Bristol Temple Meads railway station

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Bristol Temple Meads
The station has a dramatic curved train shed with a wrought-iron roof structure.
Location
Place	Bristol
Local authority	Bristol
Coordinates	51°26′56″N 2°34′48″W / 51.449, -2.580Coordinates: 51°26′56″N 2°34′48″W / 51.449, -2.580
Grid reference	ST597725
Operations
Station code	BRI
Managed by	First Great Western
Platforms in use	8 (numbered 1-15)
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2002/03 *	5.177 million
2004/05 *	5.641 million
2005/06 *	6.066 million
History
31 August 1840	Opened
1871–1878	Extended
1930s	Extended
1965	Original platforms closed
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bristol Temple Meads from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Railways in Bristol

Legend Cross Country Route to Gloucester South Wales Main Line to Swindon Bristol Parkway South Wales Main Line to Swansea Goods line to Avonmouth docks Filton Abbey Wood To Severn Beach M32 motorway Stapleton Road MR (Bristol and Gloucester Railway) Lawrence Hill Waste Depot Goods Depots Bristol St Philips (Terminus. 1870-1953) Bristol Harbour Great Western Main Line to London Bristol Temple Meads (Interchange) Bristol Harbour Railway and Industrial Museum St Philips Marsh (TMD) River Avon GWR (Bristol and North Somerset Railway) Bedminster Parson Street Goods line to Royal Portbury Docks Bristol to Taunton Line

Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important interchange hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the train services. Bristol's other main-line station, Bristol Parkway, a "parkway" station opened in 1972, is on the northern outskirts of the Bristol conurbation.^[1]

Opened on 31 August 1840,^[1] it was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the western terminus of the, 7 ft 0¼ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge, Great Western Railway, from London Paddington station. Soon, it was also used by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, the Bristol Harbour Railway and the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway. The station was expanded in the 1870s by Francis Fox; and again in the 1930s by P E Culverhouse. Brunel's original station is a Grade 1 listed building.^[2] It is no longer part of the operational station; instead it currently houses the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BE&CM).

Temple Meads is now owned by Network Rail and is operated under a franchise by First Great Western who provide the majority of trains to London, along with local services and inter-urban routes to destinations such as Cardiff, Southampton, Portsmouth and Weymouth. Long-distance services are provided by CrossCountry to destinations as diverse as Plymouth and Penzance in the West, Manchester Piccadilly and York in the North, and Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland. A few trains to London Waterloo station are provided by South West Trains.

The number of people entering and leaving the station increased from 5.177 million in the twelve months to March 2003, to 6.066 million three years later, making it the 37th most-used Network Rail station and the 15th-busiest outside the London area. In addition, it was estimated that more than 850,000 people used the station to change trains.^[3]

There are eight tracks serving passenger platforms but most are numbered separately at each end so the platform numbers run from 1 to 15. To further complicate matters, platform 2 is not signalled for passenger trains, and platform 14 does not exist.

[edit] History

The name of the station, Temple Meads, derives from the nearby Temple Church, which was built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century, rebuilt in the 14th century, and gutted by bombing during World War II.^[4] The word "mæds" is an Old English derivation of meadow, referring to the water meadows alongside the River Avon that were part of Temple parish. As late as 1820 the site was undeveloped pasture outside the boundaries of the old city,^[5] some distance from the commercial centre. It lay between the Floating Harbour and the city's cattle market which had only been built in 1830.

[edit] Brunel's station

Brunel's original station now houses the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum.

The original terminal station was built in 1839-41 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the railway's engineer.^[6] The station was on a viaduct to raise it above the level of the Floating Harbour and River Avon; the latter being crossed via the grade I listed Avon Bridge. It was covered by a 200 feet (61 m) train shed; which was extended beyond the platforms by 155 feet (47 m) into a storage area and engine shed; which in turn was fronted by an office building in the Tudor style.^[7] Train services commenced on 31 August 1840 to Bath and were extended to London Paddington station from 30 June 1841 following the completion of the Box Tunnel.^[8]

A few weeks before the start of the Paddington services, the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) had opened on 14 June 1841.^[9] Its trains reversing in and out of the GWR station. The third railway at Temple Meads was the Bristol and Gloucester Railway which opened on 8 July 1844 but was taken over by the Midland Railway (MR) on 1 July 1845.^[8] This again used the GWR platforms, diverging onto its own line on the far side of the bridge over the Floating Harbour. All three railways were engineered by Brunel; and the lines were initially built using the 7 ft 0¼ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge.^[9] Brunel also designed the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, but this was not opened until 25 August 1863, nearly four years after his death. It too terminated at Temple Meads.

[edit] The B&ER station

In 1845 the B&ER built its own station at right angles to the GWR station and also an "express platform" on the curve linking the two lines so that through trains no longer had to reverse. The wooden B&ER station was known locally as "The Cowshed";^[7] but a grand headquarters was built at street level on the west side of its station in 1852-54 to the Jacobean designs of S C Fripp.^[6] The Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway opened a branch off the Bristol and Exeter line west of the city on 18 April 1867, the trains being operated by the B&ER and using their platforms at Temple Meads.

In 1850 an engine shed had been opened on the south bank of the River Avon on the east side of the lines leading to the B&ER station.^[10] Between 1859 and 1875 23 new engines were built in its workshops, including several of the distinctive Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives.^[11]

[edit] Goods stations

The GWR built a 326 ft by 138 ft (99 m by 42 m) goods shed on the north side of the station adjacent to the Floating Harbour, with a small dock for transhipment of goods to barges (though not to sea-going ships as the wharf was upstream of Bristol Bridge). Wagons had to be lowered 12 feet (3.7 m) to the goods shed on hoists. On 11 March 1872 a direct connection to the harbour was made in the form of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a joint operation of the three railways, which ran between the passenger station and the goods yard, across the street outside on a bridge, and then descended into a tunnel under the churchyard of St. Mary Redcliffe on its way to a wharf in a more convenient position downstream of Bristol Bridge.^[7]

The B&ER had a goods depot at Pylle Hill (south of the station) from 1850; and the MR had an independent yard at Avonside Wharf on the opposite side of the Floating Harbour from 1858.^[12]

[edit] 1870s expansion

The main entrance to the station built in the 1870s between the terminal and through platforms. The tower was topped by a spire until World War 2

The additional railway routes put the two short – 140 yards (130 m) – platforms of Brunel's terminus under pressure and so a scheme was developed to extend the station. An enabling Act of Parliament was passed in 1865 and between 1871 and 1878 the station was extensively rebuilt. Brunel's platforms were extended by 212 yards (194 m) towards London, and a new three-platform through station built on the site of the express platform, while the B&ER station was closed and the site used for a new carriage shed.^[13] This work is usually attributed to Brunel's former associate Matthew Digby Wyatt, however there is no documentary evidence of his involvement in the Minutes of the Station Joint Committee. The only signature on the drawings is that of Francis Fox who was the engineer of the B&ER.^[14] The curved wrought-iron train shed over the new through platforms was 500 feet (150 m) long on the platform wall. The goods depot was rebuilt with the inconvenient wagon hoists replaced by a steep incline connection from the east end of Temple Meads, which meant that the sidings in the goods shed were turned at right angles to their original alignment and the barge dock was filled in.^[12]

Trains on the Bristol and South Wales Union and the Midland routes operated from the terminal platforms while GWR services used the new through platforms.^[7] The capital costs of the new work were split 4/14 GWR/B&ER and 10/14 MR. The ongoing costs were split GWR 3/8, MR 3/8 and B&ER 2/8. Hence when the GWR absorbed the B&ER in 1876 the split was GWR 5/8 and MR (later LMS) 3/8 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948.^[14]

[edit] Change of gauge

On 29 May 1854 the Midland Railway had laid a third rail along their tracks from Bristol to Gloucester to give a mixed gauge so that they could operate 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge passenger trains while broad gauge goods trains could still run to collieries north of Bristol. Sidings at South Wales Junction allowed traffic to be transhipped between wagons on the two different gauges. The GWR continued to operate its trains on the broad gauge,^[8] but on 3 September 1873 it opened the standard gauge Bristol and North Somerset Railway. This had a junction nearly 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the station on the London line and so the mixed gauge was extended to that point. During the following year it was continued beyond Bath in connection with the conversion of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway to standard gauge. The mixed gauge was then laid through Box Tunnel on 16 May 1875 and so standard gauge trains could run from Bristol all the way to London, although the broad gauge was retained west of Temple Meads and through trains from London to Penzance and other stations in Devon and Cornwall continued to be formed of broad gauge trains.^[9] Goods traffic was transhipped between the two gauges in the B&ER yard at Pylle Hill.

The B&ER converted to mixed gauge the line from Bristol as far as Taunton by 1 June 1875, but the remainder of the line to Exeter was not done until 1 March 1876, three months after the B&ER had amalgamated with the GWR. The remainder of the lines beyond Exeter were converted to standard gauge on 21 May 1892^[9] so the extra rails at Temple Meads fell into disuse and could be removed to leave a purely standard gauge layout. This allowed the through station to be rebuilt with two additional platform faces.^[7]

[edit] Twentieth century changes

A view looking northwards from Bath Road. The 1870s arched train shed is surrounded by the flater canopies of the newer platforms opened in 1935.

In 1924 the goods depot was rebuilt with 15 platforms, each 575 feet (175 m) long. Large warehousing and cellar space was provided to store goods; although by this time another city centre goods depot had been opened at Canons Marsh.^[12]

Between 1930 and 1935 the through station was expanded under the direction of architect P E Culverhouse, both eastwards over the old cattle market, and southwards on a new wider bridge across Cattle Market Road and the New Cut of the River Avon. This made room for the addition of five new through platform faces, while the removal of the narrow island platforms in the middle of the train shed allowed the main up and down platforms to be both widened and lengthened.^[13] All the routes approaching Temple Meads were widened to four tracks to allow more flexibility.^[12]

As part of this work four existing manual signal boxes were replaced by three new Power Signal Boxes; and the semaphore signals and mechanical point linkages were replaced by colour light signals and point motors. The new Bristol Temple Meads East box was the largest on the GWR with 368 miniature levers operated by three signalmen assisted by a "booking boy". The other two boxes were Bristol Temple Meads West and one controlling the movements in and out of the new Bath Road Depot which replaced the old B&ER locomotive works in 1934.^[12]

During World War 2 the station was bombed, which led to the destruction of the wooden spire of the clock tower above the ticket office on 3 January 1941.^[13] Gas lighting was replaced by fluorescent electric lights in 1960.^[12]

In 1990-91 £2,000,000 was spent on a renovation of the main train shed and another £7,000,000 on restoring some of the older areas of the station, including the refurbishment of the subway and construction of new retail outlets. The shorter of the two 1935 platform islands had been used only for parcels traffic since the 1960s but was temporarily brought back into passenger use during this work. It was fully restored for passenger use in 2001.^[13]

[edit] Closure of lines

Temple Meads was not immune from the Beeching Axe. Passenger traffic on the old North Somerset line ceased on 2 November 1959. The connection to the Bristol Harbour Railway was closed on 6 January 1964; passenger trains to Portishead were withdrawn on 7 September 1964; and most local services in the north of the city were withdrawn on 23 November 1964. The following year saw local services on the Midland route to Gloucester withdrawn.^[15] The Bristol Harbour Railway closed in January 1964 then on 12 September 1965 the terminal platforms were closed, with the space being used instead as a covered car park from February the following year. The former Midland Railway route to Bath Green Park via Mangotsfield was closed on 7 March 1966. St Anne's Park and Saltford on the line towards Bath survived until 5 January 1970.^[15]

From 1989 until 1999 the majority of Brunel's station was an interactive science centre known as The Exploratory, and it is now the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, although the BE&CM intends to relocate to London.^[16]

Following the closures the platforms were renumbered, with the order being reversed:^[12]

This sign should read "Platforms 1 to 12" but refers to the earlier numbering system when these platforms were themselves numbers 1 and 2. They are now 15 (left) and 13 (right)

Bristol Panel Signal Box was built on the site of the Platform 14 after it closed. When opened it controlled 280 multiple-aspect signals and 243 motor-worked points on 114 miles (183 km) of routes around Bristol, the largest area controlled by a single signal box on British Rail at the time.^[17]

[edit] Description

Brunel's original station on the left is now dominated by Fox's 1870s extension

[edit] The approaches

Although it is now possible to reach the station through the Temple Quay office development (which is on the former site of the goods shed), or from the Bristol Ferry Boat landing stage on the Floating Harbour, the traditional and main approach is from Temple Gate. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Tudor-style offices, now the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, face this road and are flanked on the north side by an archway that used to be the main station entrance for departing passengers; a matching arch on the other side was the arrivals gateway but was removed when the station was expanded in the 1870s.^[7]

Opposite these offices are the Grovesnor Hotel and the derelict George Railway Hotel which were built in the 1870s^[6] on either side of the Bristol Harbour Railway bridge. A modern pub named The Reckless Engineer as a tribute to Brunel faces the approach road that rises up to the station. Alongside this on the right is the B&ER office building designed by S C Fripp; the 1930s offices known as "Collett House" and a disused parcels depot lie beyond. On the left is Brunel's original station building. At the top of the slope an entrance to the covered car park marks the junction between the original terminus and the 1870s extension, highlighting just how short Brunel's station was. His train shed is 72 feet (22 m) wide with a wooden box-frame roof and cast-iron columns disguised as hammerbeams above Tudor arches. It is believed to be the widest hammerbeam roof in England and, along with most of the station, is a Grade 1 listed building.^[18]

Ahead is the main station building and to the right a flat area marks to location of the B&ER station. Arches beneath this area have been used for storage purposes and provide an emergency exit from the station subway which is often used when line closures necessitate the transfer of railway passengers to road coaches.

[edit] The station

Entering the main building, the ticket office and ticket machines are immediately in front, and the route from Temple Quay and the ferry is on the left. A bookshop is on the right by the entrance to the platforms which is controlled by automatic ticket gates. Customer Information System screens by the entrance show the arrival and departure information (including any delays) for next services on all platforms, as do local displays on each of the platforms. All platforms are signalled for trains in either direction and the flexible layout means that trains on any route can use any part of the station.^[19] At Temple Meads platforms with odd numbers are at the east end, and those with even numbers at the west end (though geographically this is the south due to the curvature of the platforms).^[20]

The entrance is situated on Platform 3 which is used by many of the northbound CrossCountry trains and local services to Bristol Parkway and Gloucester. The main station restaurant and bar is on the left^[21] and the short Platform 1, a terminus bay, is beyond this. This is most frequently used by Severn Beach Line trains but is long enough to handle any four-car Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU)s that do not need to run through to the west. Behind Platform 1 is a brick wall that forms part of the Panel Signal Box and on this are some metal artworks created by artists with learning difficulties to celebrate Brunel's 200th anniversary in 2006; an interpretation panel can be found nearby. The High Level Siding beyond Platform 1 is the rump of the Bristol Harbour Railway, and Barton Hill TMD can be seen in the distance alongside Bristol East Junction (formerly South Wales Junction) where the lines to Bristol Parkway and Bath diverge. The large grey box structure above the tracks at this end of the station is a bridge installed in the 1970s for postal traffic; it links with the derelict sorting office beyond Platform 15.

On the right of the entrance is the subway that links all the platforms (it can be reached either by steps or lift);^[21] it houses the main public toilets, Automated teller machines (ATM) and several catering outlets (there is catering on all platform islands except 13-15). A passenger information office and lounge is situated above the subway, the British Transport Police office and cycle racks are beyond,^[21] and at the far end is Platform 4 which is used by occasional trains heading westwards. Alongside this is Platform 2 but this is not signalled for passenger trains and is now only used for stabling empty trains, as is the former Motorail unloading bay alongside. At the far end of this track is the old Fish Dock which is occasionally used for engineers equipment. Beyond the platform ends the tracks swing to the right (the west) and pass out of sight beneath Bath Road bridge, a girder bridge that carries the A4 road out of the city.

The first platform island comprises platforms 5 to 8. Platforms 5 and 6 are inside the main train shed while 7 and 8 were added outside the supporting wall in the 1930s.^[13] Platform 5 is used by many trains towards Cardiff and platform 7 for those to Portsmouth; platforms 6 and 8 are the main platforms for trains to Weston-super-Mare and stations as far as Penzance. Between platforms 5 and 7 are the two spur sidings that are long enough to stable a single Class 143 railbus or Class 153 DMU.

The third platform island comprises platforms 9 to 12 and also dates from the 1930s.^[13] It is longer than platforms 5-8 but the rear of a High Speed Train on the west end platforms will block part of the east end platform.^[20] A wide variety of trains use these platforms, including trains to and from London Paddington and London Waterloo stations and also Weymouth.

The final platform block is shorter and only has east-end platforms 13 and 15, although 15 is used by most trains from London Paddington station that continue westwards from Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare or beyond. Platfrom 13 is a terminal platfrom and is used by many trains from London Paddington and some local services too. There is another siding beyond platform 15 that used to be the In/Out Road for Bath Road Traction Maintenance Depot. This has been demolished and is being redeveloped for non-railway purposes. Between platforms 3/4 and 5/6 are the Up Through line and the Middle Siding; the Down Through line runs between platforms 11/12 and 13.^[20]

As would be expected for such an important station, facilites include pay phones, public WiFi, a post box, photo booth, and passenger assistance such is information points, waiting rooms, lost property office, first aid room, and CCTV.^[21]

[edit] Services

[edit] Rail services

Customer Information System showing arrivals and departures

The station is operated by First Great Western who provide main line services to London Paddington station,^[22] long distance services to Cardiff^[23] and the South Coast,^[24] and local services to Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Gloucester.^[25]

An alternative route to London Waterloo station is provided by South West Trains,^[26] while regular CrossCountry services run westwards to Plymouth and Penzance in the West,^[27] and northwards to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland.^[28]

[edit] Bus and ferry links

In addition to its train services, Temple Meads is served by many buses. First Bristol services 8, 8A, 9 and 9A provide a frequent service from in front of the station doors to the City Centre, Clifton, Bristol Zoo, and Redland.^[29] Other services calling at the Station Approach bus stops are 330 and 331 to Bristol International Airport, and 121, 672 and 674 which serve the airport and then continue to various Mendips villages such as Wrington, Winscombe^[30] and Cheddar.^[31]

On Temple Way, the main road outside the station, are bus stops for country services to Wells and Bath via Saltford. On the opposite side of the road a bus stop is served by frequent city services 1 (from Broomhill to Westbury-on-Trym and Cribbs Causeway, and 54 (from Stockwood to Southmead and Cribbs Causeway.^[32]

The Bristol Ferry Boat calls at a landing stage in the Floating Harbour outside the station on a route to Bristol Bridge, St Augustine's Reach in the City Centre, the SS Great Britain, and Hotwells.^[33]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Gomme, A; Jenner, M & Little, B. Bristol: an Architectural History. ISBN 0-85331-409-8. 
• Jowett, Alan (1993). Jowett's Atlas of Railway Centres: of Great Britain showing their development from the earliest times up to and including the 1990s - Volume 1, 1st, Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0420-4. OCLC 30919645. 

[edit] See also

• List of all UK railway stations
• Rail services in Bristol

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bristol Temple Meads

• Panorama of Bristol Temple Meads railway station
• Photos of Bristol Temple Meads railway station