Gartell signalbox work

Trevor puts some finishing touches to this bit. Still the upper part to do!

Meanwhile, at the rear of the box, C.J. Ian and Hugh get to grips with what needs to be done.

I couldn't resist this shot, possibly because I hadn't really taken notice of the direction before. It looks right away from the station throat as you can see.

Looking back toward the engine shed from the picnic area, we can spot Keith finishing some painting of a bench. GLR No. 5 waits patiently for a driver.

Work on the Northern end of the box. Trevor is up the ladder, Mike on the steps whilst Ian keeps a watchful eye and Sheila takes a brief break away from landscape duty. One can certainly see the difference in the paintwork. All the front boards have been replace as well.

All above pics and text by John Penny 26.5.2016

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We had fantastic weather down here in Wessex today and, as the above pics show, the team down at Gartell certainly made the most of it.

Gartell is famous for having a fully signalled route, and on operating days runs a very intensive service on the line. The signalbox and signals are certainly not there just to look right - they do the job they are supposed to, to keep the line moving and safe. Last time I was down there John Penny kindly allowed me into the box and it was hard to talk as he was constantly pulling some lever or other!

The Gartell Railway is an absolute gem and the attention to detail is fantastic. The line is of course operating this bank holiday weekend.

Gartell this weekend

John Penny source

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This coming May bank holiday weekend will see the fabulous S&D themed Gartell Light Railway running. With steam and diesel and a new extension there's plenty for all the family to see even if you've been many times before - and if it will be your first time you're in for a rare treat!

Gartell works today 31.1.2026

(31.1.2016 Pics and text copyright John Penny)

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At the moment every railway seems to be undertaking track renewals or ballasting. Not be be left out here is today's GLR action with unloading from our hopper and the finished product. The blocked stream at Tower View station has now been cleared, this is the view before ,there is a stream under there !

S and D +50 at the Gartell

(GLR 27.07.2008 Source Gartell Light Railway)

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Sunday 6th March 2016
The Gartell Light Railway plan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ‘S & D’ closure by running two very special steam hauled trains over a unique section of the former Somerset & Dorset line. With the aim of recreating the last ‘double headed’ steam hauled passenger trains over the S & D the GLR’s owner, John Gartell, is keen to replicate many of the details of the day – from using 2 steam engines to haul the special 9 coach trains with the passengers holding special commemorative tickets to running the actual special trains as near as possible to the times that the final trains passed along much of the course of the Gartell Light Railway exactly 50 years ago! In the ‘Pines Buffet’ of the GLR, passengers will also be able to study the display of the extensive collection of S & D photos & memorabilia amassed by GLR volunteer, Ian Matthews.
Demand for the two special trains is expected to be high - especially for the optional fare supplements which will include either a 2 course buffet luncheon (£10 supplement) for the morning ‘Up train’ or an afternoon cream tea (£5.00 supplement) for the afternoon ‘Down’ train. The standard pre-booked fare for the morning or afternoon train will be £20.00.

For more information and to download a booking form visit the GLR website at:-http://newglr.weebly.com/s--d-event-6th-march-2016.html

Gartell today

(Pic and text courtesy John Penny)

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It's the 17th January 2016 and a cold and miserable Sunday - but work goes on around the S&D!

From John Penny - My visit was unfortunately a short one today. In the freezing rain and extreme cold the brave volunteers who turned up today take the train for a run to Park Lane to sort a few minor issues. Chandler drives whilst C.J., Matt2 and Charlie reside in the Engineering wagon. Three youngsters and one, er... 'mature' one. So who says the young generation has no get up and go?

Gartell Railway 22.11.2015

Activity from last Sunday at the GLR. 'Out the line' with four teenagers and two, er... 'mature' types! The four lads did a great job, and their ages added up to just slightly more than mine, and just slightly less than C.J's. (John Penny)

A view from the 'other side' just prior to us heading out the line. The banner is off No. 14 (section signal) seen on the corner ahead.

Red set 101 gets the 'Santa' boards ready for a school bazaar on December 5th. We're just running the trains so know no other detail. Come along and support it anyway!!

Chandler gets stuck in on Common Lane No10 with the replacement signal head. Although only 16 years old there is not much he can't do in the GLR wiring department!

Meanwhile here is Chandler's Grandad working on the replacement signal head on the other 'road' at Common Lane. Along with Matt 1 they're tightening their nuts.

Down at the 'End of the World' the lads get stuck into the vegetation.

Matt 2 gets to grips with his big weapon.

C.J. sharpens up his tool.

What is it with blokes and bonfires? The dry detritus at the foot of the embankment is carefully burned off as Matt 2 is talked out of doing a headlong dive into the flames.

Having just had a look at the old cattle creep, I snapped the boys building up to the last bonfire of the day. Not the most exciting viewpoint but at least it is a new one!

The light is fading as we head for home to bath the innumerable scratches, remove the thorns from our anatomy and have a good soak in the bath to get rid of the smell of bonfire smoke.

(All pics, text and captions by John Penny at Gartell Railway).

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The Gartell Railway has now finished running its regular trains for 2015. This is a great set of shots showing the really fun side of rail work - choppoing and bonfires! It's really good to see that the Gartell has a team of younger volunteers, something all lines need as older volunteers enter their dotage!

Gartell's last regular operating days of 2015

GARTELL LIGHT RAILWAY

John Gartell returns from the morning engine warm-through and line inspection in the beautiful but chilly October morn.

Heading up the hill in bright sunshine, No. 6 makes easy work of the 1 in 30 and 1 in 35 gradients as it rounds the curve and goes under the main-line bridge heading toward Pinesway Junction.

Fireman Mike Baker, proceeds to the front of No.6 with the coupling bar, prior to the run-round at Pinesway Junction.

No.6 passes points 11 at Pinesway Junction. The points will shortly change and the locomotive will proceed in an up direction, after it runs round its train.

The beautiful if chilly October morning is evident as the run-round takes place at Tower View.

Happy visitors at Tower View. The loco is running round prior to our non-stop run to Park Lane.

Simultaneous departures at Pinesway Junction.

Steve Rodd and Alan 'Chalkey' White crew GLR No.9 'Jean' as it runs through Pinesway Junction on the non-stop run to Park Lane with the latter-day 'Pines Express'.

Another spirited departure from Common Lane.

'Right Away' at Common Lane for the 'Pines'!

Steam and Diesel with a simultaneous departure from Pinesway Junction.

John 'Bert' Penny contemplates the next move at Common Lane 'box. (Photo by Dave Clark)

(All pics and text by or courtesy of John Penny at the Gartell Railway).

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The last open day of 2015 also brings to an end the 25th season at the GLR. With a plethora of willing staff, John was able to spend a little time behind the lens, just helping out with a couple sessions at Common Lane Box. I hope you like his selection of photos - and see you next year!

Gartell Open Day

(Gartell Open Day 2013 John Penny)

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Try to get along to the Gartell Railway's Open Day this weekend (27/28 June 2015). As well as

 the railway being open there are many other attractions.

The weekend is a bit of a relaxed affair.  Now into our 8th year of the steam show & 20+ years of the railway running.

Please come along with your exhibits, relax and not do a great deal, if you wish.  The exhibit is what we’re interested in, so as long as it’s on display (and of course looked after) we don’t mind.  Its more of a weekend away on holiday, you just happen to have brought your exhibit with you.

Attractions include :-

Steam Engines (Large & Small)

Vintage Tractors & Stationary Engines

Vintage Cars & Motorbikes

Mini Model Railway Exhibition

Commercials 

Trade Stands

Crafts & Displays

Model Boats on the lake

Catering & Fully licenced bar

Website for this event.

shillingstone light railway

(Both copyright Alan Kingston 1960s/70s)

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After the original S&D closed the sound of trains could still be heard around Shillingstone. The 10¼ inch gauge Shillingstone Light Railway continued to operate for a good few more years. The line closed in around 1975 and was sold that year. It was a classic Heywood style agricultural line and apparently paid for itself within the first year of operation (1954). It only closed because Lord Salt, the owner, died. Amazingly it once used a Beyer-Garrett style loco!

Classic article on the line

Wikipedia (very brief mention only)

More details and pics of the line will be most appreciated! Please email to leysiner@aol.com

Gartell Railway minutiae

(Words and pic via John Penny 15.6.2014)

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We are good at re-using stuff at the GLR - no doubt about that! One only has to look at the signals for a start. We do phones as well, and having been presented with a whole bunch of redundant SPT's (Signal Post Telephones) from the Seaton Tramway, where they had been re-used from the 'Big' railway and rebuilt and re-wired to their own requirements, Gradually over the years I have been rebuilding them. Feeling a bit off-colour today I decided not to go to the GLR but spent the day on and off in the garage doing major surgery on this one. I've removed the dial that I had previously put in as it will now be 'Hot-lined' to Common Lane Signal Box. Here it is during the operation (which of course took much longer than anticipated). Fellow telephone anoraks will, I'm sure, note the use of a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) from a Tele 2/722, better known to normal people as a 'Trimphone'.

Gartell Railway website

More info (from Wikipedia)

The Gartell Light Railway is a privately run narrow gauge edutainment railway located at Yenston, south of Templecombe, in Somerset, England. It operates a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway running for ³⁄₄ mile (1.2 km), partly along the track of the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.The railway has 4 stations - Common Lane, Pinesway Junction, Park Lane and Tower View. The railway is controlled using a comprehensive signalling system operated from two signalboxes - Common lane and Pinesway Junction. Both signalboxes control a mix of semaphore and colour light signals with mechanically operated points. The railway is open to the public on selected dates through the year when it normally operates an intensive 3 train operation with departures from Common Lane station every 20 minutes through the day between 1030 and 1630.

Gartell progress

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The regular 'Thursday gang' was busy again this week - 'CJ' and Keith completed the external repaint of Pinesway Signalbox (and what a fine sight it looks too!) whilst myself and Ian continued with the mini overhaul of one of our fleet of maintenance wagons. Even maintenance wagons need maintenance and some TLC!

Gartell Railway website

Further info (from Wikipedia)

The Gartell Light Railway is a privately run narrow gauge edutainment railway located at Yenston, south of Templecombe, in Somerset, England. It operates a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway running for ³⁄₄ mile (1.2 km), partly along the track of the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.The railway has 4 stations - Common Lane, Pinesway Junction, Park Lane and Tower View. The railway is controlled using a comprehensive signalling system operated from two signalboxes - Common lane and Pinesway Junction. Both signalboxes control a mix of semaphore and colour light signals with mechanically operated points. The railway is open to the public on selected dates through the year when it normally operates an intensive 3 train operation with departures from Common Lane station every 20 minutes through the day between 1030 and 1630.

helping out another vital line

 

(Ashbury, further along the route, 1960s. Copyright The Rail Thing)

The excellent Launceston Steam Railway is having problems with its local council which seems to have lost the plot big time!

The railway has been working with Cornwall County Council for some time with the intention of extending to Egloskerry - and on the strength of this purchased land in Egloskerry for the new line.

But now the council is planning to build a multi purpose route (walking, bikes, horses) which the railway fears may make it's future unviable if they can't get through to Egloskerry. Personally I don't believe anything - least of all a mere trailway - will stop the huge rail revival in the UK, but all the same it will make extension more difficult if too many users object to the railway returning, not an issue at all now but could be in the future.

To this end I think we should ALL sign the petition to CCC to get them to rethink this plan. the petition can be signed here.

wood burning ..

We're off here next year - Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. Not just for the skiing but also because one of the main ways to get to the cable car stations is by two foot gauge train - and the locomotive is wood burning steam. So I'll be doing some research for the New S&D as well as hitting 100 mph on the slopes ...

bit of a treat?

Midsomer Norton greenhouse

Midford 1960s.

Gartell Railway.

Gartell double heading.

Charlton Marshall.

Midsomer Norton 1960s.

Midford.

Shillingstone - before track.

Midsomer Norton.

Evercreech Junction.

Blandford.

Spetisbury.

Midford.

Midford - very first bit of clearance - September 2010.

Narrow gauge at Midford - 1980s/90s.

Shillingstone.

Henstridge - the 'inbetweener' years.

Well I hope it is! Apologies for no pics of Washford - couldn't find any from the album from which the above were drawn. Also apologies if I haven't attributed them, but they have been attributed earlier! This is just to try to get a taste of all we've done up and down the line for the S&D together with a few looking back on the original route.

Someone asked me on Facebook to explain the different groups restoring/preserving the S&D - this is what I came up with.

The Midsomer Norton group has been going about 20 years, formed when the site was about to be built on! They are now running trains over a short stretch of line and have rebuilt the whole site at Midsomer Norton including restoring the station buildings and goods shed which survived and rebuilding the signalbox and greenhouse which were completely demolished. This group is the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Group. They were formed with the intention of 'supporting a 21st century rebuilding of the line for modern trains' which is what inspired the New S&D. They intend to rebuild back to Radstock where they will connect with the ex-GWR line to Frome, which is in situ throughout and heavily used by stone trains from Great Elm. They also plan to extend over the Mendips to Shepton Mallet and have planned a diversionary route around Shepton to possibly connect with the East Somerset Railway.

Shillingstone has been going around 10 years and have been particularly active over the last year or so. They have also rebuilt a completely demolished signalbox, the station building had been well preserved. They have a short length of running line but no public trains as yet. They have long term plans to extend northwards to Sturminster Newton. This is owned by the North Dorset Railway Trust.

The Gartell Railway is a privately owned narrow gauge line just south of Templecombe which uses about a half mile of S&D trackbed and is now extending northwards closer to Templecombe. It is strongly S&D flavoured. This runs around 7 or 8 times a year.

The Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust is based at Washford on the West Somerset Railway, but was originally based on the S&D at Radstock where it ran special trains to Writhlington, but was forced off site in around 1975. Their lease at Washford finishes in 2020 and they are expected to return to the S&D, either at an existing site or at a new one. They own a 7F loco which runs on the WSR, currently posing as fictional prussian blue liveried no 88.

The New S&D was formed on 6 March 2009 with the intention of restoring the whole route for modern trains in the post oil era. We own Midford station and a quarter mile of trackbed outright and are also about to take on Spetsibury (in Dorset) on a lease. The intention is to fully restore these stations, also to probably lay track at Spetisbury and possibly extend to Charlton Marshall and to just south of Blandford. We will also acquire trackbed etc as it becomes available, based on the Exmoor Associates model at the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway. We will also lobby for restoraton of the route in its entirety as part of a 21st restoration of the whole rail network.

All the groups work closely together with regular meetings every 6 months, we also share members and sometimes skills and equipment.