Alate-1920s scene shows theglazed end of the train shedto good effect. As at St Pancras (opened theyear prior
to Bath), the supporting pillarsto themain centralspan were grounded onto basementpiers,the spacing of
which enabled barrels of Bass beer (and other bonded goods)to be stored in bays under the north platform.
IVOPETERS,COURTESY JULIAN PETERS‘Western Region influence’!GWR Railcar No.W24W,built in 1940,waits to leave with the 10.00am localto Bristol onApril20, 1954.IVOPETERS, COURTESY JULIAN PETERS
the construction work.Alsoincluded werethe
original plans of theMR and(slightly later)the
S&D engine sheds, thegoods sheds, and most
of theancillarybuildings. Not one ofthese
original documents(1),including thesite layout
plans, containedanyreference to the provision
or existence ofa‘temporarystation or platform’.
The date nearest to theoft-misquoted
opening date of the ‘permanent’MR station
when any railwayrelated‘opening’ took place
at Bath, was Monday,May 2, 1870; but that
was the Midland Goods station,as it was then
known.
It is difficult to imagine Barrie or Clinker
could have becomeconfused by that event.
Advertised as the ‘Station at Bath for goods
and mineral traffic’,this was located just
across the RiverAvon, west of thepassenger
stationplatforms. It seems even moreunlikely
confusionarose with the opening, primarily for
local traffic to andfromBath, of the Midland St
Phillip’sstationatBristol; this also on Monday,
May 2.Misquo ted
Having searched online through thevarious
local andregional weekly newspapers of that era,
nothing has been foundto suggestwhy May7,
1870 had been widely misquoted elsewhereas
the opening date. It appears that,int urn, other
writersrelied upon and used Barrie and Clinker
as theirsource for this information; thusaclassic
example of how an errorhas beenreplicated
time and again and, as such, unwittingly an
acceptedillusion of truth hasbeen created.It
is atrapinto which this writerhas been known
to fall!
It is entirely reasonable to assumethe
glazing and painting of the trainshed was
completed veryshortly aftertheopening date
of August 4, 1869. However,further building
workdidcontinue at and around the station.
Only eight monthsfollowing the opening, both
platforms werealready being extended. At the
westernend of the northern(arrival) platform, a‘Customs House’ (bonded warehouse) was built
(in 1871/2).
The latter providedacovered andsecure
building within which bonded goods couldbe removedfrom sealed railway wagons and
transferred to the safety of thecellar space under
the platforms, untilsuch time asthegoods were
released with duty paid.
Within the bonded warehouse,acrane was
provided which enabled goods to be lowered
to the level of the cellars.Anarrow-gauge set
of rails was built into the floor of the vaults, to
enable goods to be moved around onanumber
of small hand-propelled wagons. During all
these and other development activities, nothing
prevented the fairly infrequent service of
passenger trains from using one or other of the
completed platforms of the Midland station.
So one thing can beregarded as certain:
therewas no separate ‘temporaryterminus’
provided by the Midland Railway at Bath; it was
morethe case of making use, from the opening
date of the Mangotsfield to Bath branch line, of
the (then) ‘almost complete’ station.
The first book to have these matterscorrectly stated is John Owen’s Life on the
Railway (published by Millstream Books of
Bath); the most comprehensive work published
about Green Park Station and the Midland/
S&D systems within the boundaryofBath.
In morerecent times, some other authors have
referredtothe correct opening date and omitted
any reference toatemporarystation.
However,ase videnced in the opening
paragraph to this feature, the erroriss till
perpetuated in much morerecently published
or republished titles. It is also possible that those
seeking such information mightrefer unwittingly
to one of the earlier publications (as, for example,
editions often to be found in public libraries or
second-hand book shops) or,perhaps, turnto
the ‘internet’, which takes us back to the startof
this article! ■
Note:(1)The original drawings, plans, etc,referredtointhis
article arenow held in the RecordOffice of Bath&North East
Somerset Council, at The Guildhall, High Street, Bath.August2019 •TheRailway Magazine•53