A NEW Channel 4 series will offer a bird's-eye view of Britain's lost railway lines and will feature Midsomer Norton's heritage railway.

Episode one of Abandoned Railways from Above series will air this evening (Saturday, September 21) and will feature the Somerset and Dorset Railway, which passes through Midsomer Norton. The route begins in Bath, taking viewers through tunnels and across viaducts as it winds through the countryside.

Midsomer Norton railway station, later known as Midsomer Norton and Welton and eventually Midsomer Norton South, was part of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.

The station opened in 1874. After the 1948 nationalisation, the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. The station, along with the rest of the line, closed in 1966. 

In the early 1990s, Norton Radstock College used the station building and goods shed for its art department before moving to a new building. In 1995, The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust took over the lease to restore the station. They have restored many buildings and laid a short section of track, with plans to extend the track further in the future.

Abandoned Railways from Above airs on Channel 4 at 8.25pm on Saturday September 21.