History

9 July 1856             A meeting at the Egremont Hotel in Williton to discuss the construction of a railway from

                                   the West Somerset iron-fields to the Bristol and Exeter Railway.

17 August 1857        An Act of Parliament required the building of this railway by the West Somerset Railway

                                   Company and an initial £120,000 was raised.

31 March  1862      Stogumber Station was opened on the WSR line with trains running from Taunton to Watchet

                                   and operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway. The line was broad gauge.

16 July 1874            This line was extended to Minehead.

c 1882                       The line was changed to standard gauge.

c 1900                       The platform at Stogumber is extended.

c 1921                        The WSR is absorbed by the GWR.

6 April 1926             The signal box at Stogumber was closed.

c 1933                        The platform at Stogumber was extended again.

c 1935 to c 1939       A holiday Camp Coach was sited at Stogumber and again between 1952 and 1964.

c 1948                        The line became part of the Western Region of British Railways.

17 August 1963        The goods facilities were withdrawn and the goods shed demolished soon afterwards.

4 January 1971         The station with the line was closed.

May 1971                    The WSR Company was formed to run a heritage railway.

c 1973                          Somerset County Council bought the line and leased it back to the WSR Company.

28 March 1976          Trains ran from Minehead to Blue Anchor and to Williton on 28 August 1976.

7 May 1978                 The station was opened again and WSR trains were running from Minehead to Stogumber.

                                      The Station Master was Harry Horn.

9 June 1979                WSR line extended to Bishop’s Lydeard.

We have a full history on sale at the station for 10p.