Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway

A broad gauge railway from Portishead to Clevedon was proposed in 1865 to connect with the Bristol and Portishead Railway which was then under construction. If it had been built it would have allowed direct services from Clevedon to Bristol which would have avoided the need to change at Yatton.[1]

A new proposal in 1884 envisaged the three towns being linked by a 'Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead Tramway'. This standard gauge line would run along the street from the Boulevard to Ashcombe Road in Weston-super-Mare and then off-road (apart from numerous level crossings) from there to Portishead. An Act of Parliament authorising its construction was passed on 6 August 1885.[2][3]

Building of the Weston-super-Mare to Clevedon section of the tramway began in 1887 but progress was slow due to many legal and financial problems. The Act had stipulated that construction should be completed within 5 years but further Acts had to be passed on 25 July 1890 and again on 27 July 1892 to extend the time allowed. The section from Ashcombe Road to Clevedon was formally inspected by the Board of Trade on 26 August 1897 but not allowed to open. Due to the long time taken to build the line some of the wooden sleepers had rotted and needed to be replaced. The local council also complained about the state of the track along the streets in Weston-super-Mare so this section was taken up. A second inspection was made on 9 November and the line finally opened on 1 December 1897.[2] Instead of the extension to the Boulevard, the Tramway provided horse buses from Ashcombe Road to Birnbeck Pier and the Sanatorium for a few years.[4]

The location of Clapton Road Halt near Portishead.

The powers to construct the railway had run out in 1896 so another Act of Parliament was required. After some opposition from the Clevedon Urban District Council regarding the necessary level crossings, the Act was passed on 9 August 1899. In addition to allowing construction to be completed to Portishead by August 1904 it enabled the tramway to convert to a light railway with the name changed to the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway Company.[5]

Financial difficulties continued. By 1904 the company was about £76,000 in debt so a new limited company was floated, the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Docks Railway, with a capital of £120,000.[6] The new company still found it difficult to raise enough money until September 1905 when £14,500 of 5% debentures were taken up by the Excess Insurance Company. In 1906 it borrowed £16,000 from other sources but was unable to repay the interest so the Excess Insurance Company provided funds up to £15,000 in March 1907 on the condition that the existing directors were replaced by new directors chosen by the insurance company.[7]

With money available again work could be completed on the new line to Portishead. It was inspected on 31 July 1907 and opened for traffic on 7 August 1907.[8]

In 1909 Cuthbert Heath, the managing director of the Excess Insurance Company, petitioned for the railway to enter receivership. Spencer Gore-Browne, one of the directors nominated by the insurance company, was appointed as the receiver and Colonel Stephens, the so-called' 'Light Railway king' was appointed as manager in 1911. He managed the railway along with a number of similar lines from an office in Tonbridge, Kent.[9]

Stephens tried to gain additional business for the line. A small branch was opened at Wick St Lawrence to serve a wharf which the railway built on the River Yeo; the railway operated some boats carrying coal from Wales for a few years in the 1920s. Two additional passenger halts were opened in 1917-1918 and the larger stations given improved facilities. From 1921 a number of internal combustion railcars and rail-mounted tractors were used which significantly reduced costs. Steam locomotives were retained, especially for the trains from Clevedon to Portishead which conveyed heavy traffic from quarries in the area.[9]

Colonel Stephens died on 23 October 1931 and was replaced as manager by his former assistant W. H. Austen. Spencer Gore-Browne died in 1933 and Cuthbert Heath was running down his involvement as he approached retirement. Gore-Brown had been known to pay some charges out of his own pocket but the new owners and receiver were less kindly disposed to the railway. Receipts were reducing too, and from 1935 some of the traffic from Black Rock Quarry (the largest freight forwarder on the line) was transferred to road haulage.[9]

The company obtained a court order to close the line and the last train ran on 18 May 1940.[9] Shortly after this the Great Western Railway (GWR) purchased the line (but not the land) to use to store wagons loaded with coal that could not be delivered due to the war. The GWR inspected the line on 16 June 1940 but had difficulty in getting one of the Terrier class locomotives to work. They concluded that the bridge across the River Yeo could support a train of six wagons.[10] Some wagons were stored in various sidings at the Weston-super-Mare end of the line but were moved back across the river in case of bombing. The WC&PR rolling stock was all taken to Swindon Works in August 1940 but was scrapped except for two Terriers which were overhauled and retained by the GWR. Lifting the line started on 3 October 1942 from the Weston-super-Mare end using one of the Terriers. By the end of October the track had been lifted as far as Ebdon Lane. Between February and June 1943 the track was lifted between Portishead and the River Yeo but the remainder had to be removed by road. 16,000 tons of material was recovered.[11]

The company which owned the land no longer existed so it could not be sold off. The town councils at Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon wanted it for roads and houses so paid the £3,750 value of the land to the Bank of England.[11]