The Somerset and Dorset Railway - Midford Midsomer Norton Gartell Shillingstone Washford

love at first sight?

2013-05-15T15:07:00.000+01:00

Hardly! My first ever visit to Midford (indeed the S&D) was on 24 May 1980, and the site was a mess. Overgrown and neglected it would have been a brave person indeed who would have forecast that it would ever be a station again, let alone a station on a rebuilt S&D. But we've come a long long way since and the station is now almost ready for rebuilding. Of course further along the S&D Midsomer Norton is now a superb restoration and a real credit to the entire heritage movement. Further south Masbury awaits the revivalists (after the small matter of raising the money has been achieved!), next is the Gartell Railway which operates a superb 2 foot gauge with an S&D flavour just south of Templecombe, well into Dorset Shillingstone has been restored and track laid and a bit further south Spetisbury has received the attention of a sizeable group of local revivalists. The S&D has indeed come a very long way since that day back in 1980!

At the time I lived in Sussex and my main interests were Swiss electric railways and music. My interests haven't changed much but you'd have to add the S&D to that list!

inspiration

2013-05-14T17:02:00.001+01:00

There have been a few lines that have inspired the S&D, and I suspect one of the most surprising ones is the Lynton and Barnstaple. In fact there's a pretty strong case that the closure of the L&B inspired the WHOLE heritage railway movement. The picture above is of Woody Bay in 1980, a station perched on top of Exmoor and converted to an attractive house. There was at the time a small preservation group, but they hadn't made a lot of progress and the 'it'll never happen' lot were having a field day mocking them.

But persistence paid off and they now have fully restored a section of the line at Woody Bay. But more to the point, through their Exmoor Associates company, they own good stretches of the route distant from Woody Bay, including Chelfham viaduct and station. They are in for the long haul and have been persistent and patient from the start. They want nothing less than a full restoration of this most important route, and have even planned an extension at Lynton to meet the funicular down to Lynmouth.

I'll be visiting the line next month and I'm really looking forward to it! Oh yes, the shot below is of the line as it is now!

the next big step

2013-05-07T20:00:00.003+01:00

I'm waiting with baited breath here for the final details of the next big S&D development - the purchase of MASBURY station!

I can't say too much (but all will be revealed in just a few days) but at least two of the existing S&D groups (including the New S&D of course) will be announcing an appeal to purchase Masbury.

Full details to follow by the weekend at the latest!

congratulations!

2013-05-02T00:19:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust who have just gained their THOUSANDTH member!! When I joined in around 2004 I was member 250 and remember a trackless station, a maudlin sign announcing that Midsomer Norton would be a 'steam museum with a short demonstration line' and I got a bottle of cheap Asti as a reward for my being their quarter of a thousandth member!

Just look at the place now!

In the four years since the New S&D started we have just welcomed out 175th member - how long before the New S&D also has one thousand??

blandford 150

2013-04-19T20:12:00.000+01:00

Blandford by night - dripping with atmosphere!

Nigel Jones, who owns the Railway Hotel at Blandford, hopes to celebrate the 150th anniversary of completion of the line between Blandford and Templecombe, on 31 August 2013.

He hopes that the road between the hotel and railway can be closed and stalls etc set up along the road to celebrate. What he really needs is a photo or photos of the station AND the hotel in the same picture.

If you have any relevant photos you are happy to share with this event please contact me by email at leysiner@aol.com and I'll see they get to Nigel. Any photos of the station and surrounding area are welcome, they don't need to fit the very strict critieria above!

Also looking for any members/supporters who are happy to run an information stall on the day!

midford facebook group

2013-04-18T20:14:00.001+01:00

Are you a member of the Midford Facebook group yet? It's the best place for news and pictures etc as it's a very dynamic site and there's always something going on!

I shall be going up there the week after next to do a radio interview with our new Press and Publicity Officer - and looking forward to seeing if the Two Tunnels link has increased footfall, or should it be wheelfall? I may even risk bringing the bike and cycling through the tunnels!

midford this sunday

2013-04-18T20:08:00.002+01:00

There will be a working party this Sunday, 21 April at Midford to wire up our fence along Tucking Mill Lane and then to clear some small trees on the embankment below a neighbour's property, which has been causing him a nuisance. From about 10:15am. All welcome to join them!

one step closer ...

2013-04-07T12:04:00.002+01:00

Bath's Two Tunnels Greenway cycle path opens

Almost 2,000 people attended the opening of the path

A £4m cycle and walking path with the longest cycling tunnel in Britain has opened with a mass cycle ride.

The Two Tunnels Greenway route opens up two former railway tunnels nearly 50 years after they closed.

Almost 2,000 people attended the mass cycle to mark the opening of the route which runs from Bath to Midford.

The path goes through Linear Park, on through the disused Devonshire and Combe Down railway tunnels, and over the Tucking Mill Viaduct.

At over a mile long, the Combe Down tunnel will be the longest cycling tunnel in Britain and will feature an interactive light and sound installation.

One million users

The Two Tunnels Group - a team of 11 cycling, walking and railway enthusiasts - first kicked off the plan to reopen the tunnels for public use seven years ago.

Frank Tompson, chair of the group, has worked with cycling charity Sustrans - who built the route - and Bath and North East Somerset Council to create the path.

"It's been a long journey since some of us stood between the bricked-up Devonshire and Combe Down tunnels and said, 'wouldn't it be a good idea if…'," he said.

"I am really pleased that we are finally in a position to open the route to the public and estimates suggest that up to a million people might use the path each year."

The tunnels have low level LED lighting

The project is part of Sustrans five-year project to extend the National Cycle Network into the heart of communities.

One of the first cyclists through the tunnel was Bath schoolboy Jamie Gant.

"It feels like I've gone back to the past but there are modern lights and modern stuff and there is no track. It was kind of a bit cold," he said.

Also trying out the new path was Winter Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams MBE who unveiled a portrait bench of herself, WWI veteran Harry Patch and a Roman solider.

Williams, from Bath, said: "This is so exciting for Bath and the community, there are so many people here.

"It is only going to encourage more people to get on their bikes and go out for walks and after the London Olympics ."

A few years ago I walked through the long tunnel and it was quite an experience. Next time I go up to Midford I'll take the bike and cycle through. Although this section of line doesn't feature in the New S&D's first tranche of reopenings - we'd prefer to go via Limpley Stoke to access the Network - in the longer term protection of the route can only be good for the railway. This should also make the visitor centre and shop at Midford much busier once it is open.

spetisbury sunday

2013-04-06T23:26:00.000+01:00

SUNDAY 7th APRIL - WORK PARTY
Dear Member/ Volunteer, There is a work party up at the station on Sunday. I hope to be there from 10:00am onwards. Hopefully, I would have had a meeting with the rangers up at the station on Friday, and from that I will have a better idea on what we are going to be doing during the summer months.
Car parking. This was discussed last time, and has not changed. Would appreciate it if you could let me know if you can make it.
Best regards,
Dean

shifting paradigms ...

2013-04-05T22:47:00.001+01:00

A whole raft of facts and figures have emerged recently re our failing love affair with the car. A majority of teenagers - even in the US - now do not drive. But a really interesting set of figures on fuel sales in the UK have recently been released. If anyone doubts that the age of the car is coming to an end I think these will change your mind!

2007 forecourt sales 22.87 billion litres petrol

2011 forecourt sales 18.27 billion litres petrol

2012 forecourt sales 17.42 billion litres petrol

2007 forecourt sales 14.8 billion litres diesel

2012 forecourt sales 16.73 billion litres diesel

2007 forecourt sales 37.67 billion litres all fuel

2012 forecourt sales 34.16 billion litres all fuel

Taking total fuels the AA reports that this fall is the equivalent of 35 days forecourt sales, or just under a 10% drop.

I suspect these figures tell us a number of things. That we're in recession of course, but also that people are giving up driving completely, driving less or driving more fuel efficient vehicles. This is of course screamingly obvious, but it also reflects something far deeper - that the years of constantly increasing fuel use are over. It is starting to contract. Of course at the same time fuel use on the roads is diminishing, rail travel is booming. And I can't see this ever changing now.

midford this easter sunday

2013-03-28T19:09:00.004Z

Stuart and Tom Seale will be forming a working party this coming Sunday (31 March) at Midford to replace the broken concrete fenceposts alongside Tucking Mill Lane and also to tidy up the Station area before the opening up of the tunnels on Saturday 6 April. All welcome to come and join them from 10:15ish.

southern stirrings

2013-03-24T14:32:00.001Z

A line very close to my heart is the Shoreham to Christ's Hospital line which I saw whilst still open, being just a few miles from where I lived. With the other Horsham route to Guildford this formed a useful cross country route, both lines sadly closed in the 60s, the Shoreham-Christ's Hospital on the same day as the S&D.

There are now stirrings on this route and the beginnings of an ambitious (but perfectly viable) rail restoration, and one of the first steps is a site visit to Cranleigh.

Full details can be found here. If you live in the area it would help them enormously if you were to go along. I'm jealous!

riding the zeitgeist

2013-03-17T15:24:00.000Z

The best news this year so far is the Bluebell's reconnection to the Network. I once worked on this line and also regularly visited it when I lived in Sussex. It was always a very special place and the short Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes section did have a charm of its own. But the world has changed a lot from the 1970s when the above shot was taken, and I think the line always realised that they needed to reconnect to the Network eventually. It's perhaps not even a concious decision, perhaps the emerging view of heritage lines as future community railways is something that is felt rather than thought, but this will totally transorm the Bluebell. Expect plenty of specials off the main line, lots of new visiting locos (steam and diesel) and a lot more TV and film work.

But most of all expect a growing demand for reconnection to Haywards Heath (please make it a preserved third rail electric route!) and then to Lewes. And once that is in the bloodstream thoughts about developing the route as a REAL line, with passengers and freight, will begin. There's no need for the intermediate stations to lose any of their charm, but I reckon within ten to twenty years there will be trains from East Grinstead to Lewes, carrying ordinary fare-paying passengers, and who knows, a London-Brighton train eventually as well.

This is the way things are going, with heritage railways pre-empting the upheavals of Peak Oil and Climate Change and grabbing the business temporarily lost to the doomed car and lorry.

And remember the Imberhorne tip situation has a lot in common with what the SDRHT will soon face at Chilcompton. The little Bluebell has overcome it, the mighty S&D certainly should have nothing to fear!

spetisbury tomorrow

2013-03-09T20:55:00.001Z

SUNDAY 10th MARCH 2013 - WORK PARTY
Dear Member/ Volunteer,

Fancy joining our work party and going up to the station on Sunday. I hope to be there between 10:00 and 11:00am.

On Sundays agenda, I believe we still have a bit of clearing to do after our last visit. I also believe we may have to do some filling in, where holes have appeared in the foliage on the 'Down' platform.
There are other tasks, such as sorting through the brick rubble to find any 'specials', and put to one side.

... Would appreciate it if you could let me know if you can make it.

Best regards,

Dean

huge missed opportunity

2013-02-25T19:38:00.003Z

I hope not too many of you took my advice and bought the Independent yesterday. If you did I can only apologise. The Beeching article was the most hideous load of nostalgic, irrelevant and uninformed tosh I have ever read. I'm ashamed that four of my pictures accompanied the article, fortunately they didn't put my name to them!

So what was wrong with it? It had lots of inaccuracies - that the SDRHT have extended a quarter of mile towards Bath for example. (In reality they've extended half a mile towards Chilcompton). The last Somerset coalfield did NOT close in 1966, the S&D was slewed to the Bristol-Frome line after closure of the S&D so it could continue to take coal from Writhlington for several more years. Looe is not in West Cornwall, and the St Ives branch is hardly English, it's Cornish!

But what really irked was the absolute patronising hatchet job it did on Midsomer Norton. In reality Midsomer Norton South is a fantastic revived station. Talk of eccentrics in stationmaster's caps selling a useless ticket to look around the site would just about turn anyone off visiting. In reality your ticket gives you a trip on their heritage DMU and access to the site, without an accompanying puffer lover eccentric ...

But the worst was the journalist's extraordinary assumption that - with the money and will - of course the line can be reopened, if only the land hadn't been sold off in parcels!! Talk about getting it the wrong way round!! Land is no problem, CPO's will get anything we can't get on the open market.

The point is the whole article stank of 70s defeatism, misplaced nostalgia and an utter contempt for the people - the vast majority who are NOT railway enthusiasts and are more likely to wear a fez and ballgown than a 'stationmaster's cap' - that have put so much effort in getting the line restored.

Not a single mention of Peak Oil, though the main paper often alludes to it, and no sweeping story about how railways are returning all over the country. Why not just declare out loud that BEECHING WAS WRONG? And that, because he was wrong, even back in 1963, we simply have to reverse what the idiot did? And that NOTHING will stand in the way of a huge rail revival in this country BECAUSE WE HAVE NO CHOICE!!

And the patronising drivel at the top of this page? This will become part of the iconography of the S&D. When the first real train runs on the line we will reproduce this as a poster, tee shirt, fridge magnet and a host of other souvenirs, making even more money for the line which despite what the 'journalist' claimed is going to be everything BUT the thing he thinks it will be!

everything's going our way

2013-02-23T13:54:00.000Z

It's been one of those weeks this week!

Firstly January 2013 had the lowest fuel sales since 1990, underlining the decline in car use that now seems unstoppable. This is partly because of austerity but it also seems many young people have no interest in driving or getting a car - when was the last time you saw a even a teenager tinkering with a car outside his parents' house? Amongst the young cars are seen as terribly uncool.

Secondly we are now getting clear warnings that the UK will face an energy crunch from 2015, with rolling blackouts likely. This will of course kill any silly talk of electric cars dead. I read somewhere that we would need 3 or 4 times current levels of generating capacity to cope with a switch to electric cars, there really is no chance of that happening - the energy just won't be there. In reality available energy is falling year on year.

Behind these specific reports there is now a general feeling of change in the air. The weather in 2012 was exteremely weird, way beyond even the most pessimistic forecasts. All of this is loading even more costs on our already fragile economy, which has now lost its AAA rating.

And for those of us that are still driving the potholes are geeting deeper and wider and more common - yet another sign that change is in the air ...

the independent tomorrow

2013-02-23T13:30:00.000Z

National Sunday paper The Independent on Sunday will be running a feature in tomorrow's paper looking back at 50 years since the Beeching report. Inevitably the S&D - being the vilest of all the closures - will feature strongly in the article. It is sure to rely heavily on photos of Midsomer Norton as they are using four of mine to illustrate the article!

spetisbury tomorrow

2013-02-23T13:26:00.002Z

SUNDAY 24th FEBRUARY - WORK PARTY

Dear Member/ Volunteer,

Fancy joining our work party and going up to the station on Sunday. I hope to be there between 10:00 and 11:00am.

On Sundays agenda are at least a couple of large trees, which we will have the expertise of Terry with his chainsaw to fell them, but we will need numbers to make sure the felled trees are dealt with quickly to keep the trailway clear.

So the main tools required will be saws and loppers to take the branches etc. down to manageable sizes.

... Would appreciate it if you could let me know if you can make it.

Photo shows heavy plant helping out on Wednesday at Spetisbury. Photo copyright Mike Hall.

midford tomorrow

2013-02-23T13:22:00.005Z

There will be a work party at Midford tomorrow (Sunday, 24 February 2013) from 10.30.

To let Tom and Stuart know you're going you can sign up to the event on Facebook by clicking this link.

going national ...

2013-02-14T15:57:00.002Z

The Independent on Sunday is running a feature on the Beeching Report and is concentrating mainly on the S&D. They wanted pics of Midsomer Norton, before closure, after closure and since rebirth, and these were the ones I chose for the rebirth bit, taken on a lovely summer's day back in 2011. If anyone DOES have photos of MN or Blandford before and after closure that they own the copyright on and would like at least the chance of one or more of them appearing in a national paper Sunday supplement (with a fee of course!) please email me on leysiner@aol.com and I'll give you contact details for the paper BUT the deadline is tomorrow so there is a rush!!

help needed!

2013-02-09T16:27:00.003Z

(All 6 February 2013)

It's not all glamour and kudos restoring closed railways - sometimes it gets quite technical! One of our neighbours at Midford has issues with the large concrete support that is on our land but abuts right up to his house (bottom picture). I spent a fun hour on Wednesday clambering up ladders and grassy knolls to take a closer look at some of his concerns. The concrete is beginning to crumble on the surface in places, which is of course a worry for them. It seems that nothing has happened here since the line closed.

Obviously we'd like to address this as soon as possible. We're more than happy to pay for a professional structural engineer to look at this and advise on the best way to tackle it but we are charged as a voluntary group to first check whether we can do this ourselves by falling back on our own resources - so is there a member or supporter out there qualified to do this, who can provide an official written statement as to the situation at this point? We're happy to pay reasonable travel expenses of course, but are trying to avoid the professional fee if possible. If you can do this or know of someone who would be willing to please contact me directly on leysiner@aol.com or telehone 0117 3738973.

It does seem a minor issue so shouldn't be prohibitively expensive and as responsible landlords we've always been aware that issues like this will arise all along the route. Once repaired we'll put in place a regular repair schedule for this particular spot in partnership with the owner of the house.

spetisbury this sunday

2013-02-06T18:06:00.001Z

SUNDAY 10th FEBRUARY - WORK PARTY

Dear Member/ Volunteer, Fancy joining our work party and going up to the station on Sunday? I hope to be there between 10:00 and 11:00am. Would appreciate it if you could let me (Dean Cockwell) know if you can make it.

gartell this weekend

2013-02-05T13:49:00.000Z

Gartell Light Railway are holding their eighth Model Railway exhibition at their station near Templecombe this coming weekend. Even if you are not interested in model railways perhaps you would like a day out with a difference, or perhaps you are looking to start a new hobby? We have maintained the same admission price yet again, (£4 and £3) and we expect up to ten layouts as well as trade stands, and also we aim to have a train service on the GLR (although we will not be running over the 'new' line, as we are only granted 'occasional use' over the new level crossing at the moment) Please note there will be a small extra charge for train rides.

See our web-site and Facebook page, we're easy to find just South of Templecombe, and if you have satnav, just put in BA8 0NB and we'll see you there.

Please be kind enough to forward this email to everyone in your address book and get them to do the same, and then same again - and we should have about six million people turn up!

spetisbury this sunday

2013-01-26T00:13:00.003Z

(Photo copyright Kevin Mitchell)

SUNDAY 27th JANUARY 2013 - WORK PARTY
Dear Member/ Volunteer,
Fancy joining our work party and going up to the station on Sunday. I hope to be there between 10:00 and 11:00am. Would appreciate it if you could let me know if you can make it.
Best regards,
Dean

interesting ...

2013-01-23T16:05:00.000Z

I have a lot of Facebook groups and a recent one is for the Weymouth Tramway. I've no idea why the following comment came up on this group but here it is -

The trouble with us enthusiasts is that we are too prone to fantasise. If ye look at the mad bunch of fellas who are trying to reinstate the entire route of the oul Somerset & Dorset, with blithe talk of demolishing properties and premises built on parts of the formation, there are no greater bunch of fantasists around.

If a properly-constituted company such as Central Railway could fail to gain approval to reinstate much of the former Great Central route, then it doesn't hold out much hope for a small band of individuals. And that's before we get to internal politics and competing personalities.

I think it got my back up because almost immediately it described us - that's me and you - as mad. It also described us as 'fellas' which is odd as many of our members are female!

Blithe talk of demolishing buildings is nothing of the sort. To get our line built a few demolitions will be inevitable, but we've seen this on Croydon Tramlink and the Waverley line, so this is not only already happening but nobody (except the trackbed trespassers) blinks an eye at it!

I'm sure there are greater bunches of fantasists around, from people who think the world is run by giant lizards, people who think the earth is flat or people that think we can reduce the deficit by increasing spending!

At the end of his post the commetator changed tack and said 'I don't expect the line to be fully opened in my lifetime'. Join the club!! That's what being incremental is all about!

At the end of the day there will always be doubters. There will be trolls who just get a kick out of winding people up (remember Compulsory Purchase Boy, the owner of a house on the route who turned out to live in Romsey?), there will be others who don't get Peak Oil, there will be others who fear the return of railways generally. But all they have is opinions, not information, not foresight and certainly not a vision. To all the doubters - in the immortal phrase from 'Oh Mr Porter!' - you're wasting your time!

There IS a 'properly-constituted [sic]' company behind us, it's called Wessex Links Ltd. And how are we any different from the Central Railway, also a 'small band of individuals'? The difference of course is that we're not prepared to sit back and wait for government to catch up with the present, and pay for what we are doing, but getting on with it.

And as for personality clashes and internal politics there's not - and NEVER WILL BE - a trace of that in the New S&D. Most of us have experienced that sort of nonsense first hand and are hardly going to revisit it. We're simply not that sort of organisation.

I've no idea if this character is a troll, though it seems he got his info from some forum, which we know are really just talking shops for the socially maladjusted with no actual background or information in railways, just spouting off opinions!

The New S&D has, from day one, been an INCREMENTAL and LEVERAGED project. We're not expecting government to pay for what we're doing, we're hoping the people ALONG THE ROUTE will be the ones to get it going, and that of course is exactly what's happening. We OWN Midford and we are working closely with DCC to restore Spetisbury. These are just the first small steps, once up and running membership will boom and the two sites will become financially self supporting. We can then look elsewhere for a third site (and we have first refusal on Templecombe signalbox if and when that becomes available), or look to putting track in at some point and getting a Parry People Mover or something similar in. That is incremental. And the more of the S&D that is rebuilt is leverage.

The Somerset and Dorset Railway - Midford Midsomer Norton Gartell Shillingstone Washford

love at first sight?

inspiration

the next big step

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blandford 150

midford facebook group

midford this sunday

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