Volunteers reclaiming much loved historic railway

For more than a century the Somerset and Dorset Railway (S&D) served as a lifeline for rural communities - transporting coal, commuters and holidaymakers alike.

The historic line ran between Bath in Somerset and Bournemouth in Dorset, serving towns and villages such as Highbridge, Glastonbury, Wells, and Wincanton.

This week is the 60th anniversary since the 105-mile (168km) route was given a public notice it had to close all its station due to the Beeching cuts - a sweeping reduction of the UK rail network that severed thousands of miles of track.

But now volunteers, historians and local residents are reclaiming sections of the abandoned route, determined to preserve the once rich history of the railway line.

The historic line ran between Bath in Somerset and Bournemouth in Dorset

In the 1960s, the British railway system was considered financially unsustainable, with underused lines, high maintenance costs, and slow passenger services.

Dr Richard Beeching, former chair of the British Railways Board, aimed to modernise the railways by eliminating unprofitable routes and stations to create a more efficient, financially sound network.

A total of 2,363 train stations were axed across Britain.

As a child, Colin Price and his family referred to the S&D railway as the "holiday line", transporting them from Wells to Bournemouth for a seaside getaway.

"I was keen on railways anyway, so obviously I spent all my time with my head out the window, as you could in those days," he laughed.

On 5 March 1966 a coffin with the words "S&D died today" was loaded on to the very last train in a mock funeral to mark the service's demise

Mr Price said the day the stone station was built, local residents "thought it would be there forever, but it wasn't".

"It was a very sad day," he recalled, as he watched the wooden sleepers being ripped from the ground.

"There was a lot of feeling around that it was the end of an era.

"The closest station would have been the main line at Castle Cary. It was getting further and further from anybody here, cutting us all off."

When the stone station closed, residents said they felt cut off from the world

Elsewhere in Midford, tears welled in Peter Davis' eyes as he watched workmen tear down a legacy.

"My grandparents used to live just up the road, so I can remember it as a child," he said, conjuring a faint memory of roaring black locomotives.

"They took a couple of years to take the track up and I remember seeing them do it. It had a big effect on me. I cried at the time, I thought I'd lost something."

Peter Davis said watching the train station fall into disrepair felt like a personal loss

Eight years ago, Mr Davis began volunteering at the former station, cutting back overgrown vegetation and reinstalling old signs to "see more clearly what it used to be like".

"We lost a lot in the Beeching cuts, a lot of good railway lines," he said.

"But this is one I thought I could focus in on. It needed something doing with it."

The site is now part of a popular walking and cycling path called the Two Tunnels Greenway, featuring the Devonshire Tunnel and the Combe Down Tunnel.

Frank Tompson said life without the Two Tunnels network would be "unimaginable"

Frank Tompson, chair of the Two Tunnels group, says the line was transformed into an active travel path in 2013, almost 50 years after the last trains rumbled through the stone arches.

"It was a case of uncovering both of the tunnels, keeping our fingers crossed they were in good condition, which luckily they were," he said.

"When you've got something like this on your doorstep, it's just a case of recycling what's already there. Bath now without the Two Tunnels would be unimaginable."

In Shepton Mallet, the disused Windsor Hill tunnels are finding their purpose again as part of a 76-mile (122km) traffic-free circuit known as the Somerset Circle.

When the passenger services stopped, the demolition trains arrived - destroying the Windsor Hill Tunnels so they could never be used again

Gavin Mayall leads the Friends of Windsor Hill Tunnels group, a team of volunteers who "dared to dream" of reopening the route to the public.

"Probably about four years ago, the tunnel was inaccessible," he said. "It was gated and there was scrap, fridges, tyres and all sorts just dumped here.

"A group of volunteers decided it was about time this amazing resource that had been lost for so many years was reopened to the public.

"The usage now is nothing short of remarkable. You build the paths and the people will come."

However, the second tunnel still remains closed due to a rare bat colony nesting in its arches.

The signal box, painted in the S&D colours, overlooks the former track at Masbury

A disused signal box, originally built in 1874, was previously left to rot beside the former Masbury station before Joe Bourne snapped it up.

He was in the process of putting his house on the market when he spotted the unique gem for sale.

"Most signal boxes were destroyed when they closed the line, or were vandalised or destroyed. I thought it had to be done," he said.

"It was a pile of rubble when I first moved here. I've never had a grand plan. I just saw the opportunity to buy it and I thought 'what a cool place, what a project'."

Mr Bourne sensitively restored the building back to its former glory, painting it in the original S&D colours as a tribute to the lost relic.

Rosie Craddock, lives in S&D railway viaduct with her family

Rosie Craddock, lives in S&D railway viaduct with her family in Shoscombe. Her grandparents bought the land in the 80s following a long battle for planning permission.

"He [granddad] had the vision originally to make the arches into a house.

"Unfortunately he got too old to finish it, and my husband and I saw an opportunity.

"It's only when you get visitors like 'wow' you think, 'oh yeah actually, it is quite special'," she added.

Roger Burfitt described the S&D railway as a "part of [the] community"

Roger Burfitt is acting chair of trustees at the S&D Railway Heritage Trust, who run public day trips along a mile-long (1.6 km) restored section of the railway in Midsomer Norton.

The group of enthusiasts got together when the station was just days away from being demolished.

"They managed to save the day at literally the last minute," he explained.

"We are extremely fortunate because most of the other stations on the railway have either been demolished or become private residences."

The station's signal box has been completely rebuilt to the original design, using components that have been rescued from other derelict signal boxes.

"It wasn't just an old railway, it served a purpose, it was part of a community. It fulfils a different role now," Mr Burfitt added fondly.