Somerset & Dorset Railway
| Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| Status | Disused |
| Locale |
Somerset Dorset |
| Termini |
Bath Green Park Bournemouth West Bridgwater North Burnham-on-Sea |
| Stations | 48 |
| Services | Bath to Bournemouth, Bridgwater to Bournemouth, Burnham to Bournemouth |
| Operation | |
| Closed | 7 March 1966 |
| Owner |
Midland Railway and L&SWR; LMS and Southern Railway |
| Depot(s) | Highbridge Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works; Bournemouth Depot |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 183 km (114 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Single and double track |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Old gauge | 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge |
| Highest elevation | 247 m (810 ft) |
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire, with a branch from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater. Strictly speaking, the main line ran from Bath Junction to Broadstone, as the line between Broadstone and Bournemouth was owned by the London and South Western Railway, while the line between Bath Junction and Bath was owned by the Midland Railway. It was never a high speed line: its winter business was carrying freight and local passenger traffic over the Mendips, but in the summer season the S&D came into its own, carrying a heavy service of Saturday holiday trains from northern towns to Bournemouth. It was often referred to as "the Slow and Dirty", or sometimes "the Slow and Doubtful", but it always commanded a considerable loyalty from railway enthusiasts, and when it closed in 1966 it was widely mourned.
The Somerset and Dorset Railway (S&D) was created in 1862, as an amalgamation of the Somerset Central Railway and the Dorset Central Railway. By the following year, it ran from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset to Wimborne in Dorset. From Wimborne, the S&D trains could use a line owned by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) to reach Hamworthy on the South Coast. It was anticipated that substantial traffic would be attracted to this cross-country link between the Bristol Channel and the English Channel. When this failed to materialise, the Company, which was already in dire financial straits, decided to gamble everything on one last desperate bid for increased traffic, and built an extension from Evercreech Junction to Bath to join up with the Midland Railway. This new line provided a through route with the Midlands and the North of England, and the South Coast. It managed to produce a substantial increase in traffic, but too late to save the Company, which went into receivership and in 1875 it became jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the L&SWR, upon which it was renamed the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR). After the 1 January 1923 Grouping, joint ownership of the S&DJR passed to the LMS and the Southern Railway.
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