stations, none of them connected, yet all aligned with through running in mind: from north-west to south-east, the B&ER station at Tucker Street; the Somerset and Dorset station aligned as a through station, but with its line from Glastonbury approaching from the south-west; and the GWR (former ESR) station. All were called "Wells" at this stage. This situation persisted for several years; in 1876 the Deputy Chairman of the GWR visited, and reported Proceeding through the Somerset & Dorset station I had pointed out to me what had already been done to form a physical connection with the B&E lines, so that, by arrangement, vehicles could then pass from one of our stations to the other. Proceeding to the Great Western station ... the first thing which attracted my attention was a new first class coach, sent from Swindon ... [it was] destined to relieve a B&E coach, and it had been sent to the wrong station at Wells, and to reach the right one, it had to do so via Bristol. It appears that from the beginning the desired track had been laid; when Board of Trade sanction to open it was refused, the Somerset and Dorset company nonetheless charged the B&ER for the agreed rental charge. Later the ESR approached the GWR asking them to agree to work goods movements over the line, as the Board of Trade refusal only applied to passenger trains; the GWR replied that it would "hesitate to use the junction [i.e. the connecting line] without the authority of the Board of Trade." In fact in 1874 when the B&ER Yatton line was still broad but the GWR former ESR line was narrow, an exchange platform was built by the B&ER at the East Somerset station, but sanction to run passenger trains through was again refused by Colonel Yolland; this was partly due to anticipated blockage of the turnpike road (Priory Road) by ESR engines running round their trains. Yolland reported that Great pains [had] been taken to make such arrangements of the sidings points and their connections with the signals by interlocking as to provide against the danger inherent on crossing so many goods lines on the level, but ... these arrangements are not suitable for working the passenger trains through Wells, as a through station ... [nor do I] assent to the present construction of this station so far as it renders