The Bristol Railway Archive

Did anyone attend the model railway show at Taunton School this weekend? I was planning to go but had too much else to do including clearing up after Storm Austen. I wonder what the footfall was like. It would have cost me £13 to get in as a concession (£15 for adults) plus another £10 for petrol ...

Sorry to read that Jonathan passed away earlier this month at the age of just 42 after an illness.

Much has been made of his chairmanship of the West Somerset Railway but what is overlooked is his activity in our part of the world. He revived Crossville Motor Services in Weston-super-Mare about a ...

Never heard of this one. Only an hour away from Bristol so still fairly local. Looks like a fun day out for kids of all ages and not a smart phone in sight in the photos on their website. Proper outdoor entertainment as it was when we were younger. What's not to like!

Agreed! Went round there about 45 years ago on a class 47 to rescue a failed class 08 at Wapping Wharf. Made the flanges squeal a bit as we came off the swing bridge. Not even sure if such a big loco was cleared to go round there but needs must!

It was 20 years ago while managing my big train set at Temple Meads that I was invited along to an event in connection with the closure of the Bristol Industrial Museum, which was reinvented as the M shed. The invite had come from what appeared to be a pressure group in favour of opening the branch ...

A very small turnout for the talk at the HMRS yesterday but that seems to be a growing trend of late. Even so I think those who were there found it entertaining. One member turned up with a copy of the new Bath Road book and asked me to sign it. It was the first time I had seen a physical copy as I ...

Purely by accident I discovered just now that the archive is alive and kicking. Spent many an hour on here in the past reminiscing about my involvement with the railways of the Bristol area.

Lots happened in the past few years. Wrote my memoirs entitled 'The Bristolian' to keep me sane during ...

Just published in the May/June edition of Traction magazine is part 1 of my 6 part series covering my experience working at Bristol Bath Road Diesel Depot. It is available on-line as an e-mag from Pocketmags. It should be on the shelves around the end of the month but I haven't found a single ...

Good start!

Clifton Down
There was a coal concentration yard at Filton roughly where Abbey Wood is today.
Fry's at Keynsham.
St Philips Marsh steel yard where Victoria Sidings are today not to be confused with the Midland yard at St Philips off Barrow Road.
Possibly Fishponds although that was ...

I expect that would have been 03121 0r 03382.

Back in the 1960s, Bristol had an allocation of the D95xx type 1 0-6-0 diesel hydraulics built at Swindon. Although not a very successful design, the concept was sound being able to be used for shunting as well as local trip workings. The central cab ...