Portishead Railway

Portishead Railway
mi-ch from London Paddington 130-29 Portishead Pier 129-75 Portishead (1867–1954) 129-43 Portishead Junction Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway 129-65 Portishead (1954–1964) 127-77 Portbury 127-48 Royal Portbury Dock 127-11 Coal Terminal 126-59  M5  Portbury Shipyard 126-32 Portbury Dock Junction 126-25 Shipyard 126-12 Pill Pill Viaduct 125-63 125-33 Pill Tunnel 665 yd 608 m 125-26 Ham Green Halt Ham Green Viaduct Paradise Bottom Viaduct 123-79 Sandstone Tunnel 88 yd 80 m 122-58 Clifton Bridge No 2 Tunnel 232 yd 212 m 122-37 Nightingale Valley Halt 122-24 Clifton Bridge No 1 Tunnel 59 yd 54 m 121-69  B3129  Clifton Suspension Bridge 121-63 Clifton Bridge 121-30 Ashton Gate Bristol Harbour Railway 121-19 Ashton Junction Bristol–Exeter line West Depot 120-28 Parson Street Junction 120-15 Parson Street Bristol–Exeter line

Tunnel in the Avon Gorge.

The Portishead Railway was a branch line railway running from Portishead in Somerset to the Great Western Main Line in Bristol, England. It was constructed in the 1860s by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway, which was incorporated to build a pier and a 10 miles (16 km) 84 broad gauge link to the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Bedminster Down. The line closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and freight in 1981. The line was rebuilt and reopened in 2002 for freight trains only from the Great Western Main Line junction at Parson Street to the Royal Portbury Docks, via a new spur built in 2000/2.

History

The line opened on 12 July 1867 and was extended to the docks on 5 July 1879. In 1876 Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway (GWR) took over the Bristol and Exeter Railway and operated the Bristol & Portishead Pier & Railway for 40 percent of the receipts.

On 1 July 1885 the GWR bought the Portishead Railway and it became a branch line of the GWR to serve the pier and dock at Portishead, from which Brunel's steamships sailed to North America. In 1880 it was converted from the GWR's 84 broad gauge to standard gauge. Passenger services were discontinued in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe, and freight was discontinued in 1981, but the railway was not dismantled.

In 1985 a series of steam excursions ran along the line as part of the "GW150" celebrations. This is thought to be the last commercial use before the line was rebuilt.

The route

The railway branches from the mainline at Parson Street Station in south Bristol and runs north along the south west bank of the River Avon. The first station was Ashton Gate, opened 1906, followed by Clifton Bridge, half a mile south of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, near the Cumberland Basin and modern Brunel Way road. In the Avon Gorge the railway runs through a short tunnel where the Clifton Suspension Bridge runs overhead. In 1928 a halt was opened at Nightingale Valley, a footpath which leads up to the Leigh Woods suburb of Bristol, but this was closed four years later. The railway then crosses the flood plains south of the Avon estuary on an embankment, passes through another short tunnel and across a viaduct at Pill. Ham Green Halt, serving a now demolished hospital just east of Pill, opened in 1926. There were then stations at Pill, and Portbury. From there the line then runs west to Portishead.

The 1954 Portishead railway station, in 1960

In the 1920s a second Portishead Station was built to serve a planned shipyard, though this was never built and the station soon closed. In 1954 the original Portishead station was demolished, to provide space for the second Portishead power station, and a new station constructed in a new location, lasting only a decade before the line stopped carrying passengers.

A new junction has been created from which the line to the Royal Portbury Dock leads off.

Reopening of the line

Between 2000 and 2002 the railway was repaired as far as Pill, and a short spur constructed to the Royal Portbury Dock to transport freight, at a cost of £21 million.

Local politicians and organisations have been campaigning to have the remaining 3.3 miles (5.3 km) repaired and a new station constructed at Portishead. A campaign group is aimed at reopening the station and the short stretch of unopened line.

The coastal town largely serves as a dormitory town for Bristol workers, and the main route into the city, a single carriageway, the A369, is often unable to cope with the volume of commuter traffic. When current construction work is completed Portishead will be the largest settlement in the country without a link to the rail network. The Department for Transport currently do not support the proposals, estimating the costs to be too high at £17 million, and because of scheduling complications due to its use by freight trains. The 2006-2011 Joint Local Transport Plan reserves £1 million for the project.

Current operations

The route is currently served by both English Welsh & Scottish Railway and Freightliner services. The major freight flows along the line are bulk coal and newly delivered vehicles. All services are operated by class 66 locomotives.

References

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher, (1990). Encylopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing.
• Portishead Railway Group, 2006. "History of the Portishead Railway." Accessed 2006-04-15.
• Transcript of House of Commons debate on reopening the railway, 24 January 2005
• Local Transport Plan (Ch 3, P 51)

External links

• Portishead Railway Group
• Photographs of the Portishead Railway