Preservation
Bitton station and its yard, including some trackbed, was leased from British Railways Board by the Bristol Suburban Railway Society, a group of local volunteers intent on restoring commuter and weekend steam use to the Bristol-Mangotsfield-Bath and Mangotsfield-Yate railway routes.
Work progressed slowly over the years restoring the heavily vandalised buildings and laying track north towards Oldland Common and Warmley. Weekend steam-hauled 'brake van' train rides progressed to proper passenger servics along the ever-lengthening line in restored 1950s British Railways Mark 1 carriages.
In 1979, the Bristol Suburban Railway Society was incorporated into the Bitton Railway Co. Ltd. and the laid track reached Oldland Common in 1988. By 1992 however, the city of Bristol had expanded greatly with houses encroaching upon the former railway line and expansion north to Warmley and Mangotsfield was no longer practical. The line thus began to expand south out into the valley of the River Avon. By 2004, it had crossed the Avon and a new station was built to service the Avon Valley Country Park – a large picnic and recreation site – along with a river wharf to provide visitors with connections to river barges and river boat trips.
Building of a new buffet and toilets facility at Bitton station began in 2007 to replace the current buffet and toilets and to increase space for the railway's gift shop.
Work continues to extend the railway south-east towards Kelston, Weston and a proposed "Bath Riverside" railway station in Bath.
Read more about this topic: Avon Valley Railway
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