the fate of freight

As promised some of the images of the sheer variety of freight wagons etc available on the railways in the 1950s. There was no assumption back then that railways were only suitable for certain very specialised loads - the railways could and would carry anything. The idea that railways were some sort of inflexible mode for niche freight was a POLITICAL idea, not an economic one. As Warren Buffet says once you've got your track and equipment in place almost every dollar goes to the bottom line.

From these pics it looks pretty clear that in the 50s this weird politics had not yet infected the railways, and that they were there to do a job.

What happened to all these wagons, and all these jobs? No doubt scrapped, with the traffic, still growing, forced on to ever more crowded roads!

But remember, in Europe and even in the transport backwater of the USA MOST freight, even before the energy crisis, goes by rail. In Switzerland all large lorries in transit have to switch to rail. In the poor old UK the majority of freight is still moved in inefficient, polluting and lifespan-limited lorries, clogging our roads and leading to the ludicrous situation - as at Pensford or on the A34 - of a slow-moving road clogged with lorries running alongside CLOSED railways!!

The deliberate running down of the rail network to favour the pockets of one 'man', Ernest Marples, will soon be seen as the criminal act it was. And soon, in the teeth of severe climate change and the end of cheap oil, the railways will once again be free to do the job they do so well, carrying the nation's freight.

avoiding project drift

It should sometimes be restated - the New S&D is committed to restoring the WHOLE S&D, not just Bournemouth to Bath but also the branches, plus the Bristol-Pensford-Radstock and Bailey Gate-Wimborne-Ringwood lines, plus the Ringwood to Brockenhurst line if not already restored by the Network when we reach Ringwood.

This doesn't mean that a few hundred mainly railway enthusiasts are going to raise the 1-2 billion pounds needed to restore these routes, rebuild the infrastructure and provide the locos and rolling stock. It doesn't mean that some time in the next five to ten years we will be running trains to all these destinations.

What it does mean is that constitutionally we exist to promote the S&D in its entirety, will encourage and support other groups restoring sections of the route (as at Shillingstone, Midsomer Norton and Gartell), will purchase sections of trackbed etc as they become available to protect them for railway use in perpetuity, and operate sections of the route as they become economocally viable. Full reinstatement may well be by the network, by a consortium of businesses or by emergency government decree. Or we may be so sharp that we manage to do this by ourselves by raising the money on the stock exchange and/or through local and regional share issues.

Whilst discussion about restoring tiny sections for narrow gauge etc are welcome we need to avoid project drift. We need to always state what we are about, and always keep our eyes on the bigger picture.

Whilst I doubt anyone would question the need for and viability of the Midsomer Norton/Shepton to Bath and Blandford-Poole sections we need to remember that the S&D is a network, not two branches, and that we'll have far greater flexibility (and profitability) as a through route with additional connections to the Network wherever we pass by it ie at Templecombe, Bruton etc.

Whilst local passenger and freight traffic will be the lifeblood of the route we also expect that much traffic will originate and/or terminate away from our metals. This is pretty much the same situation as the old S&D but of course the New S&D will, eventually, be far busier than the Old S&D was, even on summer Saturdays in the 1950s.

hs2 and sd2

So that's it, HS2 will happen. It all seemed so easy.

Of course in the real world what we need is massive investment in new railways and tramways in the UK, bringing a sustainable and modern transport system into every corner of the UK, far surpassing the rather sparse network bequeathed by the Victorians and dimished even further by the misguided idiot Beeching.

But we have to work in the world we have, not the one we want, so we're stuck with this expensive if essential piece of infrastructure, the cost of which would have rebuilt sixteen S&Ds - and brought modern transport to people that needed it, not those that already have it!

As for SD2 as it's now becoming known? Well the fact that governments are now seeing rail as the default future transport system can only be a good thing. In truth of course this has been a process that's been happening for some time, from the building of the Channel Tunnel. The 'road lobby' is now a distant memory, and HS2 will also do its bit to bring the early end of air travel, despite the rather daft idea that HS2 will link to Heathrow - as if it will still be operating in 2026, when HS2 is due to begin services.

And what about its effect on SD2? I suspect that once HS2 is finished other parts of the UK will be clamouring for a high speed link and I suspect a priority will be London to Bristol to Cardiff/Plymouth, which suggests an SD2 link at Bristol (via the Radstock-Pensford-Bristol line, part of our remit). Imagine - Shepton to Paris in 3 and a half hours! Of course the Bath line will be no less important - at least 95% of travellers on SD2 will be local passengers.

So HS2 is going to cause a lot of controversy. You can't blame residents for fighting it if they can't actually use the trains. Perhaps bundling it with a package of conventional rail reopenings, particularly in the area through which it will run, will sweeten the pill somewhat?

It's clear that our economy will be a purely rail-based one within a few decades. HS2 is a step in that process. But it needs to be presented as a small part in a  much bigger plan, the roll back of Beeching, the building of thousands of miles of new railways and tramways, the linking of industries, farms etc to the network, the creation of super-efficient, fully sustainable locomotives and, most of all, the complete reorientating of our industry and commerce to not merely be sustainable but to continue to develop into the post oil age.

bath green park

(Photo courtesy Jim Type, copyright R E Toop)

The S&D was lucky in having a terminus at each end, though Bath Green Park was always a little cramped! As well as the S&D it also served the Mangotsfield line and points beyond via the east to west curve there.

This other route did an excellent job of taking pressure off the Bath to Bristol GWR main line, as well as serving places that the GW never reached. Part of this route is preserved as the Avon Valley Railway, which is hoping to extend closer in towards Bath. The original intention of the group that became the Avon Valley Railway was to operate a commuter route with a heritage aspect. This idea was probably about thirty years' ahead of its time, but the rest of the world has now just about caught up with those early visionaries!

As the S&D pushes up from Midford we intend to restore right into Bath, with connections to the network at both Limpley Stoke and in Bath itself - each single track carrying traffic in one direction only.

But of course Bath Green Park really needs to become the ultimate destination. This will increase capacity and flexibility, and form an excellent headquarters for both the S&D and a booming AVR. Of course parts of this roiute have been encroached on slightly, and there is even now possible future development near the route, but none of this will be a problem in an energy-poor future. On the other side of the equation the station and its roof have been wonderfully preserved - the platform area is currently a car park, so only has a limited lifespan in that capacity.

We also intend to restore the Bristol to Radstock via Pensford route, to give even greater capacity and flexibility at the northern end of our line.

and about time ...

(Pensford (Bristol route) 30.4.2011 © Steve Sainsbury)

I've finally managed to complete RIGHT LINES 3 and hopefully all members will get their copies over the next week or so. There is an appeal for an editor in the magazine - if you are a member and would like to take on this job, with lots of financial support from the New S&D and plenty of content from myself and others, please email me on leysiner@aol.com

more rails close to the New S&D

This is the Hunters Rest Miniature Railway near Pensford. It may well be the only pub miniature railway in the UK! It's a mile or two from Pensford, which had (and will of course have again) a station on the Radstock to Bristol line. The line runs for about a third of a mile through woods and alongside the pub car park.

We went to the pub today but only photographed the line - I think my riding days of lines this small are over! It has combined track for both 7 1/4" and 5" guage trains. There are a couple of steam locos used on this line but today they were using this Hymek-style freelance diesel, pulling a single carriage.

The Bristol to Radstock route (which of course continues to Frome) closed in 1968 after damage to the magnificent (and still extant) Pensford viaduct in the massive July 1968 flood. The New S&D plans to reopen this route to ease capacity limits on the Radstock to Bath section of the S&D. Part of this route is now a cycleway between Radstock and Midsomer Norton, there is also the (moribund?) Clutton station revival with (at least a few years ago) a mark one standard gauge coach and a narrow gauge diesel alongside but unconnected to the Clutton scheme, plus this tiny line about a mile from the route between Pensford and Clutton. All worth a visit of course!

the chilcompton extension

(All 19.4.2010)

Three recent shots of Midsomer Norton's Chilcompton extension. This brings the line into the open countryside for which the S&D was rightly famous. tree clearance is now giving views across the town (see pic 3). Midsomer Norton has grown a lot since the closure of the line, perhaps surprisingly. No doubt had the line not closed it would have grown even more!

With larger towns along the route and the gradual (hopefully!) decline in road traffic, coupled with modern sustainable motive power, the New S&D should have a very bright and profitable future. With a complex mix of local and express passenger, and a variety of freight traffic, both through trains and originating on the route, the line will be very busy, probably far busier than it was in its first heyday when trains operated around the clock. This is one of the main reasons that it will be reconstructed with double track throughout, even on those sections that were originally single track, and also why we will be promoting alternative northern and southern exits (via Pensford to Bristol and Ringwood to Brockenhurst respectively).

bristol's tramways take shape

Works alongside Hartcliffe Way, Bristol, January 2010. Trams at last??

Bristol has a population of 380,615.
Bratislava (Slovakia) has a population of 426,927.

Bratislava has 40km of tramways and 13 lines. This is in addition to a suburban railway network, metro, trolleybuses and even (LOL) buses.

Bristol has 0km of tramways and 0 lines. This is in addition to a railway network that cleverly avoids most places, including Portishead, no metro, no trolleybuses and lots of (LOL) buses, many of which proudly proclaim 'Not in Service'.

No, the pic isn't of tramway works in Bristol. Our Supertram was abandoned a few years ago by a bunch of spineless councillors who would rather look backwards than forwards and have consequently condemned Bristol to years of congestion. The trams WILL come, that's inevitable. No real city lacks trams. What the pic is of is the new cycleway - but the interesting thing is that it can, and will, convert easily to a tram route. Perhaps the councillors here are taking their heads out of the sand and are - at last - looking ahead, even if they are doing it covertly.

So what's Bratislava got to do with anything? Well, apart from being a similar size to Bristol it's our holiday destination in June. And why did we choose it? Precisely because it does have modern public transport, which makes it tourist friendly.

And what's any of this got to do with the New S&D? Well, Bristol will be a destination for us, using the old Pensford route. In fact I fully expect trams to shadow our route south from Bristol to Whitchurch station on the New S&D. And trams will almost certainly reappear in Bournemouth, Poole and up to Broadstone and Wimborne. Over the longer term trams/light railways will pop up everywhere, feeding into the new rail network, carrying frieght as well as passengers. Those dinosaurs who think that the 21st century will merely see a reversal of the Beeching cuts simply haven't understood the urgency and depth of the energy crisis.

So keep watching this space. I fully expect to retake these pictures by 2015 with tram tracks running down Hartcliffe Way!

radstock 1967, 1968 and 2006

(Courtesy Jeffery Grayer)


Radstock was a classic location with two separate railways cutting through the town, offering services to Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol and Frome, as well as loads of freight. The top three shots are of coal workings from Writhlington to Portishead. Back in 67 and 68 these ran via Pensford, but the 1968 flood led to the closure of the line due to flood damage at Pensford. Surprisingly the A37 road, which also suffered major damage, was NOT abandoned. After the flood the section of line between Radstock and Mells Road was reopened for the Portishead coal traffic, a much more roundabout route.

The New S&D plans to restore the link to Bristol eventually, hopefully the superb viaduct is not too damaged by the 1968 flood. I suspect it was an excuse to close this valuable line rather than anything too scary!

Car drivers used to whinge about being caught at the crossings in Radstock, but at least they had the option of using the trains. Nowadays, in this strange hiatus between trains, it can sometimes take 20 minutes just to negotiate the double roundabouts near where the crossings used to be. As usual we have gone backwards.

wimborne

(All photos 28.4.1977)

Wimborne was an early destination for S&D trains, before the direct line near Corfe Mullen was completed allowing S&D trains to run through to Bournemouth without reversing.

Wimborne station, once the busiest in Dorset, lost its passenger trains in 1964, and its freight in 1977. I'd motorbiked in the pouring rain all the way from Sussex to get these shots. In pre-digital days that meant just 6 photos! (Other three to follow).

No town the size of Wimborne should be without trains. It is madness. Just along the way Ringwood is also currently devoid of trains.

It makes sense for the New S&D to restore its link with Wimborne by reopening the line all the way through to Brockenhurst, restoring both Ringwood and Wimborne to the rail network. This would give S&D trains to the south the choice of Bournemouth or Southampton as destinations. There would also be a good deal of locally generated passsenger and freight traffic in the Blandford/Bournemouth/Ringwood axis.

The New S&D will not stop at just restoring the former S&D but will also look to building new links (mainly on old trackbeds) to Bristol (via Pensford) and Brockenhurst (via Ringwood). This would give our services logical destinations and a multitude of links to the existing network.

the bristol option

Above are 3 views of the former Bristol to Frome via Midsomer Norton and Radstock line. This section is currently an excellent footpath and cycleway. The bottom two views show the Five Arches, the S&D route ran over the top of this, and it shouldn't be too many years before trains are running over this section of the S&D again.

The Frome-Bristol line is really in four stages these days. The first section from Frome to Great Elm is still heavily used by freight trains, carrying stone. Beyond Great Elm towards Radstock the line is still in place but disused. This section should be restored by the North Somerset Railway. At Radstock itself the site was planned for redevelopment with a strip reserved for the railway to connect with the S&D coming up from Midsomer Norton. In the current financial climate it's highly unlikely that this redevelopment scheme will proceed as it is mainly for new housing. The section from Radstock to Midsomer Norton and just beyond is a cycleway/footpath. Beyond this the line is totally disused, though the station at Clutton is slowly being restored.


Clutton restoration.


Pensford Viaduct.

The Bristol to Radstock section closed in 1968 after the severe floods which undermined the viaduct at Pensford, although the viaduct still stands. At its northern end the line served Whitchurch, a busy suburb of Bristol these days, with dreadful traffic problems! Pensford itself is totally unsuitable for lorries and the road is often blocked for minutes at a time by large lorries trying to pass each other.


'Modern' transport - Pensford style!

The New S&D will look to this line to provide a link to the network at Bristol, rather than the far more difficult restoration between Bath Green Park and Bristol via Bitton. This would allow through trains from the north to leave the main network at Bristol, run down a restored Bristol to Radstock line, then take the main S&D route south to Bournemouth. This will not prejudice restoration of the iconic route to Bath Green Park as Bath is considered a worthy destination in any case! It may well be possible to link to the network somewhere in the Bath area, giving us a second outlet to the north. These developments assume an almost total end to road traffic, probably 20-25 years into the future.

Bristol-Radstock ex-GW line

Overview of Midsomer Norton

Four years ago this was empty trackbed and the loading gauge was almost buried in rubble. The track gang at Midsomer Norton have worked amazingly over the last few years, restoring the complex pointwork to a very high standard. Works trains now run regularly over the track, preparing the line for reopening in 2007. Sunday is the best day for seeing trains in action. We have a diesel locomotive, No 10, also a railroader nicknamed 'Derrick'.

In September 2006 work should begin on extending the track southwards well away from the station site.

Outline approval has now been given to operation of public trains in 2007, once protective works are completed at the Silver Street end, where the bridge was demolished. The Board has decided to rename this part of the S&D revival 'The S&D Mendip Main Line Project', to reflect our longer term ambitions of rebuilding the line between Radstock and Shepton Mallet. On completion of this part of the project the hope is that Radstock to Bath will follow quickly, as within ten to twenty years private personal transport will become the preserve of the very rich, the rest of us will need to rely on public transport! There is already considerable support for a restoration from Radstock to Bath amongst local people, as well as a possible restoration from Radstock to Bristol via Pensford. Whilst Radstock to Shepton is seen primarily (at least in the short to medium term) as a tourist line, restoration to Bath will be primarily a public transport service, though still mainly using steam of course. Diesel is unlikely to be an economic option due to the exponential rise in oil prices as it becomes scarcer year by year.