As a train-spotting youth in the 1960s, Norman Andrew spent every summer holiday with his grandmother in Radstock. His uncle, Bill, worked down the coalmine at Haydon, which was known as Kilmersdon Colliery.

Norman spent most days playing by the railway, and riding in the little Peckett loco, which towed coal trucks from the pit in Haydon to the top of the steep slope above Radstock.

Once the coal reached the top of the incline, the trucks of coal would be hitched onto a strong metal line or rope, and a hand-operated braking mechanism would see the full trucks released down the hill on rails to the railway sidings in Radstock, where the coal was loaded onto trains and transported to its final destination.

The metal line was looped so that the weight of the full coal trucks coming down the hill from Haydon would pull the empty trucks at the bottom of the incline back up to the top on a parallel set of rails.

The talk and presentation is a ‘then and now’ look at the colliery and incline, based around Norman’s childhood memories and his recent re-visit to the area. Norman has many slides of the colliery and incline including some of him riding on the Peckett engine.

Norman will include some video footage of his working model in his presentation. He also has photos of what is left of the incline railway today, which you can walk to and look at yourselves, if you choose.

‘The Kilmersdon Gravity Incline and Colliery’, by Norman Andrew, is on Tuesday, 2nd October, 7.30 p.m. at The Somer Centre, Midsomer Norton, and kicks off the new season of ‘Bygone Days Talks’, which are held on the first Tuesday in October, November, February, March and April, and are organised by Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum.

Please visit: radstockmuseum.co.uk for more information.

Lucy Tudor