Bristol and North Somerset Railway - Line Traffic

Line Traffic

The principal traffic on the railway was coal from the Somerset coalfield, though the villages nearer Bristol generated some commuter traffic. Passenger services were never frequent: in 1910, there were eight trains a day at most (on Thursdays and Saturdays) and not all of those ran through to or from Frome.

Traffic on the Camerton line from Hallatrow to Limpley Stoke was even lighter: passenger services started in 1910 and were suspended during the First World War on 22 March 1915; they resumed in 1923 (on 9 July, though Midford Halt never reopened) but were withdrawn entirely two years later on 21 September 1925. Freight(Goods) services on the branch from Hallatrow to Camerton also ceased on that date in 1925,leaving only the goods services from the Limpley Stoke end as far as Camerton for another twenty six years,being withdrawn on 15 February 1951.

The line achieved some fame after closure by its use in the film The Titfield Thunderbolt, in 1953 but the track was taken up in 1958.

The Bristol and North Somerset main line did not last much longer. From the point where the line turned northwards towards Bristol, only three miles out of Radstock, it ran virtually parallel to the main A37 road, which made it vulnerable to competition from road transport. Passenger services were withdrawn in November 1959 and freight traffic ended in July 1968, when the Radstock to Bristol section closed completely. The Radstock to Frome portion remained in occasional use until July 1988 for traffic to the Marcroft wagon works on the outskirts of Radstock, and part of this section remains in situ today (although derelict and heavily overgrown). The southernmost section from Frome to Hapsford Quarry Junction remains in use for limestone traffic from Whatley Quarry