The Flickr Heartofwessex Image Generatr

31128 "Charybdis" T&T 31454"Heart of Wessex" pass Hawkeridge on 24/Sept/2004 working the 08.28 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth service.

View more here 500px.com/p/heartofwessex?view=photos

View more here 500px.com/p/heartofwessex?view=photos

Slightly off the beaten track, GWR's 43180 leads another FGW-blue power car, 43189, as they form the diverted 1C84 12.57 Paddington to Plymouth working seen pulling away from Castle Cary. After a short 15 minute trip down the 'Heart of Wessex' line, the working will swing onto the West of England line at Yeovil junction for the trip to Devon over 'The Mule'.

Apparently the expression 'The Mule' - used by some in rail-enthusiast circles to describe the western end of the Waterloo to Exeter route - was not coined by railmen (and therefore is not commonly used by them) but possibly came into being thanks to 'Bashers'/'Gricers' or whatever the prevailing collective name for a group of 'window-hangers' is.

The Crown Pet Foods (now Royal Canin) manufacturing facilities can be seen in the background - hopefully no Mules in there in any form...

... (and other cetaceans)

This is Serendipity*.

A few weeks into 2014's SO HST diagram (24/05/14 - 06/09/14), 43144 is seen passing Milepost 144(!) in the beautiful but unfamiliar surroundings approaching Thornford station with 1V67 17.28 Weymouth to Bristol TM. This was the bookend service to the morning's 1O72 09.06 Bristol TM to Weymouth and a nice change from the usual diet of 150 and 158 units of the time. 43092 was at the other end, apologies I do not know precisely where milepost 92 is located much less have a picture of the venerable machine passing it.

The milepost reads 144 1/2 miles indicating the distance from London (Paddington) via Swindon, Melksham and Frome as this was formerly the double track GWR main route to Weymouth.

Well look at that, when I pulled this image from the file I just assumed I would be ruminating(!) on the presence of the juvenile bovine in the field, no doubt using some clever wordplay involving cattle, heifers, oxen, steers or other such bullocks - but no, I spotted another angle, that's a pat on the back for me!

*Of course if it were someone else's shot I would most likely employ my normal warm congratulatory phrase "more Jam than Hartleys!".

SWR needed to transfer a Class 158 from Salisbury to its Bournemouth depot on 21st September. Their mainline through Southampton to Bournemouth was closed for engineering works. so they sent the unit to Yeovil Junction and then down the Heart of Wessex line to Dorchester and then onwards to Bournemouth.

The unit, 158883, is seen in bright, early evening sun approaching Evershot Tunnel between Chetnole and Maiden Newton.

In generally overcast conditions at Dundas Aqueduct in the Avon Valley, DCR's 60055 working 6Z23 Willesden Dc Rail Sidings - Bristol Freightliner Terminal is seen approaching a white ball which has somehow ended up trackside.

Another chance to capture 20189 (proudly displaying the 18A shed code) and sister 20142 working 0Z20 from Okehampton to Derby Gas Tank sidings as the consist bowls through Freshford station in the Avon valley near Bath. In tow are 47375, 31459 and 47769. Although the shot is slightly against the light I gambled on a lack of full sun to get a good view of the convoy both coming and going, besides I like Freshford station, it's nice and quiet.

The venerable pair of Choppers had run down from Barrow Hill the previous day (as far as Taunton) and collected (their equally venerable charges) 47375 (Tinsley Traction Depot), 31459 (Cerberus) and 47769 (Resolve) from the Dartmoor Railway - the 31 was intended for Derby and Barrow Hill was the destination for the Duff's.

Nearly 10 years later and 31459 resides at the Weardale Railway, 47769 is still at barrow Hill partially stripped and former HM & TI resident 47375 is now in the employ of Continental Railway Solution (CRS) in Hungary(!) - "Toto, I don't think we are in Yorkshire anymore"...

In 2024 the Choppers are still mainline operational and most often still together.

A Network Rail PLPR test train sandwiched between powercars 43257 and 43272 rolls into Maiden Newton on the Heart of Wessex line on 24th January 2024.

A Network Rail PLPR test train sandwiched between powercars 43257 and 43272 approaches Poundbury Tunnel on the Heart of Wessex line on 24th January 2024.

A Network Rail PLPR test train sandwiched between powercars 43257 and 43272 pulls away from Maiden Newton on the Heart of Wessex line on 24th January 2024.

A Network Rail PLPR test train sandwiched between powercars 43257 and 43272 approaches Evershot Tunnel on the Heart of Wessex line on 24th January 2024.

A Network Rail PLPR test train sandwiched between powercars 43257 and 43272 approaches Poundbury Tunnel on the Heart of Wessex line on 24th January 2024.

GWR 's work-stained 150247 pauses under the roof at Frome station whilst working 2O80 14.41 Great Malvern to Weymouth "Heart of Wessex" service - 28/06/2019. As I never get tired of mentioning, Frome station was opened in 1850 and is one of the oldest railway stations still in operation in Britain. The unusual station structure consists of a 36.5 m (120 ft) by 14.6 m (48 ft) timber train shed. It was built in the style of Brunel by J.R. Hannaford. It is now a Grade II listed building.

Some images of the touristy and not-so-touristy bits of Bristol

158957 seen through the green frame at Pot Lane, Berkley near Frome with an early evening FGW service from BTM to Weymouth - 05/08/16 I gather the dreaded green metal fencing has gone up here now, shame.

A colourful scene in the Dorset countryside. Breaking the monopoly of DMU trains on this part of the Heart of Wessex Line, Colas Rail Freight liveried 67023 is seen here approaching Thornford with classmate 67027 at the rear forming a 1Z22 08:14 Tyseley Depot to Bristol High Level Siding (via Weymouth) infrastructure monitoring working. Beer Hackett War Department siding (opened in 1942 and closed in 1961) was formerly just beyond the rear of the train. The milepost reads 144 1/2 miles, the distance from London Paddington (via Swindon, Melksham and Frome) as this was formerly the double track GWR main route to Weymouth. The wooden down platform of Thornford Bridge Halt was immediately to the left of the lead locomotive, the platforms being staggered either side of the adjacent road bridge. When the route was singled as an economy measure in 1968, the former up line was retained here. The remaining platform was replaced by a concrete pre-fabricated structure taken from nearby Cattistock following the closure of that station with the other Cattistock platform going to nearby Chetnole. Happily, Thornford halt is still open for traffic today along with nearby Yetminster and Chetnole halts. All three are now request stops. Permission to close these three stations was refused by the Secretary of State for Transport as the narrow local roads would prevent a replacement bus service from operating effectively. The former GWR route south of Castle Cary passed from Western Region to Southern Region control in 1958 and as a result features buildings and infrastructure characteristic to both regions. The vintage bullhead rail is gradually being replaced by continuously welded rail, although this stretch retains the former to this day.

These two class 67 locomotives which were acquired by Colas for such work have since been sold to GBRf for use on Caledonian Sleeper services as redundant power cars are now the preferred traction for Colas on these trains.

Roger Joanes has an excellent shot taken from the same vantage point in 1967 www.flickr.com/photos/110691393@N07/12177999355

For anybody interested in this route, I thoroughly recommend obtaining a copy of 'The Story of the Westbury to Weymouth Line' by Derek Phillips (Oxford Publishing Company, 1994, 240 pages).

10/05/17.

One of the great Tithe Barns of Dorset
C16th | Grade II and Scheduled Monument
Standing next to the church although it has lost a couple of bays at one end - now 9 1/2 bays, rather unprepossessing from outside but it's still a fine example of a stone-cased timber-framed, aisled barn, buttresses worthy of a church and its timbers still magnificent.

Originally probably with 12 bays with two wagon entrances on each side,

The village was once owned by Sir Francis Walsingham, minister and 'Spymaster' for Queen Elizabeth.
There is said to be found carved on a beam the letters" L. U. W. 1590," the initials of Lady Ursula Walsingham.

Even though the barn became listed as a Scheduled monument in 1929, this was too late to stop the thatch being replaced with corrugated iron.