Somerset and Dorset Rebuild

As someone who works right next to the mainline through Bath, a lot of freight comes through here

Indeed that would be a good route

 

I agree with this - although I'd suggest Shepton Mallet to Bristol has a bigger potential market than Shepton to Bath. I have to drive Bristol to Poole quite regularly and it's an awful journey on narrow single track roads, but even I doubt the case for full reopening. Road improvements would be cheaper and serve a wider audience.

The problem with the New S&D scheme is that it's heavily influenced by the personal opinions of one outspoken individual. If it could convert to a more reasoned lobby group a la the Borders Railway, it might stand a better chance of seeing some its dreams come to fruition.

 

I think one of the major problems with the whole Somerset and Dorset Railway is you have so many small factions going on, such as the S&DRT on the West Somerset Railway, the S&DRHT at Midsomer Norton and you also have the guys at Shillingstone as well as the East Somerset Railway at Shepton Mallet or Gartell's Light Railway.

It is not bad that such a large railway have four groups looking after its interest's, I understand that they all work together, but I feel that it still needs just one overall body to bring everyone together and join in as a collaborative enterprise, You cant stop people getting together to form a group to look after and restore a railway station, I think that is the current plan from the New Somerset and Dorset Group and that is to get more local groups set up to look after each station site and to also get a present in each community.

I should have also included the group trying to reopen the Frome to Radstock line as well.

 

BIB - why? The groups all seem quite happy doing what they're doing.

It would appear that you're trying to create a railway group without a clear purpose and despite being told that there isn't any hope of reopening the whole railway or even significant chunks of it.

Your suggestion seems to have all the hallmarks of the New S&D Group which seems to be one man's obsession with peak oil and that rebuilding the S&D can somehow save the UK from a peak oil apocalypse. It's noticeable that he doesn't say how the S&D would be rebuilt without using oil (for diggers, transport of materials etc), nor how it would operate without oil being used to power locos either directly or indirectly.


Keith

 

I was about to say something very similar. What would interest me is to understand whether there is any real connection between these groups beyond their being on the same line (I exclude the S&DRT at Washford as being in a different category).

I also recall reading that, way back when, a group called (I think) The Railway Preservation Society was set up because the proliferation of small projects would limit what could be achieved. I note that this society has preserved the Chasewater Railway. Meanwhile, the disparate groups have achieved rather more. The conclusion I draw is that successful projects will draw on commitment and passion from members interested in "their" project, something that can't be forced into being in a more top down way.

 

I think Quainton sprang from those roots too

 

Let's not get carried away with the concept of 'cities', because that's just misleading.

Cities like Wells (population 10,500), Ripon (16,700) and St Davids (1800) are absolutely nothing like Birmingham (1.1 million), Bristol (442,000) or even he likes of Canterbury (55,ooo) in terms of size and population.

Saying that Wells is 'one of the few UK cities without a railway' is no different to saying "Wells is just one of the UK's many fairly small towns without a railway". Saying that it's a city means absolutely nothing in terms of the viability of a rebuilt railway.

(Population figures quoted either from the 2011 census or 2015 estimates)

 

Ah I see, yes quite. Although plans for a ML connection at Freshford/Limpley Stoke and/or Newbridge could/would of mitigated this

 

And, sticking in the general area of the Mendips, if I wanted to give the people of Wells access to rail travel, I would look at reopening the line via Cheddar (possibly starting back at Shepton Mallett) to Yatton and Bristol, not a branch line to another small town (Glastonbury), which is itself hardly well connected, and which closed 15 years before the GW "strawberry" line.

I make no observations as to whether any of this would be feasible, or at what cost.

 

If Sustrans hadn't collared the Two Tunnels, I could see some merit in a Manchester Metro style connection of MSN, Radstock, Wellow, Midford and Bath.

 

Ludicrous daydreams by enthusiasts....we all do it, but we mostly know it can never happen.

If people want to promote investment on Railways, why don't they advocate projects that would actually be of benefit, rather than a pipedream of recreating what must have been a fantastic line. Let it RIP.

 

A rebuilt modern railway from Bristol to Midsomer Norton, Radstock and possibly on to Shepton Mallet would be a very useful service. Likewise Poole to Wimborne. But the campaigning of the new S&D is diluted by references to steam trains, gardening projects at closed stations, and controversial statements about an environmental apocalypse. If they dropped the nostalgia and Armageddon theories they might stand a chance of being taken more seriously and being listened to - surely better for all concerned.


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There would be no appetite at all from Sustrans or anyone else in BANES to see Two Tunnels be anything other then a overzealous cycle-path

 

It is a very nice path to ride so I definitely understand the sentiment, however I would definitely sacrifice it for a re-opened S&D.

 

As would the Mangotsfield branch. Whilst this would have benefits lets be glad we were spared most of the plans for post war redevelopment of Bath.

 

One benefit being that it might not have closed!

 

Have all our existing heritage railways run out of challenges then, so we need a new one...?

 

As far as I understand it the S&DRTH at Midsomer Norton 'Just Growed' from a plan to preserve the station.

But.....................

Railways are a flow of goods and passengers, if those flows either never materialise, or change then almost inevitably they close - for example the withdrawal of passenger services in the Forest of Dean as long ago as 1931.

Now, keeping it brief, and assuming we are talking about reopening lines for public transport, in many areas passenger flows no longer follow the route of the railway, Ashburton being a case to point - by the 1950's everyone was taking the bus to Newton Abbot instead. In the same way would the inhabitants of Wells want a service from Yatton to Frome? Methinks not.

Clearly however its much simpler to reopen a line that once existed, both because there is often a trackbed left to reuse and of course unlike - say a bus service the railway leaves traces behind so 'Please can we have our trains back' makes a lot of sense. I am not aware however of any plans' apart from HS1 & 2 to build any significant new rail links, even though the L&B will almost certainly have significant work to do in places where the trackbed has disappeared. By the same token of course had the L&B/WHR/Whatever never been built I doubt if any serious plans for new construction would have got off the ground - vis the proposed NG system around Bridport

 

Not sure they'd be interested in either Yatton or Frome, but if the train ran to Bristol instead...?