Station Road, Midsomer Norton. The gap where the railway bridge ran over head. This is looking towards the
village centre. A new path leads you up onto the track bed, on the left. There is no pathway northwards.
SOMERSET & DORSET RAILWAY WALK
MIDSOMER NORTON NORTH TO RADSTOCK (GWR)
(17th July 2018).
Station Road, Midsomer Norton. The gap where the railway bridge ran over head. This is looking towards the
village centre. A new path leads you up onto the track bed, on the left. There is no pathway northwards.
Back up onto the track bed and heading eastwards towards Radstock.
A footpath runing southwards into Midsomer Norton.
The track bed did a sharpish right hand curve before reaching Midsomer Norton North Station.
Running towards where the station stood.
The Ex station approach road at the junction with Station Road On the left you can see the semaphore signal in the garden
behind the wall.
The station approach road, leading up to the station forecourt and buildings.There is nothing remaining to show that the
platform or the Goods siding and Shed ever existed.
Eastwards. North station. I single platform but with plenty of railway furnishing to make it of interest. It looks
very neat. (Author Unknown)
North station with the goods shed at the western end. A wagon stands in the goods siding beyond.
(Author Unknown).
Two railway sleepers tied together. No idea what this was for!
The modern over bridge that replaced the original railway bridge over Station Road.
View from the over bridge and the old mills on station road leading up to the town center.
I'm not sure if this was actually railway land but the station stood on the embankment on the right. Looking towards
the next station which as Clutton. This view is from the over bridge.
On the Radstock side of the footpath from the over bridge
The branch & mine layout by NLS maps. As mentioned below, there were two tracks on the branch including going over the river bridge.
A little further along we come to the site of the junction for the short branch into Old Welton colliery which is now
a footpath leading down to the colliery site.
The ex branch footpath is very over grown but passable most of the time.
From the footpath. This side cut takes you down to the Willow
brook. The branch crossed the brook around this spot.
The path is quite over grown and you see little of the countryside on the way. This is the bridge that ran over the Willow Brook.
This looks deceiving in that the map shows that there were two tracks over this bridge and it is difficult
imagining that from how narrow it appears to be!
Where the branch ran into Old Welton Colliery It was cut short when this new road was built when forming the
site for the Recycling plant.
The Colliery site is now a Council Recycling plant.
Where I am am standing would have been within the coal mine itelf.
There was also a Brick Works and a clay pit around this spot. Sadly this is all there is to see of the works and the
coal mine today.
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Back on the GWR track bed and contining eastwards towards Radstock. The footpath on the right is the official way
walking the track bed from Midsomer Norton North. Due to the over bridge on Radstock Road having been demolished
you have to take the divergence path and follow th Ex GWR track bed into Radstock. The more energetic of you can
up the steep embankment onto the Ex S&D track bed and ak over Five Arch bridge and into Radstock.
Left: This footpath heads northwards from the track bed and takes you up to Fossway at Clandown. This was part of the Foss Way
a Roman road that ran up to the midlands of England. Left: Running southwards. Leads you up to Radstock Road where the S&D
ran over the top. The over bridge was demolished in the latter 60's. However, you can still sccramble up the embankment and walk
into Radstock and over the Five Arch Bridge where the North Somerset Railway ran below.
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The track bed from Midsomer Norton Spouth station to Radstock is walkable. However, not completely along the S&DJct track bed due to the final quarter of
a mile not being available. Just outside Radstock you have to take a short detour that takes you onto the Ex North Somerset railway track bed and into
Radstock. The North Somerset Rlwy track bed is also walkable from Midsomer Norton North station site into Radstock. You join the NSR track bed just where
it drops under the S&D JR Five Arch viaduct. The two track bed split once more for the final 100 years or so, where you can take either track bed up to the two
station sites.
From the Ex station sites you can either walk the S&DJ as far as Shocombe or the NSR into Frome. In this case we shall continue on the S&DJ track bed
to Shocombe in another page. The station was not in Shocombe village but a quarter mile or so northwards at Single Hill. The station was called Shocombe &
Single Hill Halt.
We start the walk from the site of the preserved station at Midsomer Norton South Station.
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Radstock South To Great Elm 17
Other railway walks:
The Dundee & Newtyle Rlwy Walks Opened in 1831 the route had three incline planes. The first was from the terminal station on Ward Street, up the Dundee Law, where there was
also a tunnel. The second was the Balbeuchley incline at Rosemill and the third at Hatton that ran down to Newtyle station. It was also the very first passenger train service in Scotland.
Worked by Horse over the levels until the first steam engine was purchased in 1833. Came under the Caladonian Railway with it's terminal moved to Dundee West station. Passengers
service ended in 1952 and the line totally closed in the mid 60's. The inclines were by-passed in the 1860's.
The Cromford & High Peak Incline railway in Derbyshire has been luckier in having much of it's buildings, including an Engine House preserved. This is what could have happened with
the D&N, indeed, should have happened with at least one of the D&N inclines. However, the C&H gives an excellent comparison of what the D&N would have looked like, albeit the
inclines were only single track.
Boddam To Ellon Branch (Walks) By Bill Reid. Ex GNSR branch line.
Dyce To Fraserburgh and Peterhead Walks. Ex GNSR
Bath To Wellow Rlwy Walks Ex Somerset & Dorset Rlwy.
The Test Valley Railway Walk. (New Mills To Hayfield).
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