The
Somerset & Dorset Railway (continued). The club's third
and final S&D walk in 2016 took members from Masbury station,
at the summit of the line, down to Shepton Mallet on Saturday 13th
August. This was a heavily engineered part of the route and much of
the infrastructure still survives, although significant parts are
in private ownership. This walk finished grandly with a buffet lunch
in what used to be the boardroom of Showerings' Brewery – although
most people nowadays will know this company not as a brewer, but as
the developer of 'Babycham, the genuine champagne perry'. |
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Above:
A view of the privately owned Masbury station from the
railway overbridge on nearby Frome Road. The building nearest to
the camera housed the waiting rooms (one for ladies and one for
general use), while there was a signal box on the platform between
that and the station house. The new owner has cleared the trackbed
of shrubs, which has restored the railway atmosphere at this remote
location. 24th June 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Left:
Masbury station steps led down from Frome Road
on to the up platform, and they are still there for those
who care to look. The scene looks resplendent with the early
summer foliage at its finest – all washed clean by
the torrential rain which the photographer walked through
to get this shot. Behind the sound of birdsong and occasional
passing cars, a dull thump could be heard emanating from
the Glastonbury Festival several miles to the south, and
perhaps it was that which encouraged the Great God of Meteorology
to attempt to drown everyone on or near the Mendips that
day. 24th June 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
The overbridge at the north end of Masbury station, from
which the above two photographs were taken. The bridge is owned by
the Historic Railways Estate of Highways England, which considers
it to be somewhat below optimal condition. How long it will survive
is anyone's guess. Photograph by kind permission of Masbury station
owner. 13th August 2016. (Mike Spearman) |
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Above:
On the face of it, this photograph appears to depict nothing
more than a group of walkers proceding down Thrupe Lane, south of
Masbury, in wet weather; but the embankment on the left is, in fact,
part of the old S&D. The bridge here must have been a low one,
so it is hardly surprising that it has gone. 13th August 2016. (Mike
Spearman) |
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Above:
This is another deceptive photograph. Superficially, it looks
like a farm track through a wood, but note the stone walls to the
left and right. It is these which reveal that this is the deck of
Ham Wood Viaduct, which is now so surrounded by trees as to be easily
missed. In the railway's heyday, there were extensive quarry workings
below which supplied freight traffic to the line. 13th August 2016.
(Mike Spearman) |
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Right:
A token photograph of one arch of Ham Wood Viaduct,
which is about all that one can hope for during the summer!
The number of trees suggests that, even in winter, one might
struggle to take a photograph from below that captured the
true scale of this structure. 13th August 2016. (Mike Spearman) |

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Left:
Looking through the north portal of the up tunnel
at Winsor Hill, where the S&D constructed two separate
tunnels. This is the new tunnel – the straight one
– dating from 1892. As can be seen, water from the
deluge induced by the nearby Glastonbury Festival is trickling
downhill towards Shepton Mallet. At least it was dry inside!
24th June 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This is the north portal of the original Winsor Hill Tunnel,
which opened with the S&D's extension to Bath in 1874. After the
line was closed, British Aerospace tested Concorde engines at the
south end of this tunnel, where their mountings can still be seen
in the trackbed. This tunnel was built on a curve, which is why no
light is visible from the other end. 24th June 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This final view of Winsor Hill shows the south portal of
the up tunnel looking north and verifies our earlier assertion that
it is straight. This tunnel is just 132 yards, compared with 242
yards for the older one beyond the cutting wall to the right. Anyone
who explores both tunnels can see how much building standards on
the railway had improved by the 1890s because this one is lined
throughout with masonry side walls and a brick arch, plus regular
refuges for the permanent way staff who had to get out of the way
promptly when they heard a train coming. 13th August 2013. (Mike
Spearman) |