History
Avonmouth station was opened in early 1877 as Avonmouth Dock station, built for a cost of £275 near the site of an 1868 workers' platform on the south west of the single-track Bristol Port Railway and Pier line from Hotwells. The station was rebuilt and expanded in 1885 as part of the Clifton Extension Railway project by the Great Western and Midland Railways, the opening coinciding with the first services from Bristol Temple Meads via Clifton Down. The station, now named Avonmouth Dock Joint, had an island platform, one side for through services, the other a terminal line, with a run-around loop added in 1904. A canopy was built in 1900, with facilities further improved throughout the early years of the twentieth century, although it was built mainly of corrugated iron and wood. An engine shed (closed 1924), turntable (disused by mid-30s) and signal box (Avonmouth Dock Passenger, with 36 levers when it closed in 1969) were also built.
During the First World War the station handled 35,000 animals en route to a depot at Shirehampton. Platform tickets were introduced due to demand from people wanting to see people off, and the island platform was lengthened to 330 feet (100 m) and a new "up" (to London) platform opened on 15 July 1918, connected to the island by a footbridge and level crossing.
During the grouping of 1923, the station remained jointly owned, although the partners were now the Great Western Railway and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, who in 1926 rebuilt the station with a large brick station house on the island platform, and separate parcel facilities. The up platform was also rebuilt with a wooden canopy - both canopy and parcels office are still standing today, although the office is now rented out by the station operator as a hair dresser.
The station passed from the Great Western to the Western Region of British Railways during the nationalisation of 1948. On 20 June 1966, the station closed to goods traffic, with the signal box closing three years later in 1969. The sidings and terminal platform are now covered by an industrial complex. In common with most Bristol stations, a large part of the platform length has been cordoned off as it is no longer necessary for the 100-foot (30 m)-long trains which operate the line.
Read more about this topic: Avonmouth Railway Station
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