this Monday

Most of the activity at the station yesterday was on the up platform. The platform edging is making progress as is the brickwork in front of the greenhouse. Also in picture one Dave Coppard is busy on his pet project, the up platform shelter. Just beyond you can see the work being done at the Bath end, which I hope to feature tomorrow. This whole area of the station will be transformed over the next year or so, setting off the signalbox splendidly!

end of a line

Back in 2005, all fresh and new!


Lifting this week.


Upended tipper truck.


Recovered track.

I was building a 7 1/4" gauge line in my garden at Horningsham which I'd hoped to open once a year to raise funds for the S&D, but my circumstances changed and it was not to be! This week I had to lift it and transport it to Bristol. Hopefully it will reappear somewhere at some time in the future! I plan to lay a few panels here to help move stuff around the (much smaller!) garden.

one short ...

We now have 499 signatures on our petition.

To become number 500 sign here!

sustrans in a tizz

Although often ridiculed for my assertion that Sustrans' cycle routes may well be converted to railways in the future as Peak Oil hits harder and harder, even I was amazed that this process seems to already be happening, and very close to the route once used by S&D trains!

The council in Bristol wants to place a bus lane (or even one of those hilarious tram-apeing Busway jokes) alongside 3km of the Bristol to Bath Railway Path. Cyclists and walkers are (understandably!) up in arms about this. As should council tax payers, as this nonsense will cost a staggering £49 million!!

To me this is clearly a stop gap, and a warning shot to Sustrans. Expect this to be the first of many reversions!

Meanwhile further east the same cycleway happily shares its route with the quieter, less polluting, busier and more aestetic trains (above) of the Avon Valley Railway!

A few years ago the idiots in Bristol Council cravenly scrapped the Bristol Supertram project, which would be a clear winner and sustainable even post Peak Oil. It shows that they've completely lost touch with reality.

petition target - almost 500

Signatures on the petition have now reached 482! It would be nice to reach 500 before the closing date (16 April 2008). I suspect most readers of this blog have already done their duty, but if not (and you agree with the proposal!) please sign here.

winter progress

Looking along the up platform line. Bricks for platform edging in place,


Bob's nameboard seems to have made a reappearance.


The services trench along the up platform has been filled in.


Virginal looking platform and protective fence in place - this should look excellent in a few week's time.

trench warfare

(25.01.08)

Some views of the trench that will take the services cables up to the signalbox. Such a lot of work just so Graeme and John can boil up a kettle!

At least we've got John doing some of the digging (see last picture)!

buy!

Latest S&D book is Heyday of the Somerset and Dorset Railway by Alan and Christine Hammond. Now available in the station shop - alongside dozens of other S&D (and other) titles!

If you haven't visited the shop yet please try to ASAP! We have probably the best range of S&D books, DVDs and souvenirs on the planet. There is also an extensive (and very cheap!) secondhand shop with railway and other books. The shop's open every Sunday and Monday and there is something new on display most weeks. Remember every penny raised goes directly into restoring the real Somerset and Dorset Railway!

new year's honours 4

Everyone at Midsomer Norton's a hero, but let's all remember that regular team of volunteers that turn up week in, week out to do their bit. Every Sunday and Monday there are at least ten of them beavering away at different parts of the site, in all weathers. If you get the chance do come along and join in - with reopening now little more than year off there's still loads of work to do. Just turn up on either Sunday or Monday, make yourself known and we guarantee work for you! The only essentials are safety boots (for site work).

better than ever?

The S&D Telegraph number 31 is just out - available direct from the Trust or from the station shop. Remember that as a member you get this quality magazine free - sign up today via the S&D website!

fifty years ago

Two Ivo Peters shots from probably my favourite location on the S&D - Midford. Hopefully this will be the scene again in (hopefully less than!) 50 years time!


The first DMU to run on the S&D, back in 1958. Apart from a few special trains (like this) the S&D was steam worked to the end. Had the S&D been dieselised it could well have survived - but the WR were determined to kill the S&D at any cost!

All these shots are from the 2008 Ivo Peters calendar, available from the station shop.

authenticity

I've been digitalizing more of my early photos (above are 1972).

These are two shots on the Winchester-Alton route. I feel these capture the day-to-day reality of a run down branch line (in horrible weather). Can today's Watercress Line even begin to compete with this for atmosphere? What is preservation actually about? Do any of today's lines recreate the past as it really was, or is there so much pressure (and vested special interest groups) that every 'heritage' railway resembles little more than a full size train set with bits and pieces from different eras forced together, everything bright and shiny with beaming staff? That's been my experience and that was something we really hoped to avoid at the S&D. It may be an impossible aim. I suspect however that the more today's heritage railways morph into genuine community railways in an oil-less future then the more the atmosphere will return. Authenticity is everything if you think about it ...

new year's honours 3

Something perhaps taken a little for granted is the track at Midsomer Norton. Bear in mind that this was a totally overgrown site just 5 or 6 years ago but looking at the pictures above you'd assume the track had been down for 100 years.

This is due to the Trackworks gang who have done a superb job, particularly with the complex trackwork in the yard area. They all deserve a medal for their commitment - working in all weathers. Thanks to Trevor Hodge and his team - no doubt they'll find the laying of track on the main line far easier if a little less challenging!

new year's honours 2

The transformation of the catering coach over 2007 was amazing - from wasting asset to a real credit to the line! Occasionally opened in 2006 serving teas and coffees by mid 2007 we were offering a superb range of cooked food as well as the usual drinks and snacks, the patio area was looking great and towards the end of 2007 the coach finally got its green livery. December 2007 was great with various events happening up in the coach.

The real honours go to Debby Hitchins, who professionalised the coach and really made things happen. She also worked really hard to get the franchise off the ground by easing the transition - it was such a shame that we were let down at the last minute by the potential franchisee (reason still a complete mystery) which has left us now with no real catering team. Hopefully the Trust will be able to use its own resources to get the coach up and running again in 2008 - with the aim being to open 4 to 7 days a week in the summer. The coach will be a real profit generator for the line as well as a superb meeting place for both railfans and local people. At least we've learned that franchising is NOT the way forward and that the Trust should use its own volunteers and - eventually - local paid employess to run this very important asset.

2008 again

(Evercreech 1967 Jeffery Grayer)

There's still nearly four months in which to sign the S&D petition on the number 10 website. There are now 444 signatures. Let's make 2008 the year that the restoration of the S&D becomes a serious aim for local people, rail enthusiasts, the Peak Oil fraternity, Sustrans, the Transition Towns initiative, local and national government and everyone who wants the future to be better than the present! Keep watching this space!