| | This is the story of intense rivalry between the independent railway companies of the Victorian era and their ambitions towards the west of England. The broad gauge Bristol & Exeter Railway, and the Great Western Railway, against the standard gauge London & South Western Railway who were held in a stranglehold for 18 years with its route to Exeter and the west by the local Salisbury & Yeovil Railway. Also examined are the many proposed schemes both feasible and impractible that appeared in the early years, not assisted by the topography of the Yeovil area which added to the difficulties when the three routes reached the town, making Yeovil one of those unusual and complex rural railway crossroads. Fully explained is the removal of the broad gauge and the expansion of the system to its peak, followed by decline as the motor vehicle and bus appeared, the difficulties of two World Wars and Nationalisation. The Beeching Report, the reduction of services the closure of the Durston branch, and the reduction of the Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth line to a single line branch. The battle to save the once fast Salisbury-Exeter route, a racing ground for expresses including the 'Atlantic Coast Express' and the'Devon Belle', reduced to single track with passing loops and hampered by unreliable motive power, until a rethink on policy improved services in 1993. Today both lines survive albeit in reduced circumstances, steam specials visiting the Yeovil Steam Centre bring the few locomotive-hauled trains to the town. The history of Yeovil's 150 years of railways has never been covered in one book before, it makes compelling reading. Contents:
- Introduction
- The Borough of Yeovil
- The Race to the West and the Battle of the Gauges
- The Bristol & Exeter Railway
- The Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Railway
- The Salisbury & Yeovil Railway
- The Yeovil & Exeter Railway
- Growth and Consolidation
- The New Century
- The Grouping Years
- Motive Power
- Signalling
- Nationalisation
- Beyond Beeching
- The Yeovil Town-Yeovil Junction Shuttle
- Associated Bus Services
- Sundry Working Arrangements
- The Yeovil Railway Centre
- Acknowledgements
Continent: Europe
Country: UK
Area: UK Somerset | | Tag cloud: yeovil victorian bristol exeter stranglehold salisbury feasible impractible topography peak durston somerset weymouth salisbury-exeter devon belle policy jackson race town-yeovil shuttle sundry | Tell a friend about this publication  |
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