Somerset and Dorset Preview

The R C Riley Archive 1955 -

by Jeffery Grayer

& DORSET’

The R C ‘Dick’ Riley Archive 1955 - 1965: Vol 2 Compiled by Jeffery Grayer

This page: 2P No. 40698 has charge of a four coach up local service from Templecombe to Bath and is crossing Midford viaduct prior to the stop at Midford station. This view was taken from the trackbed of the former GWR branchline from Limpley Stoke to Camerton and Hallatrow a section of which rose to prominence as the backdrop to the Ealing comedy film ‘The Titfield Thunderbolt’ filmed on the line in 1952. Track was removed from the branch in 1958. The viaduct not only crossed this former branchline but also a road, a small river, the Cam Brook, as well as the formation of the former Somerset Coal Canal. Two thirds of the way across the viaduct from Midford station the gradient changed from 1 in 330 down to 1 in 60 up. 6/7/59. RCR 13734.

Opposite top: Heading south off the eight arches of the 168 yard long Midford viaduct is double chimneyed Standard Class 4 No 75072 of Green Park depot. The track over the viaduct as far as the signalbox was doubled from Wellow in 1892 but the start of the single line section was moved back 98 yards south of the signalbox in April 1933 as part of a general programme to improve speed restrictions on the line. The facing points were re-sited south along the viaduct thereby raising the speed restriction for up trains from 20 mph to 40 mph which of course assisted locomotives in getting a good run at the gradient up to Combe Down tunnel. In addition to the small goods yard to the north of the station there was a siding situated on the up side of the line just off the picture to the left controlled by Midford B ground frame. This was used only very occasionally and then usually for traffic or engineering purposes, it was taken out of use by the end of 1959. 6/7/59. RCR 13751.

Copies of the images within this volume (along with tens of thousands of others on UK, Irish and some European railways) are available direct from The Transport Treasury.

This page: 4F No. 44102 has just emerged from Chilcompton tunnel with the 4:15 pm local service from Templecombe to Bath. The coaching stock comprises three green liveried Maunsell corridor coaches, a usual rake at this time. The 4Fs were more suited to goods than passenger work and crews found them rather rough riding as well as being prone to overheating of their axleboxes. The 4:15 pm from Templecombe called at all stations except Masbury and arrived in Bath at 5:59 pm. In the summer of 1960 the local stopping services on the line, as opposed to the through express services and the through trains from Bristol and Bath to Bournemouth, comprised some five southbound workings leaving Bath at 8:15 am, 1;10 pm, 3:20 pm, 4:37 pm and 10:25 pm plus a short working departing at 6:05 pm which terminated at Binegar plus three northbound workings leaving Templecombe at 7:00 am, 12:00 am, and 4:15 pm. 9/7/60. RCR 14950.

Opposite top: Standard Class 4 No. 75027 pilots West Country No. 34041 Wilton in charge of a nine coach train which carries no reporting number so unfortunately it is not possible to identify the particular service. Two photographers also capture the spectacle, one by the lineside in the foreground and one almost hidden by the large bush a few yards up the track. The two locomotives are forging up the straight section and have just entered the deep cutting which led to Chilcompton tunnel. Following closure thousands of tons of backfilling with household rubbish and builders' rubble returned the land hereabouts to its pre-railway existence as a meadow. This will require excavating if the preservation society based nearby at Midsomer Norton South station are to realise their hopes for an extension to their current track. But of course there is a precedent for this as the Bluebell Railway had to face a similar obstacle in their subsequently successful extension to East Grinstead. 9/7/60. RCR 14929.

Opposite bottom: The depth of Chilcompton cutting and the mammoth task of excavating the subsequent fill in order to extend the line from the Midsomer Norton preservation site can be readily appreciated from this view taken from further into the cutting. 9F No. 92205 has charge of the 7:40 am (SO) from Bradford to Bournemouth West carrying reporting No. M245. This service will stop only at Shepton Mallet, Evercreech Junction, Templecombe and Blandford before reaching Poole and finally Bournemouth West. Along with the three other members of the class No. 92205 was to spend from June to September working over the line on the heavy holiday services. 9/7/60. RCR 14945.

A change of scene brings us to the attractive surroundings of the delightfully named Wyke Champflower to the south of Evercreech Junction. This view was taken from Bridge No. 115, unusually constructed for double track, unlike other stone built bridges on the line which were first built as single spans necessitating the provision of a second span alongside when the line was doubled. This would indicate that the bridge here was first built after the line was doubled here in 1884. The sharp curve in the background, which 7F No. 53807 has just negotiated with the 10:40 am (SO) Exmouth – Cleethorpes through train, had a speed restriction of 45mph. The 7F had taken over the train at Templecombe and with an intermediate stop at Evercreech Junction, Bath would be reached at 2:10 pm. This curve also marked not only the meeting point between the Somerset Central and Dorset Central Railways in 1862 but the proposed site of the junction with the spur to the GWR which, in spite of much debate in the 1860s and 1870s, was never completed leaving only some earthworks as silent testament to hopes unfulfilled. As the Exmouth-Cleethorpes service rarely loaded to more than ten bogies it was economical to roster it for 7F haulage as this dispensed with the need for piloting. 9/7/60. RCR 14941.

Maesbury Castle which is in fact an Iron Age hill fort. It had originally been intended to name the station Dinder but this might have been stretching a point as the village of Dinder was 600 feet below and three miles away from the station. Masbury’s other claim to fame must surely be the fact that chapel services were held in the waiting room on Sunday evenings for some years after World War 1, preparation of the room on Saturday evenings being part of the porter’s duties.12/7/60.

RCR 14981.

This page: Dick took a series of shots of the manoeuvres at Midsomer Norton South which led to the departure of this coal train. Jinty No. 47316, S&D No. 25 one of the last of the half dozen examples built by Bagnalls in 1929 to remain on the S&D, has just added its load of coal wagons from the nearby colliery at Norton Hill to the 7F’s train. The 3F will then pilot the goods train down to Radstock its home sub shed with the 7F continuing to Bath. The signalman leans out of the window of his box observing matters as the driver of No. 53810 clambers back on board his steed. The appearance of the platforms and of the box was considerably enhanced by the profusion of floral displays all thanks no doubt to the products of that famous greenhouse. 3/7/61. RCR 15951.

Opposite top: In what was once a rural setting, but later developed into one of the suburbs of Bath, Maple Grove bridge situated in Bloomfield cutting, from which this shot was taken, was another favourite with photographers. In this view Standard Class 5 No. 73051 emerges from Devonshire tunnel with an up service. At 447 yards in length this was not such a daunting prospect for enginemen heading trains up the grade from Bath as Combe Down tunnel, but like its longer neighbour it too was of very restricted headroom and lacked any ventilation shafts. Springs tapped during its construction were fed into a holding tank inside the tunnel and the water was piped to Bath loco to provide a supply for the shed located some 114 feet in the valley below. After closure of the line the cutting was infilled and the tunnel portal buried only to be exposed again many years later to allow the Two Tunnels Greenway to be opened in 2013. 1/7/61. RCR 15945.

Opposite bottom: This view was taken from one of the two tall water towers located at Chilcompton looking towards Binegar as a ten coach through train headed by 2P 40700 piloting an unrecorded rebuilt West Country pacific passes through. The 4-4-0 would have been attached at Evercreech Junction for the climb over the Mendips and would carry on to Bath where the train would reverse for its onward journey north. The sidings on the down side seen here handled coal brought half a mile by road from New Rock colliery situated at the outer edge of the Somerset coalfield which at its peak produced about 200 tons of coal per day. To avoid double handling, an overhead ropeway was authorised in 1919 to connect the colliery and the station but this was never built. A small heap of coal can be seen to the left of the parked car. The colliery closed in September 1968 outlasting the S&D by some 2½ years. Chilcompton station was enhanced by the flower borders encased in white painted stones seen on the up platform. This platform was also reinforced on the valley side which dropped away steeply here to the River Somer flowing below. 1/7/61. RCR 15944.

This page: Five members of the Standard 9F Class spent time at Bath during the summer of 1962 and No. 92210 was one of them, the others being 92001, 92220 Evening Star, 92233 and 92245. The aforementioned No. 92210 is seen here emerging from the eastern portal of Devonshire tunnel and entering the sylvan setting of the picturesque Lyncombe Vale before facing the stygian gloom of Combe Down tunnel. Built at Swindon in August 1959 this 2-10-0 was to end its days at Newport’s Ebbw Junction shed from where it was withdrawn in November 1964 having given just over five years’ service – truly a criminal waste of resources. 11/8/62. RCR 16691.

Opposite top: 9F No. 92233 has charge of the up Bournemouth West – Bradford (SO) service which carried reporting No. 1094 above the buffer beam. This 2-10-0 was part of the allocation for the 1962 summer service. The train is coming down the noticeable 1 in 53 incline into Midsomer Norton South station, where the grade temporarily eased to 1 in 300 before continuing at 1 in 50 down to Radstock, under the watchful gaze of the signalman. At the end of the summer season No. 92233 was transferred away from the S&D also going to 86A Newport Ebbw Junction shed. It had been built at Crewe Works just four years before in August 1958 and would last in service until February 1968 six months before the end of steam on BR. 11/8/62. RCR 16701.

‘Somerset & Dorset’

Breaking with his tradition of visiting the line only in the summer months, Dick’s final visit to the S&D was on 20th December 1965 in the expectation that the line would be closing a few days later from 1st January 1966. As is well known due to a last minute problem with replacement bus services the closure date was postponed until 6th March 1966 and the railway limped on until then with a so called ‘Emergency Service’ comprising just two trains each way on the Highbridge branch and only a handful on the mainline with no southbound departures from Bath between 8:15 am and 4:25 pm. Highbridge shed witnesses Ivatt tank No. 41223 positioned next to the water tank being serviced prior to returning to Evercreech Junction. Water cascades over the side tank and the locomotive, in common with much of the remaining motive power on the line by this stage, was looking in a pretty woebegone condition. Indeed it was claimed that the parlous state of the available locomotive stock and the shortage of staff caused the WR to resort to imposing a severely reduced emergency service even though local railwaymen claimed that there was sufficient rolling stock and staff to run a proper service. Plans were drawn up by railwaymen who had served the S&D loyally throughout their working lives for a more efficient and economical operation of the line. However, the WR were only interested in closing the line and ridding the region of steam so close it did a few weeks later. 20/12/65. RCR 17907.

The name R C ‘Dick’ Riley will be familiar to several generations of railway enthusiasts. Starting in 1937 Dick Riley captured over 18,000 black and white UK railway images whilst only a relatively small proportion of these b/w views have ever been seen. Now that omission may, in part, be addressed with this new book, the second of a series dedicated to specific railway themes. Dick had a clear passion for all things railway, locomotives, trains of all sorts, infrastructure and railway staff. Examples of all are depicted within, showcasing some of the best of his photography as well as a fascinating selection of his images recorded in the period 1955 through to 1965 on that much lamented railway, the ‘Somerset & Dorset’.