traversing the Tone (4)

The BBC Tells All

A new £5m walkway linking a major railway hub 8and the nearby town centre has opened, four years after being given planning permission.

The Firepool Boulevard now connects Taunton Railway Station directly to the county cricket ground, and onwards to the centre of town, through a yet-to-be developed plot of land.

Part of the land was the closed Livestock Market ...

... finally demolished in 2023.

The pathway is a more direct route to the town centre and gives people an alternative route that avoids having to walk along busy roads.

The Somerset Council lead member for economic development, Mike Rigby, said the 'boulevard' would have a "decent impact" on people in the town.

Most news feeds seem to think the cost has escalated to 6 million, which seems a lot for a footpath leading nowhere. There always was a footpath from Canal Road ...

... to Priory Bridge where it met up with a footpath along the north bank of the Tone, seen below after the clearing of thr Market site.

And now we look towards Priory Bridge showing the new Boulevard, the resurfaced river side path and the old path from Canal Road just fizzling out.

We can also see that the river path passes under the bridge.

Up at road level we spy the steps up from the paths ...

... and on the opposite side of the road, a ramp down to the path ...

... which looks like the entrance to someone's back garden ...

... but, thankfully for the property owner, it isn't! We are now on a well formed path walking in the direction of the main shopping street and thus, ultimately, the town centre.

Very pleasant!

All is well until ...

... the riverside path goes no further! This time it does lead to private property and is decidedly uninviting. You are "round the back" of Morrisons.

A somewhat creepy walk alongside the slab of the store ...

... offers a first left leading to another dead end ...

... and a straight on and veer left ...

... which takes you to shops, civilisation and the main road into town.

On the way we have to Traverse the Tone (tada!) ...

... before making our weary way into the very centre, the pulsating hub, of Taunton's retail delights.

A Special Weekend Treat

Several of the articles about the new Firepool Boulevard (remember?) extol the fact (?) that ...

... it is a quicker way into town than using the main road.

And, in case you are thinking of trying it for yourself, please note that fbb could find no direction signs whatsoever for his on-line investigation.

You're on your own, folks.

Six million well spent?

fbb has discovered a slight re-route of the pedestrian perambulation. But, lest the excitement is just too much for his readers, he will return to the topic in a future posting.

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The roof of the van is vacuum formed from thin plastic.

So has to be glued to the metal box body; and you have a Newton Chambers car carrier.

Note that roof vents have been added and the translucent roof lights are, in essence, sticky backed plastic labels.

Painting and transfers still to do.

Tricky stuff.

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  Next Variety blog : Saturday 18th April 

Traversing the Tone (3)

We Start At The Station

Once upon a time, Taunton used to be a busy busy junction. It was not long before some of those branches were closed ...

... leaving only a junction at Norton Fitzwarren for Minehead. No National Rail trains junct there, but occasional rail tours take the right turn.

Things have changed somewhat.

Two freight yards have also vanished. The track diagrams - sadly a bit fuzzy - shows the west yard ...

... seen below in an aerial view.

At the opposite end of the station was the east yard ...

... viewed here across the main lines.

Whilst enjoying the above nostalgia, note the water tower top centre.

The west yard was still under development when Google Earth flew by ...

... but the east yard has been replaced by a trendy housing estate.

Above, we note again the water tower and a piece of even older transport infrastructure.

Here the rather turgid waters of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal join the fairly turgid waters of the sleepy River Tone. The remnants of the lock and humpback bridge still stand as part of a footpath network.

Because of canal and railway, the area was cluttered with all sorts of industry some of which remained, until quite recently, around the water tower.

The tower, accompanied by a pumping station, limekilns and lots of industrial stuff, was a major visual hub in the area.

In the mid 1960s the tank was adorned with an advert for the Freight Concentration Depot.

Local reports suggest that this distinctive building is due, at last, to be refurbished into something stable and useful.

Perhaps the tank might become Taunton's first Infinity Pool?

Maybe not!

The area is called Firepool ...

... with a large white area on modern maps. This white area has remained undeveloped and somewhat tatty for many years, but Google Earth reveals some activity.

Now fbb can take off in his personal gyrocopter and overlook the area whilst hovering over the station.

We may be crossing the Tone, using a brand new route across that wasteland.

The now-open path crosses the road outside the new multi- storey ...

... takes you down a choice of two sets of steps, doubtless needed to handle the crowds walking from the station (?).

Here both sets looking back up the hill.

We Finish In The River?

Some pictures also look north across the Tone to a lonely collection of paving slabs ending in the middle of nowhere ...

... and leading nowhere.

All this is a long long way from the "artist's impressions" ...

... showing a broad tree-lined walkway along the river bank.

A drone shot of the Firepool Boulevard as opened shows a ramp down to a narrow riverside path ...

Some plans show a footbridge at that point.

So it will look fantastic when it is all finished.

But, without a bridge, where do you get to?

According to the Council, this is part of a major pedestrian (and cycle?) route right across the town.

According to the BBC, it will be a much faster way to get from station to the town; rather than a somewhat tedious walk along the main road and bus route.

So despite our eager anticipation, we still haven't traversed the Tone.

Maybe we will make that crossing tomorrow.

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The body sides are two slabs of metal ...

... with stripes of plastic representing the seams.

The ends of the body require more detail to match the prototype ...

... so they and the buffer beams are resin moulded and have to be glued on.

The YouTuber uses two part epoxy resin (e.g. Araldite) which has a horrid stink about it.

It is his camera work that is fuzzy, not our readers' eyesight!

Still a lot to do!

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  Next Tone Traverse blog : Friday 17 April