Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust facts for kids

Somerset & Dorset Joint Heritage Railway Trust
First Santa service of the day leaves Midsomer Norton South on Sunday 16 December 2018
Locale	North East Somerset
Commercial operations
Name	Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Stations	Midsomer Norton South
Length	1 mile (2 km)
Commercial history
Opened	1862
Closed	1966
Preservation history
1996	Somerset & Dorset Trackbed Trust signed a lease to start restoration of the station building and goods shed.
Website
https://sdjr.co.uk/

The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust (S&DRHT) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England, that runs on a restored section of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The line is approximately 1 mile long and operates from Midsomer Norton South.

History

The restored signal box

British Railways ownership

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 Wansdyke district council, who leased it to the Trust to restore to its 1950s condition.

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.

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. The Trust eventually raised only £80,000 by the deadline, and the site was sold to another party.

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.
• Real Ale Trains

Rolling stock

Steam Locomotives

Number & Name	Locomotive	Current Status	Notes	Livery	Photograph
No. 7109 'Joyce'	Sentinel 0-4-0VBT	Under repair.	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).	BR black.
No. 92207 'Morning Star'	BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0	Under restoration.	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.	N/A

Diesel Locomotives

Number & Name	Photograph	Current Status	Notes	Livery
English Electric 0-6-0DH D1120 David.J.Cook		In service.	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.	Green
British Railways Class 08 0-6-0DE D4095		Under maintenance.	Built Horwich Works 1961. TOPS number 08881.	BR green, Wasp stripes

Diesel Multiple Units

Number & Name	Photograph	Current Status	Notes	livery
Class 107 DMU DMCL/DMBS 52025/52006		In service	Purchased in April 2022 from the Avon Valley Railway, privatley owned.	BR green, small warning panel

Previous visitors

Number & Name	Locomotive	History & Current Status	Livery	Photograph
No. 80072	British Railways 4MT 2-6-4T	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.	BR lined black	~
No. 47406	LMS Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T		BR lined black	~
No.41312	LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T	Visited from the Mid-Hants Railway in September 2022 as part of their Ivatt weekend gala (Remembering the Pines gala part 2).	BR lined black	~
No. 5459 Austin 1	Kitson and Company 0-6-0ST	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.

Wagon stock

Other stock

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.	Plain green	Private owner.	1980	~
No. M59664	Class 115 DMU TCL	Static, was in use as staff canteen.	BR line green	Unknown.	1960.

See also

• Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust
• New Somerset and Dorset Railway