Midsomer Norton Station

About This Location:

• Midsomer Norton railway station was on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway between Bath Green Park and Shepton Mallet.
• The station opened in 1874.
• In 1948 nationalisation the Somerset and Dorset Railway became part of the Southern Region of British Railways.
• Along with the rest of the line it closed in 1966 the same year Norton Hill Colliery closed.
• Railway wagons were taken from Norton Hill pit by a small locomotive called Lord Salisbury to the main line at the station.
• There was a large white wooden gate the wagons had to go through to get to the main line.
• Most of Norton Hill Colliery’s coal was transported by rail, the station playing a big part in the organisation.
• The Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust took the lease on the station in 1995 to restore it.
• They have restored many of the buildings and laid a section of track.
• Future plans for further extension of the track have been proposed.
• The station is open most weekends with trains running a mile towards Chilcompton.
• There is a working signal box, retail shop and a buffet car serving refreshments
• It’s a great place to visit.

About Somerset Coal:

We believe that Somerset coal was first discovered by the Romans. They were in the West Country 43AD, and there are references to it being used at the Temple of Minerva in Aqua Sulis (Bath). The coal used was probably found in coal outcrops around Stratton-on-the-Fosse, and transported along the Roman road – the Fosseway – for use in Bath.

Early coal workings, from coal outcrops, were largely in the Nettlebridge Valley, around Stratton-on-the-Fosse and Coleford, and to the North of the Coalfield, around High Littleton. It is estimated that output in 1500 was estimated about 10,000 tons a year, and that this had increased 10-fold by the late 1600s…

For even more information and history of Somerset Coal, Click Here.