1 Annual General Meeting
The West Somerset Steam Railway Trust will hold its AGM on Sunday 11 May at 2pm in the Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard. All Trust Members and Associate members are invited to this meeting to catch up on Trust activities over the past few months. Robin White, Heritage Coaches Project leader will bring us up to date on the Trust's ambitious plan to bring two rakes of vintage coaches to the railway. If you are a Trust Member on associate member and you have not received your AGM pack, please contact Chris van den Arend.
2 Cover up at Minehead
Progress has been made sheeting down the coaches we now own. A custom made taupaulin was fitted to ex-GWR Toplight Coach no 2578 at Minehead. The job was successfully completed in about 4½ hours but there were some teething problems that had to be solved. As funds permit, it is now intended to sheet the remaining coaches. A fuller report and pictures can be seen on wsr.org.uk.
3 Sponsored walk
You are reminded of the sponsored line walk between Williton and Minehead on 16 November 2008
The walk will be from Williton to Minehead (just under 10 miles) to ensure that it can be started and completed at a reasonable time on a short late-autumn day. A DMU will run from Minehead at 0900 calling at all stations to Williton and then from Bishops Lydeard (departure 10.30) calling at all stations to Williton to get walkers to the start of the walk. At the end of the day the DMU will run Minehead (depart 1600) to Bishops Lydeard to get everyone home who has not walked back to where they started from!. Do get this date in your diary. The WSR is becoming increasingly busy and days on which such a walk can be arranged get rarer and rarer. There is no certainty that the walk can be repeated in future years. The walk is being organised by WSR engine cleaner Mike Webber, a keep-fit instructor. If anyone would like to assist with the organisation and admin for the walk, please be in touch via info@wssrt.co.uk. All walkers will be asked to make a minimum donation of £5 towards the Heritage Carriages Project to cover the cost of the day and, of course, there is no maximum to the sponsorship that can be raised!. Participants must be generally fit and not under 12 years of age. Walkers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. If you would like to take part, please send your £5, preferably as a cheque payable to the WSSRT, to Mike at 21 Underhill Road Charfield Wotton-under-Edge GL12 8TQ with a stamped, self-addressed envelope and a note of which station you will be starting from.
| Latest News - 5 April 2008 |
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Bishops Lydeard Parish Council offers strong support to West Somerset Railway's Plans
Exciting proposals for a new museum and carriage shed at Bishops Lydeard station on the West Somerset Railway have just been boosted with strong support from Bishops Lydeard Parish Council.
At a meeting on Wednesday 2nd April 2008, the Council voted by a resounding 10 votes to 2 to support the West Somerset Railway's planning application for new facilities adjacent to Bishops Lydeard station.
The proposed new facilities centre on a Museum and Display Building for heritage railway carriages dating from the 1920's and 30's.
The proposals also involve much needed tourist facilities such as a cafe, and inn or restaurant; some road safety improvements, including a much needed roundabout at the A358 junction, plus some enabling development in the form of housing, including affordable housing for local people.
West Somerset Steam Railway Trust’s (WSSRT) Heritage Carriages Project Director, Robin White said: "This vote is a great boost to the project. It shows the depth of feeling of local people in favour of the West Somerset Railway's plans for top class facilities for our visitors and local people alike.
“The Parish Council wanted to see closer ties between the railway and the village, and we will be delighted to work with them to see how that might be achieved. We look forward to working with respected local builders Gadds of Taunton to put the plan into effect.
“All of these proposed facilities will also help bring jobs, affordable homes and greater prosperity to the village, but without damaging its essentially rural nature."
The next stage will be for the plans to be considered by Taunton Deane Borough Council in the next few months, and further details, including plans and drawings can be seen at www.wssrt.co.uk.
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Coach trip to the Severn Valley Railway – Saturday 10th May 2008
At the invitation of the Severn Valley Carriage & Wagon Department at Kidderminster, we have arranged a visit to the SVR on this date. A coach will leave Minehead station at 7 am sharp, picking up at Williton station, Bridgwater station and Gordano M5 Services near Bristol. We should be at Kidderminster by 11 am and are privileged to have been invited to a private tour of the Kidderminster Carriage Works, which is not normally open to the public. The tour will take about an hour. Kidderminster Carriage Works is very well set up for the maintenance of vintage carriages and their lottery-funded carriage storage shed is a striking building. Several equivalents of the carriages which will be part of the WSR Heritage fleet will be available for inspection. It should be an inspiring visit for prospective Heritage Carriage Project volunteers and supporters. The usual delights of the SVR will then be available for the rest of the day, including the newly-opened ‘Engine House’ at Highley. This will be a cracking day out to the only other GWR Heritage railway that comes close to the WSR in character. Our return coach will leave Kidderminster at 6.15 pm (5 minutes after the last train of the day). The coach fare will be £12. Cheques payable to ‘WSSRT’ to David Stockwell, 20 Castlewood Close, Clevedon BS21 7HS and please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please note that SVR travel is not included. Working WSR Volunteers can obtain an HRA pass valid for SVR travel from Minehead Office. Book early as this is bound to be a popular trip!
The WSR Coast Walk - 16 November 2008
There will be a sponsored line walk along the track of the (closed!) WSR in aid of the Heritage Carriages Project. The walk will be from Williton to Minehead (just under 10 miles) to ensure that it can be started and completed at a reasonable time on a short late-autumn day. A DMU will run from Minehead at 0900 calling at all stations to Williton and then from Bishops Lydeard (departure 10.30) calling at all stations to Williton to get walkers to the start of the walk. At the end of the day the DMU will run Minehead (depart 1600) to Bishops Lydeard to get everyone home who has not walked back to where they started from!. Do get this date in your diary. The WSR is becoming increasingly busy and days on which such a walk can be arranged get rarer and rarer. There is no certainty that the walk can be repeated in future years. The walk is being organised by WSR engine cleaner Mike Webber, a keep-fit instructor. If anyone would like to assist with the organisation and admin for the walk, please be in touch via info@wssrt.co.uk. All walkers will be asked to make a minimum donation of £5 towards the Heritage Carriages Project to cover the cost of the day and, of course, there is no maximum to the sponsorship that can be raised!. Participants must be generally fit and not under 12 years of age. Walkers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. If you would like to take part, please send your £5, preferably as a cheque payable to the WSSRT, to Mike at 21 Underhill Road Charfield Wotton-under-Edge GL12 8TQ with a stamped, self-addressed envelope and a note of which station you will be starting from.
Update on the planning for the visitor centre and museum at Bishops Lydeard
The main focus over the last quarter has been on the planning application at Bishops Lydeard station, which will provide the land for the storage and display building for the carriages. We have had a series of meetings intended to convince the decision-makers to grant us the permission we need.
On Friday 4th January Taunton MP Jeremy Browne was shown the site and the plans. On Sunday 6th January Parish and District Councillors visited the site and were given a presentation and a tour explaining why the railway supports the development and the considerable benefits that accrue from it. Briefing documents were prepared to show what the scheme does for the WSR and why we support it so strongly. A document was also produced to show the quite limited effect the new buildings would have on the station, much less dramatic than objectors have been suggesting.
On Wednesday 10th representatives of the railway and Gadds, the developers, met Steve Kendall, Taunton Deane Council's Economic Development Officer. He had previously written a letter only expressing 'lukewarm' support for the proposals. The WSR and Gadds thought that being talked through the proposals in more depth would assist him and he expressed himself much more satisfied with the proposals at the end of the meeting. A much more supportive letter is expected.
On Thursday 11th, Gadds and the railway met the planning officer, John Hamer, and his boss the Head of Planning at Taunton Deane, Tim Burton. We examined the work to be done to get the applications fit for consideration by the Parish Council and then the District Council. A target was set to get the applications before the Taunton Deane Planning Committee on 26th March 2008.
Two significant areas remain. Firstly the economic report being prepared by external consultants, which shows whether the 'enabling development' (the housing) is justified in terms of the financial contribution it makes to the scheme. A further meeting to move this aspect along has been planned for early February.
The second aspect is the Conservation Officer's report, written in December, which is rather negative. Unfortunately, this report was compiled by a temporary member of staff, without apparent reference to the discussions between the architects and the previous permanent Conservation Officer. The report makes a number of mistakes of fact, (including calling Norton Fitzwarren a 'semi-urban site'!) and plainly has ignored significant parts of what the proposals will achieve in heritage terms. Credit is due to the Chief Conservation Officer at Taunton Deane who, when these difficulties were explained to her, immediately scheduled....... yes a meeting!........ to take a fresh look at the Conservation aspects. It is anticipated that a fresh report will become available in the first half of February.
All the above has absorbed a considerable amount of time from Chris Austin, Paul Conibeare and myself, in preparing for and attending the meetings and is part of the work not always seen by members.
The planning process would continue to be assisted by e-mails of support to the planning officer from anyone who has not yet sent such an e-mail. Just go to the Taunton Deane website www.tauntondeane.gov.uk , go to the planning part of the site, look up application 06/2007/043 and there is a facility to comment on the application on line. Every e-mail will help and you do not have to live locally for your voice to be heard, all that matters is that you have a close connection with the line, which, as a WSRA member, you plainly have.
Offers of help for the project, whether practical, financial or inspirational, are always gratefully received via info@wssrt.co.uk
Other Events
Trust Archivist, Ian Coleby, has been drafted in to give a talk at the WSRA's meeting on 4 February. This is sure to be an interesting event, and Ian will have copies of the Trust's definitive history of the line fo rsale on the evening. The profit from any books sold will go directly to the Heritage Carriages Project. WSRA members will be able to take advantage of their usual 10% discount.
Trust Director is elected Chariman of the WSRA
The Trust is pleased that one of of our directors, Robin White, has been elected as chairman of the WSRA. Robin has been involved with the railway for many years and this appointment will cement the close bonds that already exist between the Trust and the Association. In a similar vein, Trust archivist, Ian Coleby, has undertaken to catalogue the collection of artefacts at the Gauge Museum.
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| Latest News - 23 June 2007 |
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1. An opportunity to view the Trust’s latest acquisition, coach 6705
Collett 6705, the coach that was repatriated from the US to the UK, is now safely in store at Crewe. We can confirm that it will be open to the public to visit over the weekend of 11/12 August 2007 by kind permission of 'The Railway Age' Trustees and LNWR Heritage Ltd. An initial inspection shows that the coach is in very good condition, complete with fabric on seats and still having carriage prints in the compartments. 6705 offers a unique opportunity to look back to 1962 when it was sold out of traffic to an American collector and was shipped across the Atlantic. 'The Railway Age' is open 10 to 4 (last admission 3pm) on each day and admission is £4 for adults and £2 for children. Please note that access will be by steps at either end of the coach and the visit may not be suitable for those with mobility problems.
The Trust’s funds have been very stretched in bringing this coach back and no further progress can be made until more funds are available. If you would like to donate, please make a donation through the website or (better) contact Chris Dowrick (see contacts) direct – he will no doubt be able to persuade you to sign a gift aid form that means that your donation is worth an extra 28%.
Further details about the coach open day will be published on the Trust's website in due course.
2. Latest news on two further coach acquisitions
The Trust committee recently approved the acquisition of two further coaches. The coaches are firstly a Collect Brake Third from the Bodmin Railway and secondly a toplight no 3665 now standing at Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway. We have been incredibly lucky that the owners have kindly donated both these vehicles at nil cost to the Trust. Although both the coaches are in poor condition, they will be valuable additions to the growing fleet. No 3665 can stay at Buckfastleigh for the time being as the space it occupies is not required until the new South Devon shed project starts. However, the Bodmin coach will need to be moved fairly quickly to a new home. Several sites away from the WSR are currently being considered for this.
3. Coach 2578 in place as exhibition and display centre
Coach No 2578 is the former WSRA coach from Williton. This has been acquired by the company and will shortly be transferred to the Trust. This coach is structurally sound and we are intending to use it as a short-term exhibition and display vehicle at Bishop’s Lydeard. It has therefore now been shunted into the goods shed road (see picture) . The immediate need is to cosmetically restore the vehicle, then fit it out inside as an exhibition and display for the Trust and the Heritage Carriages Project. We anticipate that this will be ready for next season.
4. A wet guided tour of Watchet
Trust archivist Ian Coleby conducted a walking tour of the railways of Watchet on June 16th.This was, perhaps, one of the wettest June Saturdays in living memory! Nevertheless, a hardy 15 people turned up and an enjoyable 2 hours was spent rambling round the harbour, the WSMR yard and the WSR station. The tour was at the request of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. One of the SAHNS members, David Hawkings, published a book several years ago on the subject of railway staff records. A new edition of this book is now being produced and the Trust’s database of 500 (approx) ex-Minehead branch employees is to be mentioned. Ian has also now been asked to give a further talk on the history of the railway to Minehead next spring.
5. Bishop’s Lydeard planning permission
The local building firm A H Gadd has now resubmitted its planning application for Station Farm at Bishop’s Lydeard. The renewed application has dropped the community shop seen by local residents as a threat to facilities in Bishop’s Lydeard village. It also includes more tourist-related facilities including a café for the railway, cycle hire, a micro brewery and units available for local innovative businesses. The housing includes a significant number of affordable homes available only to local residents. The crucial difference this time is that the development is now to be part of a larger scheme which it uses part of the land previously proposed for development and other land further south to make provision for a museum and carriage shed for the West Somerset Railway that would house the Trust's heritage coaches. A separate (though dependent) planning application for this will be submitted in the next few weeks and as soon as this is finalised, we will be able to tell you more.
6. Book Sales
The Trusts book “The Minehead Branch 1848-1971” which was produced in conjunction with the Lightmoor Press last autumn is selling well. Of the initial print run of 1500 copies, the vast majority have now been sold and the publisher is now considering a reprint. Royalties received from the sale of this book go directly to support the work of the Trust. Copies are available from both Bishop’s Lydeard and Minehead station shops as well as from Blue Anchor Museum. Local bookshops will also stock it or you can buy direct from www.lightmoor.co.uk.
7. Fundraising
The work of the Trust can onlt continue as long as money is available to fund it. In particular, the restoration of heritage carriages will be expensive. Please consider making a regular donation to the Trust to further our work by emailing us at info@wssrt.co.uk
8. Contacts
Please email us at info@wssrt.co.uk for all enquiries.
For other contact details, please see WSSRT contacts list from our website.
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© West Somerset Steam Railway Trust
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6 May 2008
AGM
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