Taunton railway station

Originally opened on 1 July 1842 as part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, Taunton was the terminus of the line until a new temporary terminus was opened on 1 May 1843 further west at Beambridge. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's original design was for a single-sided station with two platforms, each with their own buildings and train sheds, placed on the south side of the line. A hotel was built between them and the Grand Western Canal. Having both platforms on the town side of the line was meant to help passengers but was found to be problematic as the railway became busier, with each train having to cross the line used by trains in the opposite direction. An engine shed was provided at the west end of the station. A series of branches opened in the area over the next thirty years; these were the: • Yeovil branch line (1 October 1853) • West Somerset Railway to Watchet (31 March 1862) • Chard Branch Line (11 September 1866) • Devon and Somerset Railway (8 June 1871, extended to Barnstaple 1 November 1873). The station was unable to cope with all these extra trains and passengers, so a major rebuilding was completed on 17 August 1868. The platforms were extended again in 1895. Now covering the whole length of the original single-sided station, they were the longest platforms on the Great Western Railway (which had amalgamated with the Bristol and Exeter company on 1 January 1876). New bay platforms were added to handle the trains from the branch lines. This work forced another rebuilding of the station. The train shed was dismantled and new buildings constructed on the up (north) side along with a new island platform in the middle of the station. The platforms were numbered: • The down relief platform, principally used by expresses from Bristol (now platform 2 and a new lift installed in 2007 to replace an electric stair lift which could carry one seated person at a time but no luggage. A west-facing bay platform has also been reinstated for passenger use, although there are no regular trains timetabled to use it. Today, the original down station building survives, along with the hotel and the extensions added in 1868. An examination of the brickwork on the south-side building reveals where the footbridge was removed in favour of the present subway. On the north side, the ticket office dates from 1983 but the remaining buildings generally date from the 1932 rebuilding and stand on foundations from 1868. The goods warehouse is largely derelict and most of the engine shed has been razed to the ground except for an asbestos-clad repair shop built in 1932 and the ramp that used to serve an elevated coaling stage. The engine sidings are still used by engineers' plant machines; Freightliner locomotives are generally stabled at Fairwater Yard, but occasionally use the old engine shed sidings for additional storage space. The avoiding line is truncated but serves as a headshunt for the long engineers trains using Fairwater Yard. This was replaced by a more modern bridge with both steps and slopes making it more accessible. The ticket office was moved back to the south side of the station in 2021 as part of works to improve passenger facilities and make easier links to the town centre. A 400-space multi-storey car park was also built. ==Description==

The station is situated on an embankment and a bridge above road level. The ticket office is at ground level on the north side although the town centre lies to the south of the station, about away. There is a car park on both sides of the station and bus services to the town centre call at a bus stop in front of the ticket office; those from the town call at a stop on the main road that passes beneath the station. The south block is a Grade II listed building. Platform 5 is situated above the ticket office and is the main platform used by trains towards London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads and the north; the station buffet is situated here. The east-facing bay platform 6 is beyond this; it only sees occasional use nowadays, mainly being used for local trains towards Bristol. In the centre of the station is an island platform. The face on the north side is platform 4, which can be used by similar trains to platform 5. The face on the south side is platform 3, which is also used for services towards , but is used mainly for terminating services from the Bristol direction that can also start back from here. Platform 2 is used for services to Exeter and beyond. Trains can also start from this platform towards London and Bristol, if required. At the north end is the bus shelter for rail-link buses to Minehead; it has level access from a second car park. Platform 1 is another bay, at the west end of platform 2. This is not signalled for use by passenger trains but is sometimes used for stabling. Behind this are some sidings used by the engineers' department for stabling on-track plant and the headshunt for Fairwater Yard. This area also housed the station's engine shed but this closed many years ago, although the last remains were only demolished in 2012. Terminating trains from Bristol that need to cross to platform 2 or 3 have to run forward towards Fairwater and then return to the station once the driver has changed ends. To reach platform 6, they have to make this move and then run right through the station, the driver change ends and then reverses into platform 6. First Great Western proposed that alterations be made to the layout at the east end of the station to allow terminating trains from Bristol to run straight into platform 6. The shunting of trains across the layout at the west end of the station has long been a Taunton feature. In the days of trains to Minehead, and local stations to Exeter St Davids, terminating trains were drawn back from the up-side platforms, via various sidings, and then returned to the down-side departure platforms; pilot locomotives were provided to assist in the days of hauled stock. == Services ==

Great Western Railway operates services between and destinations including , , and , including the overnight Night Riviera sleeper service. Some of these services run non-stop between Taunton and . It also provides an hourly service from and , via , some of which continue to Exeter St Davids, Plymouth or Penzance. CrossCountry operates services during the daytime between or , and Paignton or Plymouth. Lumo, a British open-access operator owned by FirstGroup that already operates services on the East Coast Main Line, has submitted an application to the ORR to operate five return services each day between London and Paignton, via Bristol Temple Meads, including a stop at Taunton. The new service will commence in 2028 if approved by the ORR. ==Fairwater Yard ==

locomotives in Fairwater Yard A marshalling yard was opened to the west of the station on 30 July 1946. It was used for many years by the British Railways' Civil Engineer and was home to a Ruston & Hornsby 0-6-0 diesel shunter, PWM652. After the end of this permanent way work, the sidings were little used; it was mainly a place to store unwanted or damaged wagons. During 2006, the sidings were relaid and were returned to use in January 2007. Fairwater is now the home for a High Output Track Renewal System. This is engaged on renewal of track on the Great Western Main Line west of Swindon, the Reading to Exeter Main Line and the Bristol to Taunton line. The equipment based in the yard at that time was a Plasser & Theurer High Output Ballast Cleaner, a Matisa High Output Track Renewal Train and smaller on-track plant. The Matisa Track Renewal Train was removed from Fairwater Yard in April 2012, after it had completed its need for use in the South West. == Taunton Concrete Works ==

Taunton Concrete Works, situated to the north of the line east of the station, cast items for the railway such as bridge beams, platform components, cable troughs and fence posts. The facility was closed in 1994. == References ==