60 years ago today on Sunday the 6th of March 1966, the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Rly network closed forever.
Here we are at Combwich, an unremarkable small town on the upper reaches of the river Parrett. It was hoped that it might become another Bristol of maybe even Minehead with the arrival of the railway, but alas not. It simply remaining a backwater serving Bridgwater, a slightly larger backwater.
On this final day, there are several rail tours, but only this one has come to Combwich, and even it is hauled by a lowly goods train locomotive in the form of Bath shed’s 48560, one of a few Stanier 2-8-0s allocated to the Western Region of British Railways.
However many of the regulars have come out to ride or to simply witness the sad sight as the locomotive reverses before running around its train of mostly lonely elderly musty tweed clad men and school boy trainspotters.
And finally, those looking for the omnipresent Bob Geeza Cat, he’s away on more pressing business, for last trains are of little interest to him, they having no place in his world unless they’ve a cargo of tinned tuna, pilchards or more often than not, contraband.
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👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/Nevardmedi3 - this will hopefully keep the trains running beyond today’s closure.