No7. Bradford On Avon I think.
And while I'm here
Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year .

WWII bridge to be demolished amid £11m project



A historic bridge which played a vital role in a town's war effort will be demolished when the railway tracks fall quiet on Christmas Day.

Winterstoke Road Bridge in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was built in 1941 to provide access to the RAF's aeroplane production factory in Oldmixon.

North Somerset Council said due to its age, "it is now approaching a condition where, if not replaced, it would have to permanently close within five to 10 years".

It is being replaced with an £11m new bridge, external, which will stretch over a mainline railway between Bristol and Taunton, and is scheduled to open in spring 2027.

Winterstoke Road Bridge closed to traffic at the end of November, with pedestrians able to use a replacement bridge.

The old bridge is demolished on Christmas Day to coincide with seasonal railway closures.


The 31m by 12m (101 x 31ft) structure was originally built to help support the country's aviation industry

Councillor Mike Bell, council leader, described the road and foot crossing as a "mainstay" for communities. "In recent years the bridge has enabled around 20,000 journeys each day, testament to the part it plays in our local transport network," he added. "It is a crucial route, which is why it's important that the ageing bridge is replaced with one built to last for the next 120 years."


A temporary footbridge has been installed over the railway, ensuring safe non-vehicle access during the main works

The new bridge will include improved pedestrian and cycle access, and support heavier traffic by removing the current 7.5 tonne weight restriction - allowing buses, emergency vehicles, and larger goods vehicles to use the route again.

Octavius Infrastructure and the council are delivering the £11m replacement project, which is mainly funded by the Ministry of Defence.

Councillor John Crockford-Hawley, the authority's heritage champion, added: "The wartime stories of Winterstoke Road, the factories and the iconic Bristol Beaufighter will live on in the pages of our rich local history."

During World War Two, Oldmixon was chosen as one of three locations in Weston to expand aeroplane production, and in 1941 the factory's first Bristol Beaufighter aircraft took to the air. The bridge opened to public traffic after the war.

May I post here, to the effect that I have probably only continued to quote such ongoing 'news' updates from the BBC, as they enable me to add yet more fresh images of ferries on this forum.

I love ferries. CfN.

06:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 09:29 will be reinstated.
It will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:24/12/2025 02:59

09:56 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:23 will be reinstated.
It will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:24/12/2025 03:00

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:44 will be terminated at Great Malvern.
It has been delayed at London Paddington and is now 26 minutes late.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:24/12/2025 12:56

15:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 18:29 will be started from Great Malvern.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:24/12/2025 12:56

[snip]This got me wondering… where did other Interrailers go in 2025?
I asked around the Interrail office and learned that over half a million Interrailers criss-crossed Europe this year (!!!). 

Here’s a whistle-stop tour of where you all went: 

* Interrail’s most-visited destinations: With only a few days left in the year, France and Germany are battling it out for first place, with Switzerland, Italy and Austria on their heels. 

* One guess at the most-visited city among Interrailers (let’s just say it’s home to a very famous tower…)

* The busiest station of 2025? Hamburg Hauptbahnhof takes the crown.

* Interrail travellers boarded over 7.4 million trains this year, spending more than 578 million minutes watching Europe roll by. 

* Interrailers clocked 1.1 billion miles (1.79 billion kilometres) in 2025, enough to lap the Earth more than 44,000 times. 

Remember that significant sums connected with the project do not include rail infrastructure but are assigned to public realm enhancements (streets and pavements of a tarted up variety). This restricts the amounts available.

Interesting thought - though with 15 ticketed passenger journeys on average per day, I wonder what the case is. Having said which for robustness of the service through Roche, if slewing would make the service more robust there could [have been/be] a stronger case.   Are there predictions for traffic growth at Roche and other intermediate stations between Par and Newquay?  Are any of them anticipated to be growth hubs to help HMG reach towards its new housing targets??

Rumour has it that the 16:23 Westbury to Swindon and 17:35 return are rostered to a driver based in Exeter ...

5 I think is Leuven/Louvain, Belgium, certainly Belgium.

For half marks for countries-

1 - Lithuania

4 - Poland

The train in 18 identifies as Croatian. So, think of an obvious place .... Zagreb? Looks like it!

Received this afternoon ... will follow up with further follow up(s).  So far, so good

For some reason, Stagecoach's buses seem to have stopped accepting Bathnes diamondcards but the driver was fine with this.