The Last Days of Steam in Bristol and Somerset

Although diesel traction had been introduced to the county of Somerset as early as 1958 it was not until 1966, and the closure of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, that steam finally disappeared from the county. Here Colin Maggs has brought together a superb collection of photographs which retell the story of those last days of steam in the area. Depicted in this volume is the unusually wide variety of locomotive power which was to be seen throughout Bristol and Somerset during this era. Alongside the standard GWR and BR classes, are the many MR and LMS types which worked down as far as Bristol, some even making their way through Somerset. Here Southern and, very occasionally, Eastern Region engines were to be found, while the Somerset and Dorset line was the home of the unique class of 7F 2-8-0s. Accompanied by the author’s informative captions these evocative pictures, often with a backdrop of splendid scenery, recapture the atmosphere of the end of the age of steam in Bristol and Somerset.