Two former railway lines serving the town of Chard in Somerset, England
Chard branch line
The bridge over the River Tone at Creech St Michael
Overview
Status
Dismantled
Owner
LSWR/SR (from Chard Jn) B&ER/GWR (from Creech)
Locale
Somerset
Termini
Chard Junction and Taunton
Chard Central
Stations
8
Service
Type
Cross country
History
Opened
1863 (from Chard Jn) 1866 (from Creech)
Closed
1962
Technical
Line length
3.06 mi (4.9 km) (from Chard Jn) 12.79 mi (20.6 km) (from Creech)
Number of tracks
1
Track gauge
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
The Chard branch lines were two lines serving the town of Chard in Somerset, England. One was a northward branch, opened in 1863, from the Salisbury to Exeter main line, and the other, opened in 1866, ran south-eastwards from the Bristol – Taunton main line. Each branch had its own Chard passenger station at first, although the two lines connected in Chard.
Although the town had an important history, it was declining during the second half of the twentieth century and the branch lines retained a rural character.
They were operated as a single entity from 1917, but finally closed to passenger traffic in 1962, and to goods traffic in 1966.
The Chardbranch lines were two lines serving the town of Chard in Somerset, England. One was a northward branch, opened in 1863, from the Salisbury to...
extend to Chard Junction as originally proposed. The line between Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter is not electrified. Beyond Exeter, the line continued...
Somerset, England. It was the junction of a short branchline to Chard. It was opened in 1860 as Chard Road, and closed in 1966. An adjacent milk depot...
Railway. The village had a Chalet-style station, known as Hatch, on the ChardBranchLine which closed in 1963. In 1962, following the Beeching Report, railway...
These were the Yeovil branchline (1 October 1853), the West Somerset Railway to Watchet (31 March 1862), the ChardBranchLine (11 September 1866), and...
The Bristol and Exeter Railway line was opened through the village in 1842 and the junction of the ChardBranchLine was located here in 1860, but Creech...
Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC (21 December 1847 – 1 November 1897) was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military...
first railway to serve Chard was the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) which opened Chard Road on its new Yeovil to Exeter line in 1860. On 8 May 1863...
trackbed of the old branch running off across the moors towards Athelney. A branchline, the Chardbranch, from Taunton to Chard Central was opened on...
area, two on the Seaton branchline, and one on the Chardbranchline. Later on, some were used on the Lymington branchline, but by the end of 1867 all...
1928) Lyng Halt on the old Yeovil branch, and Durston and Creech St Michael railway stations on the Bristol to Exeter Line, but fast trains avoided the middle...
of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to Chard and Axminster). The parish includes the hamlet of Sea. Ilminster is mentioned...
helicopter training. Ilton Halt was a small railway station on the ChardBranchLine between 1928 and 1962. It included a platform of concrete construction...
line. It opened a number of branches within the general area it served: to Clevedon, Cheddar, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Chard, Yeovil and Tiverton. The...
The Chard Canal was a 13.5 miles (21.7 km) tub boat canal in Somerset, England, that ran from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St. Michael,...
it began to operate town services in Taunton when the town's single tram line closed due to increases in the cost of electricity. National's operations...
in Great Britain Beeching cuts Morrison, Brian (ed.). "The Meldon Quarry Branch". Modern Railways Pictorial, 1986. Ian Allan. p. 16. ISBN 0-7110-1510-4...
with three semi-circular arches. Donyatt had a small halt along the ChardBranchLine just before Ilminster, which served the local community, it was constructed...
(later Chard Junction) to Chard Town; Lyme Regis; the branchline from Axminster to Lyme Regis opened on 24 August 1903; Seaton; a branchline from Seaton...
The Charding Nullah, traditionally known as the Lhari stream and called Demchok River by China, is a small river that originates near the Charding La pass...
these included a line from Bridgwater (on the Bristol Channel) to Lyme Regis, and another connecting Bridport and Axminster or Chard Junction, serving...
Portishead branchline for freight traffic on 7 January 2002. The period of canals as an important transport network was short-lived. Before the Chard Canal...
26 miles (24.56 km) single-track section between Chard Junction and Honiton. In the late 1980s the line found itself part of British Rail's Network SouthEast...
of election. There was a station on the ChardBranchLine that closed in 1962. The road bridge over the line is designated as a Grade II listed building...
was built using materials from the 1928 Ilton Halt formerly of the Chardbranchline. The platform was reconstructed and became Cranmore West in 1978....
Global Information