West Somerset Mineral Railway - Origins

Origins

In the mid-nineteenth century, the proprietors of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works acquired an interest in iron ore deposits in the Brendon Hills on the north side of Exmoor. Iron ore had been known there for centuries but not exploited industrially until the Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company was formed, in 1853. At an altitude of over 1,000 feet and remote from usable roads, the deposits needed a form of transport to get the ore to South Wales. Thomas Brown, managing partner of the Ebbw Vale company realised that a railway to the quay at Watchet was the solution. The line was designed by Rice Hopkins.

The Ebbw Vale proprietors formed the West Somerset Mineral Railway for the purpose, and obtained Parliamentary authority on 16 July 1855 for a standard gauge (4 ft 8½ in, 1,435 mm) line from Watchet Quay to Heath Poult (or "Exton"). The authorised capital was £50,000.

Work started on construction in May 1856, and a locomotive was obtained in November 1856; however it was "put out of action" by serious damage to the boiler.

The line was ready for traffic from Watchet to Roadwater by April 1857, and for the time being that acted as the railhead for the minerals; the line was extended to Comberow by December 1857, making an extent of 7½ miles (12 km). However in the interim period another accident occurred when two locomotives collided, killing three men.

An Act was obtained on 27 July 1857 to extend the line to Minehead, with a branch to Cleeve; an additional £35,000 capital was authorised. This work was never carried out.