The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway (WC&PR) was a standard gauge light railway in Somerset, England. It was conceived as a tramway in the 1880s, opening between the coastal towns of Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon in 1897 and completed to Portishead in 1907. It closed in 1940. History Construction and opening A broad gauge railway from Portishead to Clevedon was proposed in 1865 to connect with the Bristol and Portishead Railway which was then under construction. If it had been built it would have allowed direct services from Clevedon to Bristol which would have avoided the need to change at . A new proposal in 1884 envisaged the three towns being linked by a 'Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead Tramway'. This standard gauge line would run along the street from the Boulevard to Ashcombe Road in Weston-super-Mare and then off-road (apart from numerous level crossings) from there to Portishead. An Act of Parliament authorising its construction was passed on 6 August 1885. Building of the Weston-super-Mare to Clevedon section of the tramway began in 1887 but progress was slow due to many legal and financial problems. The Act had stipulated that construction should be completed within 5 years but further Acts had to be passed on 25 July 1890 and again on 27 July 1892 to extend the time allowed. The section from Ashcombe Road to Clevedon was formally inspected by the Board of Trade on 26 August 1897 but not allowed to open. Due to the long time taken to build the line some of the wooden sleepers had rotted and needed to be replaced. The local council also complained about the state of the track along the streets in Weston-super-Mare so this section was taken up. A second inspection was made on 9 November and the line finally opened on 1 December 1897. Instead of the extension to the Boulevard, the Tramway provided horse buses from Ashcombe Road to Birnbeck Pier and the Sanatorium for a few years. Completion to Portishead The powers to construct the railway had run out in 1896 so another Act of Parliament was required. After some opposition from the Clevedon Urban District Council regarding the necessary level crossings, the Act was passed on 9 August 1899. In addition to allowing construction to be completed to Portishead by August 1904 it enabled the tramway to convert to a light railway with the name changed to