A collection of previously unpublished 55 year-old photos of the Somerset and Dorset railway line featuring Burnham-On-Sea, Highbridge and the local area has been unearthed.
Peter Martin, 83, has always been a railway enthusiast and has used some of his lockdown time during the past year pulling together his rail photos.
They show a bygone age when the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway line extended into Burnham-On-Sea.
He told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I have always been a fan of railways, although for the last year I have not been able to get out even once to enjoy the sights and sounds.”
“As a result I needed something to help keep my mind active and this led to me going through my vast collection of photographs to identify the locations and to put them into some kind of order.”
He adds: “During the 1960s I visited lots railways at time when closures of stations and lines were commonplace.”
“One such visit took my young family and I on holiday to Brean Sands, and to Highbridge and Burnham where I photographed a section of the then recently closed Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.”
His photos, featured here, include Bason Bridge, the Wells GWR goods shed on the Cheddar branch, the Burnham-On-Sea scouts building, the Burnham goods shed, Highbridge’s S & D terminus building, station and Highbridge junction and Highbridge goods sheds, the Highbridge level rail crossing, the Highbridge locomotive works.
Peter says he intends to release further photos from his collection over the coming weeks.
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