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Welcome to the Legendary Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway!!!!! The Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust was formed in 1993 and incorporated in 1995 as a company 3038464, and registered Charity (1045547). The aim of the Trust is to preserve the remaining fragmented sections of the former 103 route mile Somerset and Dorset trackbed (by either land lease freehold or joint partnership with interested parties)
In September 1995 the Trust was able to secure, after six months of negotiations, a very appropriate headquarters when a council, formerly Wansdyke but now part of Bath and North East Somerset council agreed to draw up a lease on the most intact surviving S&D station out of the original forty-five, namely Midsomer Norton.
Since 1995 a 6 figure sum has been spent restoring the trackless overgrown ruin into a heritage railway station to its 1951 appearance, with 1000 feet of mainline track and 3 sidings, soon to be extended south by another 1000 feet as the second stage in rebuilding this famous cross country mainline to Chilcompton Station, 2 miles away as our medium term goal.
This will mean digging out 2 infilled cuttings of 170000 tons and 40000 tons. We hope to start regular steam trains on the first 2100 feet of down main by christmas 2009, now that our planning permission to break out of the "station limits" has finally been granted and the trackbed now ready thanks to Roger Penny's 2 excavator slews! We have 800 members and a core of 30-50 volunteers.
We also support
the new somerset and dorset lobbying group launched 06/03/09,
the S&D Trust at Washford,
the Shillingstone station project (our sister project),
the gartell's narrow gauge on the S&D (Templecombe),
and the strictly private initiative at Masbury station.
We are all unconnected but share the goal of recording, preserving and reusing the S&D for rail transportation.
Updated 18th April 2009 |
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11 comments in this gallery
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I have had a lifelong interest in railways. At age seventeen, I began my voluntary work in the heritage sector, starting in the locomotive restoration department at Minehead on the West Somerset railway doing metalwork and painting whilst also learning the ropes as a trainee fireman covering some 400 miles on the footplate, learning about all aspects of the railways and their history, culminating in the lining out of an ex-Barry tank 4160.
I progressed to line side maintenance then left, due to a house move to become involved with the Somerset and Dorset Railway in 1994, becoming site restoration manager at Midsomer Norton station during its infant 3 years as a heritage project, transforming the station from overgrown trackless ruins destined for demolition to an up and coming heritage line with 800 members, which saw the return of steam after a gap of 39 years on 16th July 2005.
During 1994-1998 and 2002-2004, I undertook much research on the station from photographs and diagrams whilst also overseeing all aspects of restoration work, from vegetation clearance, to platform and fence reconstruction, painting, and trackbed grading supervising JCB contractors.
From 1994-1998, I also had to perform the role of treasurer, publicity officer, membership secretary and magazine editor, producing the first 3 S&D telegraphs which is now a 40 page full colour thrice yearly magazine. I was able to organise a volunteer team of all ages and abilities from scratch, to the best of our limited funds and resources at the time.
As the project grew I was able to concentrate on permanent way and civil works, including spoil removal, trackbed grading and drainage repairs. In early 2004 I planned the exacting re-instatement of D C and B turnouts in Midsomer Norton Down Yard and had a major hand in sourcing, retrieval and laying of various types of sleepers, chairs, rail, crossings and switches to the large scale plan I drew up with John Rideout and Ian Harrington.
I left the project in a working capacity on 16th May 2004. I am now (spring 2009) assistant permanent way manager to Ian Harrington at Shillingstone station, relaying the Up Main, working on BR 9F 92207 with Keith Botomley and planning the exacting yard layout and design evolution of the 120 feet 2 road locomotive workshop using google sketchup 7.1
Updated 15th November 2009.
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