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Bath and Bristol since 2008
As we visit Bath regularly, I thought I would group together my photographs of active railways in this area - anything S&D, including the Gartell railway, being in my S&D photoset.
Ken Strachan
![What colour would Sir like his barley sugar? Original cast iron and cobblestones at Bath Spa, photographed just after Christmas 2010.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 28/12/2010]](/images/32000/32714.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Stop me if I'm missing something, but shouldn't the hut be built over the ground frame, to keep you dry while you're switching points? Scene at Bitton on the Avon Valley Railway in May 2011. The tarmac visible beyond the fence is the bikepath, which switches sides at this point, continuing towards Bath past Avon Riverside halt see image [[22957]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/05/2011]](/images/34000/34372.jpg "Bitton")
![A fairly typical selection of traditional railway arch businesses at Bath Spa - not looking particularly thriving in this case. View is towards Bristol on 29 May 2011.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/05/2011]](/images/34000/34381.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Bath Spa station on New Year's Day 2012 - an intriguing mixture of Mendip stone, red steel and plastic!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 01/01/2012]](/images/37000/37202.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Looking back... but not in anger: the driver of South West Trains 159001, forming the 14.42 to Bristol Temple Meads, checks on the guard's instructions before leaving Bath Spa on 7 April 2012.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 07/04/2012]](/images/38000/38394.jpg "Bath Spa")
![A South Western Trains 159 see image [[38394]] adds a splash of colour to a greyish Bath Spa station on 7 April 2012. Notice the coffee bar on the right, where I bumped into a railtouring friend whom I had not seen for about 5 years!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 07/04/2012]](/images/38000/38772.jpg "Bath Spa")
![This is what you get when you give grown-ups Meccano - part of the lovely roof frame over Bristol Temple Meads platform 5 in May 2012.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 27/05/2012]](/images/39000/39262.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![The trouble with putting the cart before the horse, is that you have to find a horse first. This unusual relic is to be seen outside the Avon Valley Railway's Bitton station. The traces are, in my experience, even rarer than the cart.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/12/2012]](/images/41000/41565.jpg "Bitton")
![Ruston shunter D2994 - in excellent external condition - is in serious need of an umbrella at a streaming wet Bitton station on 30th December 2012. Notice the water tank on a concrete sleeper base; and the gap between engine and coach, allowing the barrow crossing to be used.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/12/2012]](/images/41000/41647.jpg "Bitton")
![A London-bound HST accelerates away wrong line from a signal stop at Bathampton Junction on 9 February. Despite the adjacent road traffic, the HST exhaust could be heard all the way from the stop, 2.5 miles away! The line of hills in the background appears to be that which separates the Bath-Southampton line from the trackbed of the late-lamented Somerset and Dorset Railway.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 09/02/2013]](/images/42000/42041.jpg "Shockerwick")
![Ye Olde WHS: the entrance to Temple Meads from Brunel's train shed looks rather like something that Henry VIII would have set fire to - a monastery, that is. Notice the alien dog on the left.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/02/2013]](/images/42000/42033.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Brunel's original train shed at Temple Meads in February 2013. The site is now used for car parking (with a �1 discount for parking outdoors!), but should soon be reopened as a terminus for electric trains from London. Notice the signal box on the right.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/02/2013]](/images/42000/42197.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads [1st]")
![Not something you see every Sunday morning: a brace of 37's (609 and 218 IIRC) bringing the Pathfinder Railtours 'Hullaba-Looe' into Temple Meads. Notice the Great Britain coaches in the through road.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/02/2013]](/images/42000/42359.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![A 158 heading for Weymouth approaches the former station and Bathampton Junction past a rather decrepit looking hut on 30 March 2013. The A4 dual carriageway provides competition to the right; but due to the angle of the sun, I had to cut out the hot air balloons taking off from the city of Bath. View looks South-West.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/03/2013]](/images/42000/42584.jpg "Bathampton")
![A 158 running south between bath and Weymouth see image [[42584]] approaches Glasses Crossing on 30 March. Does this mean it is about to make a spectacle of itself? View north east, with the GW main line hidden by the hedge on the far side of the Weymouth line.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/03/2013]](/images/42000/42624.jpg "Bathampton Junction")
![Looking East towards London and the site of Bathampton station (the white buildings just to the right of the unit) on 30 March, as the 17.08 to Gloucester comes off the line from Weymouth, heading for Bath.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/03/2013]](/images/42000/42821.jpg "Bathampton Junction")
![A class 150 Sprinter turns off the London bound Great Western main line at Bathampton Junction on 30 March to head for Weymouth. See image [[42821]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/03/2013]](/images/43000/43106.jpg "Bathampton Junction")
![To paraphrase a certain female singer, 'I used to live in a room full of mirrors, all I could see was 37194 and 66511 reflected in an HST carriage window'. Doesn't scan very well, but you get the idea.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 19/05/2013]](/images/43000/43153.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![A more conventional view see image [[43153]] of 37194 and 66511, laid over at Temple Meads on 19th May. The derelict building in the background is a former mail sorting office - notice the bridge from the platforms.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 19/05/2013]](/images/43000/43161.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![43029 edged closer to the site of Bath Road depot, eager to know more. Was it really an archaeological dig, or was someone growing vegetables in polytunnels? See image [[13126]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 19/05/2013]](/images/43000/43177.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Three generations at Temple Meads on a spring Sunday afternoon in 2013. The HST (1970s) is heading for Paddington with 43029 leading, while the 37 (1950s) and the 66 (2000s) are stabled in the siding see image [[43161]]. That derelict sorting office keeps turning up in the background!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 19/05/2013]](/images/43000/43657.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![The sun was at just the right angle to highlight the colours of 43189 'Railway Heritage Trust' as it led the 18.13 to London Paddington into Bath on the 31st May. There is a pub terrace to the right of the bush on the platform, should you like a beer with your gricing - and a bus station just beyond, to get you home without driving!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/05/2013]](/images/43000/43410.jpg "Bath Spa")
![The rather elegant waiting room on the up platform at Bath Spa has facilities for Ladies and Gents - as well as a rope for Santa to unhook as he comes down the chimney!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/05/2013]](/images/43000/43462.jpg "Bath Spa")
![I don't know the lady in the red dress with the ice cream, but she sets off the blues on the HST nicely. Oh yes... the train boarding at Bath Spa is the 18.13 to Paddington see image [[43410]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/05/2013]](/images/43000/43555.jpg "Bath Spa")
![The class 153 may not be the prettiest train in the world but, compared to the wheeled water tank, it's a masterpiece. The train is the 17.48 Bristol Temple Meads - Weymouth.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/05/2013]](/images/43000/43586.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Typical. You wait ages for a light engine, then two (66532 and 66563) come along at once. Taken during a long wait (pun intended) for a train to Oldfield Park on 6 July.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/07/2013]](/images/43000/43703.jpg "Bath Spa")
![The 18.00 <I>Torbay Express</I> approaches Bath, 11 minutes down. The leading power car is 43156, <I>Darlington International Summer School</I>, and yes, I was wearing an anorak - how did you guess?<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/07/2013]](/images/43000/43737.jpg "Bath Spa")
![The late running 18.00 <I>Torbay Express</I> see image [[43737]] tries to hide behind the 18.13 to London Paddington at Bath Spa on 6 July 2013. Due to a comedy of errors, we spent nearly an hour and a half waiting for a 2-minute journey to Oldfield Park.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/07/2013]](/images/45000/45700.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Sustrans has planted a tree to replace each former awning support at the site of the abandoned Mangotsfield South Junction to the East of Bristol city centre, seen here in May 2015.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 24/05/2015]](/images/51000/51459.jpg "Mangotsfield South Junction")
![Just as magnificient from ground level as from the air see image [[26020]]; but due to residential development and guard dogs on the trackbed, Pensford Viaduct is not readily approachable in May 2015.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 24/05/2015]](/images/51000/51510.jpg "Pensford Viaduct")
![If my mental compass is working right, this is the East to South spur at Mangotsfield. see image [[51459]] The peculiar acoustic properties of the railway layout here inspired Arnold Ridley, who later played Private Godfrey in 'Dad's Army', to write the play 'Ghost Train'.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 24/05/2015]](/images/51000/51767.jpg "Mangotsfield (2nd)")
![The excellent Ralph Allen Cornerstone museum in Combe Down alerted me to the existence of this former tramroad used to haul stone from quarries adjoining Summer Lane (just off the top of this picture) to the Somerset Coal Canal at Tucking Mill, near the eponymous S&D viaduct. The foreground part was horse-hauled; the steps just visible in the background were a rope-worked incline to a T-shaped junction with branches to left and right.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 25/05/2015]](/images/51000/51487.jpg "Bath (Combe Down)")
![As Melksham is the fifth largest town in Wiltshire, it was unfortunate that the town station was closed and largely demolished in 1966. However, it was reopened in 1985, using about a third of one original platform. Services were increased from two per weekday to eight from December 2013. With its load lightened by some twenty passengers, the 18.02 to Swindon (originating at Westbury, and comprising single unit 153.370) sets out towards Chippenham on 10th October. See image [[48597]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/52000/52857.jpg "Melksham")
![Sydney Gardens were laid out in 1795 by the architect Harcourt Masters; they are the oldest park in Bath. A canal and a railway line are of particular interest to transport enthusiasts. This down HST is heading for Bath Spa on recently lowered track.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/52000/52886.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Having waited patiently for an up HST to pass, DBS liveried 59201 snakes out of the loop to turn right towards the coast. The load was ballast; I believe this was a 13.20 Westerleigh to Westbury working. The ramshackle hut see image [[42584]] has been flattened as part of the renewal of the junction.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/52000/52900.jpg "Bathampton Junction")
![An HST service for Bristol accelerates out of Chippenham station see image [[49442]] over the Western Arches. The arches were built in 1841 and widened in 1848; there is a pub named after the designer (IKB, no less) just beyond the big arch on the left.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/52000/52912.jpg "Chippenham")
![This sturdy new footbridge has just been completed at Shockerwick (near Box) between Bath (right) and Chippenham (left). The tall walls will doubtless deter vandalism, but will make photography see image [[42041]] more difficult.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/52000/52980.jpg "Box")
![An HST heading for Bristol on 10 October waits under the new footbridge under construction at Chippenham. For the original footbridge, which is still in use see image [[33278]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/53000/53078.jpg "Chippenham")
![Someone obviously made a cast iron case to keep these old gateposts, which seem to be made from two bridge rails each see image [[35411]]. View looks East across the forecourt.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/53000/53123.jpg "Chippenham")
![They're a bit keen on bridge rails down Somerset way see image [[53123]]. These fine examples (there are at least four posts) hold up a fence near the new footbridge at Shockerwick.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/53000/53148.jpg "Box")
![Sydney Gardens, Bath has long been a classic location to watch and photograph trains. This is the High Level viewing gallery see image [[52886]]. A father and son enjoy the spectacle as an up HST powers away from Bath Spa through the gardens.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/53000/53253.jpg "Bath Spa")
![A Bristol-bound HST passes Bathampton Junction on its way to Bath Spa on 10th October 2015. The ballast looks very clean, as the junction was recently relaid.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/53000/53387.jpg "Bathampton Junction")
![A small mystery in industrial archaeology: the bridge rails which were thoughtfully recycled as fence supports see image [[53148]] carry the legend **TES STEELWORKS, the symbols ** being illegible. Any suggestions?<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/10/2015]](/images/54000/54042.jpg "Shockerwick")
![Transport interchanges are nothing new, you know. A selection of bicycles sheltering from the elements below the platforms see image [[43555]]. View looks South, towards the River Avon.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 08/11/2015]](/images/58000/58289.jpg "Bath Spa")
![An orange army - or at least a small detachment therefrom - attending to the viaduct West of Bath Spa station at dusk on Boxing Day 2015.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 26/12/2015]](/images/53000/53873.jpg "Bath Spa")
![There are two tunnels.. not just on the S&D in Bath, but also beneath the East end of Spa station. see image [[37202]], they are underneath the girders between the traffic lights. This tunnel is restricted to pedestrian use. The hotel in the background has an 'Isambard Bar'.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 27/12/2015]](/images/53000/53822.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Turning to the left our previous viewpoint through the pedestrian tunnel see image [[53822]], we see this fetching view of the rear entrance to Bath Spa station. The wooden valance with the 'trackwork' pattern was recently replaced - a representative of the company who did it told me it was quite a tough job.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 27/12/2015]](/images/53000/53864.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Winning hearts and minds - bullish publicity from First Great Western at Bath Spa in December 2015. See image [[53873]] for a small part of this investment.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 27/12/2015]](/images/53000/53896.jpg "Bath Spa")
![I have a feeling that that road bridge will have to be modified for electrification - not that the up HST is bothered. The S&D see image [[54464]] crossed beyond the bridge in the background.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/03/2016]](/images/54000/54573.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![A Great Western HST northbound through Freshford on 30 April 2016, thought to have been diverted from the main Bath - Chippenham line due to electrification/engineering work. [Ref query 9285]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55150.jpg "Freshford")
![The 96 yard tunnel in the background may now be a dead end, but it is lit; and has been used for parties, dramatic productions, and filming. It is currently for sale, along with the house above it. It was built by an apprentice to Brunel, and is said to be the first tunnel West of Paddington on the GWR. The water in the foreground is the Tetbury branch of the River Avon.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55276.jpg "Malmesbury Tunnel")
![This photograph almost defines the country railway. A class 150 approaches the farmers' crossing North of Freshford station on a beautiful spring Saturday in 2016. [Ref query 6631]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55368.jpg "Freshford")
![Capital connections: for a small town in Wiltshire, Bradford is remarkably well connected by rail. The train on the left is heading for Cardiff, that on the right is heading for London Waterloo.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55377.jpg "Bradford-on-Avon")
![The cattle dock at Tetbury is now restored - or perhaps 're-imagined' would be more appropriate see image [[53903]]. Still, let's not bifurcate rabbits...<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55463.jpg "Tetbury")
![Up to the 1980's at least, secondhand railway van bodies were all over the countryside, mostly in use as store sheds for farmers. I was quoted £250 to buy such a body in 1984. But there are a lot less old vans around these days; sometimes through arson, other times through roof failure leading to rot and structural collapse. This pig farmer has a good idea to keep his van neat: a custom-made corrugated iron roof. see image [[47668]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55603.jpg "Bradford-on-Avon")
![The railway in context: Malmesbury engine shed is overlooked by the Abbey, standing on the hill in the background. see image [[55276]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55639.jpg "Malmesbury")
![Another view of the tunnel see image [[55276]] and its verdant surroundings. Local knowledge was very useful in finding this viewpoint!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55686.jpg "Malmesbury")
![Ye olde platform 1. Old architecture, alongside modern signage and facilities co-exist happily at Bradford (as the locals call it), seen here in April 2016.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55874.jpg "Bradford-on-Avon")
![Pretty as a picture - Bradford looking good, just as a Cardiff bound service approaches from the South Coast. See image [[55377]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55947.jpg "Bradford-on-Avon")
![The HST Celebrated its 40th birthday with an open day at St Philips Marsh depot, Bristol, on Bank Holiday Monday. Here are six different liveries (FGW, Grand Central, Network Rail, Virgin, EMT, and GWR), with the prototype power car just visible in the left background. [See recent news item]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/54000/54970.jpg "St Philips Marsh Depot")
![This rather unusual exit from the platform underpass at Temple Meads was used to guide enthusiasts from the station to the waiting shuttle buses for the St Philip's Marsh open day. For the usual standard of passage see image [[42033]] [Ref query 44498].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55034.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Steel trains to Margam see image [[54711]] may be an endangered species; but 66.181 is ignorant of this as it pulls 6R94 (the 10.37 from Tilbury to Margam - presumably empties) out of the loop at Oldfield Park on Bank Holiday Monday. The train was diverted from its usual route due to an engineering possession.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55059.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![During the HST's 40th birthday party at St Philips Marsh depot, Bristol, see image [[54970]] power car 43.002 was unveiled in its original service livery and new nameplates reading 'Sir Kenneth Grange', the train's industrial designer. Sir Kenneth attended the event, and made a very candid speech.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55067.jpg "St Philips Marsh Depot")
![One good turn deserves another - unless you can't spell, and end up with a cormorant. This is the wheel lathe at St. Philips Marsh depot. See image [[20963]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55288.jpg "St Philips Marsh Depot")
![Unit 158.798 carries a vinyl wrap advertising the Springboard charity, which benefitted from the HST 40th birthday party on May 2nd see image [[54970]]. The unit provided a convenient covered area for guests to eat their lunch; which was handy, as the heavens opened.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55422.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![They won't all fit through there you know. Well, not all at once. Apologies for the grain size, but this was an opportunity not to be missed. From left to right - an HST for London, a 158 for Weymouth IIRC, and steel empties for Margam see image [[55059]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55443.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![One of the smaller exhibits at the recent 40th birthday party for the HST was this display of motive power and stock from the AVWP, near Keynsham. Notice the chap sensibly sheltering from the rain on the left.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55451.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![There were supposed to be several steam engines at the HST's 40th birthday party see image [[55002]], but only Royal Scot 46100 got there. It was in steam, adding some interesting smells to the show.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55475.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![I couldn't see a kitchen sink at the HST's 40th birthday party see image [[54970]], but everything else was there. If you think the HSTs are getting on a bit, consider that the underframes on the 08s are actually pre-WW2 LMS technology. That's at least 77 years old.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55518.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![I'm not a fan of the styling of the 150, but this one seems less ugly than the rest, in the new GWR livery. Seen at the HST's 40th birthday party see image [[55518]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55740.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![Well preserved Hymek D7017 photographed during the HST's 40th birthday party celebrations on 2 May 2016 at St Philips Marsh depot, Bristol. <br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55887.jpg "St Philips Marsh Depot")
![Must admit, that old sorting office is beginning to be a bit of an eyesore. see image [[13109]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/55000/55954.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Oi! You lookin' at my radiator? Two class 08 shunters looking pugnacious during the HST's 40th birthday party at St Philips Marsh see image [[55518]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/56000/56139.jpg "St Philips Marsh Depot")
![Classes 35, 40, and 57 lined up at the HST's 40th birthday party at St Philips Marsh on 2 May 2016.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/56000/56447.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![We love Muffin, Muffin the mule - even if we're not quite sure what a mule does in a Traction Maintenance Depot. See also image [[34054]].<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/05/2016]](/images/56000/56988.jpg "St. Philips Marsh")
![As the Germans say, the fascination is in the detail. This treadle is used to hold the gate open, or to release it to be closed, on the Northbound platform 1 at Freshford. Ironically, it is in perfect working order; but is never operated, as the gate is permanently open.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/05/2016]](/images/55000/55361.jpg "Freshford")
![Freshford in bloom [and in less of a rush than image 55150]; view looks South, towards the coast.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/05/2016]](/images/55000/55911.jpg "Freshford")
![Well, stone the crows and blow me down! A stoneblower, seen lurking in the shadows at the eastern end of Bristol Temple Meads on 31st July 2016. See image [[14528]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/07/2016]](/images/57000/57457.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![The first evening of the New Year, looking towards Bath Spa. For a daytime view see image [[55059]]. <br><br>[Ken Strachan 01/01/2017]](/images/57000/57938.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![The old S&D bridge over the GWR line see image [[37063]] has now been replaced, with walls high enough to deter persons ignorant of the power of electricity from dangling conductive objects onto the overhead lines. NR staff have steps on both sides for access for electrification. View looks South, towards the Two Tunnels.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/03/2017]](/images/58000/58426.jpg "Bath Junction")
![The 15.23 to Paddington (time from Bath Spa) is about to pass Oldfield park at speed. Photo' taken from road bridge adjacent to the S&D trackbed. See image [[58426]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/03/2017]](/images/59000/59080.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![66152 beats a hasty retreat with a Rail Head Treatment Train on 3rd November 2017. Maybe it had an invite to an early firework party.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 03/11/2017]](/images/62000/62545.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Everything you could possibly want to know about IET's see image [[61791]] - except whether you will get a cold shower from the HVAC.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/11/2017]](/images/61000/61997.jpg "Bath Spa")
![A class 158 is about to leave for the South Coast on 5th November. I wouldn't say it took off like a rocket; but it was hardly a banger.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/11/2017]](/images/62000/62726.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Looking North-East at Freshford on a winter Saturday evening. It was unusually busy - there were three cars in the car park. 17th February 2018.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 17/02/2018]](/images/63000/63033.jpg "Freshford")
![Abandon hope all ye who detrain here. The train at Freshford is the 19.39 to Bath Spa, originating at Weymouth, on 17th February 2018. [Ref query 2 March 2018]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 17/02/2018]](/images/63000/63061.jpg "Freshford")
![Every Saturday, there are one or two coupled processions of three or four Class 66s running from South Wales (Newport ADJ or Margam) to Eastleigh for servicing (e.g. refuelling). In this shot on 5th May 2018 a colourful sandwich of EWS 66221, DB 66131 and EWS 66013 haul empty car carriers from Alexndra Dock Junction to the South Coast. My first freight shot at Freshford, after visiting for some six years!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/05/2018]](/images/64000/64231.jpg "Freshford")
![It's easy to get 'picture postcard' views at this delightful station. The train is the 14.44 to Portsmouth Harbour, originating at Cardiff Central, and comprising 158798 in immaculate Great Western green.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/05/2018]](/images/64000/64264.jpg "Freshford")
![Is there no part of our rail network free from platform lengthening? Evidently not, as Freshford is caught in the 'more concrete' mania. A service from Waterloo to Bristol Temple Meads inspects the works on 5th May 2018.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/05/2018]](/images/64000/64278.jpg "Freshford")
![If I told you there were two water tanks at Freshford, you probably wouldn't believe me. But here they are on the back wall of the passenger shelter on platform 1, harvesting rainwater to water the gardens. Probably not big enough (or clean enough water) to help out with passing steam engines. [Ref query 18 July 2018]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 05/05/2018]](/images/64000/64852.jpg "Freshford")
![Something of a contrast in styling between the rounded off DMU on the left, and the Polish steam locomotive on the right, which took us to Avon Riverside and back in May 2018.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 07/05/2018]](/images/65000/65331.jpg "Bitton")
![Pre-packaged countryside: looking North through an open door between Bristol and Bath on the Avon Valley Railway.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 07/05/2018]](/images/65000/65860.jpg "Avon Riverside")
![A Westbound HST curves into Bath Spa on 14th July 2018.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 14/07/2018]](/images/72000/72313.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Graffiti is unusual in Bath, but the building on the left is uninhabited. In July 2018 it seemed to be under rather slow restoration. The Westbound HST may have a less promising future.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/07/2018]](/images/66000/66554.jpg "Bath Spa")
![Another atypical view of Bath, looking the other way from See image [[66554]]. An eastbound Sprinter passes the retaining wall for the Avon Canal in July 2018.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 31/07/2018]](/images/66000/66846.jpg "Bath Spa")
![It is hard to believe that the photographer is standing about three feet above the site of buffer stops on a riverside siding adjacent to the Stothert & Pitt crane works see image [[41493]]. The suspension bridge is nice, mind.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/10/2018]](/images/66000/66827.jpg "Bath Green Park [2nd]")
![Digital cameras have a way of exaggerating contrast at dusk. This makes Avoncliff Halt look even more idyllic than it really is. The train is the 16.40 to Portsmouth Harbour, running late, on 4 November 2018. [Ref query 10 November 2018] <br><br>[Ken Strachan 04/11/2018]](/images/66000/66367.jpg "Avoncliff")
![I heard it on the grapevine - investment in future refreshments at Avoncliff. The steps lead down from the car park to platform 2.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 04/11/2018]](/images/66000/66445.jpg "Avoncliff")
![This is a very pleasing shot, considering that we arrived at Bitton due to a navigational error! Beattie 2-4-0WT 30587 pulls into Bitton with a train for Avon Riverside in November 2018. A class 08 shunter is hidden by the steam engine. See image [[31870]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 04/11/2018]](/images/66000/66591.jpg "Bitton")
![I wonder if the owner likes trains? Van with vinyls, spotted in the Avon Valley Railway's station car park.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 04/11/2018]](/images/66000/66619.jpg "Bitton")
![It's not often you see an 08 being driven flat out, but 08.202 was doing at least 17.9mph with a demonstration freight train at Bitton on 16th March - a Mixed Traffic Gala Day where the Avon Valley Railway was notably busy.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 16/03/2019]](/images/68000/68437.jpg "Bitton")
![As it can be hard for a military bureaucrat to tell the difference between wheels and a saddle tank, the War Department very helpfully put a 'this way up' arrow between W and D on the cab side of No. 132, 'Sapper', here seen at the Avon Valley Railway Mixed Traffic Gala on 16th March 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 16/03/2019]](/images/68000/68843.jpg "Bitton")
!['Oi! Come back with that thimble!' Precision coaling at Bitton on the Avon Valley Railway on 16th March 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 16/03/2019]](/images/68000/68894.jpg "Bitton")
![This is a Ruston engine. Yes, but what make is it? Classic diesel traction at the Avon Valley Railway Mixed Traffic Gala at Bitton on 16th March 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 16/03/2019]](/images/68000/68936.jpg "Bitton")
![That bridge at Oldfield Park hasn't been reshaped yet see image [[54573]], but the traction has been updated. 22nd April 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 22/04/2019]](/images/71000/71906.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![This bus stop sign is not for transport interchange, but for rail replacement buses as required. Given the narrowness of Station Road, I would not expect a large bus!<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/07/2019]](/images/69000/69990.jpg "Freshford")
![The new standard for windscreen cleaning on GWR Class 166s, is that you should be able to read the word FRESHFORD reflected in a mid-formation windscreen within an hour of sunset, as shown here on an exclusive test run on 6th July 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 06/07/2019]](/images/72000/72555.jpg "Freshford")
![Bath Spa station looking very welcoming on a cold dark November night. Compare to see image [[37202]]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 02/11/2019]](/images/71000/71388.jpg "Bath Spa")
![I draw three conclusions from this picture. (1) Digital cameras are great at dusk. (2) Freshford station maintains its amazing ability to attract a crowd just before departure time (3) There is no cant deficiency on the Southbound track. The train is the 16.37 to Westbury on 29th December 2019.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/12/2019]](/images/71000/71931.jpg "Freshford")
![All the information you could possibly want, except those trains which do not stop. It looks quite busy, until you realize there is typically 90 minutes between stoppers. Still a good service for a large country village.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 29/12/2019]](/images/71000/71967.jpg "Freshford")
![Storm Dennis? What Storm Dennis? A Maritime liveried class 66 puts a brave face on being an hour late as it hauls a stone train from Banbury to Bristol on 15th February.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 15/02/2020]](/images/72000/72652.jpg "Oldfield Park")
![Train 2V96, the 1914 to Bath Spa, is near the end of its journey from Weymouth as it calls at the idyllic Avoncliff station. Passenger numbers seemed to have returned to pre-COVID levels on this line. This included the chef from the nearby pub; who must follow RTT, as he arrived just in time to catch this four minute late train. Note to car enthusiasts: a red Lotus Esprit on the photographer's side of the Range Rover on the left is invisible due to its lack of height.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 26/09/2020]](/images/74000/74659.jpg "Avoncliff")
![Theres something rather Hollywood about the lighted steps down to the platform at Avoncliff. The train approaching is heading for Weymouth. Notice the large buttresses for the canal aqueduct.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 26/09/2020]](/images/74000/74764.jpg "Avoncliff")
