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before, after, and during loading to and unloading from a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, althou ...
was replaced by a two-storey goods warehouse next to the avoiding line, east of the station on 20 February 1932. The platforms were numbered: # The down relief platform, principally used by expresses from Bristol (now Platform 2) # A bay at the east end, used for arrivals from Chard, Yeovil, Castle Cary (track now removed) # The inner bay at the west end, double sided around the single track, principally used for Barnstaple departures (now Platform 1, served from a single side) # The outer bay at the west end, principally used for Minehead departures (now disused) # The down main platform, mainly used by expresses from London (now Platform 3) # The up main platform, mainly used by expresses to London (now Platform 4) # The up relief platform, mainly used by expresses to Bristol (now Platform 5) # A bay at the west end, occasionally used for Minehead/Barnstaple arrivals (track now removed) # A bay at the east end, used for stopping train departures to Bristol and Yeovil (now Platform 6) Although some no longer have tracks, all the platform structures remain. Until 1970 the four tracks to the east of Taunton were not used as normal main and relief lines, but with the inner main lines for trains to London and the outer lines for trains to Bristol, to align with the way the tracks diverged at Cogload Junction, some miles to the east of the station. In 1970 under the Western Region of British Rail the central island platform was closed off and all trains stopping at Taunton used the outer platforms, except in an emergency when the central platform was pressed into use. London trains stopping at Taunton (which was most of them) now crossed over to the main lines at the London end of the station. The second pair of lines from Cogload were removed in 1986. 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 Temple Meads. The island platform was taken out of regular use for a few years, although it could be opened up in an emergency (albeit with no platform numbers, nor a lift). This situation no longer applies as the platforms were reopened for normal services 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 passenger 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. The footbridge to the west of the station, known in the town as "Fortysteps", although Network Rail prefer to label it "40 Steps", a favoured location for generations of rail enthusiasts, was demolished at the end of 2013, due to construction of a new road alongside the railway. This was however replaced by a more modern bridge with both steps and slopes making it more accessible. 2021 saw the ticket office moved back to the south side of the station as part of works to improve passenger facilities and make easier links to the town centre. A 400-space multi-storey car park was also built.


Station Masters

*Henry Clark *Alexander Gibson 1850 - 1886 *Arthur Nicholson Lailey 1886 - 1913 *James Page 1913 - 1920 (afterwards station master at ) *A.P. Watkins 1920 - 1926 (afterwards station master at ) *O.J. Fenner 1926–1928 (afterwards station master at Reading) *J.R.C. Williams 1928–1931 (afterwards station master at Paddington) *George Thomas Fox 1931 - 1932 (formerly station master at Wrexham) *Arthur Stanley Sansom 1932 - 1944 *C.E. Morris 1945 - 1950 *James A. Denholm ???? - 1954 *A.V. Wilcox ???? - 1958 *E.C. Frampton 1958– ????


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 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 In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. Platform 5 is situated above the ticket office and is the main platform used by trains towards London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads and the north. The station buffet is situated here. The east-facing bay platform 6 is beyond this; it only sees occasional use nowadays, mainly being used for local trains towards the Bristol station. 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 also used for services towards Exeter St Davids but is mainly used for terminating services from the Bristol direction that can also start back from here. Platform 2 is used 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 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 boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...
. It has level access from a second car park. Platform 1 is another bay, at the west end of platform 2. 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 headshunt for Fairwater Yard. This area also housed the station's engine shed but this closed many years ago, although the last remains were only demolished in 2012. Terminating trains from
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
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 reverses 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 shunting of trains across the layout at the west end of the station has long been a Taunton feature. In the days of trains to Minehead, Barnstaple and local stations to Exeter St Davids, terminating trains were drawn back from the up-side platforms, via various sidings, and then returned to the down-side departure platforms; pilot locomotives were provided to assist in the days of hauled stock.


Services

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
operates services through Taunton between London Paddington and destinations such as , , and including an overnight ''
Night Riviera The ''Night Riviera'' () is a sleeping car, sleeper train operated by Great Western Railway (train operating company), Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom (the other being th ...
'' sleeper service. Some of these services run non-stop between Taunton and . The same operator provides an hourly service from and via , some of which continue to Exeter St Davids, Plymouth or Penzance.
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
operates services during the daytime between or , and Paignton or Plymouth. Some services extend in the North to reach and , and in the South to reach .


Future services

Go-op a co-operatively owned open-access train operating company have proposed to operate services between
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
, Taunton and
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
. In November 2024, the
Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...
gave conditional approval for the proposed services subject to financial and rolling stock requirements, to begin no later than December 2026.


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 Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
ways' Civil Engineer and was home to a
Ruston & Hornsby Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of Narrow-gauge railway, narrow and Standard-gauge railway, standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of ...
0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...
diesel shunter, PWM652. After the end of this permanent way work the sidings were little used, mainly being a place to store unwanted or damaged 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 The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
west of
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
, the Reading to Exeter Main Line and the Bristol to Taunton Line. The equipment based in the yard at that time was a Plasser & Theurer High Output Ballast Cleaner, a Matisa High Output Track Renewal Train, and smaller on-track plant. The Matisa Track Renewal Train was removed from Fairwater Yard in April 2012 after it had completed its need for use in the South West.


Taunton Concrete Works

Taunton
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
Works, situated to the north of the line east of the station, cast items for the railway such as bridge beams, platform components, cable troughs and fence posts. The facility was closed in 1994.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taunton Railway Station Buildings and structures in Taunton Railway stations in Somerset Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1842 Railway stations served by Great Western Railway Railway stations served by CrossCountry Grade II listed railway stations Grade II listed buildings in Taunton Deane DfT Category C1 stations