A NEW history of the Bridport railway has steamed into stores this December.

The Bridport Branch by Gerry Beale and published by Wild Swan Books traces the history of the Bridport branch and its West Bay extension from the glorious optimism of its opening in 1857 as part of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Broad Gauge Great Western Railway through to its final closure under British Rail in May 1975.

Gerry is a widely-regarded railway historian and train modeller. He has held a lifelong interest in the Bridport railway and is currently constructing a scale model of Maiden Newton station as it was in the late 1940s.

His previous books for Wild Swan include The Weymouth Harbour Tramway In The Steam Era and The Liskeard and Looe Branch.

Gerry, 64, currently lives in Bristol but has strong family connections to Bridport and many fond memories of the area. He said: “The book covers the history of the line from when it was built up until its closure. I know the area very well and still do. It is my sort of interpretation and experience of it from when I was a child.

“My grandparents come from Bridport so I was often there visiting them. And my father was interested in trains so he would take me down the station to watch the trains pull in. So it was because of that really that I became really interested at a very early age.”

Talking about what makes his latest book difference to his previous books, Gerry said: “This one has more of a personal tone and feel to it as it is my own experiences.

“Some of my earliest memories are on the trains. I must have been under five and I just have little snippets that have stayed with me.

“One of my earliest memories is of being lifted onto the ledge in the by the engine at the station. I just remember just being so excited by that. Something so simple but its very exciting for a child.”

“I’ve had a positive response on the book so far considering it was only launched this month.”

The Bridport Branch follows the familar Wild Swan format, containing a host of evocative black and white images of bygone times and will be of interest to anyone with an interest in local social history as well as railway enthusiasts.

It is available from Wild & Homeless Books on South Street.