Well illustrated account of all the railway stations which have existed in Somerset, including light railways etc. 160pp. Somerset has been served by some 180 railway stations and halts; today only 30 remain open, and 11 of these are on the privately run West Somerset and East Somerset Railways. Remarkably, for the people of Somerset were once is familiar with their local station as the village or street in which they lived, this is the first book specifically on the country stations to be published and includes photographs-many of them rare-of all but a handful. Somerset's first station opened in 1840; the most recent in 1990. Collectively, they exhibit a great variety of styles and building materials, usually reflecting designs adopted by the railway companies that built them. Using local materials, making their buildings from ticket offices to goods sheds, signal boxes to stationmaster's houses of considerable architectural interest. Some of these have vanished without trace while others lie derelict, whilst others have taken on a new role, in many cases as attractive houses. A superb historical record with excellent photos, some of which have the added advantage of being composite in having the local people posing as part of the historical record.
