Sorely neglected by railway authors, the line between Bristol and
Taunton was part of the Bristol & Exeter Railway. A fascinating
line, it was built to serve a moribund coalfield and a grand
harbour scheme which proved a dismal failure. The line had many
interesting features: two short dock branches, one of which had a
telescopic bridge; several industrial concerns with their own
locomotives; vital wartime factories; the busy holiday and
excursion traffic to Weston super Mare requiring a special
station.Wind strength had its effect on the railway because on the
horse-worked Weston super Mare branch, when an adverse wind blew,
it was quicker to get out and walk. The line has had more than its
fair share of accidents and mishaps. The B&ER favoured express
tank locomotives, some magnificent specimens having 9-foot-diameter
flangeless driving wheels. The human side is not ignored: there are
details of navvies lives and deaths; of a spat between Brunel and
his resident engineer and the daring robbery of a mail train. Colin
G. Maggs, one of the country's leading railway historians, covers
all these details and more in this gripping and well-researched
story illustrated with over 200 images.
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