TRIP TO THE MOVIES
THE CAMERTON BRANCH: A 'SAVED' LINE LOST
The Titfield Thunderbolt leapt onto screens in 1953 and has gone on to become synonymous with heritage railways, cementing itself in the heart of many an enthusiast with its dramatisation of the efforts to save a branch line connecting an idyllic village (Titfield) with its nearby large town (Mallingford).
The story drew much of its inspiration from the book Railway Adventure, written by Talyllyn Railway’s former honorary manager, LTC Rolt, which tells the story of the work carried out by the early pioneers responsible for saving and running the railway.
Indeed, many of the events of the film are drawn from those covered by Rolt’s memoir; the film’s screenwriter, TEB Clarke, even visited the TR in 1951 and spent two days learning about the trials and tribulations the volunteers there faced. Two incidents that made the leap onto the silver screen were the emergency resupplying of a locomotive with water (which happened to TR’s No. 2 Dolgoch at Brynglas during what is believed to be about early 1951) and people being asked to help push the train (again, in 1951 and on the first day of volunteer operation when the train only went as far as Rhydyronen and where assistance was required to allow No. 2 to run round using only a siding there).
A bittersweet loss
For the filming of the scenes involving the railway, the production crew considered several lines including the Kent & East Sussex and the Mid-Suffolk Light railways, amid several others. With the schedule requiring several weeks’ filming take place, a single-track line, and stunning scenery, assistance was sought from the Railway Executive in charge of BR, and the final decision saw the Camerton branch of the Bristol & North Somerset Railway chosen, which initially opened between Hallatrow (diverging from the B&NSR’s Bristol to Radstock route) and the collieries at Camerton in 1881, later extending to Limpley Stoke where it connected to the GWR’s Bath to Trowbridge main line.
A colliery had been extracting coal at Camerton since 1800 and the Act of Parliament allowing the build of the branch line was awarded to the B&NSR on July 21, 1873, with the GWR permitted to fund construction. Bizarrely, it was not until after the passing of the act that the company’s engineer was told to prepare detailed estimates of the cost of construction. The GWR had been ‘persuaded’ to fund construction on the promise of reimbursement by the B&NSR, for which a special meeting was held by its board in March 1882 to raise the capital.
Despite the line being approved for opening on May 21, 1881, no colliery company had applied for a siding connection and the line remained in suspense until March 1 the following year, when the first three miles finally commenced conveying passengers and goods. Its presence saw the rapid decline of the Somerset Coal Canal, which, by 1898, had become derelict and meant no goods were travelling east of Camerton.
The GWR therefore opted to purchase it in 1903 and began extending the branch line along the route in place of the waterway, opening the first mile to Dunkerton Pit in August 1908, before reaching Limpley Stoke in May 1910.
At Midford, the line passed below the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway’s Bath to
