The 20-mile West Somerset Railway (WSR) is joining fellow heritage railways next week all over the country from as far afield as Cornwall, Suffolk, North Wales, North East Scotland and Northern Ireland (NB: see full list under Notes) in a new nationwide campaign to raise greater awareness of Britain’s heritage rail sector. Spearheaded by the…

When British Rail closed the once-bustling branch line to Minehead in 1971, a local businessman and railway enthusiasts refused to let it die. They thought the railway was worth saving and battled with the National Union of Railwaymen and British Rail to be allowed to run trains again. They succeeded and in 1976 the new…

The Heritage Trust is pleased to share the minutes from the latest Board meeting held on Thursday 20th May 2021. Click on the Document Link below to see the minutes document.

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Brown as a Trustee joining the board. Martin holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Relations and worked with both the HSE and HMRI before taking up posts as Health and Safety Director with Tube Lines (London Underground Maintenance), Docklands Light…

As Members will know, we have issued the attached information pack giving details of the forthcoming EGM to be held on Friday, 23 July 2021 by Zoom. Unfortunately, due to an oversight, I neglected to inform you of the time of the meeting! Please accept my apologies. The meeting will take place at 5:30 PM…

After the West Somerset Railway (WSR) had two formal appeals turned down following the recent rejection of its second-round bid to the Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Second Round for ‘Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage’ (CRFH) financial support, the WSR has launched an emergency ‘SOS’ funding appeal for £1 million to see…

The WSRHT board is pleased to announce that Mike Thompson will take over the role of Chairman of the Trust from the date of the next AGM. During the interim period, Mike will work alongside Steve Williams in his current role as acting Chairman to effect a smooth transition of duties. Steve will remain on the board…

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust has just published a Souvenir Booklet to the new look Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard. Packed with historical information and images from the museum’s displays, it also records the history of the Model Railway Group, the Trust’s 1897 sleeping car and outlines the education and learning programmes within the…

On Saturday the 22 May 2021, the Gauge Museum and Gauge Junction reopened after a somewhat extended refurbishment. It has been a very long voyage we have all under taken, having to deal with Covid 19 and the lockdowns. During this time no one was able to work in the museum or model railway. But…

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT) is pleased to publish the formal notification details following the successful Culture Recovery Fund – 2nd Round application. To view the document, please click here. West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT) to receive £13,100 from the second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund The Heritage Trust is…

The Minutes of the most recent Board Meeting held on 18 March 2021 have been published.

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is delighted to welcome Mike Lee as our latest new Trustee to join the board. Mike is a retired engineer, having worked in the military for both the RAF and the MOD, the latter as an engineering designer, specialising in how to produce safer, more reliable and easier to maintain…

Have you got what it takes to help manage and direct  a small but dynamic charity? The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (formerly the Steam Trust) is looking for two Trustees to join the Board. In addition to their corporate responsibilities, each Trustee will lead on a specific portfolio. These are safety management and heritage…

The Minutes of the Board meeting held on 21 January 2021 have been published.

The Trustees have published Newsletter no 16. This is the first to be issued by the Trust under its new name, the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust. View Newsletter no 16 View the Newsletters page

The WSRHT (formerly WSSRT) charity would like to invite applications from any volunteers who can act as a content manager and help with the development and running of their web site. Any interested parties should be familiar with the processes for designing and implementing functionalities on a web site, including the appointment of a new web hosting provider…