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• Barrie Childs reports on the Quantock Belle Silver
Jubilee celebration on Sunday 30 October 2005...
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We woke up to heavy rain in Somerset on Sunday morning but it thankfully cleared up by mid-day and the sun shone as the first dining guests arrived at Bishops Lydeard.
WSRA Pannier 6412, our rostered and appropriate traction for the outward journey simmered in the loco compound wearing shiny silver buffers and a special Quantock Belle Silver Jubilee headboard. A diesel loco drew the stock out of the bay platform allowing 6412 to back on to the train, couple up and roll in to platform 2 so allowing our 72 diners aboard. Preparation of the train was filmed by HTV West who also interviewed some of the Quantock Belle staff. A group photo of the several QB staff involved since 1980 was taken, some of whom had to rush off to continue their rostered PW duties while all the others stayed on board working in their familiar QB roles.
A special Silver Jubilee menu was produced, the main course being roast SILVERside of beef and each passenger was presented with a souvenir copy of the menu at the end of the journey. Our passengers, some of them QB regulars, had no idea of the significance of this particular train before they boarded but all were delighted to be involved. A small collection of past QB promotional material was displayed in bar car Aries.
The train ran to time throughout and enjoyed an unexpected bonus of locomotive 5542 powering the return journey, on what was likely to be her last working before leaving the Railway to grace metals elsewhere in the West.
An interesting fact: QB kitchen car W1909 Orion and bar car Sc1804 Aries, both built in 1957, have now been operating luxury dining trains on the West Somerset Railway for more years than they served British Railways.
The 2006 season QB brochure is now at the printer and will be available shortly.
Here's to another 25 years of this wonderful service. If all goes to plan I have every intention of being at the WSR in October 2030 to help celebrate the QB Golden Jubilee. I might just book a table for that one!
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Quantock Belle Silver Jubilee
