Very sad news this morning of the passing on 30 December 2021 of long serving volunteer Angela Randall.

One of the kindest people ever, Angela worked on the Permanent Way and also on the Quantock Pullman and the latter's upstart the Quantock Belle. Always ready with a smile and a friendly greeting and there from the beginning of our time on the Railway for a good many of us. Our thoughts and wishes go to Dave and sons Simon and Mark. But there are so many happy memories of the lady who brightened our lives.

It is heartening to hear of Rodney Greenway's great efforts during his ward duties of last Monday when he managed to set up a video call between Angela and Dave and Simon. With Covid restrictions in place at the hospital this fine gesture allowed the family one last chance to share time 'together'.

Angela is pictured above, centre, with husband Dave to her right, celebrating her 80th birthday with the PW Gang at Crowcombe Heathfield in November 2014.

The West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) Rail Renewal fund is the best way to safeguard funding for repairing and renewing the heritage West Somerset track. It is a restricted fund in the WSRA accounts and the monies are set aside specifically for that purpose.

At the Association Board meeting on 14 December 2021, the Trustees agreed to use the Rail Renewal funds for two grant applications from the West Somerset Railway Plc.

• Blue Anchor Points. The points themselves do not need replacing but there is a need for the replacement of 37 life expired hardwood crossing timbers within the Minehead end points at Blue Anchor Station. Trustees agreed to the funding request for £8,939.50
• Rail and Ballast. To provide the Infrastructure team with materials to spot replace life expired bullhead rail and ballast between Bishops Lydeard and Williton. Trustees agreed the funding request for a total of £35,619.

These two grants, totalling £44,558.50, will use all the funds currently held by WSRA in the Rail Renewal fund and will be spent over the coming winter.

WSRA will restart a fundraising campaign in the new year to replenish the Rail Renewal fund, so they are ready to help with next year's funding needs for the WSR track.

Ladies from the Bishops Lydeard Co-op visited the Railway on 19 December 2021 to hand over a cheque for £2,403.02, the amount that Co-op members had raised to help fund paint, plants, and more, for the stations. They also enjoyed a hot chocolate in the pop-up reception area and a quick look around the footplate. The photo shows the Co-op ladies with WSRA Fundraiser Kate Williams and Trustee Geoff Garfield.

WSRA will be inviting bids from the station groups next year to help fund their 2022 projects.

Gunpowder Van no 5237 has been purchased by the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) as announced on the recent members email news update:

The Railway's Wagon Group approached the Association with a request to purchase the wagon, so the Group could restore it. The Group have a plan to recreate a 1940s wartime goods train and this vehicle could play a significant role in that. There is another gunpowder wagon on the railway, but it is of a different design and has different historical elements. It was common to have more than one gunpowder wagon in a wartime goods train. The Group believes that none of the remaining examples of this design have yet been restored and WSR Head of Mechanical Engineering Ryan Pope has confirmed that the wagon chassis is sound and worth restoring. There are a lot of the original features remaining, which will be kept where possible and restored to run on the WSR.

As owner of the wagon WSRA will actively support the restoration, helping the Group with planning and fundraising including the ability to claim gift aid on donations.

The West Somerset Railway Association have published a useful synopsis of the main discussion points and decisions at the charity's recent Trustee Board meeting held on 14 December 2021. Please click or tap the button below for more. In the Members area of the Association website, members can also read the published minutes of the previous Board meeting.

It is with great sadness that we receive news of the peaceful passing on 20 December 2021 of volunteer Maurice Sandford.

Maurice Sandford of Langley Marsh, Wiveliscombe passed peacefully away at Pulsford Lodge on 20th December 2021, aged 91 years. Beloved husband of the late Sybil Sandford and a special dad to Keith who will be greatly missed. Funeral service to take place at Taunton Deane Crematorium on Thursday 6th January 2022 at 2.30pm. (If you wish to watch the service via webcast please log on to: www.obitus.com, username: zawu8333, password: 864297) No flowers please but donations if desired for Guide Dogs and The Pulsford Lodge Comforts Fund (Cheques TFS Donation a/c) may be sent c/o Anthony James Funeral Director, Broad Meadow View, Wiveliscombe, TA4 2TB. Tel: 01984-624149

And Keith - the Association's Administrator - adds:

Any mourners attending the service please wear bright clothes and/or Christmas Jumpers as dad would have liked that and he would have smiled.

As reported on the WSR Wagon Division's Facebook page:

During the summer I placed an order for a full set of cast plates for chaired sleeper wagon 100678 and PMV 1464 from Handy Hobman and on 17 December 2021 they arrived. A massive thank you to Tim Hobman for casting these for us. A fantastic service has been provided from start to finish with regular updates on progress being received throughout.

This project has been funded by the West Somerset Railway Association and without their support, would not have been possible. Another huge thank you!

The PMV will be returning to Minehead once the 'Winterlights' trains have finished and will be re-entering the works in order for any outstanding jobs and a proper paintjob to be completed. Our new plates will be fitted during this process.

The chaired sleeper wagon with then follow on once the PMV is finished sometime in the new year.

In October 2020, the enthusiast community lost a key ally, following the death of Dr. David Randles. David's website - www.uksteam.info - was a primary source of information on main line steam workings to many people, and one that was sorely missed following David's medical issues in May the previous year.

Railway Herald Magazine approached David's family, through a third party, to offer to host the site going forward in David's memory. After several months of waiting for the legal process to complete, and working with the executor of his estate, it has finally been possible to transfer the domain into our ownership and return David's site to the internet.

Pressure of work means its is not possible to return up-to-date information to uksteam.info, although this is available through www.railwayherald.com/railtours, but the site will remain as David last updated it in May 2019, as his legacy and an historical point of reference. Information on the current railtour scene, as well as timing information for forthcoming workings can be found, free of charge, on the Railway Herald website at www.railwayherald.com/railtours.

Members of the West Somerset Railway Association are right now receiving the latest WSR Journal (no 175)

This edition has all the latest news and pictures along with particularly informative articles covering:

• A letter from the Association Chair
• News from the Gala Planning Team
• A focus on Williton Station
• Reviewing Seaward Way Crossing
• One Hundred Years ago
• The story of Williton Footbridge

Another cracking publication from the Journal Team.

The latest WSR Journal describes plans for a new 'regular quarterly high-level meetings' to help develop and coordinate the contributions of the main partners of the West Somerset Railway.

All directors of the Plc, the Association and the Heritage Trust are to meet together on a regular basis to develop and review stragetic planning for the Railway. Details of how the group will operate and deliver are being worked out with the intention of the first meeting this month.

Recognition of the different focus of each organisation is key. The job of the Plc is to run the Railway so that it is safe and proftable; whilst the Association is the key membership organisation with a key role generating charitable funding with specific objectives; and the Heritage Trust makes sure the heritage features of the Railway are conserved and made available.

The average WSR supporter will know progress is always aided by a willingness to talk openly and take decisions jointly. At this stage it seems this group will have a strong influence and focus on strategy and policy across the main parts of the Railway, differing from the Partnership Development Group which, we hope, will continue to provide information sharing and create greater understanding for all organisations with close links to the Railway.

Writing in their latest newsletter, Martyn Snell, Chairman of the Friends of Minehead Station, looks forward to the Spring of 2022 and a 'grand reopening' of the Station now the installation work on Seaward Way Crossing is finished and after training of operationl staff has been completed.

Martyn also describes a welcome plan to enhance the Turntable Cafe by installing an 'umbrella' canopy to provide a larger covered area for the popular venue. This work should be complete by the Spring next year.

The Friends of Minehead Station have also helped financially with the refurbishment of the second water tower resulting in two very smart functional facilities for the Railway's steam locomotives.

It is clear the Station has been kept 'alive' during the last two years to a large extent by the Friends and Martyn pays tribute to the staff in the shop, the cafe, Readers Halt and the information office for their fine efforts, alaong with members of the various Friends working parties who have also been kept busy on the gardens and the buildings.

Minehead did not escape the recent stormy weather. The Christmas Market was cancelled, sadly, and tiles were torn from the historic roof of the main building but thanks to prompt action, the damage was quickly repaired.

The West Somerset Railway Association report:

Following a great response to our call out for volunteers a new WSR TV team has been formed. They are a group of people with great skills, experience and enthusiasm and of course a love of the railway.

The first video to be released is a short promotional for the Winterlights trains, which has been very well received already. This video has been made freely available to the WSR PLC to help them promote the experience to a wider public.

Over the next few months the team will be producing a range of videos, led by the editorial board and responding to the needs of the railway. These will range from educational video and informationals to short promos for the railway, like the one just released.

It's not too late to get involved, so if you'd like to know more about working with the WSR TV team please email the WSRA General Manager jacquie.green@wsra.org.uk

The WSR's Gala Planning Team have announced the dates for three special events in 2022.

We are pleased to announce our Gala events program for 2022. As usual, further information will be announced closer to the events, we will have some surprises in store for you!

Spring Steam Gala - Celebrating the return of train services to Minehead with the first WSR Spring Gala since 2018. Thursday 5 May to Sunday 8 May 2022.

1960s Diesel Gala - Recreating the sights and sounds of the 1960s with vintage diesels powering through the Somerset countryside. Thursday 9 June to Saturday 11 June 2022

Autumn Steam Gala - Returning this event to the calendar for another year, with the theme to be announced closer to the time. Thursday 29 September to Sunday 2 October 2022

Please ensure you have these dates in your diaries.

Seb Welsh (Gala Planning Team Chairman)

The hire of the 'Maid of All Work' Class 4 loco no 5199 from the 'The 5199 Project' owning group has been extended for WSR use.

The agreement will now see the locomotive on the WSR for the whole of the 2022 season until 31 December 2022 which has been agreed by 'The 5199 Project' Group Chairman Richard Pumphrey in conjunction with Richard Hiscox and the WSR plc. Richard adds:

No 5199 will operate on a minimum number of 50 steaming days in this period. It is an ideal engine for the WSR being capable of hauling most trains with ease, and many members of the class ran regularly on the steeply-graded branch hauling eight coach trains in GWR and British Railways days. The locomotive is currently undergoing a programme of mechanical winter maintenance at Minehead in readiness for the new WSR running season. Our thanks go to the 5199 project for supporting the West Somerset Railway.

Richard Hiscox, Minehead Locomotive Dept.

Stuart Nelhams has some sad news for us:

Regular Steam Driver / Loco Dept volunteer John Gibbins sadly passed away earlier today after a period of ill health.

John has been a well known stalwart of the Dept for a great many years as well as having been involved at the Mid Hants Railway and Bullied Tangmere support crew.

John was popular and regular at MD Loco Dept and will be missed by his many friends who im sure will agree that many things wont be the same without him and ' curry nights ' will seem emptier without him bringing his own condiments along.

RIP John from all your railway family.

The latest video to appear on WSRTV is a short introduction to the 'Winterlights' trains currenty running on the West Somerset Railway.

The Friends of Minehead Station have reminded folks about the return of the Christmas Market to the platforms of Minehead Station.

Minehead Station Christmas Market is set to be held on 27 November 2021 from 10am to 4pm. Hosted by the Friends of Minehead Station, this annual event is back after being absent due to covid last year. Watchet Town Band will be providing live music and Santa will be on hand from around midday. We have a variety of stallholders selling locally made produce. The Turntable Cafe, Readers Halt second hand bookstall, and the Station Gift Shop will be open. Free admission.

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust are creating a Collection Care and Housekeeping Team. The Trust say:

The WSRHT has started to consider the duty role and makeup of various teams and identifying the individuals that will be required to move forward with collections care and housekeeping. The Trust will be convening a meeting shortly to discuss the various options it has and to set plans to start developing an action plan and to look to assigning roles. Would you like to be part of a Collections Care and Housekeeping Team? If you would please contact us info@wsrht.co.uk

Sad news of the passing of Mike Hodge, former joint Station Master at Crowcombe Heathfield. One of the very nicest people anyone could hope to meet.

Today I have received the sad news of the passing of Michael Hodge, a long-time supporter of the Railway, who passed away peacefully on Saturday 13th November at the age of 90. Michael was joint Station Master at Crowcombe Heathfield for 35 years before retiring in January 2010 and regularly visited the railway since.

Lee Robbins, WSR volunteer and friend of Mike.

All of Mike's friends on the Railway (and there will be a huge number) will, we are sure, offer sympathies and best wishes to Mike's family.

The West Somerset Railway Association have published a useful synopsis of the main discussion points and decisions at the charity's recent Trustee Board meeting held on 9 November 2021. Please click or tap the button below for more.

The West Somerset Railway Association are extending its free membership offer to working WSR volunteers. They say:

The year 2021 marks 50 years of the WSRA supporting the railway and we think that’s worth celebrating.

The Trustees have agreed to extend the free membership offer for working volunteers right up until the end of 2021. The offer is for a one year complementary membership for any working volunteer on the Railway who are not yet WSRA members. Simply submit a photograph of yourself volunteering on the railway during 2021, and claim a year’s free 'Working Volunteer' membership of the WSRA. The volunteering work you demonstrate in your photograph can be anything that supports the West Somerset Railway, so gardening, signalling, catering, admin etc are all good.

Don Bishop has now retired from his role as Gala Planning Team Chair. Don stood down at the Team meeting on Thursday 4 November 2021.

Seb Welsh, a well known volunteer on the Railway and already a member of the Team, has stepped up to take on the role. Seb comments:

Don has been involved with Gala planning since 1995 and the rest of the team and the Railway as a whole wish to express our thanks for his huge efforts. I have big shoes to fill!

Looking ahead, Seb adds that Gala dates for 2022 are currently being discussed and will be announced before Christmas.

An encouraging result following the open day for prospective volunteers as organiser and WSR volunteer Andy Mayson reports:

The West Somerset Railway was delighted with the response to their volunteer open day last Saturday. We had 24 people who filled in the 'expression of interest' form and we are working through those people now to put them in touch with the relevant departments. We still need many more volunteers so it you are interested please contact us on 01823 433856 or email volunteers@wsrail.net