Yatton railway station

Yatton
Location
Place	Yatton
Local authority	North Somerset
Coordinates	51.39100°N 2.82780°W / 51.39100; -2.82780
Operations
Station code	YAT
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	220,208
2004/05 *	247,343
2005/06 *	257,145
2006/07 *	283,274
2007/08 *	316,691
2008/09 *	338,782
2009/10 *	339,370
History
Original company	Bristol and Exeter Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
1841	Main line opened
1847	Clevedon line opened
1869	Cheddar line opened
1963	Cheddar line closed
1966	Clevedon line closed
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Yatton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) west of Bristol Temple Meads railway station on the Bristol to Taunton Line.

History

The station was opened by the Bristol and Exeter Railway on 14 June 1841 as 'Clevedon Road'. The station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel with the main station building on the platform for eastbound trains towards Bristol, and a smaller building on the westbound platform. A hotel was provided adjacent to the eastbound platform for people travelling to Clevedon.

The Clevedon branch line opened 28 July 1847 when the name of the station was changed to 'Yatton'. A small bay platform was provided at the west end of the eastbound platform for the branch trains and an unusual train shed with louvre ventilation was provided for shelter. This was replaced in 1956 by a second-hand canopy brought from Dauntsey railway station. This still stands, but a matching one on the westbound platform has since been removed.

The former Cheddar Valley railway is now a footpath starting at Yatton station

Yatton became even more important on 3 August 1869 when the Cheddar Valley Railway was opened, which became famous for the transport of strawberries from stations such as Axbridge and Cheddar. The line was extended to Wells on 5 April 1870. This joined there with the East Somerset Railway line from Witham (constructed between 1859 and 1862), and through services from Yatton to Witham became normal for this line.

Another bay platform was provided for the Cheddar Valley trains at the west end of the westbound platform, and this was also used by the Wrington Vale Light Railway trains that shared the Cheddar line as far as Congresbury railway station from 4 December 1901. Goods traffic was handled alongside this bay platform, but the small engine shed was situated next to the Clevedon branch.

In the 1920s the main line through Yatton was stretched to capacity and so goods loops were laid either side of the station – east for 1.25 miles to Claverham from 6 April 1925 and west for 1.75 miles to Huish level crossing on 26 May 1925. The station remained a two-track pinch point. The Claverham loops were closed on 6 September 1964 and the Yatton loops west of the station were cut back to just 0.5 mile from 24 January 1972, although they have since been rebuilt to allow their use by passenger trains.

The branch lines have all closed too: Wrington on 14 September 1931 (although goods traffic continued until 10 June 1963); Cheddar on 9 September 1963 (goods 1 October 1964), and Clevedon on 3 October 1966. Goods traffic at Yatton itself ceased from 29 November 1965.

In the early days of the railway Yatton station was provided to serve Clevedon, and Yatton itself was not considered of much significance. However the arrival of the railway stimulated growth in the village during the Victorian era and many new houses were built.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Nailsea and Backwell		Great Western Railway (Main line services)		Puxton and Worle
Clevedon		Great Western Railway (Clevedon branch line)		Terminus
Terminus		Great Western Railway (Cheddar Valley Railway and Wrington Vale Light Railway)		Congresbury

Layout

A GWR seat at Yatton

The area on both sides of the station where the bay platforms were are now used as car parks. Brunel's main station building was refurbished in 2006 and is still in use for selling tickets. Following a successful fundraising campaign by local people, the redundant westbound building is now a community cafe, which also provides training places for adults with learning disabilities. The hotel is still operating as a pub. An active group of "friends" have renovated the station gardens and are hoping that the roof of the footbridge that links the two platforms will one day be restored.

Improved train information screens and help-points were installed in the summer of 2011. Automatic ticket and car park machines are situated outside the eastbound entrance. The whole station is non-smoking.

The former Cheddar Valley branch line is now the Strawberry Line railway walk and cycleway. This starts from the far end of the downside/south car park and is popular with dog-walkers also.

Services

Rail services

The station is managed and all trains are operated by First Great Western. The basic train service comprises two trains in each direction each hour. One service shuttles between Bristol Parkway and Weston-super-Mare, calling at most stations via Bristol Temple Meads; the second is the faster Cardiff Central to Taunton service. Some of these services are extended to serve stations such as Exeter St Davids, Paignton and Plymouth. During the peak period and at weekends, services to and from London Paddington call at Yatton. Some early morning and weekend services go further afield to destinations such as Weymouth and Penzance.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Nailsea and Backwell		First Great Western Bristol to Taunton Line		Worle

Bus services

Bus service 660 to Portishead, Congresbury, Claverham and Cleeve leave from near the Market Inn on the main road which crosses the line at the east end of the station. There are also services connecting the station with local destinations towards Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.

References

• Cooke, RA (1979). Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR, Section 16: West Somerset. Harwell: RA Cooke. 
• MacDermot, E T (1931). History of the Great Western Railway, volume II 1863-1921. London: Great Western Railway. 
• Oakley, Mike (2006). Somerset Railway Stations. Bristol: Redcliffe Press. ISBN 1-90453-754-5. 
• Sheppard, Geof (2001). "Walk the Strawberry Line". Broadsheet (Broad Gauge Society) (45): 21–29. 

External links

• First Great Western
• Strawberry Line
• Strawberry Line Cafe Project