The next twenty years

Midsomer Norton (copyright Rail Thing)

Midsomer Norton (copyright Rail Thing)

(Photo copyright John Penny GLR)

Midford (copyright Rail Thing)

Shillingstone (copyright NDRT)

Spetisbury (copyright Rail Thing)

FACEBOOK - FRIENDS OF THE S&D

THE RAIL THING WEBSITE

The various S&D revival groups have now been around for about 25 years, the New S&D will be 8 years old in March. On the ground the line has certainly made its presence felt, especially at Midsomer Norton and Shillingstone. The Gartell continues to run about once a month and has recently extended towards Templecombe. Spetisbury and Midford are cleared and closer to becoming stations again. Two steam locos reside at Shillingstone, one at Midsomer Norton. The S&D is back - but it still has a very long way to go!

Midsomer Norton has extended southwards towards Chilcompton. Although just under a mile in length it has needed to negotiate with FIVE separate landowners! It is almost as if when the line closed the powers-that-be thought it would be permanent, selling off small parcels of land rather than keeping the trackbed in public ownership. What were they thinking?

Shillingstone has made amazing progress over the last few years. laying track through the station area and a short way north and south. Two steam locos are being restored on site. The signalbox has been rebuilt, just like the one at Midsomer Norton was. They have the advantage of only having to deal with one landowner!

The Gartell Railway is narrow gauge but makes a huge effort at capturing the S&D atmosphere. With its recent extension towards Templecombe now open it uses about a mile of original S&D trackbed.

Spetisbury is being restored gradually, it will in time become a stop on the S&D phase two route from Blandford to Poole. This mainly local initiative ensures that in the future the village will be served by trains, rather than have them rush through without stopping.

At Mdiford work parties recommenced in 2016 and were larger than ever. It's always a great place to work, the location is superb and there's an excellent pub a minute's walk away. Hopefully work to rebuild the buildings will start in the not too distant future. Midford station, and the 400 metres of trackbed towards Bath, is currently the only stretch of the line that is owned by one of the S&D groups.

Over the next twenty  years energy supplies will face a huge crunch. This is of course the reason why we are doing this, but as well as the opportunities this situation presents there are real dangers. Energy shortages will make everything more difficult, more of an effort. It'll be harder to get to the sites and harder to do the work needed, a lot will need to revert to hand (although a few years ago that was exactly how we laid track at Midsomer Norton!) On the plus side the urgency of getting the railway back will become clear to everyone and we should receive a huge boost in both support at local and regional level, and from volunteers desperate to hang on to a link with the outside world. This may well mean big companies, swollen with government funds, will take over the rebuilding of the S&D, and many other lines. That's why it's so important for us to be doing the groundwork now, so we get the S&D we want! The more line we restore now the easier it will be to leverage rebuilding in the style we want.

Everyone with an interest in the S&D really should be getting deeply involved with this restoration. It's great fun, the S&D community is growing and diverse and what could be better than spending an hour or two down on the line helping it return?

New S&D AGM 16 January 2016

HURN

FRIENDS OF THE S&D

The next AGM of the New Somerset and Dorset Railway will be on 16 January 2016 at the Avon Causeway Hotel, Hurn near Bournemouth, from 1.30pm to 4pm.

This is a very important meeting as we shall be looking at bringing in a lot more committee members and volunteers - if you care about the S&D it will definitely be the time to start making a difference!

The New S&D will be just short of 7 years old in January 2016. We own Midford and are of course cosmetically restoring Spetisbury. I've been Chair since the group formed in 2009, prior to that I was a committee member holding several posts at Midsomer Norton. I shall be stepping down as Chair at the start of the AGM as I simply no longer have the time to do anything outside of promotion, a role I hope to retain! I'd originally announced I'd be officially retiring as Chair in August 2016 but events have simply caught up with me (as anyone who's been following The Rail Thing will realise!) So if you feel you have the skill set needed for this role please let us know!

The venue is a Pullman coach at the site of the former Hurn station on the Ringwood to Christchurch line, which closed in 1935. There's still plenty of railway interest there so worth a visit just for that. We've always allowed non-members to attend meetings including the AGM, but not to vote of course.

We have two main vehicles for S&D activity on the route - The New Somerset and Dorset Railway and Wessex Links Ltd. It may be that we need to redefine each part's focus, so there's a lot to discuss.

It's imortant that anyone planning to attend give us notice of attendance as the venue's owner needs to know numbers. Food and drink will of course be available at the Avon Causeway (highly recommended!) and if more than 10 want to eat before the meeting we will need to pre-book the meals.

So would ALL members please email me on leysiner@aol.com to let me know if you are coming or not - non-members should also let me know if you are planning to come just so we have some idea of numbers.

infamy

NEW SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY FACEBOOK

It's that time of year again! It's now 48 years to the day since the S&D closed (and 5 years to the day since the New S&D was formed).

If only ...

But I tend to look forwards rather than backwards. Speculation on what the S&D would be like now if it had been rationalised and dieselised (clue, look at the Castle Cary to Dorchester route) or even purchased entirely for £50,000 (if that rumour is true) are a waste of time and energy.

Back in the real world we have what we have, and that's a lot. Five points on the line being restored. The classic iconic station of Midsomer Norton South fully restored with the signalbox and greenhouse recreated and over half a mile of DOUBLE TRACK running line in place. Shillingstone going great guns and not far behind Midsomer Norton despite a late start, the very special Gartell Railway extending northwards and offering a fantastic experience for young and old, Midford arising from the ashes (and the Midford Appeal being launched TODAY!) and Spetisbury also being cleared with rebuilding of the station not too far off. Not to mention Masbury still teasing s along the way ...

And all against a background of increasing climate change effects (some of the worst not too far from our branch to Burnham), energy issues becoming harsher each day and elsewhere in the UK closed lines coming back from the dead as more and more people realise rail is the future.

In 5, 10, 20 years' time who knows how much bigger and busier the S&D will be? As always if you are an S&D fan please get involved in some way or another with the rebirth of this fabulous line. either by joining the New S&D, the heritage groups at Midsomer Norton and/or Shillingstone, volunteering for the Gartell or joining Railfuture or one of the other transport campaigning groups. There's no longer any excuse not to! 

2013

Looking ahead to the rest of 2013 for the S&D I can see big organisational developments at the New S&D, with perhaps more focus on buying stretches of the route as well as that big publicity push that's been just over the horizon - if someone will step forward to concentrate on Media and Publicity! (Interested? Please email me at leysiner@aol.com) Obviously Midford and Spetisbury will also be getting closer to rebuilding and tracklaying.

Further afield I can see more track laid at Midsomer Norton and Shillingstone as both sites consolidate.

Gartell will doubtless do what it does best - create a whole new S&D experience on the smaller gauge.

And Washford will also do what it does best - restore old S&D rolling stock and infrastructure items, as well as educate the wider public on the world's favourite line (S&D of course, not GWR!)

And hopefully steps to bring the disparate groups closer together will pick up speed, as I personally feel that this is THE most important process that the entire S&D revival needs in 2013 and beyond.

2012

2012 has been a great year for the S&D. At the New S&D end we've continued tidying up Midford ready for rebuilding, whilst Spetisbury has progressed even more quickly with a strong team down in Dorset. The New S&D itself has grown a good deal (despite our continued deliberate low profile!) with membership now well over 150.

Midsomer Norton have started running regular trains using a DMU and are continuing to extend southwards, whilst still waiting for the right time to start looking northwards as well. The station itself is a delight and is well worth a few hours of anyones time!

Shillingstone have also gone up a few gears with the station and signalbox nicely restored/rebuilt with the down platform shelter now progressing. A good amount of track has also been laid at the site.

Gartell is as quietly wonderful as ever, currently the only line on S&D metals to be running regular steam, all on the two foot gauge.

Washford are progressing despite the deadline of 2020 on their lease at the current site at Washford, which I visited this year. There is a HUGE amount of affection for this group which we hope fervently will return to the S&D proper when the lease does run out.

No longer a dead line, the S&D now has FIVE sites either operating or being restored, with regular train services on two sections.

Affection for the S&D is stronger now than it has ever been and it would be a brave person indeed that didn't believe that at some time in the next fifty years the line won't be open throughout!

license to grow!

The New S&D now has its insurance certificate which not only covers Spetisbury and Midford but will also cover any other sites they acquire. This is another step forwards in reinstating the whole route and will allow them to adopt stations and other useful sections of route as they grow, without incurring additional costs. As an additional bonus Matt, who set this up for them, has joined the New S&D!

all the time in the world

Well perhaps not, but with the New S&D being a long term project, expected to last over at least two generations, we are rather oversupplied with time to do things, as long as the situation in the wider world allows it! There may be some very strange jerks in our progress, with things being a hive of activity at times but at other times not much happening at all - or at least appearing so.

A lot of people don't 'get' this. They ask valid questions like 'how are you going to pay for this?' but 'this' can mean a lot of things. At the moment 'this' is the acquisition and rebuilding of Midford and Spetisbury and equipping them as information and sales offices for the whole route. We can manage that quite easily, and progress has been excellent. Remember that the New S&D is not a heritage project but a plan to rebuild a much-needed railway. It will be expected to be profitable so we won't rely on things like grants and subsidies. The New S&D may well be built in its entirely by a public company, through the government, a consortium or even Wessex Links Ltd!

As the Energy Crisis progresses it will become clear to everyone that new railways will be needed. This will be when things really start happening and why it's so important to get the ball rolling now.

Think about this - what sort of line is going to attract support from communities along the route, politicians and investors - a long closed route overgrown with weeds, built on extensively and with no obviious local support or a line that has been restored in places, where other sections are owned by a group dedicated to rebuilding the route and where the community has been involved right from the start?

I know some people think that this won't happen, or (worse to my mind) it'll only happen in parts. But these people tend not to have had their 'Peak Oil moment' yet so are still thinking that the future will resemble the past. It won't. There's no contention about Peak Oil, it's a simple geological and economic fact. We WILL run out of cheap oil and when we do everything will change, not just the price of fuel at the petrol pumps! Fuel itself will become hard to get at any price, the roads will empty, we'll probably have intermittent electricity supplies, food will not be as easy and cheap to find because non-organic farming methods rely on oil-based fertilizers and plastics will either vanish or be very expensive. This is the world we're moving in to, and the one we need to plan for. The past is irrelevant.

Who knows when this will happen? Well Peak Oil has been reached, back in 2005. Energy efficiency and the recession has reduced oil usage around the world, so this is masked a little, and fuel is still incredibly cheap. But as oil gets scarcer the chances of a REAL oil shock become more common and eventually inevitable. That's when we need to be ready.

So in this respect time is limited! I suspect that as we react to events we'll up our game or chill out a lot, depending on what's happening.

Many out there still haven't joined the New S&D and that's fine. Their time hasn't come yet. But it will and the fact that this site now gets between 250 and 350 hits a day suggests that the message is beginning to reach people. And remember, this is very early days!

here we go ...

This is a gem from Mick Knox. Unbelievably people are STILL complaining about the so-called 'high' cost of fuel!! Are they living in a complete fantasy world or are they so stupid that they can't see what is happening around them?

We need to accept that the car is dying - there is no way it can survive the coming oil shock, and the 'replacement' technology of electric cars will be even more expensive, and will be in such short supply that they simply won't be an option for most of us.

 

We need to move on from this posturing and decadence, trying to hold on to something that is already lost for ever. We need to forget trying to prolong the agony and start planning for the future. Nostalgia is NOT an option.

 

We need to start running our road network down before it happens anyway. All infrastructure projects should be abandoned immediately and the bare minimum for safety needs to become the norm. Speed limits need to be reduced to take this into account.

 

We need to immediately start reopening closed lines, starting with important cross country routes such as the S&D, Great Central, Woodhead, Waverley, Plymouth-Exeter via Tavsistock, Dumfries-Stranraer etc, then begin to put the branch lines back in. Then new interurban light railways and tramways need to be built to fill in the gaps, so that nobody is more than a mile or so from a station. Freight facilities need to be built at all points. Urban tramways need to be built in all larger towns and, of course, cities. Standard equipment needs to be built - locos, coaches, freight wagons, track panels, catenary etc, so that the cost of rebuilding and operating are reduced. Energy generating methods, from solar and wind through to wood burning need to be optimised. ALL infrastructure expenditure over the next three or four decades needs to be thrown at rail development at all levels.

 

I know the following is really an exercise in nostalgia and will not be to most reader's tastes, but try to read it!

MPs urge ministers to scrap a planned rise in fuel duty

Comments (1087)

Ministers say they have acted to alleviate the burden on motorists

Continue reading the main story

Business of Energy

• The cost of petrol and oil: How it breaks down
• Competition drives up energy cost
• Gulf drilling returns with limits

The government should scrap a planned increase in fuel duty to help "hard-working, vulnerable Britons", a Conservative MP has said.

Robert Halfon said the government must show it is one "that cuts taxes for millions of British people and not just for millionaires".

He tabled a Commons motion urging action on fuel prices in response to an e-petition signed by 110,000 people.

It was approved by MPs without a vote but it is not binding on ministers.

Treasury minister Chloe Smith said the government was listening to people's concerns but "now was not the time" to change duty rates as such decisions must wait for the Budget.

The government plans to increase fuel duty by 3p a litre in January - meaning an extra £1.50 to fill an average car - and Chancellor George Osborne is under pressure to scrap that as part of his autum statement on the economy later this month.

Petrol prices have tripled in the past two decades, but ministers say prices would be even higher had they not scrapped automatic fuel-tax increases imposed by Labour.

Mr Osborne scrapped the annual fuel tax escalator - a mechanism under which duty rose by 1p above inflation every year - and cut fuel duty by 1p in March's Budget.

However, he has only postponed the planned inflation-linked part of the duty rise from April 2011 to January 2012, and from April 2012 to August 2012.

Opening the debate, Mr Halfon said: "Fuel duty is not just about economics, it's an issue of social justice and this is especially true in rural communities which are being destroyed by fuel prices."

He said the government had to be "realistic and truthful about who pays the lion's share of fuel duty".

"It's ordinary families driving to work, it's mums taking their children to school, it's small businesses who can't afford to drive a van or their lorry, it's non-motorists who depend on buses who are also being crushed by rocketing food prices as the cost of road haulage goes through the roof."
'Inelastic'
In his motion, Mr Halfon urges ministers to consider whether current fuel tax rates are economically competitive; what impact they are having on economic growth and unemployment levels; and to examine the case for a price stabilisation mechanism to even out fluctuations in pump prices.

The Treasury has already said it will introduce a "fair fuel stabiliser" to ensure price rises are capped to inflation when oil prices are high.

Lib Dem party president Tim Farron agreed that people in rural areas were hardest hit because "demand is so inelastic for petrol because people have only one way of getting to work".

AA president Edmund King: "High fuel prices are already bringing in record amounts of tax"

Labour have welcomed the chance for a debate on the issue, but said there must be "concrete action" to help business and families rather than "warm words".

The party's leadership had backed an amendment by backbench MP Dave Watts urging the government to reverse January's rise in VAT to 20% - which they say would cut 3p off the price of a litre of petrol.

Russell Brown, MP for Dumfries and Galloway, said: "I have some people in remote areas who have discovered that to get to work has become far too costly and some of these people are considering giving up working all together."

Conservative Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, highlighted the struggles of haulage companies.

"Profit margins for hauliers are very tight. This makes it a very vulnerable business and in particular fuel companies are not willing to extend credit terms, leaving payments in some cases to as little as three days.

"Now when haulage firms may not be paid for work for up to 60 days, this proves to be a very hand-to-mouth industry and companies can only afford to think ahead to January."

Motorist: "Petrol prices are appalling at the moment"

The AA said the latest fuel price rises were already impacting on drivers, and that for the average motorist the planned increase would equate to an additional £38 a year at the pumps.

AA president Edmund King told BBC Radio 5Live the AA's latest survey showed that some 70% of motorists were already cutting back on journeys - or other expenditure, like food shopping, to pay for petrol.

He said price increases were "socially divisive", saying the nation was being divided into "drives" - people who can afford to drive - and "drive nots".

'Strangling the economy'

Motoring journalist Quentin Wilson, who speaks for FairFuel UK, a pressure group behind the e-petition, said he and others "want the whole fuel pricing issue to become open and transparent", adding that high fuel duty is "strangling the economy".

"There are desperate, desperate people who cannot afford to use the roads. The effect on society at the moment has been absolutely desperate. Fuel duty is strangling us," he said.

Meanwhile, Richard Hebditch, of Campaign for Better Transport, said the "big problem" is that Britons are reliant on their cars and dependant on foreign oil supplies, which are "quite risky oil supplies".

He said: "What we need to do is take the money from fuel duty and invest it in giving people real alternatives and modernising our transport systems so we aren't so dependant on foreign and risking oil supplies."

Tuesday's debate, which lasted three hours, was approved by the Backbench Business Committee.

spetisbury returns to the menu

(Click for larger view!)

New S&D member Dean Cockwell has taken on the task on moving forward our plans for Spetisbury. Unlike Midford, where we own the land, Spetisbury is owned by Dorset County Council, so we would only be leasing the site.

The initial plans for Spetisbury is to restore the buildings and open the site as a southern information centre for the route. But Spetisbury is a far less cramped site than Midford, it was also on a double track section of route. This does suggest that it may be viable to lay at least single track eventually, which will give the site more of a railway feel.

Although we've not given a lot of thought to what the information offices will contain, it's probable that there will be information boards, perhaps a model railway, some sales items and also a lot of info and books on the wider issues of Peak Oil and Climate Change, as well as railway items. There will also of course be lots of information on the other S&D groups at Midsomer Norton, Shillingstone, Gartell and Washford.

We expect that the two information offices will serve to push the New S&D to the next level, with a lot more publicity, engagement with the community and a lot of new members joining. They will also be an excellent opportunity for members to work together on the nuts and blots work of rebuilding these tiny bits of the S&D.

get together

The New S&D was invited to the regular joint meeting of S&D groups on Sunday. I went along with our secretary, Anna-Jayne Metcalfe. It also gave me a chance to see developments at Midsomer Norton first hand. You'll have seen some of this over the last few days on this blog!

The meeting was most interesting and showed us all that there are plenty of opportunities to work together. There were representatives from the New S&D, SDRHT (Midsomer Norton), NDRT (Shillingstone) and SDRT (Washford). It was agreed to invite the New S&D to all future meetings, also Gartell will be invited to the next one, which will bring all the S&D groups together in one place or the first time. We do of course all have the same aim - to preserve and develop the S&D. We are slightly different in that the heritage aspect is only part of what we do, but a VERY important part!

It was good to meet up with old friends again! There are a lot of passionate S&D people out there and together I reckon there's nothing we can't achieve!

shillingstone ups its game

A lot of very good things have been coming out of Shillingstone of late, and they are doing the S&D proud!

Their new magazine is a credit to a small group - I love the cover pic! This is issue number one, free to all members.

The biggest news of all is that they have managed to acquire half a mile of track, enough to allow them to lay double track through the station, and single track beyond. They are also taking delivery of three items of rolling stock, including a steam loco and buffet coach!

I rejoined Shillingstone last week. I must say that their membership secretary is extremely efficient, within a few days of sending off my cheque I had membership card, magazine and a direct debit form. Hopefully I'll upgrade to life membership soon. I'm already a life member at Midsomer Norton and will be taking out life membership of the New S&D next month.

q and a session

(Photos - all inspirationally Swiss!)

Recently posted - a gift for return of serve!


Wish you luck and agree with idea but you are living in a fantasy world if you think it will ever REALLY happen; too many plots sold off and millions upon millions of pounds of infrastructure to replace. Should never have been closed - but the time to fight was 60s, like the Settle and Carlisle Railway supporters did. The only REAL railway investment likely to happen now is HIGH SPEED links, not the local loss making railways. Despite this, you are right but that doesn't mean much!
My reply -

I hate fantasy - it's a waste of energy! You won't find any in the New S&D - we are a terribly straight-laced and unsentimental lot! Businesspeople, accountants, economists and academics in the main.

Please don't just wish us luck - join us!

Billions, not millions. We have no illusions as to the difficulty in raising money like this, but there are ways. And it will get easier as time goes by.

The S&C fight was in the 70s, the absolute nadir of railways. In fact I felt that was the turning point for rail in the UK and the S&C (I was born in Carlisle) is one of the inspirations for the S&D.

Most rail infrastructure investments in this country since have been for local routes - Robin Hood line, Airdrie-Bathgate, Ebbw Vale, Waverley route, Larkhall, Alloa, Welsh Highland Railway. HS rail is part of the future, but will hardly be ideal for freight, terrible for local rail traffic and is already causing controversy through the areas it runs, as the inhabitants can't see the benefits they'll get. It's not a zero-sum game. Remember all that former road development money is coming rail's way ...

And the S&D won't be a loss-maker in any case. Remember that dodgy accounting, hatred of the route by the regional management and a deliberate decision not to rationalise and dieselise the route, together with diversion of traffic, killed the line, not big losses. It certainly won't be a loss maker in the future - we hope to pay regular and good dividends to the shareholders!It will happen - the only question is what sort of S&D will emerge. Let's do it our way.

progress on compromise

Everyone who loves the S&D needs to work together, that is clear. There are some seriously artificial 'differences' between us, they are not real differences but simply differences in perception - in fact these differences wil fade as more and more people get the bigger picture. Remember that we were all once doubters (or ignorant) of Peak Oil. Nobody now seriously disputes that oil is a finite resource, that it will eventually vanish and that we will need to seriously change the way we source and use energy - and that in the process the old era of roads, cars, pollution and inefficiency will vanish. In reality many of the differences are no nore trivial than some people wanting 'power' within the S&D community. The New S&D has always sidestepped this rather anachronistic trait, anyone who wants to can get involved at any level. ALL ideas and energy are welcomed.

The previous post has brought forward a few good comments, which I've elevated to the main blog.

http://railways.national-preservation.com/showthread.php/28176-midsomer-norton-road-bridge.?p=387730#post387730

Is the relevant thread.

I believe the principle thorn in the side of the "preservationists" is the peak oil "angle". It would be a terrible shame if, despite the general alignment of aims there was a falling out over an underlying philosophy that has brought disparate groups to the same conclusion.

For my part I'm on nobody's side; I'm the grandson of the last driver of the "Pines Express" over S&D metals and just really want to see why it was so special to my Grandad.

I'm worried that the "no compromise" attitude may alienate rather than encourage the other groups to join the effort.
And my reply

But the preservationists are deluding themselves if they regard Peak Oil as an 'angle'. Oil is a finite resource and is getting scarcer by the day. As time passes the roads will empty as fewer and fewer of us can afford to drive. With the reduced tax take the roads themselves will fall into disrepair and all freight and passenger traffic will switch to rail. There's no contention in this, but a lot of people just don't want it to happen so they project this wish (and agenda) onto their own view of the future, and imagine it to have equal validity. It is so important to be realistic and keep one's own personal desires and foibles out of this. To not do so is to compromise.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter. The New S&D exists to bring the groups together, to act as an umbrella for the whole line, to lobby, to buy up and protect forever portions of the route. If others are happy to work locally (as are most of the Midford team) that is absolutely fine.I can not see why this should be any problem for anyone who loves the S&D. It takes nothing away from them - I myself am a dedicated life member at Midsomer Norton - but ensures that when the problems start to hit we are prepared.

Being prepared is the key to everything. Forget agendas, let's just get on with it. Nothing else matters.
and a very good contribution which says things better than I ever could

Well it seems obvious you can't build it all at once. We are not Brunel and we dont have his power or money.

Look at the way the M25 was built - easy bits first and then gradually filling in the gaps. The New Zealand railways of South Island had similar approach, as they had to cross several wide rivers.

We obviously need to gain the rights to build a railway over the entire route, and that should be going on in parallel to the actual construction and restoration in various places. Too many places and nothing gets finished and everyone gets disheartened.

May I also suggest an annual, 'walk the line', with a sponsored walk along as much of the original route as is possible. Once we could walk the whole route that would demonstrate to the press and locals that the project was possible.

Also desperately need a 'champion' with importance at a National level, who will act as a figurehead to bring in funds and even gain government support.

Once the tunnels in Bath are open that should help stimulate support. I also believe we should aim to restore all the mileposts as soon as possible and then add in the 'quarter posts' in sections that have been restored. Cosmetics in the early stage are important, even though the engineers amongst us might disagree. That is why the Midford restoration is so important. Big picture is essential, but doing lots of the easy things early on keeps everyone enthusiatic, and more likely to donate time and money.

the S&D community

There are rumours - probably apocryphal - the an 'important member' of the S&D community recently refused to give an interview with a video company about the S&D because 'everything that could be said about the S&D has been'.

This highlights two big points. The first is that the potential interviewee clearly considers that the S&D exists purely in the past. This is the big fracture between the nostalgists who knew the old S&D and the far bigger demographic that see the S&D as primarily a present and future thing. There is of course a third group, people like me who see the S&D as a phenomena of the past, present and future.

The other point is the ease that somebody like me, who normally detests the PC, modernist and rather lazy use of '(insert anything) community' finds it so easy to use in this case. Because there really is an S&D community, and it's a growing, very cool and dynamic thing. It is very much an idea of the future more than anything. And I suspect that everyone that reads this blog is very clearly a member of it.

There are some VERY silly differences between people currently restoring the S&D. As the New S&D we have kept very firmly apart from this, and always intend to do so. We are a unifying rather than dividing force. We quite simply want to see the whole S&D restored, both as a linear work of art and as a modern, forward-looking, transport system. We can clearly see the benefits of restoring the bulk of the 1950s/60s S&D infrastructure - it will encourage steam specials on the route, will give the whole line a human scale, will increase the potential employment prospects of the line, will allow us to sieze a myriad of profitable opportunities and make people like us! But we also see the absolute necessity of being an economically viable, super efficient common carrier for freight and passengers in the 21st century. As the road network fails we need to be in place, as simple as that. If for the next couple of decades we can ride on the back of the heritage movement as we restore sections of the route then that will help all of us.

You can see where this is going. The New S&D has something for the WHOLE S&D community. Not only can those who love steam and loved the line as it was see that what we will do will appeal to them but also the people who live along the line - who really just want their trains back - can see that we also want to give them that, a super efficient, cheap, climate-friendly and sustainable way to keep moving as the oil age collapses.

The S&D community is HUGE, certainly numbering in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. It embraces the original S&D community - the workers who knew the original line. It encompasses a good proportion of railway enthusiasts who loved this line, whether they knew it or not when it was running (and where of course I originally came from!). It includes all those people working towards making the UK a sustainable economy. It also includes all of those people in the railway industry who are developing our primary transport system in the 21st century. But the biggest tranche of members come from those hundreds of thousands of people that live along the route and will be the main users of the trains when they return.

caution - may contain nuts

I heard the daftest thing the other day. Apparently a lot of people don't want to get involved with the New S&D - and by extension the S&D revival - because they have heard we're a 'bunch of nutters'!

I'm really sorry to disappoint them, and I know how horrible it can be when the truth hits home, but there's never been room in the New S&D for anyone who isn't as sharp as a knife, well educated and professional. We'd spot a nutter from miles off and they'd never get in.

Not quite sure how this rumour came about, or what mischievous types spread it, but I'm sure the progress at Midford and the rapid development of the New S&D, coupled with an almost universal appreciation that the Beeching cuts now need to be reversed, and quickly, will knock it out of play.

So if you are a nutter, and feel that joining the New S&D will introduce you to a plethora of like-minded friends, forget it. We have a serious nut allergy ... and intend to keep it that way!

brilliance!

Well Midsomer Norton have finally done it and are running trains on a regular basis, starting tomorrow at 11am. (Details in the superb poster above).

(There were a couple of earlier running days in September but these were kept deliberately low key, to get the feel for things).

Midsomer Norton was always the inspiration for the New S&D and the whole site is fantastic, a real credit to everyone who has helped it happen.

It really is a historic day as this is the first time the public have been able to travel on a standard gauge train on the S&D since the Radstock group moved to Washford in the 1970s. It's been a long time coming, and everyone deserves to travel on this fantastic route. This is yet another one of those small steps at different locations that proclaims loudly to the outside world - the one that still sits complacently and firmly in the 20th century - that the ridiculous closure of the S&D in 1966 was only temporary and that the line is coming back, yard by yard, mile by mile, town by town. The S&D is no longer a dead route but a living, breathing icon for the 21st century!

when heritage rail meets peak oil

I had a strange phone conversation the other day. It wasn't about the S&D but drifted towards it. The person on the other end of the phone was an S&D fan but also involved down at the West Somerset Railway. He was quite amused when I mentioned our plans, coming out with the time worn classic cliches 'of course it will never happen' and 'you're dreamers'. Hmmm.

Well firstly I really would like to know exactly how we're going to get from A to B, or Bournemouth to Bath, without the railway in a couple of decades time. Are we really expected to just stay rooted in our towns and villages, never venturing more than five miles from home? Because that's what they're saying.

And as for dreamers?? WTF? I wouldn't waste a second of my time on any unproductive activity, and anything less than a fully restored entire S&D is, to my mind, a total waste of time. And I think that applies to every member of the New S&D, a membership that is growing daily and is poised to overtake other S&D groups over the next year or two.

Of course there were two clues to his attitude - his age and his allegiance to the WSR.

Most people over 50 were totally immersed in the (now totally daft) paradigm that railways - all railways - were finished in the 60s and 70s. Some (like myself) have shaken this perverse, and now totally irrelevant, paradigm off, but far too many still want to believe that railways are an anachronism, that steam trains, paying tourist families and playing at railways has some sort of future. It doesn't of course, once peak oil effects really kick in the infrastructure will be simply snatched back and converted to 'real' railways again, unless the heritage lines transform themselves into community railways pretty sharpish. A few, Swanage and (ironically) the West Somerset, are already doing this, but too many are still at the playing trains stage.

All of this will of course wash over the future passengers and freight suppliers along the lines themselves. They have no interest in social history, steam trains, ancient rolling stock or any of the other arcane and uneconomic accoutrements of the heritage railway. They'll just want to get from A to B, Bournemouth to Bath.

But if we're really careful we can save the S&D heritage as part of the whole line revival. There is no reason why our stations and infrastructure can't be as they were. The railway station will soon become once again the centre of every city, town and village. A basic station is not an option, even at the village level. Villages, towns and cities will reorientate themselves around their stations and railways, the stations themselves will become incredible hives of activity with restaurants, shops etc - big, elegant buildings will be required!

There's no reason why in 2050 a double headed steam train can't recreate the Pines Express of 1960, carry paying passengers and slipping effortlessly between the regular electric services on the route - particularly if the locos are fuelled by sustainable wood - serving elegant and substantial stations en route. Nobody wants bus shelters any more - particularly when our passengers in 40 or 50 years time won't even know what a bus is!

Perhaps a start towards squaring the circle and preparing heritage railways for a very different future would be for the various S&D groups to actually start acknowledging the existence of the New S&D - displaying our leaflets at Washford, Midsomer Norton and Shillingstone would be a step towards our inevitable working closely together as doors open all along the route!