The Evercreech to Bath section of the S&D, the section which Midsomer Norton South was a part of, opened on 20 July 1874. It was a final attempt by the S&D to achieve profitability by connecting to Bath and crossing the Somerset Coalfield. This failed however, and the railway became jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). At the 1923 Grouping, the line became jointly owned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway, as successors to the MR and LSWR respectively.
After nationalisation in 1948 the line became part of the Southern Region, the era that the trust aims to preserve after. Following the Beeching Report in 1963 it was announced that the line would close and did so on 6 March 1966.
Heritage railway
The S&D Heritage Trust was formed some 30 years after the closure of the S&DJR in 1966 under the Beeching Axe, headquartered in Midsomer Norton. The station site was sold in 1969 to a local school, and then in 1995 to the Wansdykedistrict council,[1] who leased it to the Trust to restore to its 1950s condition.[2]
The Trust has since restored the original station buildings, a signalbox and a goods shed. A museum is located in an old horse stable block that houses a collection of S&DJR memorabilia, and there is also a pillbox with World War II exhibits. Having agreed a lease arrangement with the trackbed owners, the Trust has over time relaid the track which now runs for 1 mile from the station up the ruling 1:50 gradient to the infilled cutting towards Chilcompton. The railway bridge over Silver St has been removed, and further extension Southwards will require removal of the in-fill and restoration of the former Chilcompton railway tunnel.[3]
Commercial activities such as catering, retail services and the operation of public trains over the original trackbed come under the control of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust. It is separate to and should not be confused with the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust, which is located at the West Somerset Railway's Washford railway station.
In May 2013 an online appeal was launched to raise £500,000 by 30 September 2013 to purchase the station at the summit of the S&DJR at Masbury.[4] The Trust eventually raised only £80,000 by the deadline, and the site was sold to another party.[5]
Operations
Class 107 being used as part of a Real Ale Train on 22 July 2023
The line has a variety of rolling stock that can be used to provide an arrange of events and running days for the public. On a typical running day, the railway runs a
three coach train with steam at one end and diesel at the other. Some events that the railway has done over the past few years include:
Visits from local schools or private events such as societies or tourists.
Santa and Easter specials.
Pines Express remembered gala, this typically takes place in September to mark the anniversary of the last Pines Express.
Similar to the S&DJR Sentinels used on the line at Radstock North and built at the Sentinel Waggon Works, but neither survived into preservation. 7109 differs to these locomotives, however, with the S&D Sentinels featuring a lower cab roof, oval buffers and square windows. Boiler ticket expires 2026 (privately owned).[6]
In 2022, the S&DRHT announced that they had agreed to purchase 92207 for £150,000. It is estimated that the restoration will cost over £500,000 and will likely be complete in the 2030s.[7]
Built by the English Electric Company in 1966 at their Vulcan Works Newton le Willows. Originally in service with the National Coal Board at Lea Hall Colliery in Staffordshire, it was acquired by the Somerset & Dorset Locomotive Company for preservation before being purchased by the S&DRHT in 2003. Currently it is being fitted with a vacuum brake system to enable it to work passenger trains.
Visited from the Llangollen Railway September 2016 numbered as 80043 for the duration of the visit as this was the number of a classmate that had worked on the Somerset & Dorset line in the 60s.
Returned to steam after overhaul in March 2020. loaned from 2021 to 2022
Lined Green.
Llangollen Railway Trust
Coaching stock
British Rail Mark 1 coaches were the principal passenger stock of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway from 1951 until the closure of the railway on 6 March 1966. The railway currently has five of these vehicles, four of which are in service.[8]
Number & Name
Description
Livery
History & Current Status
Owner(s)
Photograph
No. M34527
Mk1 BSK
BR lined maroon.
Operational. Built by BR Wolverton in 1955. In 1978 it was withdrawn and converted for use in Tinsley Depot's breakdown train. In 1998 it entered preservation and in 2004 was acquired by the S&DRHT.
Operational. Built by BR Derby in 1962. Withdrawn in 1983, being sold to a charter company before being sold to Peak Rail and later the Midland Railway. It was then acquired in 2005 by members of the trust before the trust took full ownership in 2021.
Operational - is mainline certified. Built by BR Doncaster in 1956. It was acquired by the NYMR railway in 1973, with the trust acquiring it on loan in 2017. This particular coach is historically significant, as it was a part of the last excursion train that ran to Bath Green Park on the S&D the day it closed.
Operational. Built by BR York in 1953 as a TSO (Tourist Standard Open). It was acquired in 1987 by the Swanage Railway, who converted it to an RMB (Restaurant Miniature Buffet) before the trust acquired it in 2019. Is in use as a buffet car serving light refreshments.
Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
~
No. M25572
Mk1 SK
BR lined maroon.
Under restoration. Built by BR Wolverton in 1958. It was acquired in 1983 by the Bodmin and Wenford Railway before being sold to a private individual in 2016. The trust acquired it in 2020.
Wickham 7504,[9] first used in Oxfordshire and then N. Wales until sent to a Nuneaton scrapyard. Carcase found cannibalised in Swanage[10] (original engine removed to restore Wickham 7505).[9] Restored in 2019 to run with a Reliant Robin 850 engine and other car parts.[10] Operational.
BR maroon
S&DRHT
1954
Former rolling and coach stock
Number & Name
Description
History & Current Status
Livery
Owner(s)
Date
Photograph
No. 255
Under restoration (body only), on modified underframe of a LMS CCT. Was later sold to the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, one of only three surviving vehicles, in 1920 then withdrawn by GWR c. 1930. The underframe of the LMS CCT was later found to be that of a Midland Railway 6-wheeler, making it more perfect for the fitting. Might be painted in an S&DJR livery as the coach is the appropriate type as used on the line.
N/A
Unknown.
1890
~
No. 10023
Mk3a RFB
Was static in use as buffet car, later sold on to a private owner for non-railway use.
^"Midsomer Norton Station". Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Searching for a lost line. Gordon Jones. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
^"Visitor Information"(PDF). Somerset and Dorset Railway. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
^"Home". The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
^ ab"The miniature train restored with a Reliant Robin engine". BBC.co.uk. BBC Radio Somerset. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024. It started its life in Oxfordshire, where it went from there across to Aberystwyth, then to north Wales, and ended up in a scrapyard in Nuneaton for a few years. [...] A guy came up from Swanage, he bought this one and another one [...] He robbed this one to service the other [...] A lot of the stuff was missing, so we had to improvise. We got a Nissan Micro radiator, a Reliant Robin 850 engine, BMW differential [...] and that's what powers it. We had to remanufacture all the braking system. [...] Ever since then it's been as good as gold, and the public absolutely love it."
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