"Welcome ye friends of progress!"   The West Somerset Steam Railway Trust History • Education • Preservation   The Trust • The Sleeping Car • Heritage Carriages Project • The Museum • Publications • More... Tuesday 3 April 2012 Wizzer Walk organiser Mike Webber writes The Wizzer Walk which took place last November has raised just over £2,600 . The deadline for receiving the sponsorship money was on the 31st March. The organisers have looked at the sponsorship forms for each walker and following their wishes, a proportion of the funds will go to the St. Margarets Hospice, Somerset . Back in November last year over 90 people took part in the walk on an exceptionally sunny day for the time of year enjoying the stunning scenary that the railway has to offer. The organisers wish to thank once again all those walkers who took part and for their efforts in raising these funds! Sunday 8 January 2012 Wizzer Walk organiser Mike Webber writes Calling all participants of the 2011 Wizzer Walk - time to collect that sponsor money. It didn't seem that long ago on November 27th last year that 90 people took part in the West Somerset Railway Walk, also known as the 'Wizzer Walk' between Williton and Bishops Lydeard. For late November the day was very sunny and with moderate temperatures, walkers were able to enjoy the outstanding scenery over that ten mile stretch of line. For those that took part in the walk, just a polite reminder that now Christmas is over, it may be time to approach those wonderful people who agreed to sponsor you. The sponsorship forms allow half of the money to go to St. Margaret's Hospice, the other half to the Heritage Carriages Project or alternatively all the money collected can go to the Heritage Carriages Project (HCP). Just to tempt those raising the money, the prize for the walker raising the largest amount of money for the Heritage Carriages Project will receive this wonderful prize of a painting, kindly donated by transport artist Mike Tunnicliffe. Completed sponsor forms and cheques are payable to the WSSRT and addressed to the West Somerset Railway Walk, Bishops Lydeard Station, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, TA4 3BX. Happy New Year! Tuesday 29 November 2011 90 people took part in the Wizzer Walk Sunday November 27th The West Somerset Railway Walk , also known as the ‘Wizzer Walk’ was blessed with brilliant sunshine and moderate temperatures throughout most of the day . 90 walkers took part in the ten mile sponsored walk starting from Williton and finishing at Bishops Lydeard station. Participants enjoyed excellent hospitality at all the Stations on the route and the walkers were able to enjoy the stunning scenery of the West Somerset Railway in the late Autumn sunshine. A number of walkers hearing of the favourable weather forecasts for Sunday took the spontaneous decision to take part in the walk and register on the day swelling the number of participants to 90! Organisers Mike Webber and Ian Coleby were delighted with the numbers of walkers participating and how it all went to plan on the day and look forward to receiving the sponsorship money in due course. The organisers wish to thank all those volunteers who took part during the day in the various departments to make the Wizzer Walk an outstanding success , to all the walkers participating and lastly to those sponsoring them. The deadline for receiving the sponsorship money is the at end of February 2012 and cheques should be sent payable to the WSSRT and addressed to the West Somerset Railway Walk, Bishops Lydeard Station, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, TA4 3BX. In summary, there was good walking and good weather on the Wizzer ! Organisers Mike Webber (left) and Ian Coleby near Water Bridge on 27 November 2011. © Mike Dunse Friday18 November 2011 Mike Webber writes WIZZER WALK. GET FIT FOR CHRISTMAS AND TURN UP AND REGISTER ON THE DAY. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27th. "Christmas is coming and are you getting fat?, Walk the 'Wizzer Walk' burn calories and start to get that stomach flat". So says Mike Webber a fitness instructor and one of the walk's organisers. Less than a fortnight to go before the West Somerset Railway Sponsored Walk takes place in aid of the Heritage Carriages Project and the St. Margaret's Hospice. The walk gives the public a rare opportunity to walk the beautiful and rural ten mile stretch of line between Williton and Bishops Lydeard and the chance to have a breather if needed at Stogumber and Crowcombe Heathfield Stations where food and hot drinks can be purchased and for those completing the walk, a complementary cup of tea , coffee or soup at Bishops Lydeard Station. If you haven't registered already , then turn up at and book on the day with a registration fee of £7 per person. There will be two walking groups planned to leave Williton with a diesel train to take walkers to the start of the walk. For those parking their car at Bishops Lydeard, the train departs from Bishops Lydeard Station at 09.25am going directly to Williton and then departing from Minehead at 11.00am once again returning to Williton in time for the second walking group to set off. If you don't feel like walking yourself, then why not sponsor a walker and cheer them on at the stations en route. Go on, step out on the right track to raise some money for two worthwhile causes! Full Info on the Heritage Carriages Project news page... Wednesday 17 August 2011 Chris Austin writes A cocoon for No 6705... A lot is happenning with 6705 at the moment! Here is a picture of it today inside the shed at Williton, showing the coach sealed and the working area set up to allow the safe removal of asbestos insulating strips from the seat backs in each compartment. The work is expected to be complete by the end of this week (19 August), after which, volunteers will be able to resume the task of replacing the seats and internal fittings prior to painting and varnishing. The work is being carried out by MSS Environmental of Cardiff, which has also removed asbestos from other coaches on the railway in the past. Picture showing No 6705 safely sealed . Photo by Chris Austin, 16 August 2011 Saturday 13 August 2011 Chris Austin writes No 6705's dynamo still in perfect condition... Here are three pictures showing the dynamo on coach 6705 which is under restoration at Williton by volunteers from the Steam Trust. The coach was built in 1938, but was overhauled before it went to America. The paint date shows that the dynamo was overhauled last in August 1963, 48 years ago. The casing was opened on 11 August 2011, to reveal the working parts in perfect condition with almost no wear since that date! The dynamo being removed from underneath the coach by Tim Randle and Greg McNelly (under the coach). Photo by Chris Austin, 11 August 2011 The open dynamo casing, showing the commutator and carbon brushes, with a glimpse of the windings inside the housing. The pulley wheel is on the end. Photo by Chris Austin, 11 August 2011 The makers plate giving technical details of output. Photo by Greg McNelly, 2 August 2011 Wednesday 22 June 2011 Claire Sheppy writes For sale by sealed bid, two original builders plates, the wording on the works plates is as follows: Hungarian Railway Carriage and Machine Works Limited 1906 number 9754 GY0R Marshall Sons & Co Limited Engineers Gainsborough England 6HP No 13276 These two works plates have been donated to the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust to specifically be sold to raise funds for the Heritage Carriages Project. The wording on each plate is as above. Bids will be accepted for each plate individually. The closing date to receive bids is July 12, 2011. Bids should be submitted to info@wssrt.co.uk Provided that the bid amount is acceptable, (there will be a realistic reserve price) the highest bid for each plate will be accepted. The highest bidder will be requested to add the cost of postage, amount to be ascertained, but likely to be in the region of £5, or collection could be arranged from Bishops Lydeard, Williton or Blue Anchor stations. Tuesday 12 April 2011 David Williams writes The West Somerset Steam Railway Trust is seeking to ensure that it has a full list of its associate members. With this goal in mind, the Trust would be pleased if any associate members would contact them with their details at info@wssrt.co.uk so that they can be accurately checked against the current records. Please note that this does NOT apply to full members of the Trust, all of whom will be receiving their annual report and accounts in a few day's time. The Annual General Meeting of WSSRT will be held on Saturday 14th May 2011 in the Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard station, beginning at 2.15 p.m. Fuller details, accounts and agenda will be issued to members in due course. Latest News - Thursday 9 December 2010 Claire Sheppy writes It is with great sadness, that I announce the death on Sunday, December 5th of Chris van den Arend, long-time supporter of the West Somerset Railway in various guises, and particularly well-known for his work in the restoration of the sleeping car currently in the gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard, and most recently with the installation of the footbridge at Williton. Since learning of Chris's death, I have received a number of tributes to him, and am including some of them here. "He was one of those people, so rare nowadays, that appeared to not have a jot of malice in him and with his passing there goes one of the railway's pioneers at a time when such continuity is needed." "Such a lovely man and so generous with his knowledge and passion for the railway. I do hope there can be at least a plaque bearing his name on the footbridge, he was such a driving force on the project that there should be some way of commemorating him in relation to the bridge" "Chris was a central player in the hard work which enabled the Railway to re-open in 1976 and later became Administrative Director in those early years. Latterly many will know Chris as Station Master at Williton and through his work with the Steam Trust, especially on the Sleeping Car. ..............The obvious memorials will be the Sleeping Car and the Williton Footbridge but many will know that Chris's legacy is, in fact, the entire Railway - and its community - which has prospered from his tireless, gentle, energy. " I myself will miss Chris enormously. I shall always think of him as a good friend to me, always ready to listen and to give advice when requested. And as a result I became very fond of him. But I wanted to let Chris himself have the last word here. Below is the very last e-mail which he sent to me and to others who were currently closely involved with the heritage carriages project: " We were fortunate with the Sleeping Car that it had been in the dry for fifty years. I think coaches that have been in the open a lot - not uncommon for railway coaches! - should be approached with suspicion. 3639 looked quite good in the old days at Minehead and was in use for accomodation. I agree that it is an absolute must to examine what we have very carefully. 5856 is sure to have hidden snags. The body work MIGHT be as good as 6705. They have spent a similar time in the weather I imagine. But we seem to have extremely useful pieces of interior worth, I am sure,.many thousands. We would never have completed the Sleeping Car without all the "spares" from 9039 at Didcot. We need very full examination of all our coaches both on and off the WSR." Wise words indeed, and I hope that all who knew Chris will continue to carry on the work that he has left off, so that we can make this project a success. It will be another fitting memorial to him. Chris's funeral will be held at West Bagborough Parish Church, on Thursday 16th of December at 2pm. Latest News - Tuesday 2 November 2009 Claire Sheppy writes Here are some pictures of Claire Sheppy using the drawing board donated by IBM of Hursley, Hampshire, courtesy of IBM's Steve Richardson. The board was transported by van to Williton in March 2009. Gareth Winter's pictures show Claire completing the site utilities layout drawing for the former concrete works site, as part of the preparation for the laying in of the two sidings. Thanks go to Steve Richardson, and the Hawkins family who arranged to transport the board. The drawing board in the van and about to travel from Hursley to Williton. © Steve Richardson. Claire Sheppy using the drawing board. © Gareth Winter via Claire Sheppy. Claire Sheppy using the drawing board. © Gareth Winter via Claire Sheppy. Latest News - Saturday 24 January 2009 Claire Sheppy writes "Heritage Carriage No 3639 working parties for February are scheduled for Saturday February 14th from 10:30am until 4:30pm at Williton and Saturday February 21st from 10:30am until 4:30pm at Williton." "Also, here is another reminder that there will be a presentation by Robin White assisted by other members of the team, on 31st January, details of which can be found elsewhere on this website." More from Claire on the Heritage Carriages Project News Page... And Ian Coleby adds: "Can I also remind you of the Trusts Film evening. On Saturday 28 March 2009 (the second Saturday of the Spring Gala) the West Somerset Steam Trust will be holding a film night at Crowcombe village hall in aid of the Heritage Carriages Project. The Bar will be open from 6.30 and at 7.30 we will be showing the classic film: 'The Train' with Burt Lancaster. Made in 1964 with full co-operation of French Railways, the film shows the theft of France's art treasures being foiled by French Railwaymen, led by Burt Lancaster. It includes unforgettable sequences including a train being driven through an air raid and a real train crash including several SNCF locomotives. It does also include Burt Lancaster, Jeanne Moreau, Paul Scofield and Wolfgang Preiss Tickets will be available from Blue Anchor Station House, Blue Anchor, Somerset TA24 6LB from 1st January 2009 at £7.50 for adults and £5 for children (aged 14 and under). Cheques payable to 'WSSRT'. Please include an SAE for return of your tickets. Please note, there are ONLY 120 tickets available, so book early to avoid disappointment. It should be a great evening. Remember, all proceeds will go to the Heritage Carriages Project!" Latest News - Friday 2 January 2009 The West Somerset Steam Railway Trust has recently acquired this original West Somerset Railway envelope. Trust Archivist, Ian Coleby, explains "Date stamped May 10 1860, it was posted in Taunton and sent to Mr Edward Risdon at Washford. The sender has handily described the contents of the envelope on the outside: Included is receipt for cash paid to West Somerset Railway Company £10 for 20 shares at 10/- per share. So no secrets from the postman then. What makes this rather ordinary envelope special, however, is the reverse where it has been embossed with a WSR seal. This is very rare and has not been seen before....we assume that the envelopes were normally thrown away and therefore they don't usually survive. Note that the seal bears the company's London address of 6 Victoria Street rather than the local, Taunton Hammett Street address. We hope to be able to display this envelope in the Gauge Museum next season." The flap side of the envelope showing the WSR seal. © Ian Coleby The address side of the envelope. © Ian Coleby Latest News - 27 September 2008 Toplight 3639 Working Parties The Next working parties for Toplight coach No. 3639 will be as follows: Saturday 4th October: 10:30am until 4:30pm Saturday 11th October: 10:30am until 4:30pm Saturday 18th October: 10:30am until 4:30pm. As Saturday 4th October is during the Autumn gala, the Tarmac shed will be open and available to anyone who wishes to come to see the work carried out on the coach so far. Also available to see on the display board alongside the coach, are the drawings that have been prepared so far, mainly elevations of how the coach should look when it is completed together with drawings showing the structural members of the coach and the working drawings for the various timber sections that will be required to be made to replace the ones which have become decayed to the point where they cannot be repaired. This display board also includes some photographs of other coaches that the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust have an interest in, and may well restore in due course, there is also a Schedule list of these coaches, giving information concerning type of coach, its Swindon diagram reference, the lot number of that particular coach and so forth. Work on 4th October will consist primarily of cleaning off paint work of some of the mouldings which will be able to be re-used, and some more work concerning the removal the floor boarding to enable the chassis to be cleaned and later shot blasted for repainting. News on the corner posts is that both of them have now been removed at one end of the coach, and the drawings for these are currently with a joiner with a view to having these two essential members made professionally. However with many of the other members, especially for example the two rails and the two vertical struts below the main window, where replacements are necessary, any of these could be made quite easily by a competent woodworker at home should anyone be interested in some homework in the near future. (Dimensioned drawings will be provided.) Other than the corner posts, the other critical member requiring to be replaced is the sole plate, this is the solid timber section which is nine inches by three inches overall, and runs along the whole of the length of the coach and effectively is the member which joins the body to the chassis. Other than the ends of the corner posts, this is the area where the most serious decay has occurred, and we are in the process of removing the existing sole plate in sections in order to be ready to replace the decayed timber with new. Heritage Carriages Project News Wednesday 24th September was another momentous day for the West Somerset Railway. Coverage of the launch of Braunton will have been covered elsewhere, but it was also a big day for the Heritage Carriages Group as well. Not only was this the day of the Steam Railway sponsored train in support of the Heritage Carriages Project Benefit Launch Train, but also the sleeping car was open to be inspected in the Gauge Museum at Bishop's Lydeard, and additionally, in the morning, the Curator of the museum, Ian Coleby, gave two illustrated presentations concerning the history of the Toplight and Collett coaches which the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust are intending to restore to create two trains of seven coaches each to run on the West Somerset Railway. Also available to be seen and on display in the Gauge Museum were the drawings that have been prepared to assist with the restoration work of Toplight coach No. 3639, together with some photographs; and also some photographs and a Schedule of coaches in which the Trust has an interest and which may well be restored on the West Somerset Railway in due course. Then in the late afternoon, Claire Sheppy and David Stockwell welcomed an appreciative audience in the Tarmac shed at Williton to talk about the restoration work on 3639 that has been carried out so far, and outlined how we see progress developing in the future; we were very pleased to welcome Danny Hopkins, Editor of "Steam Railway" within this audience, this presentation produced some interesting questions and some useful discussion, and several useful contacts were made as a result. Sponsored Walk Yes, time to get your walking shoes out and sign up for the Trust's sponsored walk. A unique opportunity to walk the railway's trackbed and see it from an angle not normally possible! The walk takes place on November 16th and is from Williton to Minehead. There are two groups: The first group will leave Williton at 1000 and the second group will set off at 12 noon. A train will be run between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard and will take you to the start point and back again afterwards. The walk is in aid of the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust’s Heritage Carriages Project and Somerset St Margaret’s Hospice. Hornby have kindly donated a magnificent 00 gauge model locomotive for the sponsor raising the most money. For further information: Collect a leaflet or sponsor form from one of the stations on the railway. Download information or sponsor from from our website www.wssrt.co.uk Write to: Mr Mike Webber, 21 Underhill Road, Charfield, Glos GL12, 8TQ email info@wssrt.co.uk Sleeping Car staffing I am still looking for volunteers to open the sleeping car for visitors next season. If you would like to be involved with this activity, please email info@wssrt.co.uk. State of the rakes The Trust has published a short leaflet detailing the coaches acquired for the heritage carriages project so far. This will be available for download from the website in due course, but in the meantime if you would like to be emailed a copy, please contact us at the address above. Latest News - 9 September 2008 Meet the Chairman Elect... Mark Smith, who around the end of September takes over as Chairman of the West Somerset Railway Plc, is holding a series of meetings with WSR workers. The "Meet the Chairman Elect" get-togethers will be as inclusive as possible and everyone who considers themselves to be a worker at any level will be welcomed. Mark will first introduce himself as Company Chairman, then give a personal assessment of the current state of the Railway, and will close by outlining some priorities for action in the short and medium term. Then it is over to the audience for questions, comments and suggestions. Venues are Minehead at 8.45am and 10.30am on 25 September; at Williton at 3pm on 27 September; and Bishops Lydeard at 9am on 28 September. Latest News - 31 August 2008 Sponsored Walk The Sponsored Walk organisers have arranged a Meeting on Friday 26th September 2008 at 7.45pm at WSRA, Brunel House, Bishops Lydeard. Main Organiser Mike Webber writes: "I'm looking for Marshals - and if people want to participate in the walk as well they can be Sweepers. All offers of help will be welcomed, even if it is only for a few hours and the planning meeting will mass the troops so to speak." Come on - join the Walk and burn away some Autumn calories! Latest News - 17 August 2008 Heritage Carriages Project – Special Train There will be a special train on the WSR on September 24 2008 in aid of the Heritage Carriages Project, in conjunction with Steam Railway magazine. The train will run from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead (and return) with a dining portion formed of the WSR’s famous Quantock Belle dining carriages. Requested motive power is Jeremy Hosking's newly restored pacific No. 34046 Braunton, on one of its first outings since restoration. A vintage bus connection will leave Taunton railway station at 1210, allowing good connections from London and the north. Earlier bus connections from Taunton are available by normal bus operators. From 11am at Bishops Lydeard, the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust’s magnificent 1897 Sleeping Car will be on display along with a member of the restoration team to answer questions. Robin White will be on hand to explain the current state of the project. Trust Archivist and Bishops Lydeard Railway Museum Curator, Ian Coleby will also be giving a presentation on the Toplight and Collett coaches which the project aims to restore. The special train will leave Bishops Lydeard at 1300, running non-stop to Minehead, arriving at 1445. Members of the Steam Railway team will be travelling on the train and there will be competition and raffle with great prizes including a WSR footplate pass and annual subscriptions to Steam Railway. At Minehead it will be possible to inspect the newly installed turntable, and take a tour of Minehead loco works. A signal box visit can be arranged for those who are interested. Members of the party can return from Minehead on the 4pm service train to Williton where Toplight Coach 3639 is under restoration and will be on display with members of the restoration team on hand. Alternatively, members of the party can enjoy the delights of Minehead until 1650 when the special train will depart, calling at Williton to collect members who have elected to visit the restoration site there. The Special train is timed to arrive back at Bishops Lydeard at 6.07pm, with a vintage bus connection back to Taunton Railway Station by 6.25pm, allowing a return to London and other destinations at a sensible time. Tickets Dining Tickets are available at £50. This includes your travel, first class dining seats, a three-course lunch on the outward journey and afternoon tea on the return. Non-dining tickets are available at £20. A cold luncheon box can be pre-booked for £10. Bookings should be made to the West Somerset Railway Association Office at Bishops Lydeard. By post, please send cheques to: HCP Train, The Railway Station, Bishops Lydeard, Somerset TAXXXXX. Please enclose an SAE for return of tickets and a cheque made out to WSRA. Closing date for postal applications 17 September 2008. Alternatively book by phone 01823 433 856. A £1 charge to cover credit card charges and postage will be made for telephone bookings. Dining seats are limited. Please telephone to confirm availability before booking. Please indicate when booking whether you expect to make use of the vintage bus connection from Taunton railway station. All proceeds from this train will go to the WSR Heritage Carriages Project. Do join us ­ it should be a grand day out! Reclamation project - Dulverton Goods Shed Doors Members will be aware of the successful granting of planning permission for the new visitor and display centre at Bishops Lydeard. This new building will allow the existing goods shed that currently houses the Gauge Museum to be returned to its original purpose of a GWR Goods Shed. In order to do this, one of the things we will need are new goods shed doors. To further this aim, the Trust has been offered the iron work (hinges, strapping, bolts etc) from a set of redundant goods shed doors that are currently lying in Dulverton. The doors are the originals from the goods shed at Dulverton station and are believed to date from the 1870s. The owners are now keen for us to remove this ironwork, and we are looking for volunteers for this task - perhaps a gang of 4 or 5 people. What would be involved is a day out to Dulverton to break up the doors and remove the salvageable iron back to store at Bishops Lydeard. The woodwork is not required and needs to be neatly removed - the owner wishes to use some of this to make raised flower beds in her garden. No date is yet set, but we ought to complete the task in the autumn. If you would like to volunteer for this job, please email me at info@wssrt.co.uk. I have photos of the doors if you wish to see the size of the job! (Ian Coleby) Sleeping Car manning The restored sleeping car is now on display in the Gauge Museum. It can only be opened for visitors when an attendant is present - which we currently only rarely have. For the autumn steam gala and following on next spring, I would like to build a roster of staff who would be prepared to spend an interesting afternoon (or several!) in the museum, showing visitors around this magnificent vehicle. Initially, I would like to be able to open the sleeping car at weekends and bank holidays, but the aim is to have a manned presence whenever we are able in the future. The job would suit someone who likes to interact with the public and is happy to spend several hours in the museum! Please consider helping out with this important task which will encourage more interest in the heritage carriages project. All volunteers to info@wssrt.co.uk or ring me on 01823 333617. (Ian Coleby) Latest News - 5 August 2008 Sponsored Walk Sunday 16 November 2008 There will be a choice of two groups leaving Williton for Minehead. The first will start at 10.00am. The second group will start at midday. A train will leave Minehead at 9.00am, calling at Dunster at 9.07am, Blue Anchor at 9.20am, Washford at 9.30am and Watchet at 9.40am to take the walkers to the start at Williton. Here they will be briefed before starting the walk at 10.00am. The train will then run to Bishops Lydeard to collect walkers needing transport from Bishops Lydeard . It will leave there at 10.30am calling at Crowcombe Heathfield at 10.40am and Stogumber at 11.00am before arriving at Williton. The second group will then be briefed before leaving at 12 noon. Walkers can finish their walk at any station between Williton and Minehead, having informed a Marshall or Steward at the station. Those who complete the whole ten mile stretch will be offered a complementary cup of coffee or tea or soup and a bacon roll or cake at Minehead. At 4.00pm a train will depart Minehead to drop all walkers off at their original starting station arriving at Bishops Lydeard at 5.00pm. We are pleased to be running this walk in conjunction with St Margarets Somerset Hospice. Walkers can choose to give all the sponsorship to the WSSRT or to split it between the project and the hospice. Download the Sponsored Form [PDF] Download the Sponsored Walk Information Sheet [PDF] For more information email us at info@wssrt.co.uk Latest News - 6 May 2008 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 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. 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. Latest News - 23 June 2007 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.  © West Somerset Steam Railway Trust Electronic Trust News Subscribe now...