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| • Adrian Vaughan at Taunton...
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Well-known railway author Adrian Vaughan will present "Confessions of a Western Signalman" to the WSR Association's Taunton Group on Monday 6 September. Adrian is sure to provide an entertaining evening. As usual, the Taunton Group will meet at the GWRSA near the northeast corner of Taunton Station, at 7.45pm. If you are in the area, come along and enjoy a cracking evening of craic...
25 August 2004
Details from WSRA
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| • Mighty Maroon Marathon
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The weekend of 4-5 September will see Western no D1010 "Western Campaigner" in action. The schedule is the green timetable diesel diagram on both days starting with the 9.40am from Bishops Lydeard and finishing with the 5.35pm from Minehead. The loco will also be running light engine from and to Williton early morn and late eve. If for any reason no D1010 is not available then Hymek no D7017 will replace the Western. The diagram provides 80 miles of haulage on both days with the out and back Bishops Lydeard-Minehead train at the start and end of the day and two return trips to Williton in between. Saturday will see Diesel & Electric Preservation Group Chairman Bob Tiller at the helm and Sunday will see DEPG Vice Chairman Julian Brachhi in charge
25 August 2004
Details from DEPG
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| • What a Day, Oh, What a Day...
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On Tuesday 24 August, the 12.15 from Minehead was delayed by twenty minutes waiting for passengers off the MV Balmoral running late due to difficulties in getting alongside Penarth Pier. Massive efforts by signalmen and train crew enabled the 2.10 from Bishops Lydeard to depart right time, and all relaxed and congratulated each other on being pretty slick operators.
Then - GWR 2-6-2T no 5553 shed a spring hanger bolt. The crew heard it break, examined and decided to limp back to Minehead - the correct decision, but it left the 4.45 ex-Minehead DMU stuck at Blue Anchor, and everyting else later in the afternoon just reacted. Alternative transport for a Thunderbird for passengers on the 5.35 from Minhead could not be found, so the DMU was recalled from Blue Anchor, and ran in the 5.35 path, departing some 5 or 55 minutes late depending on your point of view, and about thirty passengers elected to stay and catch the late running 5.35 proper, itself running about thirty minutes down being held up by the limping no 5553. So the loco no 5542 was quickly detached from the train and rushed around. All were ready to depart at 7.01pm just 86 minutes late but they couldn't get a brake, so a further 12 minutes were lost.
Peter Darke passed out as signalman today and found his first turn at Crowcombe Heathfield quickly turning him into a very experienced signalman, if hours of duty count...
The above account is from the Managing Director who pays tribute to the excellent attitude of all the staff on duty who stuck at their posts long after theoretical signing off times to ensure that everyone got home, and that the loco will be repaired and ready for action again with minimal down time.
25 August 2004
Details from WSR Plc
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| • Tribble Bridge...
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On 19 August at around ten o'clock, Tribble Bridge was struck by a lorry travelling on the A358. A motorbike was also involved in the incident. The motorcyclist seems to have not been hurt. Train services were affected but were more or less back on time by the afternoon. The bridge is of iron girder construction and spans the road near the turning to Combe Florey village.
21 August 2004
Details from local correspondent
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| • Wagon leaves for another life...
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Coal Wagon no 72395 (LMS 137495) had been bought by the Somerset & Dorset Light Railway Co shortly after closure of Kilmersdon Colliery in 1974, and later still was purchased by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust. After providing parts for other wagon restoration projects, the scrapyard beckoned. However, the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway offered to place the wagon at the Big Pit museum so, on 1st July 2004, the wagon was placed on a low loader and set off by road for South Wales. More details and pictures on the SDRT website
22 August 2004
Details from SDRT
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| • Mention in The Lady...
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A short but glowing account of a visit to the Railway appears in a recent copy of The Lady - a magazine for women. The piece, written by Diana Hutchinson, reads ""On the other side of Taunton, taking the A358 toward Minehead, is the village of Bishops Lydeard and the terminus of the West Somerset Railway. Here you take a steam train to the seaside. We had the thrill of seeing one come into the restored station, rounding the bend among the trees with a warning hoot. You can always find a porter and a stationmaster here, as well as a buffet and a great museum to visit while you wait for the train. But a word of caution: the train is always on time...".
21 August 2004
Details from local correspondent
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| • Mogul update...
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WSR's OnLine reports, "5193 [see below] is 9351 is all but complete. Work remaining is however problematic and we are therefore unable to predict with certainty when the locomotive will emerge to enter service. We have to manufacture two new copper steam pipes. They are of 3.5 inch diameter and rather thick in the wall. More significantly design includes two bends and it is the bending process that is proving difficult. As far as we can ascertain, none have been made since the withdrawal of steam in the sixties. No one has yet been found who can recall the method at Swindon, and Andy Forster and the WSR engineers are having to experiment. Components to make welded alternatives in steel have been ordered as a backstop, but we are loath to go down this route, as the steel would lack the flexibility of the copper and is likely to cause jointing problems. We have been unable to locate any to borrow or modify. Other work includes the 'cosmetics' - painting, finishing off and an HMRI inspection of the modification."
4 August 2004
Text from WSR's OnLine and reproduced with permission
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| • What's in a number...
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The cast numberplate for the "new" Mogul being converted from ex-GWR 2-6-2T no 5193 has arrived at Minehead. Readers may be surprised to see the actual number on the plate. It isn't a simple mix-up of the number of the "parent" engine, but a number that follows a logical system devised by the old Great Western Railway for the first of a new series, which, of course, the "Small Mogul" 2-6-0 is! Well done, WSR.
4 August 2004
Details from local correspondent and WSR Plc
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| • Busy bees at Williton...
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On the last day of July, at the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group, two of the WSRA's "Catfish" wagons which are used on the Permanent Way trains, received attention. The vehicles were rubbed down and sanded, steam cleaned, rubbed down again and the frames received their first coat of black paint. The Class 03 shunter received attention to the cooling fan drive belts and the 04 shunter was to receive a smart new coat of paint. The brakevan has now been moved inside the shed for major renovation work to be carried out to its timbers. Western Class D1010 is having minor surgery performed and following a successful FTR exam and a test run, it will be appearing at the forthcoming diesel gala.
1 August 2004
Details from local correspondent
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