The Railway
The Railway
The Taunton to Chard railway ran through Ilton and was opened in 1866. It was run by the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company. In 1876 it was taken over by the The Great Western Railway (GWR).
The five passenger trains in each direction took 40 - 45 minutes for the 15ΒΌ mile journey between Chard and Taunton, stopping at Ilminster, Ilton Halt, Hatch and Thornfalcon.
The line was closed in September 1962 and the rails taken up two years later. Ilton Halt was removed in 1979 and was reconstructed at Cranmore on the East Somerset Railway.
Many of the bridges have now been demolished and much of the track bed has been absorbed into adjacent farmland. The old wartime pillboxes can still be seen along the route of the railway and are now protected monuments. This was part of the wartime Stop Line. Please see link for more details of the Stop Line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunton_Stop_Line
Parts of the old railway have been turned into a walking and cycling route, although sadly not the track at Ilton. Please see link: