| Two restoration achievements to be celebrated on 5 October |
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Two significant restoration achievements will be celebrated by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust at Washford Station on Saturday 5 October 2013, during the West Somerset Railway's Autumn Steam Gala. The completion of the exterior restoration of a unique first class SDJR wooden-bodied carriage no 4 after over 25 years of painstaking work will be marked at a gathering of people involved in the acquisition and restoration of the vehicle. And the conclusion of a 20 month overhaul of the steam locomotive Kilmersdon will also be commemorated in the presence of members of the family of Herbie Loader, the final driver of the loco at Kilmersdon Colliery, Radstock. The loco and coach - both resplendent in the fully lined out Prussian blue livery of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway - will be on show throughout the Gala and visitors will also be able to see the large collection of memorabilia of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. For further information, visit www.sdrt.org
30 August 2013
Details via West Somerset Railway Plc 
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| Chinese journalists visit the West Somerset Railway |
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On Wednesday 28 August 2013 the West Somerset Railway was pleased to welcome two Chinese journalists, Sindy Chan and Nam Troy, from the "China Daily". Their visit was arranged by John Turner of the Somerset Tourism Association. They first enjoyed the delights of Bath, Glastonbury Abbey and Wells Cathedral. After a couple of nights at the Swan Hotel in Wells the pair travelled with Bob Smart of the STA to meet John Simms of the WSR's Commercial Department for a steam train journey to Minehead. After watching GWR 2-8-0 no 3850 being turned on the Minehead turntable in the company of the Railway's Commercial Manager David McCubbin, Sindy and Troy visited Dunster with a stay at the Yarn Market Hotel before leaving West Somerset next day on the 10.22am steam train from Dunster Station.
30 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Bank holiday weekend Dunster bus service proves popular |
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Many passengers on the West Somerset Railway used the free bus link from Dunster Station to the nearby village over the recent bank holiday. The heritage bus - Bristol Lodekka LD6B 972EHW (fleet number LC8518) - was hired by the folks at Dunster Station from Crosville Motor Services and driven on both days by Alan Bond (who is also the Dunster Station Master) with Colin Harris and John Dixon (both long serving WSR volunteers) as conductor on the Sunday and Monday respectively. There is no doubt this initiative funded and operated by Dunster Station encourages visitors to use the railway for a day out at picturesque Dunster and it is hoped to repeat the operation on bank holiday weekends in 2014.
29 August 2013
Details from local correspondents
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| Diesel locomotive diagrams during Late Summer Weekend event |
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For those looking to travel behind their favourite 1960s diesel locomotives during the Late Summer Weekend event, the planned diagrams from the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group are as follows. Saturday 31 August from Minehead: D1010 (9.45am, 5.45pm), D7017 (11.45pm), D1661 (1.45pm), D832 (3.45pm), and from Bishops Lydeard: D7017 (9.45am), D832 (11.45am), D1010 (1.45pm), 3.45 (D1661). On Sunday 1 September from Minehead: D1661 (9.45am, 5.45pm (D9526 pilot to Williton)), D7017 (11.45am), D1010 (1.45pm), D832 (3.45pm), and from Bishops Lydeard: D7017 (9am, 3.45pm (D1010 pilot to Williton)), D1010 (9.45am), D832 (11.45am, 5.45pm), 1.45pm (D1661).
28 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Take the train to see the Minehead Raft Race |
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The Minehead Raft Race takes place on Saturday 31 August with the start taking place at Blue Anchor at 2.30pm. There are actually two races taking place, a fun race and a more serious five mile one. The event raises money for a very worthy cause, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. As the event coincides nicely with the Late Summer Weekend there is a choice of trains to travel on. From Bishops Lydeard the 11.45am will be headed by a vintage diesel locomotive and will arrive at Blue Anchor at 1.05pm; whilst the 12.56pm steam train is due at Blue Anchor at 2.05pm. From Minehead the 12.45pm steam train reaches Blue Anchor at 1.05pm and the 1.45pm vintage diesel is there at 2.05pm.
27 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Experience Powderham Signal Box during Late Summer Weekend event |
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The Powderham Signal Box exhibit, located at the Gauge Museum Bishops Lydeard, will be in action on both days of the Late Summer Weekend from 11.30am to 4.30pm, with a full signalling demonstration. Visitors will be able to experience the sights and sounds of a busy signal box during the 1950s, and to find out more about the mysteries of signalling from knowledgeable guides. The exhibit is also open on all days that the Gauge Museum is open, giving visitors the opportunity to try their hand as a signalman.
25 August 2013
Details via West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Dates of the WSRA Taunton Group meetings |
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The details of the popular monthly meetings of the Taunton Group have been updated. Organiser Ian Aldridge writes "I am putting the 2013-14 programme together. Please note that the October meeting is on the third Monday 21st of the month and the May 2014 meeting is on the 19th." Full details can be found on the West Somerset Railway Association website. The next meetings will be on Monday 2 September 2013 when Arthur Turner will be giving the second of his talks on Control at St Pancras, and on Monday 21 October 2013 with Peter Triggs giving a slide show and talk called 'Steam, steam and a little exhaust'.
23 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Association 
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| Crowcombe Heathfield Signal Box gets the RAMS treatment |
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The Bishops Lydeard Station based RAMS team (Repair and Maintenance Squad) are currently repainting the outside of the Crowcombe Heathfield Signal Box. To do so scaffolding has been erected and all guttering removed. This allows an initial inspection to be performed and remedial work carried out prior to painting. Once repaired and painted we hope to publish pictures to show the improvement brought by this small group of volunteers who repair and maintain so much of the heritage on this railway.
22 August 2013
Details from the Restoration and Maintenance Squad (RAMS)
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| An after-dark four Manor photoshoot at Minehead on 5 October |
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The chance to photograph four Manor locos at an evening event during the Autumn Steam Gala. Don Bishop writes "I have agreed with the WSR Plc to run an evening photo-shoot at Minehead station and shed area on the Saturday evening (5th October) of the Autumn gala. The event will feature all 4 Manor class 4-6-0’s that will be attending the railway for the gala – 7812 Erlestoke Manor, 7822 Foxcote Manor, 7827 Lydham Manor and 7828 Odney Manor lined up and positioned around the shed area for two hours between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. Places cost £20.00 per head with cheques payable to the West Somerset Railway Plc and sent to me at Don Bishop, 2 Plymor Road, West Huntspill, Somerset, TA9 3RR. Places can be reserved by emailing donbishop@btconnect.com and sending a cheque as confirmation. Groups of Manors were often seen on Aberystwyth and Machynlleth sheds and a well known line up occurred around the running of the Royal Train at one time in the early 60s on Machynlleth shed which featured several of our visiting Manors for this gala. So this is in effect a recreation of a past Cambrian scene."
22 August 2013
Details from Don Bishop
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| West Somerset Railway welcomes its 5 millionth visitor |
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The five millionth passenger travelled on the West Somerset Railway on 22 August 2013. Colin Howard, Retail Manager, presented the five millionth passenger with a certificate, guidebook and £50 of vouchers. The five millionth passenger was Kelly McLeod, with her husband David and daughter Mollie Lillian. The first train of the West Somerset Railway's preservation era left Minehead on Good Friday in 1976 for a round trip to Blue Anchor and back. Now, the railway regularly carries over 200,000 passengers each year over twenty miles of line between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. Nearly all of those passengers use the train to visit the communities along the route and spend money locally. That first four-coach train was hauled by an industrial steam engine. Today, trains of six to nine coaches run behind former mainline steam locomotives.
22 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| A two gauge Cambrian Goods evening photoshoot at Williton |
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An unusual photo shoot will take place at Williton station on the evening of Friday 4 October 2013. The event will feature one of the visiting Manor Class locos posed in and around the station. And something very unusual for photographers - the 2ft 3in gauge former Corris Railway 0-4-2ST no 3 will be placed on a weldrol wagon as part of the formation. Narrow gauge locomotives were carried in this way to Oswestry and Swindon for overhaul. The diminutive locomotive is visiting the line courtesy of the Talyllyn Railway and the move is being sponsored by the West Somerset Railway Association and the loco will be on display at Williton over the following two days, when the works of the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group and West Somerset Restoration will be open to the public as part of the line's Autumn Steam Gala weekend. Cost will be £30 per person made payable to West Somerset Railway Plc and all proceeds from the event will go to the West Somerset Railway. Spaces are limited so please reserve a place early - see the Information and Booking Form.
20 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Association
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| A little bit of Cambrian comes to West Somerset in October |
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There will be a strong Cambrian look along the West Somerset Railway in early October. Many of the stations will adopt a Cambrian Railways theme during the 2013 Autumn Steam Gala on 3, 4, 5 and 6 October. Each station will be temporarily renamed after notable stations along the route from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli and one or two WSR stations seem to be well advanced with preparations, as pictured left [larger version] [snapshot] at Crowcombe Heathfield where Bara Brith and Welsh Cakes will be on offer, although costumes and knitting is optional for Gala visitors. And four Manor class locomotives - a class forever associated with the Cambrian route - expected to grace the West Somerset metals during the event!
18 August 2013
Details from Friends of Crowcombe Heathfield Station
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| Taunton Model Railway Group - open days at Bishops Lydeard Station |
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There is a very good piece in the latest edition of the Hornby Magazine about the Taunton Model Railway Group and their 4mm scale layouts Bath (Green Park) and Tamerig Central. And there is a chance to see the layouts at their clubroom at Bishops Lydeard Station when the Group open the doors during the Late Summer Weekend event on 31 August and 1 September and on 4, 5 and 6 October during the Autumn Steam Gala.
18 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Free bus link between Dunster Station and Dunster Castle |
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There will once again be a free bus link between Dunster Station and Dunster Castle over the Sunday and Monday of the Bank Holiday Weekend. On 25 and 26 August the bus departure times from Dunster Square are 9.55am, 10.50am, 12.00pm, 12.55pm, 1.55pm, 2.40pm, 3.50pm and 4.55pm. Buses will leave Dunster Station at 10.35am, 11.45am, 12.40pm, 1.40pm, 2.25pm, 3.35pm and 4.40pm. The regular Saturday Dunster Castle Express will operate as usual on Saturday 24 August 3013.
18 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Nunney Castle joins list of guest locomotives for Autumn Steam Gala |
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Subject to final confirmation of availability two more Swindon designed 4-6-0s have been added to the line-up of engines due to feature in the West Somerset Railway's Autumn Steam Gala between 3 and 6 October. The Gala has a "Cambrian" theme with a view to recreating the railway atmosphere of Mid-Wales and the Marches in the 1950s and early 1960s. GWR 4-6-0 no 5029 Nunney Castle is planned to join GWR 4-6-0 no 6960 Raveningham Hall to represent the locomotives which brought trains such as the Cambrian Coast Express into Shrewsbury before heading into Mid-Wales behind smaller machines such as the Manors and Moguls. It is possible that Nunney Castle may assume the identity of a classmate which carried a name appropriate to the Cambrian section such as 5013, 5016, or 5026. And here is the official confirmation that Paignton and Dartmouth based GWR 4-6-0 no 7827 Lydham Manor will also attend the event. All of which means there will be eight Swindon-designed machines - nos 4160, 7812, 7822, 7827, 7828, 6960, 5029 and 9351 - at work at the Autumn Steam Gala...
11 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| WSR to offer free bus link for folks going to the Dunster Show |
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Provided once again by the West Somerset Railway a free bus service will link Dunster Station and Dunster Steep on Friday 16 August, the day of the Dunster Show. It is a short walk from the Steep to either the Showground or the medieval village. Travel by train to Dunster and avoid the extra traffic on the A39 and A358 roads. The buses or coaches, on hire from Ridlers, will leave Dunster Station at 10.30am, 11.40am, 12.40pm, 2pm, 3.15pm and 4.30pm. Departure time from the Steep will be at 10am (giving a connection into the first train towards Bishops Lydeard), 12.05pm, 1.05pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 5pm. The Dunster Show is the 167th in its history and combines traditional country show activities such as livestock judging with a traditional fun fair, a circus big top, arena area shows, live jazz and vintage machinery. There is also a very wide range of craft and sales stands.
11 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Four Manors now lined up for Autumn Steam Gala |
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The event page on the official WSR website now lists no less than four Manor class locomotives for the four-day 2013 Autumn Steam Gala being held on Thursday 3 October and Sunday 6 October. On offer, subject to availability, are visitors nos 7812 Erlestoke Manor, 7822 Foxcote, 7827 Lydham Manor and home-based 7828 Norton Manor (also known as Odney Manor). GWR-designed Manor locomotives will always be associated with the Cambrian railway scene in the steam era, so with the Gala having a decidedly "Cambrian Railways" theme - all stations will adopt a name from a station on the Cambrian route - the quartet of 'Manors' will no doubt be the icing on the cake.
10 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Passenger figures to the end of July 2013 holding up |
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To the end of July the West Somerset Railway had carried 104,943 passengers in the year to date compared with 106,688 at the same stage of last year. However, the good news is to offset that the total fares revenue for the year to date is 10.8% up on the same point of 2012.
10 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Crowcombe Heathfield Station and the World's Biggest Coffee Morning |
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Come along to Crowcombe Heathfield Station on Friday 27 September 2013 from 10.30am. The Station folks are once again taking part in "The Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning" in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Delicious homemade cakes, tea, coffee, gossip are all on the menu along with steam trains calling all day long. All the proceeds go to Macmillan nurses who have helped so many families in times of illness. If you can't come, but would still like to make a donation, please drop your contribution into the station at anytime between now and the end of September.
10 August 2013
Details from Crowcombe Heathfield Station  via WSR Plc
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| The young folk very keen to volunteer on the West Somerset Railway |
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Recruitment of Trackers (the Youth Section on the WSR) is doing so well that the Company have said "The Tracker Department has been inundated with volunteers under the age of 18 over the past few months, resulting in most Departments reaching their maximum capacity for Trackers. Therefore we are unable to accept any more volunteers that are under the age of 18 at the moment. Although this is disappointing for any new applicants wishing to volunteer, it is a great achievement for the Railway and shows that all the new recruitment advertising is working. In the mean time we will be keeping any new applications on file and will contact them as soon as a space becomes available." The interest shown by so many young people in the Railway is very encouraging and shows how the Railway is clearly providing a most useful experience for our young folk.
6 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Changing engines at Norton during Late Summer Weekend event |
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Steam trains will be extended to Norton Platform during the forthcoming Late Summer Weekend event. This allows for a trial with the steam locomotives being changed at Norton rather than Bishops Lydeard. The Down service will start from Norton Platform with Bishops Lydeard becoming, once again, a through station for those services. Please note there is no public access to Norton Platform. The diesel hauled trains will terminate at Bishops Lydeard as the diesel locomotives do not need to be turned. The Late Summer Weekend event is held on 31 August and 1 September 2013.
5 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| The two weekend Thomas event proves a successful venture |
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WSR volunteer Frank Courtney leads the team organising the Days Out with Thomas event. Here is just a small part of Frank's full report on the recent event: "This was the first time the event ran over two successive weekends. It was also run under new contract arrangements with the franchise holders HIT Entertainment. Our two main success criteria are: (a) does it bring in significant numbers of young children, who enjoy it, and (b) does it make money? At the time of writing we are still drawing together the final financial figures, but all the indications are that this has worked far better than we expected. In our budgeting we wondered whether by splitting the event over two weekends, we might find that the same number of visitors might simply spread themselves across the two weekends. That didn’t happen, and we found that we effectively doubled the numbers (and the income). The on train surveys revealed that most of our visitors come from a radius of around 70 to 80 miles away, as we might expect. Both the main trains and the platform at Minehead seemed to be comfortably full throughout the day, without being overcrowded. This was an excellent team effort: everyone involved put in a huge amount of effort before, during and after four very hot days. And actually for most of us, for most of the time, it was very enjoyable. We have had some excellent customer feedback which shows the railway working at its best. Many thanks to everyone."
5 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| Driver for a Fiver during Late Summer Weekend |
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Class 14 no D9526 is booked to work a short heritage goods train from Williton to Dunster Goods Yard on both mornings of the Late Summer Weekend before proceeding to Minehead Station where it will be the motive power for the Driver for a Fiver attraction. The fee for Driver for a Fiver is payable to a Ticket Inspector on the platform on the day and there is a minimum age of 16 to take the controls of 650 hp of railway locomotive along the quarter mile length of Minehead's station platform. Full details of the Late Summer Weekend...
4 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| A Briefing from the Board of the WSR Plc |
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The Board of the West Somerset Railway Plc have issued a Briefing which Chairman Humphrey Davies explains will help improve "communications and understanding across the WSR" and help staff, volunteers and other supporters to be kept up to date with developments and proposed changes. The Briefing is rather long to publish on this page but can be read in full here. Topics covered in the document include the appointment of a new Company Secretary; a Report on Financial Performance; Sales and Marketing; a new Head of Infrastructure; negotiations with Somerset County Council; locomotives and rolling stock; the Corporate Plan; and the AGM.
1 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Plc
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| The Steam Fayre Mini Real Ale Festival |
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Long serving WSR volunteer Barrie Childs has kindly provided the beer list for this weekend’s Mini Beer Festival at the West Somerset Railway Association's Steam Fayre and Vintage Vehicle Rally at Norton Fitzwarren on 3 and 4 August 2013. Barrie and Dee Childs will be pulling pints in the Ram's Head beer tent while modelling Minehead CAMRA Real Ale Festival tee shirts and dishing out leaflets promoting said festival! Beers on offer include Box Steam's Chuffin Ale and Tunnel Vision; Quantock's Ale, Will’s Neck, Rourkes Drift, Nightjar; Cottage's Southern. Mallard, Duchess, S & D; Cotleigh's Tawny, Harrier, Barn Owl; RCH's PG Steam, Double Header.
1 August 2013
Details from local correspondent
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| Special offers at the Station Shop at Bishops Lydeard |
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Special offers at the Station Shop at Bishops Lydeard during the Steam Fayre and Vintage Vehicle Rally weekend. Offers include 10% off books (not reduced); limited edition steam traction engine - only 72 made - maroon or green, RRP £9.50 now £8.00; Diecast Buses (EFE , Corgi) – RRP £13.00 now £10.00; Days Gone Models - two for £5.00. And more good news from the Station Shop, as Kate Beard explains: "Ken and Doreen Matthews who are volunteers on the West Somerset Railway - they work every Sunday on the train buffet - have organised a charity fundraiser for Somerset Sight - several WSR volunteers attended this evening - and raised a fantastic amount..well done!"
1 August 2013
Details from West Somerset Railway Association
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