Some great shots on here as of late, well done all.
A few from me from the S&D - the terrain work was completed tonight so it's now possible to drive from Bath down to Poole - just a tiny bit of the mainline between Poole and Bournemouth West to sort out and then I can finish off the trackwork at the stations.
I decided to take BR 5MT 73054 out for a spin and it coped remarkably well with 284 tons, slightly over the limit for a Class 5 but she performed well. At Radstock a 4MT 4-6-0 was coupled up for assistance over the Mendips - the 4MT would come off at Evercreech Junction after which the 5MT would continue on her way solo. These shots take us as far as Shepton Mallet. In practice, the double header would have left Bath but as I wasn't sure how far I was going to go I stuck one on once I arrived at Radstock - an uncommon practice, but not unheard of.
Departing Bath Green Park:
Passing the Twerton Co-Op siding. The gradient briefly changes from 1:50 to level here before continuing at 1:66 and the gradient change is evident:
Approaching Writhlington colliery, here passing the sidings:
Passing Writhlington itself. Writhlington colliery will be on the left and Braysdown colliery on the right:
With the 4MT having been coupled up at Radstock, we see the duo here exiting the 66 yard Chilcompton tunnel:
Crossing Redan bridge with Chilcompton tunnel in the background. This bridge was an unusual one as it had corrugated steel shielding on the parapets (presumably to help with noise reduction?) as well as some odd concrete blocks which, as it turns out, are tank traps, placed there during WWII when invasion was a real possibility. Similar tank traps were found at Moorewood and indeed pillboxes were also found along the length of the line.
Storming across Charlton Road viaduct on the approach to Shepton Mallet. Here the gradient changes from 1:55 down to 1:55 up rather abruptly, shown here to good effect:
And finally powering through Shepton Mallet and diving under the East Somerset Railway. This is another interesting bridge; as built the S&D was single line throughout, and the original line passed under the brick arch. When it was doubled, a girder span was inserted to cross the Up line and a siding, giving the unique look here. The S&D was full of quirks and this has been reflected in the trackplans at various stages - no doubt a future session will help to point them all out!
Cheers,
PLP