binegar

(Photo courtesy Jim Type)

This is a nice pre-nationalisation shot of an LMS loco and train running through Binegar.

Binegar is the next station south of Chilcompton. It is one of the locations that is likely to see trains again sooner rather than later, as it lies just a few miles from Midsomer Norton. Almost all the route between Shepton Mallet and Radstock is clear of obstructions, though sadly two of the worst are found at each end of Midsomer Norton's running line. There is an infilled cutting between Midsomer Norton and Chilcompton, and a missing road bridge immediately north of Midsomer Norton station. However these are both obstacles that can be overcome, and once passed the line opens up wonderfully either side. Binegar lies high up in the Mendips so is rather bleak, but on the plus side land values are low!

binegar 1987

Brian Clarke has sent these two evocative shots of Binegar taken in January 1987. I particularly like the second shot as it's full of railway atmosphere despite the line having been closed at this time for almost 21 years.

This station will no doubt be revived sooner rather than later as the Trust at Midsomer Norton continue to push southwards. Binegar is the next stop after Chilcompton.

(Both © Brian Clarke)

infamy and birthdays

Binegar 1967 (Jeffery Grayer)


Midsomer Norton 2005 (Steve Sainsbury)

The 6th of March will always ring out as a day of infamy, or at least until the S&D is fully restored!

But it is also our first birthday. From the germ of an idea the New S&D has grown into a vibrant organisation close to taking on two stations on the route and with a membership fast approaching 100! This is way beyond my wildest expectations and I'd like to thank you all for being part of it. Our second year will see us setting up the charity and limited company, and should see our first restoration projects begin.

I doubt you'll find anyone now who thinks that the closure of a major route linking Britain's only World Heritage City to its premier seaside resort via a string of important towns was correct. That doesn't make it any easier restoring the route, but it does make it right!

If you're not already a member then please join as soon as you can and help us to make the inevitable happen!

before closure

A couple of excellent shots from Adrian Vaughan. He has sent us around 100 pictures of the old line so I'll be loading these to the website in the stations section and also the fledgling loco section over the coming weeks. Eventually we will offer these on CD as a collection once we have more dates from Adrian.

a big step (at last)

I've finally got round to ordering our promotional leaflet, which should be ready within two weeks. It's based on the already available home printed one, but will be a hundred times better! Obviously if you need some at your own railway please send for some.


Despite appearances this is actually a 2005 shot and a lighter version is used for the watermark background on the text side of the new leaflet. This was of course the Midsomer Norton Jinty impersonating the Bath-Binegar local ...

Also on order are mousemats with the main leaflet picture (Charlton Marshall). These should be available just in time for Christmas, and will be available through the e-commerce site.

Binegar 1967

Another interesting shot from the Geograph site. This is Binegar station in September 1967 after closure and before track ifting.

Image Copyright Tudor Williams. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

return to Evercreech Junction

My last trip to Evercreech Junction was in 1980.

It was good to see that the main station building is still standing, ready for purchase by the New S&D in the future.

This iconic location - and not just from an S&D perspective - is a sad sight today. It should be bustling with life with trains coming every half hour or so. There should be shops and restaurants serving the thousands of visitors coming by train. There should be trains running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It underlines the utter desolation of certain places when they lose their trains and how desperately they need them back.

In fact the whole journey today from Bristol to the Gartell Railway underlined this economic apartheid. Binegar, Shepton Mallet, Evercreech Junction - all seemed dull and lifeless with few if any amenities. Conversely the two places we did pass through that are still served by trains - Castle Cary and Templecombe - seemed lively and alive. The car park at Castle Cary was packed on a Sunday.

This contrast will become sharper and sharper as the Energy Crunch bites harder. Those people clever (or lucky) enough to live on a railway will be able to continue to go about their daily lives. Their property prices will rise (or fall less) than those who suddenly find themselves out in the sticks, with just crumbling roads and hideously expensive cars and buses to rely on. There will be a shift away from these blighted areas to those that will have a bright future. Even today properties close to railways (or more precisely stations) are worth a good deal more than those that are bereft of modern transport.

This perception will ensure that as time goes by more and more people in these areas (which, currently, sadly includes most of the S&D route) will absolutely insist that their railways are returned. But they can't all be returned at once, there will be a distinct pecking order. We have every intention that the S&D will be up there with the usual suspects - Exeter-Okehampton-Plymouth, Oxford-Cambridge, Waverley route, Great Central, Skipton-Colne, Lewes-Uckfield etc etc.

hard work!

(Photo Jeffery Grayer)

Filling the website with content proceeds apace! There are now six stations with their own pages, hopefully the whole line will be done by the end of the week.

We will always be extremely grateful for any of the following -

write ups, particularly with photos, of the current status of each S&D station

photos of the line both whilst open, after closure and as it is now

memories of the line (either written or on tape)

Also is there anybody out there with detailed knowledge of the following (all in an S&D context) - locomotives, train operation, characters, etc?

Remember that by joining the New S&D you can help to make a new S&D happen!

assault on binegar

(Photos Jeffery Grayer)

Three shots of Binegar after closure. The first is a November 1967 view and shows the signalbox substantially intact. The bottom two shots are from 7 May 1968, with a Hymek and Class 8 doing the dirty.

S&D Narrow Gauge Connections

The S&D has had a few narrow gauge connections. There was a 2' 6" gauge mainly roadside line linking Binegar with Oakhill Brewery, also a 2' (?) gauge peat line that crossed the branch and was involved in an accident in the 1950s when a branch train collided with a peat train in the fog. The flat crossing was apparently totally unprotected by signals! There was also the never-opened Tuckingmill Tramway at Midford, which was mooted in the 1980s.

Today we have the fantastic Gartell railway, just south of Templecombe, which although new build is very aware of the S&D connection. There is a small museum on site, also the three train sets are in the S&D colours of Prussian blue, Southern green and Midland maroon. Part of the Gartell Railway is laid on S&D trackbed, and is now being extended northwards closer to Templecombe. This is a gem of a line, fully signalled, very friendly and with a great family atmosphere - very S&D!

Operating days in 2006 are 25 June, 30 July, every Sunday in August, 28 August (Monday), 24 September and 29 October. Extensive train services are run, there are also excellent catering facilities on site.

There's another NG line quite close to the S&D, at the Bath and West Showground near Shepton. This is a superb 7 1/4" gauge line operated by East Somerset Model and Experimental Engineers, and will be running public trains at the Bath and West Show. Stage one was opened last year, the new extension along the stream towards the lake is now laid and should be operational this year.

As for the future it would be nice to see the Oakhill line relaid (possibly as a metre-gauge electric line?) connecting at Binegar, and eventually a link from Evercreech or nearby to the Bath and West Showground so that visitors can continue to enjoy the numerous shows there even after the end of road transport. And possibly the Bath Tramways, when rebuilt, will be narrow gauge including the link between Bath Spa and Bath Green Park.