Sixty years ago this month, on March 6 1966, the Western Region achieved two major goals with the end of both steam power and the Somerset & Dorset route – bringing a mighty era to a rather grubby end.

Steam Railway meets up with Gavin Collins, Chairman of the North Dorset Railway, and Phil Jacques, the line’s Operations Manager, to talk about what this S&D anniversary year (and beyond) holds for the expanding heritage line.

Let me say straight away, from an early age I loved watching trains go by at my local station and soon became just as interested in the surrounding infrastructure. I loved how the whole system worked,

This year also marks 70 years since Spetisbury station closed, a decade ahead of the Somerset & Dorset as a whole. But a dedicated group of volunteers is ensuring it is far from forgotten.

GERALD CORBETT, chief executive of Railtrack from 1997 to 2000, speaks exclusively to CHRISTIAN WOLMAR, in conjunction with the Calling All Stations podcast, about his time in the industry which included two major accidents at Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield

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