Last Bristol Train from Bath through Mangotsfield

[@jamara3330]

Thank you for sharing. It was nice to see the station as I was born there but in 1971 so only saw ruins. I expected more people to be out watching the last train at Mangotsfield and hoped to spot relatives.

[@thefakewasp503]

A lovely record of the sad end of this branch and the joy of it reopening.

[@suejenkins9710]

Well impressed. We lived for 18 years just above Staple Hill station in the 1990s/2000s and being railway buffs of long standing were fascinated by the place. This is certainly the only moving film we've seen of the line, as well as the only colour images. Mangotsfield Station too was a *real* loss, such a beautiful building.

[@philipfowler5280]

Many Thanks Sue. At least after the Bath line closed, you had traffic for a while on the main line through Gloucester! Kind Regards, Philip

[@MrWesternDuke]

Wonderful footage - thank you!

[@johndodd6575]

What a cracking film. Thank you Philip.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks John. Very kind of you. Best Wishes, Philip

[@sknn497]

Interesting to see 34073,obviously withdrawn and probably en route to Barry. Sadly one of the few Bulleids to have received no attention since leaving Woodhams.

[@davemassive8147]

Glorious stuff. Some prize footage here. Was Ken Barter related to Harry Barter?

[@robball1812]

My great grandad drove this train and my grandad was his fireman anc also drove the last train to ever pull in to green Park

[@christopherbutler7588]

How sad 😔 to see it all go great video thank you for show it 🙏 😊

[@westerleighwerek1493]

Superb, amazing to have filmed the last passenger to depart Mangotsfield, Staple Hill etc... Must have been a very sad day. Shame I was yet to be born but spent over 40 years cycling the route

[@philipfowler5280]

Yeah, what was so sad was that most people missed the occasion, being caught out by the last departure being so early, and of course all the attention focused on the S & D itself. Best Wishes, Philip

[@simono.d9469]

I now live on the newer housing estate on the Elizabeth shaw site a stones throw from Mangotsfield station. It’s incredible to see how the station used to look.

[@jackmartinleith]

Lovely video. I live in Keynsham and often walk the stretch between Saltford and Bath. Regarding a possible extension to Bath, here are my thoughts. Even an extension to Saltford would be very welcome. Avon Riverside is inaccessible from the south side of the Avon and is pretty much pointless as a station. I can't see Saltford residents being enthusiastic about the prospect of a station in their village - the approach roads (High Street and The Shallows) are narrow and lined with parked vehicles. The only place to park would be the Bird in Hand car park, which is a non-starter. And what would happen at the Bath end? A connection to the GWR line could be built at great expense, running across the fields (owned by the Duchy of Cornwall) just north of the A4 between The Globe roundabout and Twerton Fork. A turnback siding with a runround loop would be needed on the London side of Bath Spa station, but there's no available space. The useable extent of the former Midland route would be just short of the former Weston station (station building still in use). Beyond lies Speedy Tool Hire, a VW dealership and a bridge across the Avon, just west of Windsor Bridge. Further beyond, the alignment is completely obstructed by new housing and commercial buildings, all the way through to Green Park. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

[@John900C]

What a lovely production. Memories of happier times both old and more recent.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks John, very kind. Best Wishes, Philip

[@SuperSuperfingers]

I have lots of memories of the old line, mainly after closure. I walked the trackbed on an overnight hike with the Scouts, from Bath to Siston on a very frosty night. The track was still there, but I only remember single track.

[@philipfowler5280]

No midnight ghost trains? Best Wishes, Philip

[@thecornedbeefcouncil9792]

Thank you for posting this, very interesting.

[@dodgy1954]

So glad to have found this film. Great memories of an area that I was once very familiar with. Good social history and art😀

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Simon. Best Wishes, Philip

[@bobcoyne5525]

Great film! I lived for a short time in Ridgeway Road, used to be able to see Kingswood Junction signal box from my house. Would love to be able to find some old film of Fishponds Station if any exists? Thanks

[@philipfowler5280]

Yeah Bob. Ridgeway Road. That brings back memories. I used to ride my bike on the coal tips. Up and down and around. Should have been kept as Britain's answer to American Theme Parks. Thanks, Philip

[@McMetro]

Very enjoyable video 😀 I'll probably watch it all again later 👍 I hope in the next 5 to 10 years the AVR can get to Kelston and start towards bath. Maybe one day, my dream, towards Warmley and beyond. It was nice seeing the stations on the line, the most video I have seen on the line and some nice video of my favourite station, Mangotsfield. Keep safe 😀

[@philipfowler5280]

Many Thanks! Warmley is supposedly blocked by too-close development, but talks continue with local authorities on a long-overdue Return to Bath. My personal dream would be to see it operate narrow gauge. What a draw for all those visitors to the city! Stay Safe yourself, Philip Oh, personal note I couldn't slide in - from Ridgeway Road and thereabouts, you could sometimes see Peckett tanks puffing along their line which branched off near Kingswood Jn. My grandparents' original house there had been demolished for a straighter road across the main line, but that never happened. Surprise, surprise.

[@McMetro]

@@philipfowler5280 Yes, I can see where the housing would had been on the road and how it would have linking up straight with the other side. There has been word about a future Bristol to Bath metro light rail system utilising the track bed, hopefully - if does actually happen - it won't take it as it would stop the AVR from future expansion or future heavy rail. A narrow gauge railway sounds like a interesting idea... the Telford Steam Railway are planning something similar with the expansion to the old Ironbridge Power Station Site also know as the even older Buildwas Junction site and they plan to run a narrow gauge system along old severn valley trackbed next to the site of the old Ironbridge station. I hope they are able to get there foot in the door with that one and then say 'there is enough room for standard gauge'

[@philipfowler5280]

@@McMetro Thanks McMetro. An extra draw nowadays would be for electric vehicles to run on it, making it a really useful showpiece. Kiddies love steam though, so a mixture of both perhaps? Had James Dyson still been in the electric car race, a deal might have been possible. Dyson Junction anyone? Best Wishes, Philip

[@martinhowe1422]

Fascinating. Respect to you Phil for posting up this piece. I wasn't aware of this line - it was just that I recently stopped in the Ibis Temple Meads hotel and learnt that it sat on the Bristol Bath Railway path. Working back to TM station from the Kingsland Road (railway?) bridge I am have trouble in tracing the path of the tracks back to the main railway bridge over the Avon. Can you provide any info? is there any trace of the tracks immediately to the east of TM?

[@neildelaney5199]

A lovely film,thank you, lets hope the line can be extended,, we all need a little of old time England

[@philipfowler5280]

Thank you Neil. Extension to Bath would be a really fabulous attraction for Avon Valley and for Bath. Wishing you a Happy virus-free New Year, Philip

[@neilbain8736]

It's amazing to see this. I used to live in Bath and used the cycle track all the time. I've fond memories of taking Staple Hill tunnel after dark at 30 mph on a Brompton. If I remember, the tunnel lights went off at 8 p.m but I had my own lights. Another time, another bike, I surprised a badger near Warmley. It was crossing my path and got a fright. Then it sped up after me, trying to attack. I wasn't exactly going fast and before I knew it, it had got level with my chainset. But as my crank went round, it came down and hit it on the head, sending it scurrying away. It gave me quite a turn. Badgers are many things and not timid. They're shy short sighted cute vicious sods if you annoy them. It's great to see the Avon Valley Railway again. It always felt a bit odd cycling beside the trains. Everyone did that, as it was about 5 miles from Bath and an easy jaunt out as something to do of a weekend for the locals. The station cafe at Bitton did a roaring trade then.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Neil. Will try not to annoy badgers! Best Wishes, Philip

[@KeiranCounsellKC1994]

I think there is a small section at lawrence hill that still exists

[@trainresort6557]

This is awesome, like it a lot

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Train Resort! My friend Ken (the cameraman) was a timetable nut, among other things. He noticed that the last train would be at Mid-day, so correctly guessed that few folk would ride, due to all the emphasis being on the S & D proper on that day. Best Wishes, Philip

[@busboymk2]

Great film ! Oldland Common would have been my local station just under a mile away.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Busboy. The day just might come when you can go again from Oldland Common to (the edge of!)Bath...but don't hold your breath on that one. Best Wishes, Philip

[@TheBlueTheMan]

Beautiful work

[@philipfowler5280]

Many Thanks, Philip

[@philipfowler5280]

Very kind. Thank you BlueMan. Best Wishes, Philip

[@colliecandle]

We walked this line just before it was ripped up ( i had a girlfriend - my first ! who lived by the side of the line at Oldland Common. Her home was right by the road overbridge. ) There were still trains running at the time.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks! Yeah, I know the feeling... Kind Regards, Philip

[@davidblackmore3534]

I used to live in Ridgeway Road and as a youngster regularly went train spotting down by the bridge.

[@philipfowler5280]

Yeah, Happy Days, David. Did you ever see Pecketts on their own little coaltips line ? Best Wishes, Philip

[@Peasmouldia]

Ernie Marples, thy name lives in infamy....

[@philipfowler5280]

Yeah, so I gather, Ian. A MORI poll asked me yesterday me how honest I believe our politicians are....... Best Wishes, Philip

[@nigelduckworth406]

Bent as a nine bob note.

[@annescholey6546]

The next election will be a Tory Exit Strategy..

[@kevinfowkes2327]

This isn't one of the closures you can easily pin on Marples and Beeching getting it wrong. You can see from the footage that even the last train was very badly patronised. This line duplicated existing links between Bristol and Bath and Bristol and Gloucester so not easy to argue its closure caused major hardship. Arguably the problems go way back to the building of the railways in the first place, by hundreds of private competing companies hence multiple unconnected stations in the same town/city and too many duplicate lines. This link would be useful today for local passengers, maybe part of a tram system, but nobody could have foreseen in the 1960s the massive growth in population and congestion that we have seen 60 years later.

[@chrisderby986]

Great video, it’s always amazing to see old footage of long closed lines! One tiny criticism though, try fine tuning your sound editing a bit more, as you can clearly be heard clicking your mouse many times through the video!

[@westhavengwr4613]

Loved this. I was a member of the Bristol Suburban Railway Society in its early days. Later I used the Bitton to Greenbank Road Eastville stretch as part of a Marathon training route.

[@philipfowler5280]

Wow! A Marathon runner! Wish I could do that. I was at the back on school cross-countries. Best Wishes, Philip

[@westhavengwr4613]

@@philipfowler5280 My last Marathon was 1989. Loved cross country at school too - Bristol Grammar.

[@philipfowler5280]

@@westhavengwr4613 Lucky you! I only made St Brendan's - practically within a stone's throw of Bristol Grammar and the University at that time. Thankfully my last rugby, cross country, and the strapping by Christian Brothers on hardened hands, would have been mid 1950s. Best Wishes, Philip

[@JonsAdventures]

Wow, thank you so very much for making and sharing this video. I loved seeing the Mangotsfield Junction, I am hoping to cover the Mangotsfield station on a future adventure and I was wondering If I could use your video (with credit) to highlight certain areas? Brilliant video

[@philipfowler5280]

Yes of course - thanks Jon. Kind Regards, Philip

[@JonsAdventures]

@@philipfowler5280 Thank you so much :)

[@m18tankdestroyer43]

Wonderful video.

[@Celtic2Realms]

Very good film and narration

[@philipfowler5280]

Many Thanks! Kind Regards, Philip

[@tango6nf477]

What a pretty station was Mangotsfield what a waste!!

[@philipfowler5280]

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for commenting, Philip

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

It was an uneconomic line with few passengers. Beeching was correct to close it.

[@stephaniehazell5986]

Such an excellent video! I am creating a heritage festival at Green Park Station and I would love to use some of this footage at the event! Do you have an email address or another way to contact you regarding this? I would love to discuss this further. We are also aiming to make a book about GPS and looking for memories and anecdotes from locals. Please let me know if you'd be happy to have a chat. Thanks again for this wonderful video!

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks for asking Stephanie. Just use with a credit please. As for a chat I probably can't contribute much that is not in the public domain already - except that no less than Alexander Graham Bell initially stayed very near the station before teaching for a year.. wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell email: [e-mail] Kind Regards, Philip

[@hjellam2251]

such a shame,thanks for posting.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Howard, Best Wishes, Philip

[@johnkeepin7527]

Interesting to see some old footage as to how it was in the early 1960s. The last time I went to the Avon Valley Railway was a couple of years ago, Here is a short movie in my channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpDPd6iml8Zjb80 I know it’s become a popular cycle route between Bristol & Bath, so that would be a significant issue in the future as well.

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks John. Have left a Comment. Best Wishes, Philip

[@stephenhunt9546]

Should Bring back the trains

[@philipfowler5280]

- AVR should be bringing track & trains to Bath. What an opportunity! Best Wishes, Philip

[@Jesus.is.the.Way.2386]

live almost next to the track nr Warmley/ Oldland; cycling training/road racers travel up to 40mph each way, often two abreast....for dog walkers mums, toddlers and the elderly its a nightmare... slow down! wish the trains were back !

[@philipfowler5280]

...there was a plan to do that, long, long ago... Philip

[@gavinnturner2380]

So this is what my dad watches..... He is a train driver lol

[@a11csc]

super

[@philipfowler5280]

Thanks Chris Best Wishes, Philip

[@djburland]

So sad

[@TheShowgirl25]

Staplehill tnnel vaalidates all I know

[@michaelsandford1015]

no face masks