The station opened in 1874. In the 1948 nationalisation the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. Along with the rest of the line it closed in 1966. In the early to mid 1990s Norton Radstock College used the station building and goods shed as their art department base prior to relocating to a newly built art department in the college.
Following that The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust took the lease on the station in 1995 to restore it. They have restored many of the buildings and laid a short section of track. Future plans for further extension of the track have been proposed.
History
Midsomer Norton South Station in 1959The abandoned station in 1967
The S&DJR station was on a fairly steep slope which took the railway up from the valley floor at Radstock into the Mendip Hills, heading south to the summit of the line at Masbury. It had extensive gardens which were cultivated by the station staff and won many prizes.[4][5]
Today the trust runs an operational railway centre and museum at the site, and are relaying the 2 miles 2 chains (3.3 km) of track southwards up the gradient towards Chilcompton.[10][11] The plan is to eventually operate a ride-round trip over the route, which would require restoration of the former Chilcompton railway tunnel.[12] A road bridge over the railway, north east of the station has been removed, therefore relaying track on this side of the station would be expensive.
Neighbouring land leased to the station restoration project that had been part of the grounds of the now-demolished mansion Norton House has now been transferred to Silver Street Nature Reserve.[13]
In November 2023, Somerset and Dorset Heritage Trust purchased track bed close to where the former railway tunnel linking Chilcompton and Midsomer Norton stations was located.[14] During this time, a track extension was discussed but nothing has since materialised.
