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| • And in 2008 we shall mostly be doing...
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The dates for the special events for 2008 are now available. Here are the details - the very popular Spring Steam Gala over the weekends of 8-9 and 13-16 March; the Mixed Traffic Weekend on 13-15 June; then on 2-3 August the Vintage Vehicle Rally; followed by the CAMRA Real Ale Festival on 13-14 September; the popular Autumn Steam Gala is on 2-5 October; with the Somerset in Autumn event on 25-26 October; special trains for the Dunster by Candlelight event run on 5-6 December; Santa Specials run in December; and finally a two day Winter Steam Festival on 27-28 December rounds up 2008. Basic details are in the Diary...
31 October 2007
Details from WSR Plc
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| • Winter Steam Festival - full details...
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The perfect event for the festive season. The West Somerset Railway's Winter Steam Festival on Saturday 29 December 2007 promises at least five steam locomotives in action, including two guest engines - GWR 0-4-2T no 1450 which will be in charge of the Auto Train, and the 1875-built LBSCR 0-6-0T no 662 Martello. Good news on the ticket front too - Day Rover Tickets for this special event are pegged to standard rates. There is also an interesting and varied timetable . A great day out for everyone. Full details...
30 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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| • Give a WSR Gift Voucher for Christmas...
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Gift vouchers for Christmas from the Buffer Stop Shop. How about treating someone to some gifts from Britain’s longest heritage railway? West Somerset Railway Gift Vouchers can be exchanged for goods from the Buffer Stop Shop at Minehead or for train tickets including special events or trains such as our Fish & Chip and Murder Mystery Specials. Vouchers are obtainable in multiples of £5, £10 or £20 and can be ordered by post, complete with cheque made payable to West Somerset Railway plc, by writing to Commercial Department, West Somerset Railway, The Station, Minehead, TA24 5BG. Or you can ring on 01643 704996 with debit/credit card details (all accepted except AMEX) and the vouchers will be posted. Also the Buffer Stop shop can provide a wide range of items including West Somerset Railway leisure wear, books, DVDs, locally made confectionery and for the younger persons awaiting Santa this year the shop stocks a wide range of Thomas the Tank Engine toys and accessories.
30 October 2007
Details from WSR Plc
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| • Medium format - past and present...
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Medium format photography is the topic for the next meeting of the Taunton Group of the West Somerset Railway Association. Members are looking forward to welcoming back Peter Skelton as the guest speaker with his presentation "Medium format - past and present". The venue is the Snug Bar at GWRSA, Taunton Station and starting at 7.45pm on Monday 5 November.
29 October 2007
Details from WSRA Taunton Group
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| • And now for Taunton...
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The WSR may return to Taunton in 2009. According to reports in the Steam Railway magazine, the WSR General Manager, Paul Conibeare is quoted as stating the Railway is looking to obtain main line certification for its DMU for a regular summer weekend service although many obstacles remain including the cost of fitting OTMR and TPWS along with pathing the train along the down relief into Taunton Station's Platform 1. We understand the idea is receiving serious consideration for a service between Bishops Lydeard and Taunton in 2009. Confirmation of the magazine's reports has been requested from the WSR Plc.
27 October 2007
Details from Steam Railway
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| • Award for Best Floral Display...
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Bishops Lydeard Station has the Best Floral Display on the West Somerset Railway. And to prove it, on the platform at Bishops Lydeard, the WSR Association Chairman Humphrey Davies presented the 2007 Award to Clive Goddard who, with Ian Aldridge, is in charge of the gardens and floral displays at the busy heritage railway station. Clive's wife, Rita, who also works on the gardens at Bishops Lydeard joined Clive at the presentation - Ian Aldridge was unable to attend. Further recognition of good work was evident when Humphrey moved on to present John Baines of RaMS (Restoration and Maintenance Squad) at Bishops Lydeard with the Most Improved Station Award 2007.
24 October 2007
Details from local correspondent
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| • Winter Steam Festival guests...
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There will be two visiting engines at the West Somerset Railway Winter Steam Festival this year.Following their very popular appearance at the Autumn Steam Gala, and at the forthcoming Somerset in Autumn weekend, GWR 0-4-2T no 1450 and LB&SCR 0-6-0T no 662 Martello will be staying on the Minehead Branch for the Christmas Holiday event on 29 December 2007. Good news for passengers is that ticket prices will be at standard (not special event) fares, so an Adult Day Rover, for example, will cost just £13. Full details of the Winter Steam Festival will be available here soon...
20 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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| • Best ever Autumn Steam Gala...
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Over 6,300 passengers – a new record for the event – enjoyed a fabulous four day feast of steam at the recent Autumn Steam Gala on the West Somerset Railway. The Gala was held over the weekend of 4-7 October 2007. The event broke all previous records for the number of passengers carried, with visitors travelling from far and wide, and was blessed with excellent weather. No less than thirteen steam locomotives were in action during the Autumn Gala – including six guest engines – representing three of the four former Big Four railway companies, the Great Western, Southern and London Midland & Scottish. A large number of those who visited on the Saturday and Sunday took the opportunity to arrive by train, courtesy of a Virgin Trains Voyager unit which ran a shuttle service between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard on both days. "We had an excellent array of engines in action," comments WSR General Manager Paul Conibeare "with many people telling us that they just did not have enough time to do everything they wanted to do!" The WSR is very grateful to everyone concerned for making the event such a resounding success, including the owners of the various visiting engines, which drew many admiring comments from visitors and staff alike.
18 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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| • An update for Somerset in Autumn...
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Thirteen locomotives for the Somerset in Autumn event on 27-28 October 2007. The event, which is deliberately timed to coincide with the school half term holiday, provides the opportunity for the Railway to showcase its own fleet of locomotives, which will be working a very full timetable of trains over the two days. No less than thirteen locomotives are expected to be in action over the course of the event. This year, the WSR is also taking the opportunity to use three visiting locomotives that have remained on the line following the recent successful Autumn Steam Gala – LMS 2-6-0 no 42968 from the Severn Valley Railway, GWR 0-4-2T no 1450 and the diminutive LBSCR Terrier 0-6-0T no 662 Martello from the Bressingham Steam Museum. Read more latest news at the recent Press Release - and lots more information at the Somerset in Autumn page...
18 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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| • News from the Friends of Minehead Station...
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A time of change for the Friends of Minehead Station. The latest newsletter from FoMS reflects on the developments at the Station, which will see the old carpenters shop and other long time artefacts swept away to make room for the new turntable. FoMS have been busy moving into a new workshop. With the planned erection of a Station Buffet and Ice Cream Parlour on the site of the existing catering stores, it seems likely the Bookstall may be moved slightly towards Taunton, to allow for better access by passengers and visitors. On the social side, it seems the Duck Racing and Barbeque was "well attended". The Summer Fair held at the Methodist Hall was so successful that this venue will host future Fairs. The maintenance party notes recall a busy season, the fitting out of the new workshop and lots of preparatory work ahead of the turntable project proper. Not forgetting the installation of new press-down taps in the Gents toilets which FoMS, rightly, feel "quite flushed about". Details of membership of FoMS can be found on the Friends of Minehead Station page, or from Minehead Station.
18 October 2007
Details from FoMS
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| • Date for next Open Forum announced...
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The date for the next open forum for WSR members, employees and volunteers has been announced. Chris Austin, Chairman of the West Somerset Railway and Humphrey Davies, Chairman of the West Somerset Railway Association would like to invite all volunteers, members and employees of the WSR and WSRA to the WSR/WSRA Liaison Meeting on Sunday 25 November in Bishops Lydeard Village Hall starting at 2pm. Questions that may require a little research (or question to ask but unable to attend) please send details to the WSR Office at Minehead or the WSRA Office at Bishops Lydeard a few days before the meeting date. The meeting will be an open forum and it is hoped many will be able to attend.
17 October 2007
Details from WSR plc and WSRA
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| • News from the Dinmore Manor Fund...
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Fundraising for the overhaul of a WSR favourite loco gets off to a good start. The Dinmore Manor Fund "New Horizons Appeal" has seen money coming in at a steady rate since the articles in both Steam Railway magazine and the WSRA journal were published in June. However, further input both physical and financial are of course always welcome to help reach stage one of the appeal as soon as possible which is to get BR(W) 4-6-0 no 7820 Dinmore Manor back in traffic by Easter 2011. Work has been progressing steadily on the second tender, the order for the tank having been placed recently with many of the brake gear components have been receiving attention from our volunteers. Working parties are currently planned at Minehead over the next few months to remove parts from Dinmore Manor in readiness for overhaul - some will be taken to a storage facility in the Midlands and worked upon over the winter months. To get involved in the working parties can contact the Fund by email at info@dinmoremanorfund.co.uk. Further details - and a super free desktop backdrop featuring the Fund's other loco, No 3850 - at the appeal website www.dinmoremanorfund.co.uk
16 October 2007
Details from Dinmore Manor Fund
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| • Recovering remains of Taunton turntable...
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A splendid turn out of around thirty volunteers each day this weekend in the first of two weekends to excavate the turntable edge casting from the old Taunton steam shed site (shed number 83B). Many of the volunteers were from the WSR's Cutting Back Gang. The first weekend involved scrub clearance and preparatory work, with some coping stones removed. Much of the perimeter of the turntable pit is edged with iron castings. It is hoped to lift the castings out next weekend. There are several types of casting covering either a full road and two halves or two halves (one rail from each of two adjacent roads). All are about 12" square section and of course 65' radius. Each casting is held down with two or more foundation bolts and keyed together using a wedge at edge central locking pin. Removal is not going to be an easy job and is by no means a foregone conclusion!
14 October 2007
Details from WSRA
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| • Gardening success story...
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Success for the Bishops Lydeard Station Gardening Team. Clive and Rita Goddard along with Ian Aldridge were recently awarded the Taunton in Bloom "Summerfield Cup", and £200, for their splendid work with the Flower Beds at Taunton Station. As part of the growing relationship between the West Somerset Railway and the main line companies, the WSR Association tend the gardens at the county town railway station. The Team also won the Taunton in Bloom "Best Public Access Site" Second Prize for their gardening work at Bishops Lydeard Station...
14 October 2007
Details from WSRA
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| • Find out about volunteering on the WSR...
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The West Somerset Railway is holding another New Volunteers Day on Sunday 14 October as the twenty mile long heritage line between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead looks towards further expansion of its business in the future. The day will begin in the Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard at 11.00am and will end at 5.00pm The day will introduce those interested in working on the WSR to railway work, and how to get started and will also incorporate a round trip by steam train to Minehead during which members of the Railway will introduce themselves and explain what tasks and work are available.
11 October 2007
Details from WSR Plc
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| • A very successful Gala...
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The Railway expresses delight at the success of the Autumn Steam Gala. The four days of the Gala was blessed with excellent weather and both railway enthusiasts and the general public flocked to the twenty miles of heritage railway between Bishops Lydeard, near Taunton, and Minehead. A large number of those who visited on Saturday and Sunday arrived by train, taking advantage of the Virgin Trains Voyager that ran special trips between the main line station at Taunton and Bishops Lydeard. By the time the last trains arrived at their destinations on Sunday evening no less than 6312 passengers had been carried. The West Somerset Railway was very pleased with this figure as it represented an increase of 345 passengers over the same weekend in 2006. The next event is the Somerset in Autumn weekend on 27-28 October...
11 October 2007
Details from WSR Plc
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| • News of a Chippie Special...
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Fish, chips and steam - what a combination. On Saturday 27 October, as part of the Somerset in Autumn weekend, a special evening train will depart at 6.45pm from Minehead heading for Bishops Lydeard and back, and stopping at Blue Anchor, Washford, Watchet and Williton in both directions, back in Minehead at 9.45pm. The train will be hauled by Stanier Mogul 2-6-0 no 42968 (subject to availability). Travel on this train is free to holders of a Saturday Day Rover or Weekend Rover Ticket. Non-Rover ticket holders can travel at special event fares. A bar and buffet service will be available throughout the journey. In addition, there will be the option of enjoying a fish and chip supper at a cost of £7.00 per person, served on the outward journey - please note the supper must be booked and paid for in advance (by the 22nd October). Come along and enjoy an evening out…
2 October 2007
Details from WSR Plc
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| • Details of the Somerset in Autumn event...
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Details of the Somerset in Autumn event are now available. The event – introduced for the first time this year – will feature an intensive timetable, with services over the whole 23 mile line, worked by a host of steam and heritage diesel locomotives through the beautiful autumn colours of the West Somerset countryside. There will be plenty for both the family and serious railway enthusiast to enjoy. Variety is definitely the key, so come along and see just what is on offer. More details...
1 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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| • Day by day at the Autumn Steam Gala...
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Loco roster information for the Gala has just been released. The following locomotives are rostered to be in service each day at the AUTUMN STEAM GALA:
Thursday: Nos 662, 1450, 3440, 3850, 4160, 6619, 42968, 44422
Friday: Nos 88, 662, 1450, 3440, 3802, 4160, 5553, 6619, 42968, 44422
Saturday: Nos 88, 662, 1450, 3440, 3802, 3850, 5553, 6619, 9351, 42968, 44422 (Spare at Williton: 4160)
Sunday: Nos 88, 662, 1450, 3440, 3802, 3850, 4160, 5553, 6619, 9351, 42968 (Spare at Williton: 44422)
The full working timetables - which will include details of the locomotives diagrammed to work each train - are published in the special Autumn Steam Gala souvenir programme, priced £2.50. This can be purchased in advance from Minehead Station (telephone 01643 704996) or from stations during the event. Please note that all locomotives are subject to availability.
1 October 2007
Details from SEPT
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