Brusselton Incline

20th May 2025. Leader Jill
Cunningham.
This meet was programmed to co-inside with the 200th anniversary of
the S and D Railway and12 DTNFC members attended on a warm,
sunny afternoon.
We walked beside the surviving Engine House and cottages and
observed the raised walling made of the original stone sleepers. The
history and mechanics of the stationary steam engine, Incline equipment
and line refurbishment was discussed along the way.
Walking down the west side of the incline the different plant habitats
were noted. The dry cinder top surface between the stone sleeper
blocks was home to the early plant colonisers such as Thale Cress, Wall
Speedwell and Field Forget-me-not as well as the less common
Changing Forget-me-not. Small Toadflax, a plant that enjoys rail ballast,
was the highlight, numerous in flower but easily missed as only 2” high.
The fertile banking was sheathed in Red Campion, Greater Stitchwort
and Cow Parsley in full bloom. The drier banking on the west side of
Brusselton Lane had been strimmed, (again), but a section survived of
seeded meadow flowers such as Ox-Eye Daisy, Bird’s-foot Trefoil and
Lady’s Bedstraw.
We returned up to the top and had a pleasant amble around the wellhidden reservoir, behind the Engine house, which originally fed the
steam engine and is now a reserve. Finally, we drove to the nearby
Broom Mill for refreshments; this too is adjacent to the site of the rail
line.