Clevedon branch line

The Clevedon branch line was a convert|3.5|mi|km|1|lk=on railway line that ran from Yatton railway station to Clevedon in North Somerset, England

It was opened on 28 July 1847, by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, later to become part of the Great Western Railway. Initially it was built as broad gauge but was converted to standard gauge in 1879.

The branch line stayed open until the Beeching Axe, first losing goods traffic on 10 June 1963. At this point, Clevedon station was severely cut back, losing its goods yard and reducing to a single track in 1964. The station was unstaffed from this time as well and referred to in timetables as "Clevedon Halt". Passenger services ceased on 3 October 1966.

Mostly the branch was operated as a shuttle from Yatton, although there were a few direct trains from Bristol. Particularly in its final years, the branch was operated by diesel multiple units, and sometimes by a single-car diesel railcar. Even in its declining years, the service was fairly regular: the British Railways Western Region timetable for 1964–1965 shows 24 trains in each direction, with a few more on Saturdays and during the summer, though no Sunday service.

Clevedon station was situated at what is now "Queen's Square" shopping precinct, built in the 1980s. Originally a wooden structure, it was rebuilt in 1890 in typical Great Western style, much like the nearby stations of Yatton and Weston-super-Mare. It was demolished in 1968. [Cite book
author = Mike Oakley
title = "Somerset Railway Stations"
edition = 2002
publisher = Dovecote Press
page = p41] A set of points are preserved and mounted upright as a reminder of the square's history.

All the track bed in Clevedon has long since been built on as the town has expanded. The last original bits of track, around Kingston Seymour, were lifted in the late 1980s. Housing developments in the 1990s are built on some of the track bed in Yatton.

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