BATH RAILWAY SOCIETY

President: Pete Waterman OBE DL

Chairman: John Froud    

 Email: bathrailwaysociety@gmail.com

APRIL  2026  NEWSLETTER

Dear Member,

SOCIETY MATTERS

I hope you enjoyed and found the talk by Prof. Colin Divall at the March meeting interesting. His presentation was “The Puffing Billy of the Hedgerows” politics of the Somerset & Dorset closure ca 1951-1967. This talk marked the 60th anniversary of the closure of the much-lamented line. We thank Prof. Divall for visiting us and giving his presentation.

Our next meeting will now be on Thursday April 9, when Tim Maynard presents ‘Signalling the Narrow Gauge’. Tim’s presentation will look at the signalling systems used on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways from the 1860s to the present day, from time interval to the internet. As usual, doors open at the Bath Museum of Work at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

For the competition in the February Newsletter, you had to find the names of the songs with railway connections. They answers are: Last Train to London – Electric Light Orchestra, Finchley Central – The New Vaudeville Band and Long Train Runnin - The Doobie Brothers.

NEWS ITEMS

Finally, after years of waiting, actual work is due to start this month on the reinstatement of the Portishead branch to passenger services with the line due to re-open for services in 2028. Two new stations will be provided at Portishead and Pill with services due to run through to another re-opened station at Henbury.

Could ticketless travel and satellite connectivity be coming to our rail network? This a presentation on BBC Sounds and it has very interesting content if you’ve not heard it.  The link can be found at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002s3fh

The Avon Valley Railway will be holding a Residents Weekend later this month on April 25 and 26. If you live in a BA or BS postcode, then you can enjoy half price travel all weekend. Simply take some ID with you to the booking office at Bitton Station on the day, and you will be ticked off ready for your departure! Tickets can be booked in advance at https://www.avonvalleyrailway.org/events/local-residents-weekend/

The Severn Valley Railway will be holding a Spring Steam Gala from April 16 to 19 inclusive. Locomotives due to take part are: BR 71000 ‘Duke of Gloucester’, making its first heritage railway appearance since overhaul, Port of Par Bagnall ‘Judy’, one of the smallest standard gauge steam locomotives in preservation, LMS Pug 11243, an iconic 1910-built locomotive, GWR locomotives 813, 1450, 4150, (returning to steam following restoration), 4930 ‘Hagley Hall’, 7714 and 7802 ‘Bradley Manor’. LMS 13268 and 75069 are also due to be running. Full details on SVR website.

Electro Diesel E6003 (73003) is leaving the Swindon & Cricklade Railway and moving to the Dean Forest Railway. E6003 had been on the S & CR since 2006. 

LOOKING BACK

The Snowdon Mountain Railway was officially opened on Monday April 6, 1896, and two trains were dispatched to the summit. On the first return trip down the mountain, possibly due to the weight of the train, locomotive No. 1 with two carriages lost the rack and ran out of control. The locomotive derailed and fell down the mountain. A passenger died from loss of blood after jumping from the carriage. After a miscommunication the second downward train hit the carriages of the first, with no further fatalities reported.

On April 4, 1966, 60 years ago, the film, ‘The St Trinian’s Great Train Robbery’ comedy film was on public release and became among the 15 most popular films at the British box office that year. Filmed on the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire locomotives used included WD Austerity 2-10-0 AD601 'Kitchener', "Austerity" 0-6-0ST Tank Engines, one of which was mocked up to resemble a J50 and temporarily renumbered 68961, but in reality, was WD157 ‘Constantine’, with the other one, WD196 ‘Errol Lonsdale’, painted black and given the number 68011. DEMU Class 205 number 1102, a Class 11 diesel shunter, a Wickham trolley and a hand cart. The film had many stars of the time including George Cole, Richard Wattis, Eric Barker, Michael Ripper, Raymond Huntley, Frankie Howerd, Reg Varney, Dora Bryan, Terry Scott, and Arthur Mullard. Running time of this classic film was 1hr 30m. Of the locomotives used, 196 Errol Lonsdale still survives and is preserved at the Stoomcentrum Maldegem in Belgium. The Longmoor Military Railway closed in 1969.

On April 25, 1976, the Lea Valley Railway Club ran the Royal Wessex rail tour starting at London Waterloo. The train was formed of 4 TC sets 406 and 411, plus an RMB with Class 33’s 33 103 and 33 115 in top ‘n’ tail mode. The train ran down to Andover and visited the Ludgershall branch before continuing to Salisbury and then onto Yeovil Junction. The line down to Yeovil Pen Mill was then taken where the train reversed to continue on to Maiden Newton then taking the Quay branch at Weymouth. After a run along the Quay branch, the train made its way to Wareham where it reversed to take the then remaining stub of the Swanage branch to Furzebrook. It than ran to Hamworthy for a trip down the Hamworthy branch. Returning to the main line it went into Poole Yard for a reversal which would then take it up to Broadstone and Wimborne. The final branch it visited was the line from Totton to Fawley before returning to Waterloo. Time keeping on this tour was excellent leaving Waterloo at 0811 and returning at 2149, three minutes ahead of its booked time.

MORE NEWS ITEMS

A campaign group is calling for a former Weston -Super- Mare station to be reopened. The Bristol Rail Campaign has suggested that a reopened station at Uphill could serve Weston Hospital, the Weston College’s Loxton campus, the nearby estates, and provide access to Uphill Beach and local walks. The group’s campaigns lead Christina Biggs has suggested to a North Somerset Council scrutiny panel that the council should press the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) for the funding to reopen the station, which should be provided at a slightly different location on the loop line into the town. The original station, Bleadon and Uphill, was unstaffed from November 2, 1959, and closed on October 5, 1964. For a short time, the closed station then became a small railway museum with exhibits including 0-4-0ST 1338 and a British Railways railbus. Today, the platforms still remain visible from the main line.

It has been announced that the name of the station to serve the new Aviva Arena in north Bristol will be called Bristol Brabazon. The station will be part of the Henbury loop, and it is being constructed on the site of the former North Filton station. The arena, opening in 2028, is being built on the site of the former Filton Airport. An hourly service will serve Bristol Brabazon station from Bristol Temple Meads and Henbury, calling at Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Ashley Down & Filton Abbey Wood. Services are due to start running this autumn. The two-platform station will be unstaffed, with an accessible footbridge with lifts, and journey times to/from Bristol Temple Meads will be 20 minutes.

The Rail 200 Exhibition Train will be at the West Somerset Railway (Minehead Station) from March 30 to April 4. Tickets to view the train are free and these can be booked online on the WSR website.

From April 1, passengers will be able to claim Delay Repay directly from wherever they buy their rail tickets. This will mean it will be quicker and easier to apply for compensation. Currently, passengers have to contend with a complex system across the 14 different train operating companies. These plans are part of the government’s plans to simplify the railways and ensure passengers are treated fairly when travelling. Compensation claim systems for delayed trains will be merged into one easy-to-use service under Great British Railways (GBR).

MEMBERS CONTRIBUTION 

The Road Train by Stuart Fisher

A year ago, my wife and I joined a rail enthusiasts' holiday to the extreme northeast corner of Spain. Disappointingly, rail excursions were less frequent than opportunities to explore the coastal town, which did not have a railway.

With an afternoon to fill, we decided on a road train trip. You know the sort of thing, trundling along the prom with screaming kids dripping ice cream, the engine having begun life as a Triumph Herald or equivalent.

This one was a bit different, a two-hour trip with a couple of carriages and the engine powered by a JCB unit.

We set off up the steep hill away from the bay, weaving between cars parked thoughtfully on alternate sides of the narrow road. Soon we left the buildings behind as we continued to climb into a national park.

The driver stopped to unlock a barrier, which he then locked behind us before we progressed up a gravel track through a vineyard, an operation that was to be repeated further up.

At one point we stopped to admire the view over the Med. We did not get out as we were parallel to the top of a vertical cliff and less than a metre from it.

Eventually we reached a dome at the very top of this part of the Pyrenees, built in the 1950s by the Americans and housing air traffic control for the western end of the Mediterranean, a fair proportion of which could be seen from here. We retreated a decent distance and then disembarked as the thin biscuits and wine glasses were unpacked and we were plied with something fairly potent.

The return journey was rather quicker. We were soon onto a trunk road and having no problem keeping up with the cars and lorries as they belted down the hill, still with our two carriages.

Our other experience of road trains on this trip was rather more familiar, a rail replacement bus for the start of our journey home as the TGV could not run, the southwest of Europe experiencing a monumental power cut.

Thank you, Stuart, for sending in your interesting experience with the road train.

Next time we will have a two-part members contribution by Colin Maggs taking a cab ride on the old Blue Pullman train from Bristol to London.

COMPETITION

As mentioned earlier in the Newsletter, the film ‘The Great St. Trinian’s Robbery’ was released on April 6, 1966. In this month’s competition you have find the names of three of the characters portrayed in the film by rearranging the letters. No prizes given, its all for fun and answers in the next newsletter.

     * LHSAF YRHAR *     * RMAEB PTOTDOSISOW *     * IRS ECRHOA *

MORE NEWS ITEMS

The Swanage Railway is hosting its first Model Railway Weekend on Saturday April 11 and Sunday 12. There will be different scales and gauges to see over the two-day event, with layouts and displays along the railway at Swanage Station, Harmans Cross Station and Village Hall, Corfe Castle Station and Norden Station. There will also be a range of traders to see at Swanage and Corfe Castle Stations as well as Harmans Cross Village Hall. Combined entry and travel tickets will be available on the day and they are available from the website. The exhibition is free for all passengers with travel tickets including the Village Hall, or a separate £5 entry ticket to the Village Hall will be available on the day for those without a travel ticket.

 https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/view/model-railway-weekend

The Bentley Model Railway Group are holding the next Calne Model Railway Show (the thirtieth) at the Calne Community Campus, White Horse Way, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0SP on the same dates. There are 18 layouts booked with the same number of trade stands. Adult entrance is £8.

At the Avon Valley Railway, their wagon group are restoring a GWR four plank open wagon. They hope to have the underframe of 52243, which was built between 1886 and 1902, finished by the end of the summer. It is only one of three survivors of its type remaining, and it will require a new body to be constructed. At the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway a 1948 built Esso four-wheel tank wagon has been restored off site. Number 2806 was taken from the railway in late 2025 and has been shot blasted, primed and repainted by a local contractor. Before returning to the railway, sign writing will be undertaken.

At the Severn Valley Railway, their oldest carriage, Churchward Third 2426 is slowly being restored to its former glory. It entered traffic on January 22, 1910, and was withdrawn May 1952 then being converted into a camping coach on the Cambrian Coast. For this all the compartments were removed including the two lavatories, being replaced with two large bedrooms, a kitchen area, and living area. Now all but one of the eight compartments has been reinstated along with both lavatory walls. In addition, internal doors, seat bases, backs and vestibule ceilings have been manufactured or refurbished. No date has been given when the restored coach will enter traffic.

Bedlington Station on the Northumberland line was due to open on March 29. It is the final station on the Newcastle to Ashington line to be opened, with usage far exceeding expectations with over 920,000 using the line in the first year. Other routes reopened have also passed predicted usage, so hopefully this is a good sign for the Portishead line.

At the East Lancs Railway, the remaining Class 15, D8233 was successfully reunited with its refurbished bogies at the beginning of February after a period of six years. It had stood on temporary DMU Class 101 bogies. Whilst it was lifted, attention was also undertaken on works on the underside of the loco.

The Western Locomotive Association, based at Kidderminster, is aiming to return D1013 Western Ranger to traffic on February 26, 2027.  This would be 50 years to the day it took part in the Western Tribute farewell rail tour with D1023 Western Fusilier. It is 16 years since D1013 last ran.

Birmingham’s Camp Hill Line is to reopen to passenger traffic. Stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road - will open on Tuesday April 7. The line originally closed to passenger services in 1941, as was subsequently only used for freight and diversionary workings.

Local musician, Peter Gabriel, who owns the New World Studios at Box, released a song in February- “Put the Bucket Down”. It has a train beat and some references to trains and ends with 3 lines of: “It’s Box Tunnel ‘round the bend”.

LOOKING FORWARD

Our next meeting is on May 7, when Colin Brading presents the Liverpool Overhead Railway.

Bob Bunyar

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