Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire, with a branch from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater. Strictly speaking, the main line ran from Bath Junction to Broadstone, as the line between Broadstone and Bournemouth was owned by the London and South Western Railway, while the line between Bath Junction and Bath was owned by the Midland Railway. It was never a high speed line: its winter business was carrying freight and local passenger traffic over the Mendips, but in the summer season the S&D came into its own, carrying a heavy service of Saturday holiday trains from northern towns to Bournemouth. It was often referred to as "the Slow and Dirty", or sometimes "the Slow and Doubtful", but it always commanded a considerable loyalty from railway enthusiasts, and when it closed in 1966 it was widely mourned.