Content

The RailWest site is dedicated to the railways of the UK West Country (basically the Counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall). This site will concentrate primarily on historical information, but it may include also some material about the present-day railways. It is hoped to cover a variety of topics, but initially there may be a predominance of material on signalling. The RailWest site is still growing, so please be patient if you do not find what you are looking for at the moment.

It is intended to cover all the railways in the area, including the major pre-nationalisation companies (Great Western Railway and Southern Railway) and their various constituent companies (eg Bristol & Exeter Railway, London & South Western Railway, Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway etc), as well as the many minor and mineral railways (eg Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, West Somerset Mineral Railway etc). There will be coverage eventually of all of the historic counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall (based on their pre-1974 boundaries). Hopefully there were also be some 'special excursions' in due course into some of the neighbouring lines of Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Wiltshire, as well as the Isle of Wight. However attention will concentrate mainly on the area to the south and west of the line Bristol - Bath - Westbury - Salisbury - Southampton.

Specialist Subjects

There are some aspects of West Country railway history in which the Webmaster has a particular interest and these special subjects are dealt with in RailWest in greater detail with more pages. Topics covered in particular are:-

• The Callington Branch
• Single-Line Block Sections
• Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Signalling
• Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Signalling

Structure

The RailWest site contains a mixture of short notes and longer articles about specific West Country locations or particular topics, as well as a growing collection of photographs and diagrams. There is a keyword search facility and various indexes are provided so that you can select items by:

• Railway Company - most West Country locations eventually became part of the Great Western Railway or Southern Railway and are listed accordingly. There are also listings for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway and various minor railway companies.
• Geographical Area - locations are listed by their county (or counties).
• Subject - a complete listing of all items.

In addition to the main historical records there are a number of additional features including:

• Bibliography - details of books relating to West Country railways
• Common Errors - corrections of various 'howlers' about West Country railways which keep re-appearing in books and magazines
• Glossary - abbreviations of West Country railway company titles and other railway terms
• Histories - outline histories of the various West Country railway companies
• Links - links to other sites of general or West Country railway interest
• Message Board - for exchange of information and general research questions on West Country railways
• Relics and Remains - details of interesting survivors from former West Country railways

Copyright Policy

Material is placed in the RailWest site for the information of the general public about the railways of the West Country, their history and operation. All material in the site remains the copyright of its author(s) and West Country Railway Archives.

You are welcome to make use of this material for your own interests and/or research, but please read the Disclaimer below. A limited amount of material from this website may be reproduced, provided that the source is acknowledged. You are required to obtain prior permission from the relevant author(s) if you wish to reproduce a substantial amount of any material, or before using any material for private or commercial gain.

Some material in the RailWest site has come from unknown sources. Reproduction on this site is considered to be within the constraints of 'fair use' in connection with the webmaster's personal research. However in the event of an unintentional breach of someone else's copyright, then the copyright owner is requested to provide details to RailWest by E-mail () and the material will be removed or credited accordingly.

All contributions to the RailWest site are submitted on the basis that the contributor accepts this Copyright Policy.

Disclaimer

The authors of material contained in the RailWest site take all reasonable care when carrying out their research. Any information supplied in this website is intended to be accurate and complete to the best of their ability and knowledge, except where otherwise indicated.  However neither the authors nor West Country Railway Archives accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions.

Contributions

Why not let us know what you would like to see in this site? You can E-mail () your suggestions to RailWest or write them in our Guestbook. Obviously it will take a very long time to research and write pages about all the different railways, so why not make a contribution yourself and help to make the site grow more rapidly? Just E-mail it to RailWest () and it will be loaded in due course, but please ensure first that you read the RailWest Copyright Policy and Disclaimer.