Radstock - Transport

Transport

Radstock was the terminus for the southern branch of the Somerset Coal Canal, which was turned into a tramway in 1815 and later incorporated into the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. It then became a central point for railway development with large coal depots, warehouses, workshops and a gas works. As part of the development of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway an 8-mile (13 km) line from Radstock to Frome was built to carry the coal. In the 1870s the broad-gauge line was converted to standard gauge and connected to the Bristol and North Somerset Line connecting it to the Great Western Railway at Bristol; the GWR also took over the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway in 1876. The Bristol and North Somerset line closed to passenger traffic in 1959. The line is now the route of National Cycle Route 24, otherwise known as the Colliers' Way, a national cycle route which passes many landmarks associated with the coal field; other local roads and footpaths follow the tramways developed during the coal mining years. The cycle route currently runs from Dundas Aqueduct to Frome via Radstock, although it is intended to provide a continuous cycle route to Southampton and Portsmouth.

Radstock had a second railway station on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway extension to Bath, which closed to passengers in 1966. The stations were adjacent to each other in the centre of the town, and each had level crossings across the busy A367 road, causing long tailbacks at busy periods. The S&D line also carried substantial coal traffic. A spur from the Great Western line on to the S&D and continuing to Writhlington Colliery remained open for a few years after the railway's closure to passenger traffic, until the colliery closed in 1973.