This lovely old picture of Portland shows the island's Merchant Railway in bygone days.

The Merchants Railway was a gravity powered tramway which brought stone blocks down from the top of Portland to Castletown where the stone was loaded on to ships.

It operated as a horse drawn and cable operated incline railway between 1826 and 1939.

This photo, another from the comprehensive and unbeatable collection of Andy Hutchings, is captioned Bringing Down the Stone at Portland.

It is calculated that during the railway’s lifetime approximately 704.93672 tons of stone travelled down the incline.

The railway closed at the outbreak of the Second World War, the track and fittings remaining in a decaying state until their removal in the mid 1950s, many of the rails became reinforcements for the Chiswell sea wall.

Today, the earthworks of its main line can still be traced running from Priory Corner along past the Old Rectory, then around the edge of the Verne before descending a cable-worked incline to Castletown

The former railway is now a popular but very steep walking path on Portland offering views across Lyme Bay.