The Highbridge Works was originally set up in 1862 by the Somerset Central Railway when it converted to standard gauge. It developed in an unplanned way until the 1890s, when the then Locomotive Superintendent, Alfred Whitaker, carried out a substantial re-organisation. From 1875, as part of the joint leasing agreement, the Highbridge Works came under the control of the Midland Railway Locomotive Department in Derby.

The Works built only three locomotives of their own, relying mainly on private manufacturers until 1890 when Whitaker introduced the practice of supplying locomotives from Derby. The main locomotive work was therefore restricted to repairs and maintenance. Construction was largely restricted to a small number of carriage and wagon types.

From January 1930 the Highbridge Works was run down until final closure in May 1930. The buildings were left empty until taken over by the War Department during the Second World War. Most of the buildings were demolished, while the carriage and wagon department was destroyed by fire in the 1950s. Virtually the sole remnant consists of the War Memorial Tablet in the Garden of Remembrance at Highbridge.