Staple Hill railway station explained

Staple Hill
Status:Disused
Borough:Staple Hill, South Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:2
Pregroup:Midland Railway
Postgroup:London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Years:1 November 1888
Events:Opened
Years2:7 March 1966
Events2:Closed

Staple Hill railway station was on the Midland Railway line between Bristol and Gloucester on the outskirts of Bristol. The station was on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway line, but opened in 1888, 44 years after the line had been opened through the site. It served the Victorian suburban developments in the area to the south of Mangotsfield.

Staple Hill was served by stopping trains between Bristol and Gloucester and also by trains between Bristol and Bath that used the Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line. Set in a cutting and with a tunnel at the east end of the station, it had difficult access and was approach by zigzag paths down the cutting embankment. The station buildings were in Gloucestershire, but the platforms extended inside the Bristol city boundary.

No goods facilities were ever provided at Staple Hill, but the station was well-used by commuters to Bristol and north to the factories at Mangotsfield. Services between Bristol and Gloucester were withdrawn on 4 January 1965 and between Bristol and Bath on 7 March 1966,[1] when the station closed. The line through the station was due to close on 3 January 1970, with services between Bristol and Gloucester diverted to the former Great Western Railway route via Filton Junction, but a landslip at Staple Hill a week before closure meant the diversion came into effect early. The route is now part of a cycle path and one of the platforms is still visible.

References

51.4792°N -2.5138°W

Notes and References

  1. Book: Quick, M. E.. Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. 2002. Railway and Canal Historical Society. Richmond. 402. 931112387.