Welcome to the 'New Somerset and Dorset Railway'

The original Somerset and Dorset Railway closed very controversially in 1966. It is time that decision, made in a very different world, was reversed. We now have many councillors, MPs, businesses and individuals living along the line supporting us. Even the Ministry of Transport supports our general aim. The New S&D was formed in 2009 with the aim of rebuilding as much of the route as possible, at the very least the main line from Bath (Britain's only World Heritage City) to Bournemouth (our premier seaside resort); as well as the branches to Wells, Glastonbury and Wimborne. We will achieve this through a mix of lobbying, trackbed purchase and restoration of sections of the route as they become economically viable. With Climate Change, road congestion, capacity constraints on the railways and now Peak Oil firmly on the agenda we are pushing against an open door. We already own Midford just south of Bath, and are restoring Spetisbury under license from DCC, but this is just the start. There are other established groups restoring stations and line at Midsomer Norton and Shillingstone, and the fabulous narrow gauge line near Templevcombe, the Gartell Railway.

There are now FIVE sites being actively restored on the S&D and this blog will follow what goes on at all of them!
Midford - Midsomer Norton - Gartell - Shillingstone - Spetisbury


Our Aim:

Our aim is to use a mix of lobbying, strategic track-bed purchase, fundraising and encouragement and support of groups already preserving sections of the route, as well as working with local and national government, local people, countryside groups and railway enthusiasts (of all types!) To restore sections of the route as they become viable.
Whilst the New S&D will primarily be a modern passenger and freight railway offering state of the art trains and services, we will also restore the infrastructure to the highest standards and encourage steam working and steam specials over all sections of the route, as well as work very closely with existing heritage lines established on the route.

This blog contains my personal views. Anything said here does not necessarily represent the aims or views of any of the groups currently restoring, preserving or operating trains over the Somerset and Dorset Railway!

Monday, June 18, 2012

midford - more precision surveying!


Some excellent information re Midford from Nick Howes.

Have discovered, from photos and stay anchor measurements that the 206 linear yard distance of the upper inner home bracket and consequent 5 push dummy in the 6 foot way is the c. pre 1933 measurement. Sometime in the 30s or 40s the upper inner home was moved some 20 yards south.

5 pull, wrong road arm on the platform is actually 47 linear yards from the box not 35.

49’3” 8 arch viaduct spans are the 1873 measurement. Encased in brick on doubling, reduced the spans to 48’10”, not corrected on the civil engineers returns.

Distance of wrong road arm/down home on long arch bridge is correct if you take the rodding run measurement, not the linear point to point measurement along the track as it snakes up the cutting face and over the top of the long arch bridge at 90 degrees.

concrete wall between the signalbox and station building is not original and about 5 feet further north than it used to be.

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