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A report by Jon Tooke who also provided the images...
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This loco carried out the shuttles from BL-CH-BL over the weekend and I understand that it performed well and all the trains were packed. At the end of a busy day it went off to shed to be in the company of resident 4160.
This arrived at BL yard on Friday evening and it was hoped that it would run to WN to go in to the yard there,but a mechanical problem with the bearings/axle area on the loco meant that it had to be transported on the low loader via the main road. To avoid causing large traffic tailbacks it was decided to move it in the evening. So after being on display in BL yard for most of the day, the low loader moved off at 7pm on Saturday evening.
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• Peckett 0-4-0ST "Kilmersdon"
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The loco spent the day shunting and giving brake van rides at Washford in the yard.
Running with reporting number 1Z80, the charter run by Cheshire Rail Tours ran from Redhill in Surrey to Minehead, arrived slightly behind time at BL where some 170 of it's passengers alighted to travel onward by a steam hauled WSR service train to Minehead.
The train formed of 11 blue and grey MK1 coaches of the BN94 set from Bounds Greed depot, and one SR Green MK1 coach from BN91 set also from Bounds Green depot was hauled throughout by a EWS/ReS class 47 diesel 47727 "Duke of Edinburgh Award", from the WHCD pool based at Crewe Diesel Depot.
All the coaching stock was running on Commonwealth bogies which give an improved ride quality compared with B4 type bogies
The coaching stock weighed in at a hefty 400 tons.(that is, without the punters!)
The southern part of the charter saw an EWS driver from Westbury bringing the train onto WSR metals across the junction with railtrack at Norton. Riding in the loco cab was a conductor driver from the WSR.
Due to some late running by WSR service trains, the charter was ten minutes late arriving at the main platform at Minehead Station, where the remaining passengers alighted to spend 3 hours or so sampling the delights of the town and beach areas, there were a few who decided to come for a ride on the DMU to Williton and back.
The class 47 ran right up to the buffer stops (to clear the track circuits), and after the WSR service train had been shunt released from the bay platform and departed, the 47 set the 12 coach charter train back a couple of coach lengths, detached, then ran around to couple back on to the stock in readiness for the return.
The charter stock was then serviced by the MD station staff.
Comments were heard regarding the cleanliness of the Blue and Grey stock which by comparison made the WSR stock look like showroom models. The reason for the dirty condition was that the same stock was used on a charter the previous day to Scotland, and that there hadn't been enough time to run it through the carriage cleaning plant!
Because the charter was laying over in the main platform at MD, fans of shunt releasing were in for a treat as all the loco hauled service trains had to arrive and depart from the bay platform. This also saw many propelling movements by the DMU from the bay to the bay siding, the crossing barriers were up and down more times than a fiddlers elbow!
The charter departed Minehead "right time" with reporting number 1Z81at 17.20 on its way back along the WSR en route to Redhill.
Due to a light shower before departure time, and with dampness on the rails, the 47 was reported as having difficulty climbing Washford bank! So much so, that the 17.40 DMU departure from MD was held at BA for 10 minutes as the charter had not yet cleared the next section!
So after a very busy if at sometimes damp afternoon at Minehead, things returned to some sort of normality.
The loco received a boiler washout towards the end of last week, and was in light steam on Saturday. It was moving up an down the loco siding road on a testing movement. At lunchtime, it layed over at the buffer stop end, and looked an uneasy stablemate with the 47 alongside!
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No 813
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Sentinel
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Kilmersdon
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No 47727
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Black Five
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The Alternative Rally 4 August 2001