South Chord Project
Credit: Google Maps with our added notes. Public trains currently operate from Point A to Point Y. Once the project is complete Public trains will run from Point A to Point X (new platform) with access to the Events Field (Z)
In 1864 the Great Western Railway started work to add a Southern facing connection to the Broad Gauge Clifton Maybank goods branch. Work started, the groundworks were completed but no track was ever laid, until now!
Yeovil Railway Centre have started a major project to extend their short running line by using a trackbed that was constructed by the Great Western Railway in 1864 but has never had any rails laid on it. The South Chord project will extend the current third of a mile running line by 440 meters and will also build a new station, Clifton Maybank Junction, to provide better access to the centre’s event field. This will significantly enhance the visitor experience. As the extension crosses the county boundary it will also create a new mini “Somerset and Dorset” line!
The Broad Gauge Clifton Maybank branch was built by the Great Western Railway in 1864 to enable the transfer of goods to the narrow gauge London and South Western Railway at Yeovil Junction. The line came off the GWR Bristol to Weymouth line at a junction north of the London & South Western Railway London to Exeter Line, and ran under that line to the South of Yeovil Junction. A transfer shed, now the Yeovil Railway Centre Visitor Centre, was built to enable the transfer of goods from Broad to Standard gauge. The GWR started work on the “South Chord” to form a southern facing connection to the Bristol to Weymouth line. But the work stopped in 1866 before any rails had been laid.
After work on the South Chord stopped in 1866 the trackbed lay dormant. In 1987 British Rail made a proposal to use the South Chord to allow Bristol to Weymouth trains to call at Yeovil Junction. BR applied for an Act of Parliament to open a new line to Yeovil Junction from the Weymouth line via the South Chord into the former down platform so that Weymouth to Bristol trains could run directly into Yeovil Junction. The old down platform was to be extended towards Exeter allowing the Bristol to Weymouth train to run into the platform; the Weymouth to Bristol train would run into the London end of the platform and would then depart for Bristol allowing the Weymouth train to depart. The scheme was to be done as cheaply as possible using the lifted track from the direct Bristol Weymouth line. The scheme did not survive privatisation and was not implemented. Since then there have been renewed calls, supported by local politicians, to connect the Heart of Wessex Line (Bristol to Weymouth) to Yeovil Junction using the South Chord. However budgetary estimates of £9 Million plus, have meant that these proposals have not being taken forward.
So the task of finally laying track on the South Chord has passed to YRC who obtained permission from Network Rail, and local authority planning permission, to use the South Chord to extend their running line. YRC started recovering rail for the project in 2018. Teams of YRC volunteers recovering rail from Portfield sidings, near Chichester, which served RAF Tangmere for aviation fuel. The second batch of rail, in 2021, came from Horton Road Motive Power Depot, Gloucester.
Work completed to date includes a full digital survey of the new trackbed, scraping back the trackbed ready for ballasting and laying the first 2 track panels using rail and concrete sleepers recovered from Horton Road.
The extension requires an embankment to enable the connection to the current running line. Contractor support will be necessary to construct the embankment.
This is a possibly unique Project, laying track on a “virgin” trackbed that was constructed 161 years ago. Creating a new rail link between Somerset and Dorset.
Donations
All donations will help and will be gratefully received but we are offering benefits for donations of £50 and over.
On the weekend before the new line opens we will be holding a sponsor's weekend, with special trains running on the chord, this will not be open to the public.
Donations over £50 will entitle donors to the following on sponsor's weekend:
- £50 - 3rd Class Ticket: 1 x ticket for a ride on a pre-booked train, name on sponsor's board.
- £100 - 2nd Class Ticket: 2 x tickets for a ride on a pre-booked train, names on sponsor's board.
- £500 - 1st Class Ticket: 2 x tickets on the very first passenger train on the South Chord, complimentary glass of champagne* and names on sponsor's board.
- £1,000 - Directors Pass: Footplate experience for one** plus 2 x tickets on the very first passenger train on the South Chord, complimentary glass of champagne*, names on sponsor's board.
*Age 18 and over
** Depending on demand this may not be on sponsor's weekend.
Donations received will be placed into a Designated Fund for the South Chord project. How you can help:-
Just Giving - please visit this link.
Transfer direct into our Bank account
Barclays Yeovil 20 99 40
South West Main Line Steam Co t/a Yeovil Railway Centre 70991724 (Please email yeovilrailway@hotmail.com to confirm and receive an acknowledgment and for us to check re Gift Aid eligibilty
Send a cheque (payable to Yeovil Railway Centre) to South Chord Appeal, Yeovil Railway Centre, Yeovil Junction, Yeovil BA22 9UU
(Please enclose a confirmation that this is a donation towards the South Chord Appeal and a phone number and an email address if possible).
