Crewkerne railway station

Crewkerne
Location	Crewkerne, South Somerset England
Coordinates	50°52′25″N 2°46′38″W / 50.8736°N 2.7771°W / 50.8736; -2.7771Coordinates: 50°52′25″N 2°46′38″W / 50.8736°N 2.7771°W / 50.8736; -2.7771
Grid reference	ST453085
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	CKN
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1860	Opened
1967	Line singled
Passengers
2016/17	0.162 million
2017/18	0.165 million
2018/19	0.164 million
2019/20	0.159 million
2020/21	45,674
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Crewkerne railway station is located in Misterton in Somerset, England, and serves the area around the town of Crewkerne. It is 131 miles 33 chains (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.

History[]

The goods shed built in 1860

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.^{[1][page needed]}

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.^{[1][page needed]}

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.^{[1][page needed]} The 21.5 miles (34.6 km) section between Sherborne and Chard Junction was reduced to just a single track,^{[1][page needed]} although this has since been shortened to just 16.8 miles (27.0 km) between Yeovil Junction and Chard Junction, where there is a loop, followed by more single track to east of Axminster.^{[2][page needed]}

Description[]

The signal box built in 1960

The station is about a mile southeast of Crewkerne on the A356 road, which crosses the platform and railway on a bridge.^{[3][page needed]} 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.^{[1][page needed]} The main building was designed by Sir William Tite and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.^[4] 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.^{[3][page needed]}

Services[]

A train to Waterloo

The station is managed by South Western Railway^[5] who operate an hourly service throughout most of the week between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo station.^[6]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Yeovil Junction		South Western Railway West of England Main Line		Axminster

See also[]

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crewkerne railway station.