The Mangotsfield Triangle – Lost Midland Railway routes to Bristol and Bath

Our Speaker for this meeting was Mike Beale with the subject of the Mangotsfield Triangle The significance of this triangle was that it gave the Midland Railway access to either Bristol or Bath and the Somerset and Dorset Railway. As a result Bristol Temple Meads had to be enlarged bypassing the original Brunel Station. It also gave access to Bristol Docks and freight traffic. This was well illustrated with aerial photographs. The other route took us to Bath Green Park and the difficulty of operating through trains with a terminus station. In addition to a variety of Passenger and Freight Trains there was a detailed look at Bristol Barrow Road shed which served the LMS locomotives until the end of steam. The talk finished with a look at the cycle ways which have been created on the old trackbed. The current Avon Vallet Railway operates over a short section of the surviving route and has a classic Midland Railway station at Bitton. This was a very well presented talk and demonstrated the influence of the Midland Railway in GWR territory.