Great Western Coffee Shop

Hi All
Just joined the forum as i have an interest in the S&D.
We live in the "Crossing Cottage" at Lamyatt. I was interested to notice the photo of my house here on the forum. On a point of interest, the original Crossing Cottage is still standing. I built around it and it is still inside of the new house. The cottage was originally 12ft x 12ft. One up and one down with a small outhouse built on the end furthest away from the road. It was extended with another 12ft x 12ft built on the end. This was how it stood when we bought it. Coal was dropped off from the passing trains. Water was supplied in churns from Evercreech Junction to both Lamyatt and Bruton Road Cottages.
There is still some of the track left here. it runs from Crossing Cottage to the Naterjack Inn next to the old Evercreech junction station. It is very overgrown now. The photo that i have attached is of Lamyatt Crossing Cottage sometime in the 1960's. The gates have been smashed by a local lady in her car. She had washed the car, got water in the brakes and could not stop. We came here in 1984 and have extended the property as you can see from Lukes photo. I notice that several people like to do walks or rides in this area. If anyone needs somewhere to park then we would be pleased to help. We have lots of space here. We also have a friend who has extensive knowledge of the S&D in this area and couldprovide information. If anyone has any photos of this neck of the woods i would appreciate to know. The other Crossing Cottage next along the line towards Cole Station from here was called Bruton Road Crossing. In latter years Mr and Mrs Box lived there. It was demolished as it had no water supply, no drainage and i don't think any electricity.
If you woant to contact me further my email address is gerald@rightway.biz
Hopefully the photo will be attached!!
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What I'd now like to do is to combine any previous posts on the subject of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust here - rather as we have done previously, with other heritage lines and their aspirations to expand their services.

Please bear with me, while I do a bit more shunting on the forum!  ;D

...But Michael Eavis, Glastonbury founder, said it would be "impossible" to have a "train coming through the site now".

Film-makers re-discover footage of last train to run on infamous railway

(http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/920356/stream_img.jpg)
Half a century has passed since this film was made by Bob and John.
Photo: ITV West Country

It's exactly 50 years ago that the old Somerset and Dorset Railway was closed, after it fell victim to the Beeching cuts, which saw thousands of miles of tracks pulled up and stations removed as the rail network was restructured in the 1960s.

Two ITV Westcountry viewers, who were teenagers at the time, filmed one of the final journeys on cine cameras, and they've been kind enough to share this never-before-broadcast footage.

(http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/920357/stream_img.jpg)
John was on board the train, filming out of the window. They've only now released the footage. Credit: ITV West Country

Half a century has passed since the film was made, but the memories of that day in 1966 are as fresh as they ever were for Bob Drew and John Harding, school friends in Somerset who set out to record a moment in history.

John was on board the train, filming out of the window whilst Bob was on a bridge at the station to film it leaving and then arriving a few stops down the track, at least that was the plan.

"I jumped into my father's old Austin A40 Somerset and went racing around the roads, hoping to get to Shapwick station before the train got there but, in fact, we didn't quite make that and John, in his excitement I think, forgot to get off!

So I then raced around to Catcott station, where he had got off."

^ BOB DREW, AMATEUR FILMAKER

The old Somerset and Dorset Railway, nicknamed the Slow and Dirty, carried hoards of summer season visitors from towns in the north from Bath down to Bournemouth.

(http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/920372/stream_img.jpg)

There was a branch line from Evercreech Junction across to Highbridge and Burnham on Sea where it picked up Bristol Channel steamer traffic. There were stations along the way at tiny rural spots like Pylle, West Pennard, Edington and Bason Bridge.

(http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/920376/stream_img.jpg)

The line ran through some picturesque countryside, and right across what is now the site of the Glastonbury Festival.

The track bed is still there and serves as a useful thoroughfare for festival goers, especially when the surrounding fields get muddy.

In the spot where Shapwick station once stood, there nothing more these days than a rather good place for birdwatching - it's a nature reserve. Its railway days are long gone.

The cine film the duo used cost about ^4 a reel in those days - a lot of money when you were only earning about ^7 or ^8 a week - so you had to be careful what you filmed.

John and Bob chose to film this train journey and managed to preserve the memory of this so-called golden age for the future.

The Lost Railway – celebrating and remembering the Somerset & Dorset Railway
 Green Park Station, Green Park Road, Bath, BA1
 7.30 – 9pm. Free
 The Lost Railway is an outdoor show commemorating and celebrating the rich heritage
 of the Somerset and Dorset Railway and its closure in 1966.  An event for all ages, ‘The
 Lost Railway’ celebrates the S&D in light, sound, song, music and performance. The
 show is for audiences to watch, wander in and lose themselves in. Starting around
 dusk, the show lights up places that once part of or near the railways route, Green Park
 station and the depot that was once alongside it was the terminus of the line. The show
 features performers, live band, lighting effects, mobile tower, songs and stories and has
 been created by the company Rag and Bone. For this Bath performance the company is
 working with the Natural Theatre Company.

 The Lost Railway is not a history lesson, but an evening tale evoking the life, sounds,
 stories and closure of an important feature of the life of Bath and Somerset.
 Lost Railway is inspired by the many stories of the railway, the awesome power of
 steam, the magic of railway lines and journeys through the landscape. The show
 immerses people in the evocative sounds of the railway and creates a railway line of
 light into a lost past

 The Somerset and Dorset Railway was a key sight and sound in the west, and an
 important part of the economic and social fabric of the counties. Its trains last ran in March 1966. The memory of the railway, its equipment, archives, rolling stock and even
 trains was revived and treasured by the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust
 The Lost Railway is part of a series of events commemorating the closure of the
 Railway line. The show has been created by the outdoor performance company Rag
 and Bone and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
www.rag-bone.org (http://www.rag-bone.org)
www.sdrt.org (http://www.sdrt.org)
naturaltheatre.co.uk (http://naturaltheatre.co.uk)

ACTION REQUIRED TO SAVE S&D TRACK BED FROM DEVELOPMENT!

A planning application has be submitted for the development of former S&D infrastructure at Pitcombe. Objections need to be lodged by 5th September.

BANES & Mendip councils have protected S&D trackbed from further development, South Somerset Council currently doesn't.

Can everyone please contact South Somerset Council an lodge and objection to the planning application. Objections can be made on the website (www.southsomerset.gov.uk),
Quoting ref: 18/01820/OUT.

Reason for objection can be based around protection of former S&D trackbed for future strategic transportation use.

Plans to completely redevelop the Midsomer Norton railway station have been officially submitted after an initial proposal was put forward.

The proposal included micro-brewery space, commercial units and apartments as part of an attempt to overhaul the railway station, which currently houses a museum and small cafe and the neighbouring land is a nature reserve.

Plans have now been officially submitted and are being considered by the local planning authority according to the company behind the proposal.

Joseph Marchant, the director of Context Logic, recently met with Midsomer Norton mayor Paul Myers and other town councillors to discuss the plans.