DRIVER’S EYE VIEW - West Somerset Railway - Bishops Lydeard to Dunster.

The first time I came across this fascinating line I was about 13 years old, I was on holiday with my family and I’d asked the catch a train to Minehead so my parents took me to Taunton where I boarded a long train made up of Western Region Intercity DMS, the train was already full to standing room only as it was a Saturdays only through train from Paddington, most of the passengers were destined for Butlins Holiday Camp. Being young I don’t remember much about the Journey, just the surprisingly long platforms at Minehead. By 1968 I’d subscribed to “Modern Railways” where I read about the impending closure of the line which surprised me as the train I had traveled on had been so busy, apparently most of the weekday trains, especially in Winter were lightly loaded. The line closed in 1971 and the magazines of the day contained photos of the last train followed each month with more photos showing nature reclaiming the tracks, there was some mention of enthusiasts hoping to save part of the line. I visited the l