150th anniversary of the Somerset & Dorset Railway

6. Rebuilt small Johnson 4­4­0 No. 18 passes the carriage sidings on its descent toward Bournemouth West with a Through Passenger on Saturday 31 May 1913. No.18 was one of the four original small 4­4­0 locomotives to be built by Derby for the S&DJR arriving in May 1891. They immediately took on the heavier passenger workings that had been previously entrusted to the thirteen 0­4­4T locomotives; subsequent Derby deliveries relegating the latter to local and branch lines duties. No.18 was first rebuilt in December 1904, surprisingly with a similar sized boiler, before being rebuilt again in June 1911, this time with the shortened ‘H’ boiler and fittings as per No.68 albeit with the Johnson horizontal tube layout. The term Through Passenger for this particular service may be misleading as S&DJR carriages regularly worked into Bristol at both St. Philips and Clifton Down, usually having an additional Midland Railway carriage attached, as in this instance. On this occasion the train had departed Bristol St. Philips at 11.18am and arrived at Bath at 12.07pm, subsequently departing at 12.14pm. A noteworthy feature about the S&DJR ‘set’ is not so much the mixed nature of vehicles but the appearance of bogie composite No.37; the first bogie vehicle constructed by the S&DJR in 1898 and the only one with an arc roof – No. 38 was also built in 1898 but had an elliptical roof, which all subsequent bogie carriages had. In the background is the S&DJR locomotive shed located within the Branksome Triangle.

7. Rebuilt small Johnson 4­4­0 No. 67 entering the south-eastern throat of the Branksome Triangle on Saturday 31 May 1913. No.67 shared the same details as No.68 apart from being rebuilt in October 1907 with the Johnson tube layout and having its Ramsbottom safety valve enclosed, the casing being painted and lined thereby making it unique amongst the other small Johnson class. The appearance of five S&DJR bogie carriages is a rarity, so had the 5.45pm Stopping Passenger for Bath suddenly become popular?

8. Rebuilt small Johnson 4­4­0 No. 68 simmers at platform 4 at Bournemouth West on Saturday 9 August 1913. For No.68 three years have passed whereupon it has acquired steps forward of the coupled wheels, whilst the upper lamp iron has moved down onto the top of the smokebox door. The service in question is not known and the time of day is not discernable, but the attachment of an S&DJR milk van on such a lengthy train is unusual, unless it was doubling as a luggage van. No. 68 would be working hard as its permitted hauling capacity (as at 31 December 1917) was 170 tons. The previous weekend, including Sunday, had been extremely busy, countrywide, with August Bank Holiday traffic. Bournemouth saw (Cook’s) excursion traffic, as detachments or as whole trains, from all parts of Britain emanating from the following company lines: G&SWR (Kilmarnock), H&BR, L&NWR, L&SWR, L&YR, MR, NER, NSR and the Severn & Wye. Most, if not all, would have arrived at Bath in Midland Railway carriages and for the journey south the S&DJR would have supplemented services with its own stock. Empty carriages would have been marshalled at Bournemouth and/or returned to Bath (empty trains not to exceed 18 carriages). The assortment of goods vehicles in the yard to the left includes a conflat that is sadly illegible. Note the litter between the tracks.

9. Vulcan Foundry 2-4-0 liveried as S&D No.23. The loco was one of a batch of six ordered in 1866. In practice only two were taken into S&D stock because of financial problems-the other four were finally sold by Vulcan to the Alsace-Lorraine Railway.

10. Rebuilt 2-4-0 No.16A at Blandford in August 1892 on a down Templecombe to Wimborne goods. This loco was built by the Vulcan Foundry in 1866 as No.20, rebuilt in 1881, and renumbered 16A in 1891.

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