Come on board on 5 June 2022 for the Quantock Belle Sunday Lunch train and celebrate 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II in style. See link below for full details.

The Gala Planning Team have announced the timetable for the upcoming Sixties Diesel Gala - 9 to 11 June 2022 - is now available. See link below. Tickets can be booked at discount in advance on the Railway's website. The full locomotive lineup will be:

• Class 35 'Hymek' no D7017
• Class 35 'Hymek' no D7018
• Class 33 no.D6566
• Class 33 no.D6575
• Visiting Class 25 no D7612
• Visiting Class 17 no D8568

Timetable highlights include:

• Intensive frequency of services
• 10 trains each way on Thursday/Friday, 12 each way on Saturday
• High mileage diagrams for all locos
• Norton Fitzwarren runs
• Multiple semi-fast services
• Beatles Recreation Train on Saturday
• Double-headed Class 33s on Friday and Class 35s on Saturday evening
• Special evening service to connect to the 60s Dance on Saturday

News of an interesting event at Stogumber Station over the Jubilee Weekend. From 10.30am to 5.30pm Saturday and Sunday.

A display by Keith and Eileen Gould of Butterfly Conservation entitled 'Gardening for Butterflies and Butterflies in your Back Yard' at Stogumber Station on 4 and 5 June 2022. Come and enjoy a wealth of information of how to attact more butterflies to your garden, learn how to identify them, and which plants you need to grow to help them breed successfully. Also children's activities.

Whilst there, enjoy the peaceful delights of the Station Garden, or even enjoy a Stogumber Station Cream Tea, interrupted now and then by a passing steam train.

The Gala Planning Team have announced the second visiting diesel locomotive at the 2022 Diesel Gala to be held on 9, 10, 11 June 2022 will be Class 25 no D7612, courtesy of the South Devon Diesel Traction Ltd.

With the increasing national interest in both station and line reopenings on the national network, a partnership working group has been established to explore the possibility of reconnecting Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway to Taunton for the purpose of reinstating scheduled trains.The partnership consists of:

• Heart of South West Local Enterprise Partnership
• Great Western Railway
• Network Rail
• Somerset County Council
• West Somerset Railway PLC

The work will be in two phases initially. The first phase will be to develop a number of high-level options to identify the simple and most effective way in which the operational, signalling and infrastructure work can be accomplished and what is required to make that happen.

The second phase will be the development of an outline business case including the socio-economic case for change and the cost model.

Christian Irwin, Rail Investment Centre of Excellence Director, Network Rail said:

Working closely with our local partners is essential to understanding the transport needs of our local communities and ensures that we develop a rail investment strategy which delivers a railway that is fit for purpose and supports the needs of our passengers and the communities we serve, now and into the future. We are pleased to be supporting this study.

Matt Barnes, Head of Service Strategy, Great Western Railway said:

We are delighted to work with the WSR and other partners to explore the feasibility and business case for restoring daily passenger services between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard, building on our successful trial of summer Saturday shuttle services during 2019.

Ian Harrison, Transport Adviser Heart of South West Local Enterprise Partnership said:

Re-connecting communities to the national rail network gives residents better access to employment, services, education and training. It also improves connections to local businesses. Direct train services from Taunton will support inbound tourism to West Somerset, not least to the West Somerset Railway itself.

Steve Williams, Director of Development and External Relations West Somerset Railway PLC said:

This work is seen by the PLC as playing a vital part in securing the long term sustainability of the West Somerset Railway. We have excellent relationships with our partners in this venture and we hope that we can develop a robust case for reconnection to Taunton that will attract the necessary support and funding to make it a reality.

The much delayed official re-opening of the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust Gauge Museum and Gauge Junction took place on 21 May 2022.

After delays and interruptions to the refurbishment through Covid and lockdowns the museum was finally re-opened by Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane.

On the lower ground floor there is also an exhibition looking at the end of Broad Gauge on the GWR which happened 130 years ago.

The Trust are always pleased to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust or who would be interested in volunteering or who would like to make a donation towards the Trust's work, see also the WSRHT Web site

130 years ago saw the end of Broad Gauge on the railway network. The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust take up the story:

Over two days 20 and 21 May 1892 an army of over 4000 railway men, changed 171 miles, (42 miles of them being double track!) of Broad Gauge track to Narrow Gauge, now known as Standard Gauge. West Somerset Railway's Taunton to Minehead branch being part of this mega engineering feat.

The Trust are holding a small exhibition of Broad Gauge and its designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in The Gauge Museum from Saturday 21st May through to Thursday June 3rd. Come and visit our museum, lots to see, including our Victorian Sleeping Car 9038.

Hands-on experiences for the young and young at heart!

On weekends the model railway is running on the upper floor of the museum.

The Gauge Museum is open, free entry, every day that trains are running.

For more information on trains check www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk

We are always pleased to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust or who would be interested in volunteering or who would like to make a donation towards the work we are doing, see also the WSRHT website (link below).

Another Friends of Minehead Station (FoMS) project came to fruition today with the erection of large umbrella/canopy outside the Turntable Cafe. This will provide a covered area for patrons of the ever-popular cafe shielding them from sun and rain. FoMS have been able to sponsor this addition for the Plc thanks to everyone who supports the group through their various fundraising activities. The most prominent of these is the support through the Readers Halt bookstall so whether you work there, donate items to sell or come and buy, a big thank you.

The West Somerset Railway Association have published a handy synopsis of the main discussion points and decisions at the charity's recent Trustee Board meeting held on 10 May 2022. 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.

The West Somerset Railway say:

We're delighted that after her visit to our Spring gala, GWR 2-8-0 no 2857 will be hauling passenger trains on 17, 18, 21 and 22 May 2022.

The West Somerset Railway have announced:

We are pleased to announce our first confirmed visiting locomotive for our upcoming Diesel Gala...Class 17 Clayton no D8568. The loco is last of its kind remaining and has never visited the WSR before. It will appear courtesy of the Diesel Traction Group and is usually based at the Severn Valley Railway.

The folks organising the Taunton Vintage Bus Running Day say:

Following our successful running day based at Sheppy's Cider Farm, midway between Taunton and Wellington in September 2021, we will be back there on Sunday 15 May 2022. Again we will be running free bus services using buses from the 'half cab era'.

The timetable includes trips to and from Bishops Lydeard Station. Click the button below for times on the Taunton Vintage Bus Running Day webpage.

Since Sleeping Car no 9037's re-discovery within the bungalow in Cornwall the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust has spent much time, energy and head scratching trying to save as much of the vehicle as safely and sensibly possible within a very tight timeframe.

The Trust has planned to recover the western end section of the coach (around 20ft) to use in the Gauge Museum complete with the amazing clerestory roof and wooden cable run installed along the roof around 1912. This could be used to show how the coach was constructed, it is for discussion whether this section might be cleaned and conserved or left in its 'as recovered' state, rather than brought up to the 'as new' condition as we already have Sleeping Car no 9038 to demonstrate that. The recovered section could form the basis of a 'three coach' display telling the story of all three and the use of railway coaches as homes during the 1930s and beyond.

The Trust has achieved a terrific haul of carriage components including some useful material for both Sleeping Car no 9038 and for the section of Sleeping Car no 9037.

The Steam and Vintage Rally team say:

Planning for this year's Rally is in full swing, with many exhibitors and stallholders coming in. The 2022 Steam and Vintage Rally - held over the weekend of 6-7 August 2022 at Norton Fitzwarren - is coming back with a bang after a few years of it not being able to go ahead.

Good news the new website is up and running so why not head over to the website and book your early tickets for the rally and gain earlybird discounts.

Watch this space [on the Rally's Facebook page] for competitions coming over the new few weeks to win tickets to the Rally.

Looking forward to seeing you all again this year...

After languishing for a couple of years at the end of an inaccessible siding at Williton, GWR Toplight no 3639 has been brought out by Ryan Pope and his team and will be moved to a position where work can start on its restoration. The first batch of timber has already been bought. Toplight no 3639 was an ambulance coach during the first world war.

Really good to see the Railway celebrating its link with the Fab Four, The Beatles...

In 1964 the Beatles released the film 'A Hard Day's Night' and it is still considered a classic almost 60 years later.

Not everyone knows that some of the filming was done on what is now the West Somerset Railway - particularly at Crowcombe Heathfield and Minehead. This June you can relive those heady days with the 'Celebration of the 60s' at the WSR Diesel Gala.

On Saturday 11 June 2022 we will be running a special 'Beatles Train' which will recreate the original train used in the film right down to the locomotive number as part of the Diesel Gala. There will be displays of photographs and memorabilia at Crowcombe Heathfield and Minehead and live music throughout the day. There will also be an evening dance on the Minehead platform featuring the 'Liverpool Beatles' and the 'Estrellas'.

Tickets will be on sale soon and further details will follow.

The West Somerset Railway folks say:

During the gala we will be running our Quantock Belle dining train throughout the four days. Different catering options will be available on each journey so please check the times and options carefully before making your choice. You will need to have a valid gala ticket for the same day as you Quantock Belle choice in order to travel and you will not be able to book tickets unless you have first added the gala ticket to your basket. Please select your gala tickets first and you will then be given the option of adding the catering to your booking. If you have already purchased gala tickets and wish to add a catering experience, please call 01643 704996 and we will happily add this to your booking.

See the official webpage for full details of the dates, the train times and the catering options. Please tap the button below.

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust have been party to a significant discovery, the remains of GWR Sleeping Car no 9037. It is staggering to think the remains of the sleeping car have been resting for over 85 years as part of a bungalow in Cornwall. The Trust is looking at the possibility of saving some of the structure but due to its condition and the very tight time frame involved, Trust experts will be endeavouring to salvage as much they can. Lots more on this story is on the Trust's Facebook page - please click or tap the button below...

The draft minutes of the Partnership Development Group meeting held via Zoom on Friday 22 April 2022 are now available. Click or tap the button below to download and read.

Steve Sutherland reminds us:

It's Spring Steam Gala weekend! And Watchet Railway Station is having a secondhand model railway equipment sale on Saturday 7 May from 10am to 3pm to help raise funds for repairs and maintenance at the Station, which is operated entirely by volunteers.

Could you donate unwanted model railway engines, coaches, wagons and so on, of any scale, to help us raise funds?

Please contact Steve Sutherland on 01984 633425 for further info or bring your items to the Station.

Although the 169 Team are patiently awaiting a visit to the shed to complete the construction of Section 3, their time in the 'waiting area' has not been wasted - click the link below to read the latest illustrated blog update.