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The Grade I Listed Bristol Temple Meads railway station, Redcliffe, Bristol, Avon. Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, Avon.
The name Temple Meads derives from the nearby Temple Church and the word "meads" a derivation of "mæd", an Old English variation of "mædwe". As late as 1820 the site was undeveloped pasture outside the boundaries of the old city, some distance from the commercial centre. It lay between the Floating Harbour and the city's cattle market, which was built in 1830.
The original terminus was built in 1839–41 for the Great Western Railway (GWR), the first passenger railway in Bristol, and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the railway's engineer. The station was on a viaduct to raise it above the level of the Floating Harbour and River Avon. The station was covered by a 200-foot (60 m) train shed, extended beyond the platforms by 155 feet (47 m) into a storage area and engine shed, fronted by an office building in the Tudor style.
A few weeks before the start of the services to Paddington the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) had opened, on 14 June 1841, 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 and was taken over by the Midland Railway (MR) in 1845. This used the GWR platforms, diverging onto its own line on the far side of the bridge over the Floating Harbour. Both these new railways were engineered by Brunel and were initially broad gauge. Brunel also designed the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, but this was not opened until 1863, nearly four years after his death.
In 1845 the B&ER built its own station at right angles to the GWR station and 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"; but a grand headquarters was built at street level on the west side of its station in 1852–54 to the Jacobean designs of Samuel Fripp. 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 its 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 line to the B&ER station. Between 1859 and 1875, 23 engines were built in the workshops attached to the shed, including several distinctive Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives.
Temple Meads is managed by Network Rail. The majority of services are operated Great Western Railway, which operates intercity services to and from London Paddington. The majority terminate at Temple Meads with a few continuing to Swansea, Weston-super-Mare, Paignton, and Penzance. It also operates local and inter-urban lines, CrossCountry operate services both north and south and a limited service to London Waterloo.
Information Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Temple_Meads_railway_station
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The Grade I Listed Bristol Temple Meads railway station, Redcliffe, Bristol, Avon. Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, Avon.
The name Temple Meads derives from the nearby Temple Church and the word "meads" a derivation of "mæd", an Old English variation of "mædwe". As late as 1820 the site was undeveloped pasture outside the boundaries of the old city, some distance from the commercial centre. It lay between the Floating Harbour and the city's cattle market, which was built in 1830.
The original terminus was built in 1839–41 for the Great Western Railway (GWR), the first passenger railway in Bristol, and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the railway's engineer. The station was on a viaduct to raise it above the level of the Floating Harbour and River Avon. The station was covered by a 200-foot (60 m) train shed, extended beyond the platforms by 155 feet (47 m) into a storage area and engine shed, fronted by an office building in the Tudor style.
A few weeks before the start of the services to Paddington the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) had opened, on 14 June 1841, 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 and was taken over by the Midland Railway (MR) in 1845. This used the GWR platforms, diverging onto its own line on the far side of the bridge over the Floating Harbour. Both these new railways were engineered by Brunel and were initially broad gauge. Brunel also designed the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, but this was not opened until 1863, nearly four years after his death.
In 1845 the B&ER built its own station at right angles to the GWR station and 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"; but a grand headquarters was built at street level on the west side of its station in 1852–54 to the Jacobean designs of Samuel Fripp. 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 its 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 line to the B&ER station. Between 1859 and 1875, 23 engines were built in the workshops attached to the shed, including several distinctive Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives.
Temple Meads is managed by Network Rail. The majority of services are operated Great Western Railway, which operates intercity services to and from London Paddington. The majority terminate at Temple Meads with a few continuing to Swansea, Weston-super-Mare, Paignton, and Penzance. It also operates local and inter-urban lines, CrossCountry operate services both north and south and a limited service to London Waterloo.
Information Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Temple_Meads_railway_station