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It always commanded a considerable loyalty from railway enthusiasts, and when it closed in 1966 it was universally mourned. The S&D Joint Railway was jointly operated by the Midland Railway and the London And South Western Railway (L&SWR). After the 1 January 1923 Grouping joint ownership of the S&D passed to the LMS and the Southern Railway . Awdry, Christopher (1990). ''Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies''. Partick Stephens Ltd. Page 237.Casserley, H.C. (1968). ''Britain's Joint Lines''. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0024-7. .]] Its attraction was its quirky individuality, its fascinating and varied scenery (captured particularly by a series of pioneering Cine Film s taken by Ivo Peters ), and the way it seemed to struggle against overwhelming odds. Its main line climbed to 811 Feet (274 M ) above Sea Level at Masbury, and it contained several Single Line sections, but it managed to handle a considerable volume of holiday trains on summer Saturdays, when it seemed every possible locomotive was drafted into service to handle heavy trains requiring Double-heading and rear assistance over the steep gradients. Its origins lay in times before the railway network in England had settled, and both local and strategic aspirations structured the line’s earliest days. THE S&D IN THE EARLY 1960S The fame of the Somerset & Dorset line reached its peak in the first years of the 1960s, just before final closure as part of the nationwide reduction of railway services, usually called the Beeching Axe . The main line was still active, carrying local passenger trains and a daily long-distance train, The Pines Express , from Manchester to Bournemouth West, reversing at Bath Green Park. Local freight on the route survived in adequate volumes, although the Somerset Coalfield was largely exhausted and coal traffic had dwindled. On summer Saturdays, the line continued to carry a very heavy traffic of long-distance trains, from northern towns to Bournemouth and back. It was part of the charm of the route that the originating towns were all on the former Midland Railway, as if the Railway Grouping Of 1923 had never taken place. These trains brought unusual traffic combinations to the route, and the home fleet of BR Standard Class 5 4-6-0's and the BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0's were augmented by strangers such as LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0's from the north and West Country Pacifics from the south. As assistance over the steep gradients was usually required, the original S&D class 7F 2-8-0's were pressed into service to assist, or handling lighter trains on their own. Dieselisation had proved impractical on the route, and surprisingly the Western Region management painted the small fleet of standard 4-6-0's in lined green livery. Freight was largely in the hands of standard 4-6-0's and the S&D 7F 2-8-0's, assisted by Jinty 0-6-0T's; freight trains were assisted in rear by these locomotives over the Combe Down summit and over Masbury. The Highbridge branch seemed to be under the exclusive control of the Collet 0-6-0 tender engines to the end. GEOGRAPHY The S&D main line ran south from Bath Queen Square (later renamed Green Park) to Radstock, at one time the centre of the Somerset Coalfield , and then over Masbury summit, at 811 feet (274 m) above sea level crossing the Mendip Hills , via Shepton Mallet and entering the catchment area of the River Stour to Wincanton and Blandford, joining the L&SWR Weymouth line at Poole , the S&D trains continuing to the L&SWR station at Bournemouth West. The branch line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction had been the original main line, when attracting Steamer traffic across the Bristol Channel had been an objective. It traversed an area of very low population density, and when the marine connection ceased, only Glastonbury and Street in the centre of the route contributed any worthwhile income. There had been other, shorter branches, but these too generated very little traffic and they had all closed by the early 1950s. Serving only a string of medium-sized market towns between its extremities, the S&D generated a modest internal traffic, and it had daunting operational costs due to the difficulty of its main line. Its strategic significance was the formation of a through route between the Midlands and the South Coast, by connecting with the Midland Railway at Bath. The Midland Railway linked Bath to Bristol and via Gloucester to Birmingham and the North. Heavy summer holiday passenger traffic and healthy through freight business was the result, but the long and difficult main line was very expensive to support the business. There was only one connection intermediately on the route, at Templecombe where the Salisbury – Exeter route was crossed. There was an awkward layout there, requiring through trains to reverse along a spur between the S&D main line and the east-west L&SWR main line. The throughout journey time for ordinary passenger trains was typically four hours, although the limited stop holiday expresses managed it in two hours. Much of the S&D was single track, but the main line was Double Track from Midford to Templecombe, and from Blandford to Corfe Mullen. Crossing trains on the single line sections always added operational interest to the line, but the focus was the quirky operation of trains calling at Templecombe. These had to reverse from Templecombe station to Templecombe junction (for southbound trains, and the reverse for northbound). The Station Pilot at Templecombe was kept busy with these evolutions and the ''light engine'' movements associated with them. In at least one case a northbound train set back on to a southbound train at Templecombe Junction, to be pulled into the station by the southbound train engine; after station duties the equipage was pulled back to the junction by the northbound train engine, and the two trains were then uncoupled to continue on their separate ways. A sample timetable is shown in outline at the end of this article. HISTORY The . ISBN 0 7153 4312 2. It was formed when the Somerset & Dorset Railway ran into unmanageable financial difficulties and they leased the line for 999 years to the Midland Railway and the London And South Western Railway jointly.Casserley, H.C. (1968). ''Britain's Joint Lines''. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0024-7. The origins of the Somerset & Dorset Railway lay with two separate companies, which built sections of line, each with their own ambitions. The Somerset Central Railway The Somerset Central Railway started out as a local railway line designed to give Glastonbury transport access for manufactured goods, to the Bristol Channel and to the Bristol And Exeter Railway 's main line. It soon saw that a longer connection southwards was useful, and made an alliance with the Dorset Central Railway, and built an easterly line to join that railway at Cole. Origins The Somerset Central Railway opened on 28 August 1854 from Glastonbury to Highbridge Wharf. Glastonbury was then an important manufacturing town, but its location made the transport of goods difficult. Coastal shipping was still dominant for transport and the Bristol Channel ports of Bridgwater and Highbridge were about 18 miles away. The Bristol And Exeter Railway (B&ER) had been opened, passing through both those towns, in 1841. Highbridge was chosen as the destination because a route to Bridgwater would have been much more challenging technically, because of high ground to the east of Bridgwater itself. The Glastonbury Canal had been bought by the friendly B&ER, and by arrangement with them the canal was closed and the railway built partly on the course of the canal, reducing construction cost. The line was opened as Broad Gauge , as a feeder to the B&ER, and had stations at Glastonbury, Ashcott, Shapwick, Edington, Bason Bridge (opened in 1862), and Highbridge at the B&ER station. There were goods facilities at Highbridge Wharf, to the west of the B&ER line. The line was worked operationally by the B&ER. Initial results were encouraging, and the original objective of the railway, to give Glastonbury access to the maritime and railway transport links at Highbridge, was successfully achieved. Development Highbridge Wharf became a thriving activity, and at this early date coastal shipping was still an important means of transporting goods. To reach South Coast destinations the ships had a difficult and hazardous passage round Land’s End , and there were hopes that the railway could become the core of a transport chain bringing manufactured goods, especially metal goods, from South Wales to the Southern Counties, and taking agricultural produce back to feed the industrial population in South Wales, using shipping across the Bristol Channel . .]] The success of Highbridge Wharf for goods traffic encouraged ideas of expanding passenger traffic across the Bristol Channel, and on 3 May 1858 the Somerset Central Railway opened an extension from Highbridge to a new passenger Pier at Burnham, expecting heavy passenger traffic. The pier was actually a slip, a broad ramp 900 Feet (274 M ) long, sloping down at 1 in 21 into the Tidal waters; and Steamers berthed alongside at the point where the adjacent part of the slip was at a suitable height. Rails were laid on the slip, and single wagons were worked down to the steamers using a wire rope; passengers, however, walked to a platform at Burnham station nearby. In both cases the arrangement was awkward and inconvenient, and the anticipated traffic growth never materialised, and the Burnham Pier, which had cost £20,000, was a financial failure. At the eastern end, a branch to the important city of Wells was opened on 15 March 1859 . This had originally been planned to be part of a main line extension towards Frome , where the Wilts, Somerset And Weymouth Railway could be joined, giving the yearned-for access to the South Coast towns, but by now the Somerset Central thought that joining up with the Dorset Central Railway would be a more cost-effective option. Wells therefore was a branch line only, with the station at Priory Road. It was broad gauge, and one intermediate station at Polsham was opened in 1861. The impetus now however was the south-easterly link with the Dorset Central Railway, and parliamentary powers were sought for the extension to Cole. The link to Cole Cole was no destination in itself, but was the agreed point of meeting up with the Dorset Central Railway. The important town of Bruton lay nearby, but its topography made a closer approach difficult. The Wilts, Somerset And Weymouth Railway had been opened in 1856, giving Broad Gauge access to the Great Western Railway system, but the Somerset Central wanted only to get Standard Gauge access to the Dorset Central Railway and the South Coast. Parliamentary powers were sought and the standard gauge was specified, but pressure from the broad gauge B&ER – who feared loss of the feeder traffic from the line it had supported – led to a requirement to lay broad gauge and to make a junction with the Wilts Somerset and Weymouth where the lines would cross. The line from Glastonbury to Cole opened on 3 February 1862 and mixed gauge track was laid, although the required connection to the Wilts Somerset & Weymouth was never opened. Glastonbury to Highbridge and Burnham was converted to Mixed Gauge at the same time. Intermediate stations between Glastonbury and Cole were West Pennard, Pylle and Evercreech. The Dorset Central Railway Initial opening The Dorset Central Railway had started with higher ambitions than the Somerset line. Its promoters had originally intended a connection to the north via Bath, but their actual railway started more modestly. It opened on 1 November 1860 from the London And South Western Railway (L&SWR) station at Wimborne, to the important market town of Blandford. The Blandford station was south of the river Stour bridge. The line was worked by the L&SWR. This and all of the Dorset Central Railway's lines were standard gauge. Intermediate stations were at Spetisbury, and Sturminster Marshall. Northwards aspiration Seeing that its northwards destiny could best be served by an alliance with the Somerset Central Railway, it obtained powers to extend to Cole and join that railway there, and it opened part of this route, from Templecombe to Cole on 3rd February 1862, the same day that the Somerset company opened its section to Cole. There was one intermediate station, at Wincanton. All of this northern section was worked by the Somerset company. Templecombe Templecombe was a small community and its significance was the connection to London over the Salisbury & Yeovil Railway's line. The DCR trains used the Salisbury & Yeovil Railway station on the main line. The difference in levels between the two lines and the availability of land induced the company to make the physical connection facing towards Salisbury and London, and the junction was to the east of the S&YR station. The S&YR provided a track from the point of junction back to their station, and DCR trains arriving from Cole had to reverse from the junction to the S&YR station. It is unlikely at this early date that through running (without calling at Templecombe) was contemplated, and the DCR spur probably did not connect directly into the S&YR main line. Formation of the Somerset & Dorset Railway The Somerset Central Railway and the northern part of the Dorset Central Railway were worked as a single unit from the beginning, and on 1 September 1862 the two railways were amalgamated 1 by Act Of Parliament , under the title Somerset & Dorset Railway. At this time therefore, the system consisted of:
Closing the gap The new company opened the missing link from Blandford to Templecombe on 31 August 1863 , and now the original dream of a link from the English Channel to the Bristol Channel materialised. The L&SWR allowed through passenger trains to run over their line between Wimborne and Poole, reversing at Wimborne. The Somerset and Dorset company therefore operated trains from Burnham to Poole and on the branch to Wells. At this time the Poole station was on the western side of Holes Bay, at the location that ultimately became Hamworthy Goods. Intermediate stations between the point of junction at Templecombe and Blandford were Templecombe (S&DR station), Henstridge, Stalbridge, Sturminster Newton, Shillingstone and Blandford. The original connection from Cole to the Salisbury & Yeovil Railway (S&YR) had faced towards London, and the new line diverged half a mile or so north of the S&YR line, passing under it by a bridge. The S&D Templecombe station was provided between the new junction and the S&YR bridge. The opening of Sturminster Newton station prompted the renaming of the Sturminster Marshall station to Bailey Gate (after the adjacent Turnpike gate) to avoid confusion. At Blandford, a new station was built, situated more conveniently to the town, and the earlier DCR station south of the River Stour was closed. Templecombe complications Templecombe had suddenly become the most important interchange point on the system, and trains from Wimborne needed convenient access to a station. The company provided its own "Lower" station on the direct north-south line a little north of the S&YR line on the east of its own line. S&DR passengers had their own station, but the through traffic from Glastonbury and Highbridge to London was important, and would not think well of the half mile walk between the two stations. To accommodate those passengers, the S&YR operated a shuttle train service between the two stations. The diagram in Atthill's book implies tha there was no platform face on the east-facing spur, but it seems likely that a simple platform was provided to avoid a double reversal by the shuttle train (if it had to run from the DCR main line platform). This arrangement could hardly continue, but the topography of the village was challenging. The solution eventually adopted was to construct a new west-facing connection entering directly into the S&YR station. Because of the height difference it made its junction with the DCR main line some distance to the north at a new junction. The east-facing connection to the S&YR line was severed, although the spur was retained as a siding connected at the Templecombe S&DR end. At some later date, it became obvious that the S&D station to the east of its main line was almost useless, as nearly all trains called at the main (Upper) station to make connections. The Lower station was closed and a short platform, ''Templecombe Lower Platform'', was provided on the west side of the main line, adjacent to the main road. There were no facilities on it, and only the last train from Bournemouth and certain other very early or late trains used it. Bournemouth reached at last In the first half of the 19th century, Bournemouth was an insignificant Hamlet , and when a railway from London to Dorchester was being planned, no importance was attached to the coastal area. Accordingly the railway from Southampton to Dorchester cut inland to pass through the important Town s of Ringwood and Wimborne . There was a branch to the west of Holes Bay from Poole Junction (now Hamworthy) to a station called Poole, situated to the west of the bridge over the inlet. This was the "Poole" station that Somerset & Dorset trains reached over L&SWR tracks, reversing at Wimborne. This was inconvenient for the town of Poole, and the L&SWR interest built a railway to reach Poole itself from Broadstone, opening on 2 December 1872 , and through a daughter company from Poole to Bournemouth on 15 June 1874 . The Bournemouth station eventually became the ''familiar'' Bournemouth West. Somerset & Dorset trains transferred from the Hamworthy station to the new Poole station immediately, and extended to Bournemouth as soon as the extension was opened. They still had to reverse at Wimborne, as the Corfe Mullen connection did not materialise until 1885. The Bath extension In earlier times the massive Port and industrial centre of Bristol had been the northerly magnet, but in the intervening years other railways had interposed themselves. But the Midland Railway had reached Bath in 1869 and the S&DR decided to head for that destination. This had the advantage also of crossing the South Somerset coalfield. An Act Of Parliament was obtained which included running powers for the last half mile into Bath over the Midland's line, and the use of their Bath station at Queen Square. The terrain was quite different to the previous ground covered; the Somerset Central had originally crossed the Somerset Levels , and the southerly sections had followed undulating ground in river valleys. The Bath extension would involve formidable civil engineering works including several Tunnel s and lofty Viaduct s. When completed it would present long and daunting climbs at a ruling gradient of 1 in 50, and a summit high on Mendip Hills at 811 feet (274 M ). The line was completed remarkably swiftly, notwithstanding financial difficulties which involved the contractor discontinuing work for a period, and on 20 July 1874 the Bath Extension -- almost immediately thought of as the main line, was opened. There were four passenger trains each way every day; two of them carried through coaches from Birmingham to Bournemouth. Intermediate stations were at Wellow, Radstock, Chilcompton, Binegar, Masbury, Shepton Mallet, and Evercreech New. The original Evercreech station was renamed Evercreech Junction. Financial exhaustion and lease The completion of the line to Bath brought a further massive traffic increase, but the financial burden of the loans taken to build the Bath extension weighed the little company down even more, and it soon became clear that even day to day operating expenses could not be met. Atthill Robin Atthill & . ISBN 0 7153 4312 2. rightly describes the Bath extension project as an act of financial suicide. The company realised that the game was up, and sought purchasers. The GWR and the B&ER were obvious candidates, but in August 1875 a 999 year lease was abruptly agreed to the Midland Railway and the L&SWR jointly, and this was confirmed by Act Of Parliament on 13 July 1876 . The purchase price was generous, being calculated by the Midland and L&SWR as much to exclude the GWR and B&ER from Bournemouth as anything else, and the rental income enabled the S&DR company to pay its shareholders 3½%, a considerable income in those years of very low inflation. The railway route was now the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. The Joint Committee
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