Reopening the S&DJR - What are the realistic prospects?

Polarbear said:

Not the S&DJR, but I would have kept the line through Ringwood & Wimborne as I can see a viable market for that.

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Maybe a better bet than the Somerset and Dorset would be the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway?

This would link Poole to Wimborne and then on directly to Salisbury (and thence Bath and Bristol). It's much shorter than the S&D and yet would give similar benefits in speeding up Bournemouth-Bristol journey times...

Dougal2345 said:

Maybe a better bet than the Somerset and Dorset would be the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway?

This would link Poole to Wimborne and then on directly to Salisbury (and thence Bath and Bristol). It's much shorter than the S&D and yet would give similar benefits in speeding up Bournemouth-Bristol journey times...

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It's not the S&DJR I know, but if Shepton Mallet needed a station, surely the East Somerset Railway continuing to the A37 for Shepton Mallet would be best in terms of feasibility, because the trackbed in place and very little work would be needed on land acquisition etc. The Mendips is one of those communities where there's no real epicentre - just lot's of 10k-15k settlements all poorly served, but this is the obvious railhead surely?

Having to make do with 2 hourly stops at Castle Cary (quite the distance from all of them) seems a poor offering for routes into London. Granted it doesn't help them getting into Bristol but that would be a much larger project to extent its worth starting again - as where Shepton to East Somerset Jn is largely in place already.

My reservations would be, particularly to those in Glastonbury & Street, whether it would be worth substituting a direct service to Paddington (from Castle Cary) with a branch line service involving a change at Westbury (also every 2 hours) or at Swindon if the Melksham service extended to Frome and Shepton Mallet. In terms of cost, the Glastonbury festival traffic would probably add to the viability.

Thoughts?

drinnicksiding said:

It's not the S&DJR I know, but if Shepton Mallet needed a station, surely the East Somerset Railway continuing to the A37 for Shepton Mallet would be best in terms of feasibility, because the trackbed in place and very little work would be needed on land acquisition etc. The Mendips is one of those communities where there's no real epicentre - just lot's of 10k-15k settlements all poorly served, but this is the obvious railhead surely?

Having to make do with 2 hourly stops at Castle Cary (quite the distance from all of them) seems a poor offering for routes into London. Granted it doesn't help them getting into Bristol but that would be a much larger project to extent its worth starting again - as where Shepton to East Somerset Jn is largely in place already.

My reservations would be, particularly to those in Glastonbury & Street, whether it would be worth substituting a direct service to Paddington (from Castle Cary) with a branch line service involving a change at Westbury (also every 2 hours) or at Swindon if the Melksham service extended to Frome and Shepton Mallet. In terms of cost, the Glastonbury festival traffic would probably add to the viability.

Thoughts?

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Adding the encampment folks of Glastonbury (a week most years , with the odd rest for Worthy Farm to recover) , is not a basis for a business case for a new service.*

Much as Beeching though the 8 or 10 weeks a year for seasonal seaside traffic was not sufficient for a good number of branch lines , let alone a fleet of about 20,000 (old) carriages to be retained.

(* Handled well enough by Castle Cary and a fleet of older buses !)

What people seem to be ignoring is Bath. There are no decent public transport links from shepton mallet and other towns that have massively expanded as a result of displacement from Bath due to the eye watering property prices. This makes an almost unbearable commute in on unsuitable roads. A rail link from SM taking in the other towns I would imagine have quite a good business case.

I never understood how a more or less direct line between Bournemouth/Poole and Bristol/S Wales couldn't have been made a success. One of the less comprehensible closures I think.

It wasn't direct. It needed two reversals to get to South Wales (four if you stop at Templecombe). Bristol has relatively little affinity with Bournemouth (much more, traditionally, with Weymouth), and what traffic there is can change at Southampton, which was regularly linked directly to the two.

Passenger loads in winter south of Radstock were often in single figures.

Although the S&D handled a lot of coal down from Bath to Templecombe, it was all from the Midlands, avoiding the GWR by directly interchanging between the Midland and the LSW. Once BR came along this subterfuge was irrelevant. Somerset coal along the line was always pretty poor stuff only fit for power station boilers.

At one time there was an idea or plan to link the S&D south of Cole with the ex-GW West of England main line, to allow trains from Bristol and Bath to run via Westbury and Bruton to Wincanton and on to Bournemouth. With the low-level station at Templecombe brought into use to avoid the double reversal there, this might have offered a reasonable journey time, still a bit circuitous but avoiding the difficult exit from Bath and the climb over the Mendips. Reopening Salisbury - Bournemouth would also provide a shorter route than going via Southampton. Realistically I can't see any of these happening.

geoffk said:

At one time there was an idea or plan to link the S&D south of Cole with the ex-GW West of England main line, to allow trains from Bristol and Bath to run via Westbury and Bruton to Wincanton and on to Bournemouth. With the low-level station at Templecombe brought into use to avoid the double reversal there, this might have offered a reasonable journey time, still a bit circuitous but avoiding the difficult exit from Bath and the climb over the Mendips.

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The earthworks for the connection between Bruton and Castle Cary were built from the beginning, but track was never laid. Unfortunately the direction it faces is the opposite to that envisaged here, it connected from the Bath and Evercreech Junction direction towards Westbury. Other quadrants would be difficult here because the S&D is climbing at the crossing point over the GWR and on upwards out of the River Brue valley.

Templecombe was one of the few worthwhile traffic points on the southern section of the S&D with connecting passengers to the LSWR, hence the effort to shunt back and forth to serve it. The low level platform is beyond practical walking distance for connecting passengers, about 10 minutes or more by a dogleg and then along Throop Road which has no pavement nor seemingly any scope for one.

Unfortunately that difficult bit from Bath to Radstock, and to an extent on to Shepton, had the best local passenger patronage of the whole line.

Whenever I see television pictures of the crowds walking along the central path in the Glastonbury Festival I recall that I must be one of the few left who travelled (just the once) along this very alignment in a train, for it is the trackbed of the Evercreech Jc to Glastonbury and Highbridge branch. This is no particular reflection on my geriatricity, but more that the Highbridge branch was even more of a financial basketcase, which probably lost what patronage it once had when cars and buses became reliable in the 1930s.

Taunton said:

Templecombe was one of the few worthwhile traffic points on the southern section of the S&D with connecting passengers to the LSWR, hence the effort to shunt back and forth to serve it. The low level platform is beyond practical walking distance for connecting passengers, about 10 minutes or more by a dogleg and then along Throop Road which has no pavement nor seemingly any scope for one.

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One would have thought that the Southern would have made a better job of rebuilding Templecombe as an interchange to remove the need to reverse. They could have built a dual level station on the other side of the road to the East and included a new through platform on the S&D.

Taunton said:

Templecombe was one of the few worthwhile traffic points on the southern section of the S&D with connecting passengers to the LSWR, hence the effort to shunt back and forth to serve it. The low level platform is beyond practical walking distance for connecting passengers, about 10 minutes or more by a dogleg and then along Throop Road which has no pavement nor seemingly any scope for one.

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I travelled from Bath to Templecombe on several occasions but never ventured down to the low level platform (probably because I might miss something on the main line). It was obviously a longer walk to the main station entrance than I thought.

yorksrob said:

One would have thought that the Southern would have made a better job of rebuilding Templecombe as an interchange to remove the need to reverse. They could have built a dual level station on the other side of the road to the East and included a new through platform on the S&D.

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Low Level was only used by a late evening terminating train from Bournemouth.
I suspect the SR didn't think the expenditure of a rebuild could be justified - it would have saved 10 minutes or so, but the benefit would essentially be for local traffic (not much of it), Bournemouth-West of England (what's 10 minutes on a half-day journey?), and a bit of weekday day-trip traffic from Bristol/North Somerset. The real long distance traffic (Pines and holday extras) mostly didn't do the Templecombe shunt anyway.

30907 said:

Low Level was only used by a late evening terminating train from Bournemouth.
I suspect the SR didn't think the expenditure of a rebuild could be justified - it would have saved 10 minutes or so, but the benefit would essentially be for local traffic (not much of it), Bournemouth-West of England (what's 10 minutes on a half-day journey?), and a bit of weekday day-trip traffic from Bristol/North Somerset. The real long distance traffic (Pines and holday extras) mostly didn't do the Templecombe shunt anyway.

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Perhaps, although they did do a pretty substantial rebuild on the same site.

Actually the LSWR did redo it - the original arrangement was even worse, the connection was a north-to-east curve, so trains from Bournemouth had to reverse twice to reach the platform, plus a reversal there and again at the junction to carry on to Evercreech. This was changed to the slightly more convenient direction when the S&D Bath line opened.

The Southern then did indeed rebuild Templecombe station again, in its Art Nouveau modern style in the late 1930s - but exactly where it stood, and buildings only, not the layout. Hence the modern style signalbox that became the focus of the reopened station. Of all things, in the middle of the countryside, it was destroyed by WW2 bombing shortly after completion, but rebuilt again in the same style afterwards.

Building a dual level station would likely not be practical operationally as the S&D from Bournemouth is climbing steeply (1 in 50?) under the LSW main line up to the junction, very apparent from a train from Evercreech approaching Templecombe station on the level. It was probably acceptable for the one evening S&D train that continued to terminate there right to the end, doing so after the main station had closed for the day.

Shepton might be a go after all...
Who’d have thought !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-47290855

If you were going to reopen anything to speed up Bounemouth-Bristol traffic, perhaps the Wimborne-West Moors-Fordingbridge-Salisbury line would be better?. The distance of re-opening would be much shorter, and the major traffic objective of Salisbury would be passed.

(Don't think either are a goer, by the way!)

The S&D existed primarily for the Pines Express, when this was rerouted in 1962 via Basingstoke and Reading, local traffic was not enough to justify it's retention..Other lines locally which are mentioned regarding reopening are to Fawley and Brockenhurst - Ringwood

drinnicksiding said:

Shepton might be a go after all...
Who’d have thought !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-47290855

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Local elections in 9 weeks time.

Councillors announce a study which might address local transport issues - road and rail.

That's the easy bit.

By the way, if Shepton Mallet - Bath was to be rebuilt how would it be handled at the Bath end?

Both in terms of connecting to the ex-GW and at Bath Spa station.

6Gman said:

Local elections in 9 weeks time.

Councillors announce a study which might address local transport issues - road and rail.

That's the easy bit.

By the way, if Shepton Mallet - Bath was to be rebuilt how would it be handled at the Bath end?

Both in terms of connecting to the ex-GW and at Bath Spa station.

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I can’t see it happening. Shepton only being considered as it’s 95% in place already. Portishead for example is already facing challenges despite a trackbed almost totally undisturbed, something involving entirely new trackbed is very very unlikely.

drinnicksiding said:

Shepton might be a go after all...
Who’d have thought !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-47290855

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Just to clarify, they are probably talking about the GW route (Whatley Quarry). Think there's another thread on it.

341o2 said:

The S&D existed primarily for the Pines Express, when this was rerouted in 1962 via Basingstoke and Reading, local traffic was not enough to justify it's retention..

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Actually the principal purpose the S&D served was freight. Two main sources, one was the series of collieries around Radstock, which produced low quality coal only fit for burning in large power station boilers, all of which shut down in the 1960s, and the other was through freight between the Midland (LMS) and LSWR (Southern), bypassing the GWR, which became irrelevant in 1948. This is why they had 11 big 2-8-0s specially built, plus a string of 4F 0-6-0s. Most of the freight to the Southern was interchanged at Templecombe, not much went on to Bournemouth. A lot was household coal from the Midlands to the south.

Even this freight was handled inefficiently. Staged through a yard at Bath, where reversal was required, the through freights starting there (which kept the line open through the night) required a banker for the first couple of miles, and then another one from Radstock up to Masbury, from where they had to stop and pin down to get down to Evercreech, reversing into the yard there alongside the old Highbridge line. Then they got remarshalled again into another service which took them just about 10 miles to Templecombe, where there were further exchange sidings with the Southern.

There wasn't the space at Templecombe for much, so wagons were held back at Evercreech until ready. But the S&D loco shed was at Templecombe, so the freight locos had to run light to and from Evercreech. However, the Southern did not use the shed at Templecombe, their locos picking up the freight in turn had to run light from Yeovil.

On the way from Evercreech to Templecombe the line crossed the GWR main West of England line, which offered generally a more direct way to most points. I've sometimes wondered if there's a hilltop around Wincanton from where you could see with binoculars trains on both the WofE line near Bruton, and on the LSWR line at Templecombe, at the same time. They are quite close there.

There aren't.

The following about the Shillingstone project is showing that even though they have come relatively late to the preservation game not only is there a good potential for them to become one of the premier heritage lines but even better there is an opportunity to return a much needed part of the SaDJR to the network full time.

Latest issue of Steam Railway magazine seems to be a Somerset and Dorset special with all the articles connected to it in one way or another.

One if the articles is 5 pages long and is all about the Shillingstone project, it covers how they started, what they are doing now and their plans for the future. There is all so an interview with the chairman.

The following is roughly part of what the Chairman said to the magazine:



The good news is that they have got track layed through the station and a little way along the old track bed to the North of the station also the council are supportive of the project and are allowing them to lay track on the original track bed and move the NDT (North Dorset Trailway) to the side (think Avon valley railway) also (so far, it appears) most (see below) of the locals are supportive/don't care so no NIMBY's.

The bad news is that the original plan was to head North to Sturminster Newton, the problem is just beyond the current end of the line is Bere Marsh farm which the track bed runs through and in 2020 was brought by a nature conservation charity and they are not keen for the railway to be re-built to run through their land and the Chairman reckons it is because when they first headed North an embankment had been flattened to make a tennis court so the railway had to rebuild it and he thinks the charity are worried about heavy engineering taking place and damaging/scaring the wildlife but he says he has walked the track bed and it is fine and pretty much it is only a case of relaying the track but if the charity wont change their mind then it would mean building a new alignment around the farm which would be expensive..

Things aren't much better going South because South of the station there was a cutting but it was filled in with spoil from the Blandford bypass you've then got the bridge missing over the river Stour and then from there a lot of the track bed is "missing" and while you can get nearish the centre of Blandford you cant get fully in and certainly not out again without a lot of demolition and compensation payed.



However, I would say all is not lost because starting in the South and while with google maps you only get a birds eye view so cant see what elevation changes there are the NDT is designed for wheelchair users so would be flat so I doubt there is now a "mountain" in the way so you would only need a couple of JCBs or a lot of volunteers with shovel's to dig it out.

Its a shame the railway bridge has gone and seems to have been replaced by a footbridge but it should be relatively easy to replace, as for the "missing" track bed I'm not sure what he is on about as using the National library of Scotland side by side thing the NDT follows the track bed all the way to Blandford with only a slight diversion at Stourpaine. So I cant see why they cant just relay the track on the NDT and put in basic gated level crossing's for the farmers to access their land if need be?

As for the North what I would do is sit down with the charity and point out the following: first of all lets say you get a mum and dad who usually drive everywhere (partly because they have a bad perception/experience of proper trains) and they take their child for a ride on the steam train hopefully the child would have such a good day out that it would pester the parents to take it on a proper train and if there are no problems delays/cancelations/get a seat etc then it might encourage the parents to use the train a bit more but even if the parents carry on driving everywhere hopefully the child when it gets older would have a happy memory of the steam train and be more inclined to use the proper railway, so being environmentally friendly which is what the nature charity is trying to encourage.

Secondly if they allow the railway to run through their land they can put up billboards by the line advertising themselves and as the farm is so near the station then people might say: "lets go to the farm after we have been for a ride on the train" rather than perhaps seeing an advert somewhere else online, magazine etc or finding out about the farm after they have got home and saying that looks good we must go there but either forgetting or deciding it is too far and not bothering with it.

Thirdly if proper passenger services ran on the line (see below) visitors might come by train rather than the car which I would say would be about 99% of them at the moment.

From there it is a clear run to Sturminster Newton, and that prompt's me to ask if anybody could do me a favour? If you search Sturminster Newton on Google maps you can see the old line now the NDT coming in from the East, it then goes through a car park with what could be the old station/goods shed, then through a park, across a road and then what looks like waste ground that used to have buildings on it now demolished then through some trees and back out in to the country.

The favor I want is that on Google maps birds eye view there is no date and on Street View it is dated September 2023, so is there any member on here who live in Sturminster or nearby or who have got friends, family work colleagues in the area who could go and look and see if it is still derelict waste land or has been built on.

The reason I want to know is that from there the track bed is - except for the odd field were the track bed has disappeared - a clear run to all the way to Templecombe, there is also what looks like the fairly sizeable towns of Stalbridge and Henstridge therefore at the worst it would not only give the Shillingstone project three stations with a lot of local customers but also if the residents have friend s or family visiting from other parts of the country a ride on a steam train within walking distance would be very attractive as something to do but also a mainline connection.

Or at best there could be scope for a morning/evening commuter service or even better a full 363 day service between: Sturminster -Stalbridge - Henstridge - Templecombe and somewhere else with the Shillingstone people moving somewhere else. However all that only works if the derelict site in Sturminster has not been built on as otherwise you have the problem that a lot of heritage railway's are stuck with that they could have a long line with a mainline connection but thanks to just one obstruction they are stuck with a short line with no mainline connection.

Also if you can get a mainline connection at one end then then it might provide the impetus to get a mainline connection at both ends so as I say while I think there is to much demolition needed in Blandford for the railway too come back too the centre what could happen is is build a loop around the North of Blandford - with a developer putting some cash in because you can virtually guarantee that they have already got there eyes on filling in the triangle of land between Blandford, Blandford Camp and Pimperne then rejoin the old track bed and then when you get to North of Corfe Mullen build a new alignment heading South to join up with the mainline somewhere between Poole and Wareham as the old alignment I think is too built over to be rebuilt

Another thing is I'm sure I've read in the past about is bringing Ringwood back on to the network so at the moment the track bed carry's on for a short distance south of Sturminster Marshall and after that it is pretty much all gone, buried under roads, houses and peoples back garden's until it reappears at the A31 roundabout East of Wimborne.

So what could happen is build a new line running West - East parallel with the A31 from South of Sturminster to the A31 roundabout East of Wimborne you then rejoin the old line for a bit. At West Moors you either loop again most likely to the North though this looks tricky or you compulsory purchase to get through from there again it is a clear run to Ringwood.

At Ringwood it looks difficult to go round but crucially all the buildings that have been built on the track bed Look like commercial/offices so pay them enough cash and they will move, from there it is again a completely clear run to the junction between Sway and Brockenhurst.

You would then have, if it stayed heritage, a really good and picturesque line running all the way from Templecombe to Blandford with a mainline connection which would be good for visitors who want to leave the car at home/haven't got a car so could arrive by train, visiting locomotives could arrive/leave by the mainline rather than lorry, get money from visiting railtours and best of all a cut of the tickets/rent if a commuter service was viable or if the line was returned to the network it would be a really useful cross country route that not only links up country towns/villages but would be really useful where it is heavily built up (Wimborne - Ringwood) as I'm guessing the traffic congestion is a nightmare.

More Progress:

Rebuilt railway gets go-ahead for passenger trains​

Image caption,
Gavin Collins said railway members would be the first to ride the reinstated line
ByRos Tappenden
South of England

• • Published
    14 July 2026

A section of railway track rebuilt by volunteers has been granted permission to run passenger services for the first time in 60 years.

Shillingstone station in Dorset closed in 1966 and the line was ripped up but, in 2005, a group of volunteers began rebuilding it, turning it into a railway museum.

Their ultimate aim was to see passenger services running again and, in September 2025, after two decades of work, half a mile of rebuilt track was officially opened.

In its latest milestone, North Dorset Railway (NDR) has been given the go-ahead from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to carry passengers and officially register as a heritage railway.

The museum will remain free to visit, with visitors paying to ride in NDR's brake van or railbus, but no date has been set for the start of services.

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I saw a printed article about this - so no link - but they suggested it would be about September time with a limited service.

From there it is a clear run to Sturminster Newton, and that prompt's me to ask if anybody could do me a favour? If you search Sturminster Newton on Google maps you can see the old line now the NDT coming in from the East, it then goes through a car park with what could be the old station/goods shed, then through a park, across a road and then what looks like waste ground that used to have buildings on it now demolished then through some trees and back out in to the country.

The favour I want is that on Google maps birds eye view there is no date and on Street View it is dated September 2023, so is there any member on here who live in Sturminster or nearby or who have got friends, family work colleagues in the area who could go and look and see if it is still derelict waste land or has been built on.

The reason I want to know is that from there the track bed is - except for the odd field were the track bed has disappeared - a clear run to all the way to Templecombe, there is also what looks like the fairly sizeable towns of Stalbridge and Henstridge therefore at the worst it would not only give the Shillingstone project three stations with a lot of local customers but also if the residents have friend s or family visiting from other parts of the country a ride on a steam train within walking distance would be very attractive as something to do but also a mainline connection.

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Now the Summer holidays have started if there is anybody who is going to be in that neck of the wood's either staying, travelling through, or travelling nearby I would still really appreciate it if somebody could check Sturminster

yorksrob said:

I never understood how a more or less direct line between Bournemouth/Poole and Bristol/S Wales couldn't have been made a success. One of the less comprehensible closures I think.

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It was indirect, slow*, steeply graded, and expensive to work, serving nowhere much on the way. It was a joint line because the original railway companies went bust trying to take a local route in Dorset over the Mendips (the extension from Wimborne to Poole and Bournemouth was comparatively straightforward).

One credible article in Backtrack around the time of the 50th anniversary of closure suggested that, had WWII not happened, the line would likely have closed as a through route in the 1940s. As for the Highbridge branch, the visit by John Betjeman showed just how little used it was, so little that even he couldn't really summon up the energy to demand it be kept open.

It lingers so strongly in the enthusiast mind for two reasons. One was that, on the occasional busy days (generally summer saturdays), there was all sorts of interesting motive power not usually seen on passenger duties. The second was that it was immortalised on film by one of the great railway photographers.

Like some other routes (the Mid Wales comes to mind), I bitterly regret never having the opportunity to travel over it even as I wonder how it ever got built

* The Wiki entry suggests over 3 hours for the 70-odd miles between Bath & Bournemouth

So out of interest, if it were rebuilt along the existing formation, how fast could a modern DMU do the 70 miles between Bath & Bournemouth? Presumably that could tackle the gradients with more force than steam - are the curves particularly sharp and slow?

35B said:

It was indirect, slow*, steeply graded, and expensive to work, serving nowhere much on the way. It was a joint line because the original railway companies went bust trying to take a local route in Dorset over the Mendips (the extension from Wimborne to Poole and Bournemouth was comparatively straightforward).

One credible article in Backtrack around the time of the 50th anniversary of closure suggested that, had WWII not happened, the line would likely have closed as a through route in the 1940s. As for the Highbridge branch, the visit by John Betjeman showed just how little used it was, so little that even he couldn't really summon up the energy to demand it be kept open.

It lingers so strongly in the enthusiast mind for two reasons. One was that, on the occasional busy days (generally summer saturdays), there was all sorts of interesting motive power not usually seen on passenger duties. The second was that it was immortalised on film by one of the great railway photographers.

Like some other routes (the Mid Wales comes to mind), I bitterly regret never having the opportunity to travel over it even as I wonder how it ever got built

* The Wiki entry suggests over 3 hours for the 70-odd miles between Bath & Bournemouth

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The bit South of Shepton Mallet looks quite direct.

Dougal2345 said:

So out of interest, if it were rebuilt along the existing formation, how fast could a modern DMU do the 70 miles between Bath & Bournemouth? Presumably that could tackle the gradients with more force than steam - are the curves particularly sharp and slow?

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For a start, you wouldn't start at a dead-end secondary station in Bath, you would start in Bristol, far more potential, and run down the North Somerset line towards Radstock, pretty direct but a huge climb out of Bristol. The significant towns are Shepton Mallet and then Blandford Forum. But Bristol doesn't have much commercial or visitor contact with Bournemouth (though doubtless more than Bath), it has far more with Weymouth, both rail and road leading there, so not a lot of potential.

35B said:

One credible article in Backtrack around the time of the 50th anniversary of closure suggested that, had WWII not happened, the line would likely have closed as a through route in the 1940s. As for the Highbridge branch, the visit by John Betjeman showed just how little used it was, so little that even he couldn't really summon up the energy to demand it be kept open.

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It would certainly have lasted to 1948, as it carried a significant amount of the through freight traffic between the LMS and the Southern, avoiding sharing any of the mileage division of revenue with the GWR. Birmingham to Southampton, or Plymouth, etc freight was genuinely sent via the S&D.

35B said:

It lingers so strongly in the enthusiast mind for two reasons. One was that, on the occasional busy days (generally summer saturdays)

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And, possibly, because it was busy for those handful of summer Saturdays with holiday traffic, many a young boy would have very happy memories of an apparently busy railway through rolling green countryside under blue skies whilst enjoying the opening hours of their holiday. And therefore remember it with a rather strong dose of rose-tinted spectalage.

The final timetable before closure had essentially all stopping trains (but for Masbury Halt). To the extent that they ran through from Bournemouth to Bristol (without undue waits at Templecombe or during reversal at Bath Green Park) the through journey was over four hours.

Bald Rick said:

And, possibly, because it was busy for those handful of summer Saturdays with holiday traffic, many a young boy would have very happy memories of an apparently busy railway through rolling green countryside under blue skies whilst enjoying the opening hours of their holiday. And therefore remember it with a rather strong dose of rose-tinted spectalage.

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The fact that it was fully steam operated to the bitter end probably adds to the nostalgia. No feeble token DMU such as that on the GCR to pollute people's memories.