Great Western Coffee Shop

I've just come back from a very pleasant cycle along the old railway between Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, and it set me thinking:

What stretches of railway have now been closed for longer than they were ever open?


Initially I wondered if Exmouth-Budleigh might be a candidate, but it hasn't got there yet (open for 64 years, 1903 - 1967; closed for 53 years 1967 - 2020). I suppose it will become one in 2031, though!

Can forum members think of any bits of railway now closed for longer than they were open?

(Off the top of my head I reckon I can think of two examples in 'our' area, but won't mention them yet. Partly not to spoil things and partly because I need to double check on wikipedia...)

Fawley branch - for passengers but not freight

Fawley (for passengers) - a good answer, and not one I had thought of.

My two hunches (now verified by wikipedia) are very much completely closed.

(I did have a third hunch, but it won't get there until 2027...)

Little Somerford towards Malmesbury, 1933 - 1951 (passenger) or 1962 (completely).
Closed longer than open from 1998

Dauntsey towards Malmesbury, 1877 - 1933.
Closed longer than open from 1989.

Section up to Malmesbury from where those two came together, 1877 - 1962,
So not closed longer than open until 2027.

What about stations ... nearest to me, Beanacre Halt only open from 1905 - 1955, so went over in 2005.

Those Wiltshire answers hadn't occurred to me, Graham!

Gosh, I wonder if there are many more of these than I thought?

There's the Lynton and Barnstaple, opened 1898, closed 1935. Arguably reopened in part from 2004 but still shut for more time than open.

Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway, 1897-1940.
Clifton Rocks Railway, 1893-1934
Yeovil Hendford Station, 1857-1860
Lyng Halt, 1928-1964
Several halts on the S&DJR, 1920s/30s-1950s
Bridgwater North, 1890-1952
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, 1898-1935 (short section to Parracombe Halt reopened in 2006)
Monkton Combe Halt (aka Titfield from Titfield Thunderbolt film), 1910-1915 & 1923-1925

All dates refer to openings and closures to passenger services.

There are some very interesting cases around.

New Passage Pier to Pilning ... 1863 - 1886
Amesbury to Bulford ... 1906 - 1952 (passenger) 1965 (freight)
Lee on Solent branch ... 1894 - 1931 (passienger) 1935 (freight)
Weston Clevedon and Portishead ... 1897 - 1940. Beaten on that one
Halwill Junction to Meeth ... 1925 to 1965.
Hotwells to Sea Mills ... 1865 - 1922
Lynton and Barnstaple ... 1988 - 1935 Beaten to it on that one top

The WC&P was one of my hunches!

... and Severn Beach to Pilning, 1928-1964

I've not found a par score yet (same time in years open as closed). Closest I've found is Henbury, 1910-1964. 54 years open, 56 years closed. Had you asked the question in 2018... ;)

A variant of this would be lines which have now been reopened for longer than they were closed. The Aberdare branch was closed from 64 to 88, so comfortably now exceeds the period of closure.  Also the Maesteg Line. I'm guessing the Melksham line too, (in so far as it had an intermediate passenger service).

Fawkham Junction to Southfleet Junction (CTRL 1)?

Ive got an "is it or isnt it?" one for you:

Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway.

Opened 1901
Closed 1917
Reopened 1924
Closed to passengers 1932
Closed for freight 1936

However, two short sections were left in place for shunting freight until 1967, and arguably a 100m stub of track still exists west of Basingstoke station...

Wonderful suggestions, all!

The second of my 'hunches' has not been mentioned yet. It is

- in our area
- standard gauge
- carried passengers
- has an unusual characteristic
- closed remarkably early

Any guesses?

Invergarry and Fort Augustus. Probably a few other obscure Scottish branches too.

Kings Sutton to Kingham (1887 to 1951).

Not quite Ashendon Junction to Grendon Underwood (1906 to 1966).

Hallatrow to Camerton ... 1882 - 1925 is, I suspect, the one you may have in mind.
Wantage Road to Wantage ... 1875 - 1925/1945
Ludgershall to Tidworth ... 1905 - 1955
Hurstbourne to Longparish ... 1885 - 1934
Newquay Harbour ... 1846 - 1925

I'm afraid it isn't....

Do diversions count? St Germans to Defiance re-routed 1908.

The original Hayle railway, via the Angarrick incline to the first station in Hayle, under the present viaduct.

Opened to freight in 1837 & passengers in 1843. Closed 1852 when the West Cornwall Railway opened the current mainline.
Open 15 years
Closed 168 years.  Could be the record holder?

I could act the Clever Dick and suggest contractors railways like the one built for Camerton Branch construction which existed briefly up to the opening of the line but nobody likes a smart a**e!

I'm having trouble not over-answering on this topic too ...
West Bay to Bridport
Moorswater to Cheesewring (yes, it did carry excursion passengers)
Merstone to Ventnor West

A "not quite" - in two years' time the Lambourn branch beyond Welford will qualify (1898-1960)

No one has got this one yet....

Clifton Rocks Railway by any chance ?...

Abbotsbury Branch opened 1885 closed 1952, open for 65 years. Now closed for 68 years.

West Bay branch opened 1884 final closure 1962 for goods. Open 78 years, closed for 58 years. I remember walking this section around 1960 thinking it was closed and meeting a goods train on the line!

Thornbury, for passengers: Open 72 years, 1872-1944, closed 76 years and counting.

Great suggestion - but not the one I had in mind...

If it's regarded as being in our area - The Brill Tramway - 1871-1935?

Another great suggestion, but not the one I'm thinking of (which was open for a remarkably short amount of time).

This thread is addictive ... the West Somerset Mineral Railway ... open from Watchet from 1861 (1865 for passengers) to 1898 ... seems to fit the in area, standard gauge, closed very early, some unusual features like an incline on their main line.

Your turn to beat me to it, grahame!

I'm betting 50p it's the one lympstone_commander was thinking of.

A fascinating suggestion from grahame (I'm learning about lots of railways I didn't even know existed), but I'm afraid it isn't the one and BNM loses his 50p.

I can add some more clues (in bold):

- in our area
- standard gauge
- carried passengers
- has an unusual characteristic with regard to its relationship with the rest of the network
- closed remarkably early (during the 20th century)
- worked by adhesion throughout

Most tramways were narrower gauge 3'6" being the most common. However, at standard gauge:

Leamington & Warwick Tramways & Omnibus Company, 1881 - 1930
Weston-super-Mare & District Electric Supply Co Ltd 1902 - 1937
Bath Electric Tramways Company 1904 - 1939

Southampton Corporation Tramways 1898 - 1949 (31.12); horse drawn different co, from 1879 (5.5)
This will have been closed longer than open (by my calculation) in about 10 days time.

Edit to add ... 2 railways on Jersey and one on Guernsey fit the bill ... Alderney remains open.

Great answers, but not the one I'm thinking of, for which additional clues are


- not a tramway
- not on an island [edit: well, I mean it is in mainland Britain]


I can think of a final clue (which would make it rather easy to guess, I think) which I can give this evening if no-one gets it before then....

I'm sure it's not the right answer, and someone's probably suggested it already, but: Bristol Port Railway and Pier? (Aka Port and Pier Railway)...

I'm afraid it isn't...

Not in our area but possibly the longest closed.

Edenham and Littel Bytham railway 1851 1884.

Fawkham Junction to HS1.

I've only just got to this thread. Going back nearly to the start, BNM mentions Hendford, closing in 1860. If that was the same as Hendfoed Halt, I suspect that 1960 is closer to the real closure date.

They were two different stations. Hendford was Yeovil’s first station, opening with the B&E’s line from Taunton in 1853, four years later it was extended to meet the GWR at Pen Mill.

 Hendford Halt was opened in 1933 to serve the developing Westlands and closed with the line in 1964. I travelled on the last service into Yeovil that day. It was one of a number of halts the GWR opened around then, others included Chetnole, Thornford, Cattistock and Stratton & Bradford Peverell on the Weymouth line

Not sure - Severn Beach to Pilning was opened in 1900, and upgraded to take passenger trains in 1928, so not sure if that counts until 2028.

Looking through all the posts, I wonder which (if any) of these long lost lines could make a useful comeback today, no doubt for different purposes to the original in many cases.      Ignoring little matters like trackbeds lost under growths of houses and blown up viaducts, I came up with three to put forward for the next round of government funding, in addition to the Lynton and Barnstaple where the team is probably looking to do the job without DfT, Network Rail, GRIP, etc.

My three are all parts of somewhat wider schemes as they take trains along the "gone longer that open" section then onto other elements.   Interesting thought ... rather than dilute this thread, let's see what else people come up with as we complete Lympstone Commuter's quest.

By the way - note to  Lympstone_Commuter - huge Thank You for posting this thread.  A fascinating question and lots of responses tell me I'm not alone in enjoying it!

Ringwood to Christchurch (open 1862-1935, thus early closure, landowner had right to stop any train at a private station according to Wikipedia, is that it's unusual characteristic?)

Sorry, no - but a great example! The one I'm thinking of was open for a *remarkably* short amount of time.....

it sounds like a temporary terminus opened prior to the main one.

...it does - but it isn't...

It's a genuine line - from one settlement to another, that lasted for less time than, for example, the L&B

Until you posted that I was thinking of Heathrow Junction, open from 19.1.1998 to 23.6.1998

Wootton Bassett Road Station opened as temporary terminus of GWR in 1840. The GWR was opened from here to Chippenham on 31 May 1841. The temporary station remained in use here until 30 June 1841 . It was superseded by the permanent Wootton Bassett station on 30 July 1841. (source Wikipedia)

The temporary station was located about 4 miles (6.4 km) by road east of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire.

One problem - this was not standard gauge.

Darn it ... I'm looking again. East Southsea, 1904-1914 though it was open from 1885 as Southsea.

Selsey Tramway, 1897 - 1935.  Extension from Selsey Town to Selsey Beach just 1900 - 1904

Wrington Vale Railway qualifies for passengers, and the Wrington / Blagdon section for freight.  Opened 1901, closed to passengers 1931 and to goods in 1963.  Wrington to Blagdon closed in 1950.

No one has guessed the mystery line in 24 hours, so here is another clue:

The name of the company that built and operated this line contains a keyboard character that does not appear in the name of any other British railway company.

I will admit that I travelled from Bridport to West Bay and back 3 times in the late 1950s. On the footplate. O for the good old days!

Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore!

Pedant alert!!
It was Bradford Peverell & Stratton (halt)

We have a winner!

Congratulations! I don't know if your 'prize' should be BNM's 50p wager?  ;)

Thanks - I'll leave the 50p in BNM's pocket for the time being.

Brilliant entertainment - thanks LC!

Thanks. It bought a bag of reduced to clear Mini Cheddars (BB 31/06/20) in the village social club tonight. 😜

Finn doesn't care about small things like 'Best Before...'

Good buy .... I don't recall that we've had a 31st June [yet] this year!

What are its dates?

Ahh, typo.  :-[ Meant 30/06/20.

For Bmblbzzz (from Wikipedia)-

"The line opened in stages between 1901 and 1908, but closed in 1917, having been requisitioned by the War Office. Re-opening the line after World War I was considered, but dismissed as a viable option."

The Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway, opened in 1862, closed in 1935 = 73 years
1936 to 2020 = 85 years. Though of course Cristchurch to Bournenouth is very much still open.
Ignore this. already done and replied to. Sorry.

Still open, well part of it from Bournemouth to Christchurch.