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PHOTO
GALLERY GROUP 48
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The Somerset & Dorset Railway's Burnham-on-Sea
Branch. In October 2008, members of the club's Southern Area
explored the S&D's Burnham branch, and Ron Strutt recorded the
day for posterity. The following selection starts with a photograph
of Cole station, which – while not on the branch – is
at least in the same county, i.e. Somerset. The Webmaster realises
that the connection is very tenuous, if not totally suspect, but this
seemed the best place to house this 'stray' picture! |
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Above:
Who says that summer gets all the best pictures? This is
Cole station on the S&D's main line from Bath to Broadstone,
seen from a nearby footpath on a crisp and bright day in early 2010.
Despite being in Somerset, the station was actually built by the
Dorset Central Railway which did not supply a canopy. The 'signal
box' on the platform is not authentic and is the owner's conservatory.
(Richard Lewis) |
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Above:
Very little remains of Glastonbury station, but the canopy
has been transported uphill into the town centre, where it now provides
shelter in the car park near St. John the Baptist church. On Saturday's,
the town market takes place under its eaves. 18 October 2008. (Ron
Strutt) |
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Above:
To the uninitiated, this grand Victorian edifice near the
site of Glastonbury station is the offices of Snows Timber but, to
the railway historian, it is the former offices and headquarters building
of the Somerset Central Railway. In years gone by, it used to include
The Railway Inn, a boon for thirsty travellers, but the railway ceased
to use the building as long ago as 1877. The former station was situated
to the right but was largely built from timber, a factor which contributed
to its early demise. 18 October 2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
West of Glastonbury station, there were extensive sidings
alongside the running line, and one of these continued for some distance
to give the impression of double track. Today, the casual walker would
hardly know that so much railway infrastructure had been here. The
trackbed now forms part of a Sustrans cycle trail from Glastonbury
to Shapwick, this section being known as the 'Willow Walk'. 18 October
2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
At the end of the Willow Walk, the trackbed crosses the River
Brue by the largest grider bridge remaining on a the branch, this
being a structure which featured in the BBC documentary, ‘The
Friendly Line to Burnham’, presented by John Betjeman before
he received his knighthood. The bridge is immediately followed by
a level crossing over a minor road, where the keeper's cottage still
survives. Back in the 19th century, the railway took over the Glastonbury
Canal and used parts of the canal's infrastructure, where possible,
to speed up its own construction. The remains of a former aqueduct
can be discerned immediately to the north of this bridge, which accounts
for the keeper's home being named 'Aqueduct Cottage'. Note Glastonbury
Tor, which is just visible in the top right of the picture. 18 October
2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
As the trackbed nears Ashcott, the surface becomes a typical
Sustrans cycle trail with a surface of rolled limestone dust, which
makes for very easy walking – or cycling. The rhyne that parallels
the line to the north of this section is actually the former Glastonbury
Canal. The luxuriant greenery here makes it less than obvious that
this photograph was taken in the autumn. 18 October 2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Left:
Just north of Ashcott station, the Railway Inn survives
although it was closed when we passed by. Locomotive number
3210, seen here in the sign, was a GWR 'interloper' which
worked over the branch in the 1960s. The Churchward-style
safety valve betrays the fact that this is not a Southern
or Midland engine. Note also Glastonbury Tor to the left of
the engine's chimney. There is a great picture of 3210 at
Highbridge on the Newman family website here
– just scroll down or search for '3210'. 18 October
2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
This is Catcott crossing keeper's cottage, situated on a
minor lane that crosses the line between Shapwick and Edington Burtle
stations. Like the girder bridge over the River Brue (see above),
this also featured in the BBC documentary, 'The Friendly Line to Burnham'.
Remote railway cottages like this originally had no water supply,
so the first train of the day would deliver water in churns, mounted
above the buffer beams at the front of the locomotive. 18 October
2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
This rather unprepossessing picture shows what remains of
one of the platforms at Edington Burtle station, which was known variously
during its life as Edington Road, Edington Junction and, from 1953,
Edington Burtle. The appendage 'Junction' was used when the branch
line to Bridgwater was operational; it branched off on the left a
few yards beyond the platform. This was a very remote outpost on the
Somerset Central Railway, where little during the day interrupted
the sound of birdsong. The nearby pub is called 'The Tom Mogg' after
a long-serving porter and signalman here. 18 October 2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
By now, the light was beginning to fade, but we have included
this photograph of the Somerset & Dorset pub in Burnham-on-Sea
because it provides a clear indication of where the town's station
used to stand – directly opposite, with the entrance roughly
where the bed of red flowers is situated. Burnham station was constructed
with a through running line that continued on to the jetty illustrated
in the picture below. 18 October 2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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Above:
This is what remains of the Somerset Central Railway's jetty at Burnham
(presumably much lowered), which jutted out into the Bristol Channel
and was used originally for offloading coal from boats that had crossed
from South Wales. The SCR had visions of this traffic bringing great
wealth, and even anticipated extending to a south coast harbour so
that a South Wales to France service could be offered. This was one
of the motivations for the extension to Cole and the link-up with
the Dorset Central Railway. These dreams all seem rather fanciful
nowadays, but hindsight is always perfect, and Victorian railway promoters
and directors really believed that they could make anything happen.
18 October 2008. (Ron Strutt) |
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