The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a standard gauge line which operated in the UK county of Somerset. It ran from ironstone mines in the Brendon Hills to the port of Watchet on the Bristol Channel. From there the ore was carried across the Bristol Channel by ship to Newport and thence to Ebbw Vale for smelting to extract the iron.
The line included a rope-worked inclined plane 3,272 feet long to bring the ore down a 770 feet vertical interval on a 1 in 4 gradient.
The line opened fully in 1861, and for a period passengers were carried, but the mineral extraction declined and the railway's fortunes declined too. It closed in 1898. A new mineral venture was attempted in 1907, and the line was partly re-opened, but this failed too and the line closed again in 1910.
The massive inclined plane is a listed structure.
Read more about West Somerset Mineral Railway: Origins, The Incline, and Early Operations, Watchet Harbour, Extension Beyond The Head of The Incline, Passenger Operation, Decline and Closure, Remains of The Line
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