country chard junction railway station
Taunton is the county town of Somerset , ___MASK2___ . The built up area of the town had a population of 64 , 621 in 2011 . London is the capital and most populous city of ___MASK2___ and the ___MASK42___ , as well as the most populous city proper in the European Union . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , London has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". London ' s ancient core , the City of London , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " London " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater London , governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town on the south coast of ___MASK2___ directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast , a ___MASK82___ Heritage Site . According to the 2011 census , the town has a population of 183 , 491 making it the largest settlement in Dorset . With Poole to the west and Christchurch in the east , Bournemouth forms the South East Dorset conurbation , which has a total population of over 465 , 000 . The London and Southampton Railway was an early standard gauge railway company between London and Southampton , in ___MASK2___ . It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period , but was commercially successful . The West of ___MASK2___ Main Line is a British railway line from , Hampshire to Exeter St Davids in Devon , ___MASK2___ . Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter . Despite its historic title , it is not today ' s principal route from London to the West of ___MASK2___ : Exeter and everywhere further west is reached more quickly by Great Western Railway services from London Paddington . At , the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line . Devon ( archaically known as Devonshire ) is a county of ___MASK2___ , reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south . It is part of South West ___MASK2___ , bounded by Cornwall to the west , Somerset to the northeast , and Dorset to the east . The City of Exeter is the county town ; seven other districts of East Devon , Mid Devon , North Devon , South Hams , Teignbridge , Torridge , and West Devon are under the jurisdiction of Devon County Council ; Plymouth and Torbay are each a part of Devon but administered as unitary authorities . Combined as a ceremonial county , Devon ' s area is and its population is about 1 . 1 million . Southampton , on the south coast of ___MASK2___ , is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire . It is south - west of London and north - west of Portsmouth . Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest . It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen , with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area . The city , which is a unitary authority , has an estimated population of 253 , 651 . The city ' s name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to " So ' ton " or " Soton ", and a resident of Southampton is called a . Bristol is a city , unitary authority area and county in South West ___MASK2___ with an estimated population of 449 , 300 in 2016 . It is ___MASK2___ ' s sixth and the ___MASK42___ ' s eighth most populous city , and the most populous city in Southern ___MASK2___ after London . The city borders the Unitary Authority areas of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire , with the historic cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south - east and north - east , respectively . The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain , separating South ___MASK48___ from Devon and Somerset in South West England . It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean . It takes its name from the English city of Bristol , and is over 30 miles ( 50 km ) across at its widest point . Somerset is a county in South West ___MASK2___ which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north , Wiltshire to the east , Dorset to the south - east and Devon to the south - west . It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel , its coastline facing southeastern ___MASK48___ . Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon . Somerset ' s county town is Taunton . The London and South Western Railway ( LSWR ) was a railway company in ___MASK2___ from 1838 to 1922 . Starting as the London and Southampton Railway , its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter , with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth . It also had many routes connecting towns in Hampshire and Berkshire , including Portsmouth and Reading . In the grouping of railways in 1923 the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway . The Great Western Railway ( GWR ) was a British railway company that linked London with The Midlands , the south - west and west of ___MASK2___ and most of ___MASK48___ . It was founded in 1833 , received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 . It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , who chose a broad gauge of -- later slightly widened to -- but , from 1854 , a series of amalgamations saw it also operate standard - gauge trains ; the last broad - gauge services were operated in 1892 . The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921 , which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory , and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways . Wiltshire ( or ) is a county in South West ___MASK2___ with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset , Somerset , Hampshire , Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire and Berkshire . The county town was Wilton but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of Trowbridge . Plymouth is a city on the south coast of Devon , ___MASK2___ , about south - west of Exeter and west - south - west of London , between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west where they join Plymouth Sound to form the boundary with Cornwall . South West ___MASK2___ is one of nine official regions of ___MASK2___ . It is the largest in area , covering and the counties of Gloucestershire , Bristol , Wiltshire , Somerset , Dorset , Devon and Cornwall , as well as the Isles of Scilly . Five million people live in South West ___MASK2___ . ___MASK31___ ( or archaically , Dorsetshire ) is a county in South West ___MASK2___ on the English Channel coast . The ceremonial county comprises the non - metropolitan county , which is governed by ___MASK31___ County Council , and the unitary authority areas of Poole and Bournemouth . Covering an area of , ___MASK31___ borders Devon to the west , Somerset to the north - west , Wiltshire to the north - east , and Hampshire to the east . The county town is Dorchester which is in the south . After the reorganisation of local government in 1974 the county ' s border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch . Around half of the population lives in the South East ___MASK31___ conurbation , while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density . ___MASK48___ is a country that is part of the ___MASK42___ and the island of Great Britain . It is bordered by England to the east , the Irish Sea to the north and west , and the Bristol Channel to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . ___MASK48___ has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of ___MASK2___ . Located mainly on Portsea Island , south - west of London and south - east of Southampton , it is the ___MASK42___ ' s only island city . It has a population of 205 , 400 , and is the only city in the British Isles with a greater population density than London . The city forms part of the South Hampshire built - up area , which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant , Waterlooville , Eastleigh , Fareham , and Gosport . Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast , ___MASK2___ , with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs . Gloucestershire (; abbreviated Glos .) is a county in South West ___MASK2___ . The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills , part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn , and the entire Forest of Dean . A single - track road or one - lane road is a road that permits two - way travel but is not wide enough in most places to allow vehicles to pass one another ( although sometimes two compact cars can pass ). This kind of road is common in rural areas across the ___MASK42___ and elsewhere . To accommodate two - way traffic , many single - track roads , especially those officially designated as such , are provided with passing places ( ___MASK42___ ) or pullouts or turnouts ( United States ), or simply wide spots in the road , which may be scarcely longer than a typical automobile using the road . The distance between passing places varies considerably , depending on the terrain and the volume of traffic on the road . The railway analog for passing places are passing loops . Salisbury ( various pronunciations , but locally ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire , ___MASK2___ , and the only city within the county . It is the third - largest settlement in the county , after Swindon and Chippenham , with a population of 40 , 302 , unusually declining from 45 , 000 at the 2006 census . Padstow is a town , civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of ___MASK44___ , ___MASK2___ , ___MASK42___ . The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge , northwest of Bodmin and northeast of Newquay . The population of Padstow civil parish was 3 , 162 in the 2001 census , reducing to 2 , 993 at the 2011 census In addition an electoral ward with the same name exists but extends as far as Trevose Head . The population for this ward is 4 , 434 The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton . Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth . The line intersects with the West of ___MASK2___ Main Line at , and with the Reading to Taunton Line at . A passing loop ( UK usage ) or passing siding ( US ) ( also called a crossing loop , crossing place or , colloquially , a hole ) is a place on a single line railway or tramway , often located at a station , where trains or trams travelling in opposite directions can pass each other . Trains / trams going in the same direction can also overtake , providing that the signalling arrangement allows it . A passing loop is double ended and connected to the main track at both ends , though a dead end siding known as a refuge siding , which is much less convenient , can be used . A similar arrangement is used on the gauntlet track of cable railways and funiculars , and in passing places on single - track roads . Berkshire ( or , abbreviated Berks ) is a county in south east ___MASK2___ , west of London . It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957 and letters patent issued in 1974 . Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county , a ceremonial county and a non - metropolitan county without a county council . Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading . Chard Junction railway station was situated on the London and South Western Railway ' s West of ___MASK2___ Main Line in Somerset , ___MASK2___ . It was the junction of a short branch line to Chard . It was opened in 1860 as Chard Road and closed in 1966 . An adjacent milk depot was served by its own sidings from 1937 to 1980 . A signal box remains to control Station Road level crossing and a passing loop on the long section of single track railway between Yeovil Junction and Pinhoe . Although no longer a station nor a junction , the name ' Chard Junction ' still appears on the signal box and official maps . Whilst the station has been unused since 1966 , the site has been subject to protection in planning terms from redevelopment that would preclude the station being reopened for passenger and as a possible freight terminal . In 2010 the site was sold by the former British Railways Board and offered to Somerset County Council who declined to buy it as they thought it would cost too much money to re - open it . Based solely upon this statement the Local Planning Authority South Somerset District Council are currently stating that they will no longer protect the site in planning terms from redevelopment . In January 2012 a planning application for a concrete batching facility was lodged by Darch and Sons , currently this application is being deliberated by South Somerset District Council and as a result a campaign group has been set up to try and protect the station site from development and to get the planning protection reinstated . Supporters of the campaign include David Laws MP , County and District Councillors and the local newspaper the Chard and Ilminster News . The support group has accused the Local Planning Authority and County Council of `` following in the footsteps of Beeching '' . Hampshire (; abbreviated Hants , archaically known as the County of Southampton ) is a county on the southern coast of ___MASK2___ in the ___MASK42___ . The county town of Hampshire is Winchester , the former capital city of ___MASK2___ . Hampshire is the most populous ceremonial county in the ___MASK42___ ( excluding the metropolitan counties ) with almost half of the county ' s population living within the South Hampshire conurbation which includes the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth . The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1 , 547 , 000 . Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy , British Army , and Royal Air Force . It is bordered by Dorset to the west , Wiltshire to the north - west , Berkshire to the north , Surrey to the north - east , and West Sussex to the east . The southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent , facing the Isle of Wight .