Crewkerne railway station

Crewkerne
Location
Place	Crewkerne
Local authority	South Somerset
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
Operations
Station code	CKN
Managed by	South West Trains
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	87,835
2004/05 *	97,021
2005/06 *	91,754
2006/07 *	93.213
2007/08 *	98,515
2008/09 *	0.116 million
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1860	Opened
1967	Line singled
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 passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Crewkerne from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

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.

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]

In 1923 the LSWR became 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]

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] The 21.5 miles (34.6 km) section between Sherborne and Chard Junction was reduced to just a single track,^[1] although this has since been shortened to just 16.8 miles (27.0 km) between Yeovil Junction and Chard Junction.^[2]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Sutton Bingham		London and South Western Railway London Waterloo to Devon and Cornwall		Chard Junction

Description

The signal box built in 1960

The station is about a mile south of Crewkerne on the A356 road, which crosses the platform and railway on a bridge.^[3] 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] The main building was deigned 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 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]

Services

A train to Waterloo

The station is managed by South West Trains^[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 West Trains West of England Main Line		Axminster

See also

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997). The Salisbury to Exeter Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-525-6. 
2. ^ Jacobs, Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Bradford-on-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 0-954986-61-X. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Oakley, Mike (2006). Somerset Railway Stations. Bristol: Redcliffe Press. ISBN 1-904537-54-5. 
4. ^ "Crewkerne Railway Station". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=262425. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
5. ^ "Station Facilities: Crewkerne (CKN)". National Rail Enquiries. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/ckn/details.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
6. ^ "Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter" (PDF). Electronic National Rail Timetable. Network Rail. December 2009. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/Dec09/timetables/Table160.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-14.