A wonderful collection of photographs showing the Somerset & Dorset Railway in operation, after abandonment and during the present day.

Explore the fascinating photographic comparison between Dorset's past and present railways through time.

Although closed to traffic in 1966, with most of its infrastructure swiftly destroyed by British Railways, this unique railway line still lives in the minds of many, some too young to remember it in its heyday. For more then a hundred years it courted disaster and could on a number of occasions have succumbed to overpowering financial pressures, but it survived with the help of partnerships with larger, more secure companies, namely the Midland Railway and the London & South Western Railway. Later on, after the grouping in 1923, the line came under the control of the L M S and the Southern Railway. It was unfortunate that the line suffered in later years, from inter regional rivalry between the Western and Southern Regions of British Railways, which led to its eventual closure. The variety of companies involved in its running meant that during its lifetime the small pool of locomotives needed to service the line was supplemented by the best each partner could offer. So from the beginning to the end there were a myriad number of types of locomotive running over the Mendips providing a lively variety of motive power. This heavily illustrated book traces this unique and fascinating history and brings to life this singular, much missed and loved railway.

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Somerset has changed and developed since the war

Steph Gillett documents the history of this fascinating line, marking the sixtieth anniversary since its closure.

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Radstock and Midsomer Norton have changed and developed over the last century.

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Bruton and the surrounding areas have changed and developed over the last century