Taunton Level Crossing

Saturday August 4 2012 at 8.45. The 7.25 Plymouth to Edinburgh (16.04) train, one of the longest journeys in the country. This is 3 miles west of Taunton station in Norton Fitzwarren. There was a station near here until 1961. In 1940 27 people were killed when a driver misunderstood signallling and drove his train though points and off the track. In 1978 12 people on a sleeper died mainly from fumes when bedding stored by a heater caught fire and the carriage doors were locked. The junction to what is now the West Somerset Railway is here. A 2009 accident report refers to this as Victory Level Crossing. Unfortunately, as we know, Network Rail still stubbornly uses 19th century names for its level crossings regardless of how confusing or out of date they are.