silver street developments ...

The protective works at the Silver Street end continue to progress well despite the generally bad weather. This sleeper built wall will have a bund behind it and a sliding buffer in front. One downside is that the view down the line has now all but disappeared although this will return when the bridge is replaced.

more developments at midsomer norton

The first signs of the shingle trap and bund that will provide extra safety measures at the Silver Street end of the station.



The track plan attached to the ground frame at the southern end of the up platform. Beyond here double track will gradually be restored once the sleeper stack is moved and used up on the extension.

gazebos and sliding buffers

The first part of the safety works at the Radstock end were completed in the rain on Sunday. This is the down line sliding buffers, a feature unique on Britain's railways. This is designed to take the impact of a runaway on the 1 in 53 (flattening to 1 in 330) grade through the station. Further work will include a shingle trap and bund, giving 100% protection to Silver Street. This will serve until the bridge is replaced.

The gazebo is missing in the final shot because it blew away!

bridges and cameras

(Demolishing a bridge on the Bridgwater branch, 1957)

Apologies for not posting for a few days - thanks to glandular fever and a short holiday.

Back to the station today - buzzing as usual! Julian Peters and Wally Moon were being filmed for a Channel 4 programme, which ended up being done in the shop as the weather was vile. Julian brought in a couple of Ivo's old photo albums, from 1950 and 1965, these were the famous ones which used to travel up and down the line being passed from employee to employee.

Apparently bridge renewal over Silver Street may not be quite as difficult as we originally thought, though still very expensive. The road may only need a small amount of trimming although the services will need to be relocated - but the bridge itself will only need small ramps at the station and Radstock end so the need for a lifting bridge or other esoteric devices will not be needed!

The time isn't that far off when we'll need to make the decision Radstock first or Chilcompton infill first! My vote's with Radstock, as a station at Radstock will be a superb advert for us, right by the main roads. With the thousands of extra visitors this'll bring in we should quickly raise the necessary funds for removing the infill, and have an excellent transhipment point from rail to road or even rail throughout via the Frome line.

the future and the past

Striding ahead with the trackworks and safety features at the Silver Street end of the station which will allow us to start running the first public standard gauge passenger trains on the revived S&D for over forty years. This is the future for transport.




Meanwhile the archaic 'transport' system that still 'serves' Midsomer Norton struggles through its final years of decline.

This fossil fossil fuelled vehicle broke down at about the most sensitive point on Midsomer Norton's creaking road system, causing traffic chaos for ages. The sooner the railway is back the better!

the ghost of beeching

What's this? Tracklifting on the S&D in 1968? Beeching come back to haunt us?

No. Tracklifting is a thing of the past and Doctor Beeching is where he belongs - fossilised in a past that's now as alien as his ideas on transport!

No, this is preparation work for the safety works at the Silver Street end of the station. The track gang doesn't know whether it's coming or going these days with major works at both ends of the line.

Good to see that the local authorities are finally getting their Peak Oil hats on and realising the value of the Midsomer Norton to Bath Green Park section of the route. Restoration may be many years away yet, but at least we can be assured that the job will not be made harder by idiotic development along the route!

Nice also to see that the Bristol-Frome line is coming to life again at Clutton. This is another route (particularly between Radstock and Bristol) that will HAVE to be restored in a post Peak Oil world.

the silver street works begin

These are the first visible signs of the works needed to protect Silver Street from a runaway train. There will be a bund at the end of the track and a sliding buffer set up to take the impact of any runaway vehicles. There are also new catch points beyond the station to reduce the amount of run available, which would derail any loose vehicles well before they reach the station area.

These works are needed to allow public passenger trains to commence in 2008.

Originally of course the line continued down the bank to Radstock and will eventually run again across a new bridge, but this is still a few years away.

been away ...

Almost a week away from the station! This is the point where the new bridge will be built, taking trains again down to Radstock and on to Bath.

The side panelling appears around the signalbox.

Looking from the platform through the shop doors. Everything is now falling into place for the 'Midsummer at Midsomer' weekend (15&16 July 2006). Lady Angela has arrived, as has the Queen Mary brake van. There are loads of new lines for the shop, and the catering coach will be fully up and running both days. On Sunday there will be 'Driver for a Fiver' trips all day (between 11 and 4).

This coming weekend is the biggest event of the year for us.

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.