Station front and forecourt, 2004.
'Jinty' 47496 with freight, 2005.
Sentinel steam locomotive in grey primer, currently under restoration. 2006.
English Electric 0-6-0 diesel shunter No.10, named David J, Cook, seen in 2004.
| Welcome | ||||
The S&D Mendip Mainline Project Welcome to the website of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. We are a charitable trust of over 850 members based at Midsomer Norton, located part-way up the gradient from Radstock to the highest point of the the old Somerset & Dorset railway at Masbury. Our headquarters is the old station building which also houses our gift shop, second-hand bookshop and ticket office. We have almost a quarter of a mile of railway, which is gradually being extended towards Chilcompton, following lease agreements with the landowners for use of the land that extends southwards beyond the immediate station area. We hope you will visit us at the station, opening times are shown on the right, with special events posted on the Opening & Events page. At Midsomer Norton you will find the restored station buildings, signalbox, goods shed and also the original stable block - now our museum, and wartime pillbox. We have a diesel locomotive, an under-restoration Sentinel 0-4-0 vertical-boilered steam locomotive, plus freight and passenger rolling stock and static buffet coach open for refreshments. Visit the station gift shop and the second-hand bookshop while you are there and enjoy the atmosphere and exhibits on this once-proud and much-loved holiday route. We are currently unable to run public passenger trains, but pending completion of safety work underway at present, and suitable operational locomotive availability, we hope to start services later this year. In the meantime, enjoy the website, keep up to date with the latest news on the homepage, and look out for expansion of the website to include more history, useful information, photo gallery and more. If you have any views on the website or would like to send feedback, please email the Douglas Hill, Chairman |
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| The station site | ||||
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| The station area siteplan is shown above, as you will see there are two viewpoints, the views from those are shown in the two circular photos. The direction of car parks is also indicated, the nearest being at Norton Hill School on Charlton Road (but not Sunday mornings please). Midsomer Norton town centre is down the hill from the station entrance, approximately half a mile. There is also a conservation area of woodland adjacent to the station, where the public (brown and green) footpaths are indicated on the left-hand side of the plan above, accessible by walking down the hill from the station entrance, on the same side of the road and taking the footpath entrance, first on the left. |
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| Original S&D route | ||||
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This map (the link to which opens a larger version in a new window) shows the extent of the full Somerset & Dorset railway, once all the routes were fully open and operating. You will be able to see where the Trust has its site in relation to the rest of the route, indicated by the red box a quarter of the way down. This map is available for sale from either the station shop, or see more information on the Sales page. This map is subject to copyright and should not be distributed or reproduced without permission. |
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| See aerial images of Midsomer Norton | ||||
Flash Earth Use the Flash Earth website to view Midsomer Norton from the air. Using the search box bottom left of the screen to enter 'Midsomer Norton' as a co-ordinate, scroll south a little to find the station. Note that using the 'Google Maps' data (top right) will give you the most up-to-date images. 192.com This site at 192.com allows you to search by location – enter the station's postcode: BA3 2EY into the 'Location' search field. Zooming in will turn the map into aerial images of the station. |
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Google Maps 1 Go to http://www.google.co.uk/maps. When the page loads as shown (right), enter the Trust address postcode - BA3 2EY - in the search field shown and click the 'Search maps' button. 2 The map will show you a position slightly south of the station site (about 100 yards in real scale). Click on the 'Satellite' button. |
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3 The aerial image 'bubble' points to the same place, with the station site visible just above the green arrow. Close the 'bubble' with the little x in the top right of it, scroll around, zoom in, out and more. Bath Green Park can also be found on Google Maps (or Google Earth) and some of the S&D route can be followed south from Bath, (if you can work out where Combe Down Tunnel is!) towards Midsomer Norton. Detailed data is missing from the satellite images just south of Chilcompton Tunnel. Some of the route northwards from Bournemouth can also be seen as far as about Spetisbury where detail again is lacking. It is estimated that the images of Midsomer Norton are from around 2004. |
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| Opening |
Open Sunday and Monday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., for viewing, buffet coach, gift shop and second-hand bookshop. For forthcoming special events see the Opening & Events page. The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust Midsomer Norton Station, Silver Street, Midsomer Norton BA3 2EY Telephone 01761 411221. 01761 411221 (Sundays and Mondays). Please note, due to limited opening days, phone messages cannot be very regularly checked, email is the best way of contacting us. |
| Donations |
Donations to the Trust We rely entirely on donations and grants for our income and running of the project. If you would like to make a donation to the project please use one of the standing order mandates here, or use the PayPal button below to make a donation using PayPal or your Debit or Credit Card. You do not have to have a PayPal account to make a donation this way. |
| Further information |
The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust Incorporating The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trackbed Trust – first established 1992. Registered charity no. 1045547 Registered 3038464 England & Wales company limited by guarantee. All correspondence should be addressed to the Company Secretary at the registered address, unless otherwise stated. |