BATH RAILWAY SOCIETY

President: Pete Waterman OBE DL

Chairman: John Froud    

 Email: bathrailwaysociety@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER  2026  NEWSLETTER

70th Anniversary Year of Bath Railway Society

Dear Member,

SOCIETY MATTERS

We resume our meetings for our 2026/27 season on Thursday September 3, at the Museum of Bath at Work, when we welcome back for a third time, Stephen Gay. Stephen is from the Sheffield area, and he will be taking us on a journey to see ‘Scenic Britain by Train’.  He is a very entertaining presenter, and this first meeting of the season is one not to be missed! We look forward to seeing you back, 7pm for 7.30pm start. Programme cards for the season will be available at the meeting.

Subscriptions for the 2026/27 season are now due. If you would like to pay your subscription (£22) in advance of the September meeting, it can be done by bank transfer to Bath Railway Society NatWest Account No. 79725570, Sort Code 55-70-31. Please include your name in the reference box. This is our preferred method of payment. If you can only pay by cheque, these can now be accepted, and you can make payment at the September meeting.

NEWS ITEMS

The North Dorset Railway, based at Shillingstone Station, has been granted the required permissions to run passenger trains by the Office of Road and Rail, and they have now been added to the ORR website as a Heritage railway.  This will enable the NDR to run trains between the extended track and embankment at Cattle Creep, over Lamb House Bridge to the station and, also if they extend to Holloway Lane.  It will probably be next year before they start opening to the public on a regular basis. A four-wheel Wickham rail bus arrived at the railway in June. It was not originally built for passenger carrying as it was in Departmental service as Laboratory No. 20.  When it entered preservation, it was fitted with 48 seats at its former home on the Lavender Line in East Sussex. Work will start on its restoration at the NDR next spring. Initially it will be used as hauled stock, but the ultimate aim will be to have it in full working order as a self-propelled unit.

Open access operator Grand Central has submitted plans to the Office of Rail and Road to operate a service from Bristol Temple Meads to London Waterloo, which would mirror the services once operated by South Western Railway which ceased running in 2021. No specific motive power or frequency has been stated, but trains would call at Bath Spa, Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster, Salisbury and Clapham Junction. However, this application may not get the go ahead as the ORR has recently refused Alliance Rail’s plans for a service from Marchwood to London Waterloo siting one of the problems being capacity on the South Western main line into Waterloo, (See Page 6 below regarding their new application). If it does get approved, Grand Central would like to start running the service from the timetable change in December 2027.

Construction of the road to serve a new station at Wellington (Somerset) has commenced coming off the existing Nynehead Road where construction of new houses by Bloor Homes is taking place. Network Rail has stated that the new station at Wellington will be built at the same time as one for Cullompton in Devon. Both stations will be part of Devon Metro services and should be open by late 2028.

LOOKING BACK

On September 25, 1976, 50 years ago, the Oxford Railway Society organised the Bristol Area Branch Line Tour using a six car DMU. The tour started at Reading and ran up to Oxford where it reversed. It then ran via Foxhall Jn, Swindon, Bradford Jn North, Bradford Jn West, Bathampton Jn, Bristol Temple Meads and Parson Street Jn to travel down the Portishead branch. Returning from Portishead it traversed Bristol West Jn and the line past St. Philip's Marsh to North Somerset Jn and Dr Days Jn to Stapleton Road to diverge to Avonmouth, Hallen Marsh Jn, Filton West Jn, Westerleigh West Jn, Yate Middle and the line to Tytherington Quarry. It then headed north to cover the Sharpness branch and the Gloucester Docks line before returning to Oxford and Reading via Birmingham New Street, Small Heath, Tyseley, Hatton – Warwick and Banbury. The tour managed to keep relatively well to its booked times and arrived back at Reading at 2117, just 12 minutes late.

On Sunday September 18, 1966, 60 years ago, British Railways organised a special train to take prospective bidders for the job of lifting the closed Somerset & Dorset line to see what task would be before them. The train ran over the connecting spur from the GWR line to the S & D at Radstock before setting cautiously off for Evercreech Junction stopping enroute to look closely at specific places. This was the first train to travel over the route since March that year and was hauled by Hymek diesel D7039 with a collection of various flat wagons in tow plus a brake van.  It did not go any further than Evercreech Junction returning back to Radstock. It would not then be long before the cutters torches were at work!

MORE NEWS ITEMS

Richard Burningham MBE has retired as Manager of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, based at the University of Plymouth.  Before joining the Partnership, Richard spent fifteen years with British Rail, starting in the ticket office at Leatherhead in Surrey at a young age. He managed the Travel Centres at Barnstaple and Bath Spa, was a press officer for the Southern Region and spent six years as Public Relations Officer for the South West Division of Network SouthEast, now South Western Railway.   While at Bath Spa Richard founded the original ‘Friends of Oldfield Station Group’ and was instrumental in improving services there. He started with the Rail Partnership in April 1998, working with his small team to promote the use of the branch lines and the places they serve, improve train services and station facilities and to link the community and the railway. He was awarded the MBE for “Services to the rail industry in the South West” in the 2010 New Year Honours. He was the Community Rail Partnerships organisation’s first Vice Chair, served as Chair between 2018 and 2022 and remains a member of the Board. Away from railways, Richard is a lifelong fan of Brentford Town football club.

The Severn Valley Railway are holding an Autumn Steam Gala from September 17 to 20. Guest locomotives will be 41313 from the Isle of Wight Railway and 9681 from the Dean Forest Railway plus 5526 and 80097. Home fleet locomotives due to appear will be 813, 4930 Hagley Hall, 7714, 13268 and 75069. All being well, nearly restored 4150 will also be taking part. An intensive timetable between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth will be in operation. Full details on the SVR website.

The Swanage Railway is holding a Steam Gala from Friday September 11 to Sunday 13. Home fleet locomotives due to be participating will be U Class 31806, Battle of Britain Class 34070 "Manston", 34072 "257 Squadron" and LSWR T3 Class 563. Special guest locomotive attending the event will be A1 Class 60163 "Tornado" owned by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. New for the Gala will be Full Line Brake Van Rides from Swanage to the boundary with Network Rail at Frome River Bridge and back. This service is currently planned to run at intervals throughout the day, including an early morning departure before other passenger trains are running! Some passenger services will also be running beyond Norden to Frome River Bridge. See the Railway’s website for full details and advanced booking.

The new eastern entrance to Bristol Temple Meads Station will open to the public on Monday September 7, at 4pm. It is part of a £23m project to improve access to the St Philips Marsh area and the east side of the city, and is a key part of the wider Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration programme.

Inside the station there was a memorial plaque to Dandy the dog, a spaniel who wandered in as a stray in 1923 and was adopted by the station staff. It is not known if the plaque is still there. The Station Master in 1935 was Charles Jobbins, and two signalman who manned Weston Signal Box are believed to be George Nunn and James Toop. There is little information about other staff at the station, does anyone know anything, names etc.?

Bath was added to the station name on October 1, 1934, to avoid any confusion with Weston Super Mare’s station name. In the 1930’s, Weston was served by 10 ‘up’ and 12 ‘down’ services, with no trains on a Sunday.

During WW II, it is believed that between August and October 1944, a US Hospital Train (44th) was stabled in the siding at Weston Station, but no further information has been found relating to this.

With increasing competition from the Bath Omnibus services, passenger numbers at Weston declined, and the station was closed to passenger traffic from September 21, 1953, but it remained open as a goods station until this finally closed from November 29, 1965. The Locksbrook Timber Wharf private siding had closed during 1962 and the one that served the Bath Brewery closed during 1968.

The line through Weston station closed to passenger traffic from March 7, 1966, but it remained open for freight to serve Bath Midland Yard and Bath Gas Works. On Friday March 11, the last working steam locomotive passed through the station. This was Pannier Tank 3681 hauling dead 3758 which were working from Bath Shed to Bristol Bath Road for storage and potential preservation for use on the Clevedon branch, but this did not proceed and they were both scrapped at Cashmore’s Yard in Newport.  Whilst in Bristol they did appear at an open day at the diesel depot.

From September 12 that year, both lines through the station were downgraded to long sidings and the signal box finally closed from May 5, 1968, after which the train crew had to work the level crossing gates. An attempt was made to purchase and preserve the signal box, but this did not come to fruition, and it was demolished. The line was also singled at this time, and it finally closed to all goods traffic from May 31, 1971, when the Bath gas works closed.  Wagons were then stored at Bath’s Midland Yard and this lasted until 1972, when the final closure took place with effect from April 20, with the remaining wagons being removed for scrapping by a Class 25 diesel (does anyone know the number), without little ceremony, although detonators were exploded on the track by the departing train!  

Track lifting commenced from the Midland Yard end on May 8, with a firm from Scunthorpe firm using hired shunter D3517, and wagons, and the line through Weston Station was finally removed after nearly 103 years of use! Much of the flat bottom rail recovered from the track lifting was used to relay the former Thornbury branch from Yate to Tytherington quarry. (This branch line will be the subject of a talk to the Society on March 4, 2027).

The station buildings at Weston became derelict, but they were subsequently refurbished and used by Bath FM, a local radio station. When this ceased broadcasting, it became offices, its present-day use. 

Below: A view of the station from a passing train in 1965 heading for Bath.

If you have a story to tell, please do send it in to the email address on the front page or to bob.bunyar@outlook.com 

We look forward to hearing from you.

COMPETITION / PUZZLE / QUIZ

‘Another Time, Another Place’ is a 1958 melodrama film, in black and white, directed by Lewis Allen and starring Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns, Sean Connery, Sidney James and more. The final scenes of the film involved the use of a train filmed at a Cornish railway station. It is quoted that “never had the tiny train arrived and departed from the station so many times in one day”, due to the number of ‘takes’ required. Apparently, the driver, fireman and guard certainly enjoyed the experience! The question is, which Cornish station was this final scene filmed at? No prizes given, it’s just for fun!

FURTHER NEWS ITEMS

Oxfordshire County Council is to make a £14.5M shortfall contribution towards the reopening of the branch line to Cowley for passenger services. The cost of the whole project is estimated to be £115M, with Network Rail funding the majority of the work. Two stations will be provided on the line at Littlemore and Cowley, which is now only used by freight trains to the Morris Cowley car plant. The line is expected to open for passenger traffic during 2029.

Engineering works will affect all train services via Chippenham on September 12 &13 with replacement road transport planned between Chippenham and Bath Spa, Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury. On September 12, some trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads, plus services between Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads, will run via Badminton, and will not serve either Chippenham or Bath Spa. Other services between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads will also be diverted via the Berks & Hants line, not serving Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Chippenham, but these will stop at Bath Spa. On Sunday September 13, all services between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads will use an alternative route, not stopping at Chippenham, with these services also extending to/from Bath Spa. Do check if you intend travelling that weekend.

Wilton Railex 2026 takes place on Saturday 19 September 2026 at the Michael Herbert Hall, South Street, Wilton near Salisbury. This model railway show is organised by the Salisbury and South Wilts Railway Society and will be open from 10am - 4.30pm. There will be a range of club and guest layouts, traders and a garden railway, which is just an 8-minute walk from the venue. Admission: Adults £5.00.

The North Dorset Railway, Shillingstone, Model Rail Show takes place on Saturday, September 26, 2026.  The show is at the railway station and the Church Centre, which is 300m from the station. The station is open as normal, cafe, museum, signal box, Gardens etc. There will be at least 12 layouts across both locations, utilising carriages/wagons at the station. Accessible parking will be available at the station. Admission prices for the model railway exhibition are Adults £6, Families £10 and under 16's free.

The Avon Valley Railway is holding a Festival of Transport on September 26 and 27 at Bitton Station, featuring vintage vehicles, cycles and entertainment. On both days there will be Vintage vehicles on display, an Intensive timetable of steam and heritage diesel train services, Heritage bus service from Keynsham railway station overflow car park, the Austin 7 Club, Trade stands and Classic railway and transport films in their static carriage ‘Rose’. Full details o the AVR website.

On September 25, you can enjoy a 100% Beef burger and chips + a drink, while travelling up and down the East Somerset Railway from Cranmore. The event runs from 1800 to 2000 using the railway’s DMU.  Beer, cider or soft drink choices available and vegetarian and gluten free food options are available. See the railway’s website for further details and to make bookings.

On Saturday September 12, Vintage Trains are running ‘The Mayflower’ which originates at Birmingham Snow Hill with diesel haulage to Bristol Temple Meads. Here Castle Class locos, 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and 7029 Clun Castle take the train on to Plymouth. After turning, servicing, and break, they return the special to Bristol Temple Meads where diesel haulage takes over back to Birmingham. The train does pick-up and set down passengers locally at Bristol Parkway and Temple Meads.

The Swanage Railway has been awarded £249,000 by the National Lottery for the adaptation of two Mk1 carriages for their Accessible Coaches Project, although further fund raising is still required.

Oxfordshire County Council has now commissioned consultants to 'explore the possibility' of a a new train connection, between Carterton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford. The scheme was first mooted by West Oxfordshire District Council in 2025 who explored the possibility of the transport link in a study which found it could be 'economically viable'. Charlie Maynard, MP for Witney has thrown his weight behind a campaign to rebuild the line as it would help solve gridlock on the A40 and cater for an influx of new housing developments. Passenger services finished on the original branch line from June 18, 1962, and to freight from November 2, 1970. Meanwhile in Oxfordshire, during the annual summer close down of the BMW factory at Cowley, Network Rail were taking advantage of no car trains running. This meant engineers could start preparations for the reintroduction of passenger services over the branch, scheduled for 2029. The project to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers and build two new stations was approved last October and current estimates are putting the cost at £155m.

Go-op, who had planned originally to run an open access service from Taunton to Swindon via Westbury and Melksham have now re-submitted an application to run services from Taunton to Westbury and Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads via Weston Super Mare. Their original plans, which did get approval from the ORR, have now lapsed as they could not raise the £3m funding required. They hope that their new proposals, if approved, will raise the money required. They plan to use current off-lease 769 units.

After a four year wait, the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh has finally been given permission by the local Teignbridge Council to construct new locomotives restoration facilities at Buckfastleigh.

The Bluebell Railway is holding a diesel gala to celebrate 40 years of Network Southeast from September 4 to 6. Locomotives taking place will include 50 026 ‘Indomitable’, 03 179 ‘Clive’, 33 108, 31 108 and E6040 ‘The Bluebell Railway’. More guest locomotives are expected to be announced.

The Totton to Marchwood line (Waterside Line) in Hampshire could now reopen for passenger services in 2027 under Alliance Trains (Grand Union). The service would build on a recent comprehensive study that looked at re-opening the line to transform the connectivity of this important region close to the New Forest. Alliance’s original application to start a service to Southampton and London Waterloo was rejected by the Rail Regulator in May/June 2026. However, a number of errors were noted in that decision and following meetings with the ORR to address those issues, a new application, with a slightly revised service pattern, has been re-submitted. If approved, the operator would look to re-open other parts of the Waterside Line towards Hythe and Fawley in a phased approach to its development. The service will again use fully refurbished Class 769 units that will also have a re-configured interior, offering both standard and first-class accommodation. The line is currently only used by the occasional MOD train to/from the Marchwood Military Port. You can watch a trip from Southampton to Fawley from the cab of a Hastings Unit at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ORQUzn4KLk

Although a provisional date of Friday July 3 had been announced by GWR for the opening of the new Okehampton Interchange station, this was not the case, as it finally opened to public services on Saturday August 1. The day before, the official opening ceremony took place attended by representatives from Network Rail, Great Western Railway, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council. The entrance to the 201-space car park is from Exeter Road and is close to the dual carriageway A30. There are 3 car park ticket machines and the cost for parking is £2 a day. The covered footbridge has a lift to provide step free access to the middle of the single platform which also has a covered stairway, travel ticket machine and passenger information displays. Meanwhile, the two miles of line from Okehampton town station up to Meldon Quarry is still awaiting being upgraded by Network Rail for stone traffic to commence.

The Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway are staging a Model Railway Exhibition on Saturday and Sunday, September 26 & 27. There will be 45 layouts attending, featuring many gauges + trade stands. The event takes place at Toddington and Winchcombe stations with steam trains and a diesel shuttle service operating. See www.gwsr.comb for further details

There will be a rare opportunity on Saturday and Sunday, September 19 & 20, to step onto the former Cannington Viaduct on the old Axminster to Lyme Regis branch line, which closed in 1965.  The ‘Revisit the Viaduct’ event will feature guided walks from Uplyme Village Hall taking in a round route of about two miles, some of which will be uphill. The event is free, and advance booking is required. Donations on the day would however be appreciated. Full details of the walks and booking details can be found at :

https://fortheloveofarailway.co.uk/viaduct#:~:text=Saturday%2019%20%26%20Sunday%2020,Regis%20Railway%20closed%20in%201965.

An Autumn steam Gala will take place at the Didcot Railway Centre from September 11 to 13 with special guest loco ‘The Coffeepot’ from the Flour Mill Works. See the DRC website for further details.

A new West Wales to Bristol Temple Meads service operated by Transport for Wales could begin in December this year, but they may only operate for one year. Nine services a day are planned but with demand on the use of the Severn Tunnel increasing from December 2027, TfW is likely to only be given two timetable periods to operate the services. Pressure on the use of the Severn Tunnel will increase from December 2027 when Lumo’s new Carmarthen to London Paddington services is due to commence and the number of steel carrying trains is also likely to increase when the new electric arc furnace comes into use at Port Talbot in late 2027/early 2028.

The penultimate opening of the Gartell Railway for the public will be on Sunday September 27. As previously announced, the railway will be closing at the end of October for public events but may remain a little longer for special private openings. Situated near Templecombe, the railway uses a section of track bed of the former Somerset & Dorset line. The last public opening will be on Sunday October 25, and this includes a model railway exhibition.

The Seaton Tramway in Devon has launched a public appeal to raise the final £37,000 needed towards a £92,000 extension to its Riverside Depot in Seaton. This will enable it to add another three trams to its fleet providing more accessible access. The tramway operates from Seaton to Colyford and Colyton along the Axe Valley and is built on the track bed of the old branch line from Seaton Junction on the Waterloo to Exeter line which closed from March 7, 1966.

The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway will be staging an ‘Industrial Steam of South Wales II’ gala from September 25 to 27. Full details on their website.

The Severn Valley Railway is running an eight-week Bewdley Express commuter trial, starting on September 1. The new service will connect passengers from Bewdley with the main line at Kidderminster, opening up the possibility of a direct rail commute to Birmingham, Worcester and other locations. There will be two morning departures from Bewdley at 6.40am and 7.40am, with corresponding return services in the late afternoon and early evening. The project will assess demand for improved rail connections between Bewdley and the wider West Midlands network, and if successful, it could become permanent and support the case for selected West Midlands Railway services to be extended beyond Kidderminster to Bewdley in the future. The service will mostly be provided using the SVR’s DMU, but steam might be used on the odd occasion.

To support the installation of two new signal gantries at the Charfield Station site in South Gloucestershire, overnight piling works will take place on Saturday nights between 10.30pm and 7am this month on September 5 and 12, the latter as a contingency date. This work has to be done during overnight line closures when no trains are running.

The Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton will be offering rides in their Wickham Trolley on Wednesdays September 2, 9 & 16. The ride takes you from the station up to the end of the current running line. Adult tickets £6.  See their website for full details and bookings.

Museum of Bath at Work

At our meeting venue on Friday, September 11 at 6.30 pm (doors open 6pm), there will be a screening of the film ‘Persuasion’ (1995 version) starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, with Fiona Shaw, Samuel West and Simon Russell Beale. Tickets are £10 on the door, but you can secure a seat for free via Eventbrite, using the Museum’s website.

Tuesday September 15 is free entry day at the Museum as it participates in the annual Heritage Open Days festival. There will be a talk on the history of cinemas in Bath, and two daytime screenings of shorts and documentaries relating to the city.

The Museum is open every day Monday – Sunday until October 31, 10.30am – 5.00pm with the last admission at 4.00pm. Details of events at the Museum can be found at https://museumofbath.org/

LOOKING FORWARD

Our next meeting will be on Thursday October 1 at 7.30pm when we welcome Chris Austin who will be telling us, ‘Tales from the West Somerset Railway’.  Please remember, subscriptions are now due and if you have a story to tell for the ‘Members Contribution section of the newsletter. please do send it in. 

Bob Bunyar

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