Introduction

The Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway (WC&PR) was a single-track standard-gauge (4' 8½") independant railway in the north-west of the county of Somerset, England. It was opened in 1897 and closed in 1940. It was taken over subsequently by the Great Western Railway (GWR), but they made virtually no use of it and the line was lifted completely in 1942/3.

By the end of the nineteenth century the seaside Somerset towns of Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare were popular holiday resorts. Both towns were served by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (and its successor the GWR), the former place by means of a branch line from Yatton and the later by a loop off the B&ER main line, but many local people wanted a direct connecting railway.

To be continued.....

© Chris Osment 2006