Montacute Station, Somerset - On the closed Yeovil to Taunton Railway

The station at Montacute, just outside of Yeovil, was quaint and very busy. It severed the local community from 1882, until the closure of the line in 1964.
A sad loss to the locals and the steam in general. This video tells the story of the station, with archive movie footage of the station and the trains.
Thank you to Robert Urwin for providing the 16mm cine film, which I was able to transfer to digital, that inspired this video.
Social Media:
aarchivefilms.com
/ aarchivefilms
If you would like to help with future productions, please concider becoming a member of my patreon.
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#Steamtrains #branchlines #montacute #somerset #aarchive

[@jamestaylor3149]

Around six years ago we bought a station house on the West Somerset heritage line. Shortly after, I was on my way to Yeovil when I noticed the one at Montacute and observed it to be the same or very close to ours. Obviously both houses have seen changes over the years. But it was fascinating to learn some of the history and know that there are other houses like ours. Thank you.

[@KILKennyLaDa9898-js2nr]

Fascinating and well researched film, very enjoyable. Passenger numbers tailed off in the 1930's due very likely to the introduction of bus services. Much more direct and convenient, almost door-to-door for a fair few passengers.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

1:08 The folly looks to be one of those designed to be viewed from afar, as it looks pretty rough up close. Great spot for a castle ~ overlooking the levels, which were an inland sea until Viking times in fact. Also at the Rome end of the Fosse Way, so strategic in many ways.

[@nickbannister775]

Walked the trackbed a few years after closing from Martock to Montecute, then the platforms were still in situ before they were moved to the West Somerset Railway. Today this line would be highly profitable with commuters and shoppers as Martock is no more than a commuter town for Taunton and Yeovil.

[@tankmicr00man]

Lovely nostalgic record, sensitively made, and I look forward to seeing your videos of this line. Many thanks.

[@peterdinham1570]

Really interesting, well-made film. As a non train-spotter but someone who is generally interested in railways and social history, I'm intrigued by the mix of motive power in the various film clips you have. The GWR tanks and BR standards seem about right but google tells me 31632 is an ex-SR 'U' class (even I could tell it wasn't a GWR engine) which I would have thought a bit over-powered for a small country branch, likewise the longish rake of carriages it's pulling. On the other hand it wouldn't be out of place at Yeovil, which was of course, on an L&SWR/SR line: is this footage definitely all Montacute or just of the area generally? If it is on the branch I wonder if it was some kind of "special" (which might be why it was committed to film in the first place, of course) or whether SR engines worked this line regularly?

[@AarchiveRailways]

Thank you for the comments. My plan is working on a video of the Yeovil to Taunton line, and I'm just collecting footage of each station at the moment. The first clip came to me via someone wanting cine film to digital. The other footage was found at random. I'm hoping to find footage of each of the stations.

[@nickbannister775]

Derek Phillips wrote a wonderful railway book involving this line called Yeovil Steam. It wouldn’t hurt to ask him for information.

[@darrenhill4297]

Lovely video doniford halt is west Somerset not north Devon

[@AarchiveRailways]

Apologies. I knew it was near Barnstaple, which is Devon. I should have checked, I appreciate the correction though.