Norton Fitzwarren - Transport

Transport

Norton Fitzwarren was the site of a boat lift on the now disused section of the Grand Western Canal from 1839 to 1867.

Norton Fitzwarren is on the former Bristol and Exeter Railway mainline, which was operated and then taken over by the GWR in 1890. The station became an important junction station, with branch lines to Minehead and Barnstaple diverging at this point. Resultantly, the station had two island platforms creating four platforms. There were also extensive freight handling facilities, as the station was located west of the Fairwater Yard, a large regional freight yard located south of the mainline. During World War 2, the United States Army took over Norton Manor Camp located immediately northwest of the station, and equipped it with extensive railway sidings, all connected to the station. The first major railway accident occurred on 10 November 1890, and the second on 4 November 1940, which killed 13 Royal Navy personnel who were working at the camp.

Norton Fitzwarren station closed in 1966, the same year that the British Army supply depot closed. Taunton Cider took over the former goods yard to the north of the site, but this also closed in the early 1990s, and has been redeveloped as housing. Most of the former Minehead branch is now operated by the West Somerset Railway as a heritage railway.