It was on the Bristol Port Railway and Pier line which ran between Avonmouth and Hotwells.

It was constructed in 1917 by the government-controlled Great Western and Midland railways as a wartime expedient, since workmen's trains were too long for the platform at the Hotwells terminus.

Some 2,000 dockworkers each day would travel by tram to the terminus, then walk along the riverside to reach Hotwells Halt, where they would buy tickets for Avonmouth.

Return tickets were valid to Hotwells or Clifton Down, and so after the morning rush few passengers used the halt.

[1] The first two services of the day would start at Hotwells Halt, with one return terminating there.