East Somerset Railway

East Somerset Railway
Cranmore railway station is the line's headquarters
Locale	Somerset
Commercial operations
Original gauge	7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge
Preserved operations
Length	1 mi 63 ch (2.9 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	9 November 1858
1 March 1862	Extension opened
1874	Converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Closed to passengers	1963
Closed	1985
Preservation history
1972	Restoration (of the ESR) begins
1974	ESR Granted Light Railway Order
1975	ESR re-opened
1981	ESR extended to Merryfield halt
1985	ESR extended into Mendip Vale
Headquarters	Cranmore

v t e East Somerset Railway
Legend
Cheddar Valley line & Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Mendip Vale Maesdown Bridge Old Tramway Bridge Merryfield Lane Cranmore West Engine Sheds & Sidings Cranmore Merehead Quarry Wanstrow Heart of Wessex Line to Weymouth Witham Heart of Wessex Line to Bristol Temple Meads

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East Somerset Railway shown within Somerset
(grid reference ST665435)

The East Somerset Railway is a 1 mi 63 ch (2.9 km) heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. The railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells but was considered for closure even before the publication of 'The Reshaping of British Railways' by Dr Richard Beeching in March 1963.