West Somerset Railway

The West Somerset Railway started running trains in 1976 anc currently runs trains between Minehead to Bishops Lydeard some 20 miles, on a regular basis from February to Novembe: and daily from May to September. For the last four years it ha; carried in excess of 200,000 passengers each year, bringing many people into the town for the day or longer. Throughout the year, special events are run and these regular/I] bring hundreds of enthusiasts using the areas' accommodation shops and eateries. 2009 sees a six day gala in March, a thret day one in June, a four day and a two day one in October and 1 two day one in December.

The West Somerset Railway is Britain's longest "heritage" line. From Bishops Lydeard (four miles from Taunton) it runs for twenty miles through the Quantock Hills and along the Exmoor coast tc Minehead. There are ten restored stations along the way and places to or interest served include tht old harbour town of Watchet with its Marina. Washford with Cleeve Abbey, craft centre and cider farm, and medieval Dunster with the Castle, Priory and Mill.

Steam hauled trains running over 20 miles through stunning scenery of the Quantock Hills. On the seafront, 5 minutes walk from Somerwest World. Britain's longest preserved railway running steam hauled trains over 20 miles through stunning scenery of the Quantock Hills and along the coast from Minehead and passing 10 beautifully preserved wayside stations at Dunster, Blue Anchor, Washford, Watchet, Williton, Stogumber and Crowcombe to Bishops Lydeard near Taunton.

Large Car Parks at Bishops Lydeard (free) and Minehead(Pay and Display). Good bus connections to/from Taunton with First Bus No 28A shuttle service.

Visitors' Centre and model railways at Bishops Lydeard, GW Museum at Blue Anchor, S&D Museum at Washford, Diesel and Electric Group Depot at Williton. Enjoy the atmosphere of the branch line train of yesteryear. 24hr talking Timetable: +44 (0)1643 704996

A steam locomotive, Manor Class 7820, "Dinmore Manor", leaving Watchet Station on the West Somerset Steam Railway. This locomotive first entered service in 1950

The line offers 20 miles of steam through the Quantock Hills and along the coast on one of the longest preserved railways in the country. It runs from Minehead in the West to Bishops Lydeard near Taunton in the East via the Quantock Hills. It is a fascinating journey with several stops at the ten old-time stations of Blue Anchor, picturesque Dunster,Washford, Watchet, Williton, Stogumber, Crowcombe Heathfield, and reaching your destination of Bishops Lydeard. Diesel and steam run regularly and strictly to time. The line runs for over 20 miles and provides a wonderful trip for all the family East to West and West to East. The Exmoor National Park is also close. At 20 miles, the West Somerset Railway (WSR) is the longest privately owned passenger rail line in the UK. It operates using heritage steam and diesel locomotives, and claims to provide transport for the local community as well as a leisure attraction for visitors. In the first respect however the WSR's ability to provide a true public transport alternative to the car is limited by its having to stop short of the major town of Taunton (see below).

West Somerset Railway

History

The original West Somerset Railway was opened in 1862 from a junction two miles west of Taunton, at a point then called Watchet Junction and later called Norton Fitzwarren Junction. Built to the Broad Gauge, it was single track throughout with a passing loop at Williton and originally terminated at the port of Watchet. In 1870 the Luttrell family, who owned Dunster Castle and much of Minehead, were alarmed at the increasing prosperity of Watchet at the expense of Minehead and succeeded in promoting a Parliamentary Bill and raising the funds to build an extension to Minehead. The new part of the line was known as the Minehead Railway and it was, like the West Somerset After many difficulties, it was opened in 1874. Both lines were operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway. In 1882 the Great Western Railway, which by then had absorbed the Bristol and Exeter Railway, converted the entire branch to the standard gauge in one weekend.

The West Somerset Railway Minehead

In the 1900's, because of the steadily increasing volume of traffic, additional platforms and passing loops were built at Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe Heathfield and Blue Anchor. The 1930's saw the need for further improvements and additional passing loops were put in at Leigh Woods, and Kentsford, and the platforms extended at Minehead (to 440 yards long), at Blue Anchor and Crowcombe Heathfield. The sections of track between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren and Dunster and Minehead were also doubled. Decline set in during the 1960's and British Rail, which had taken over the operation of the branch in 1948, took out the loops at Crowcombe Heathfield, Leigh Woods and Kentsford and after reducing the line to basic railway status, closed the branch in 1971. Preservationists took over the line and, in spite of many problems, succeeded in opening the line from Minehead to Blue Anchor in 1976. They extended the line by stages until they reached Bishops Lydeard in 1979

West Somerset Railway

Construction

There were many proposals to build a West Somerset Railway, but the first was the 1850's West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which constructed a "narrow" line from the iron-ore mines of the Brendon Hills to Watchet. The company then had a proposal for an extension to Minehead, but this was turned down. Two meetings then took place in 1856. The first in Williton was attended by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It originally debated connecting Watchet with Bridgwater via a tunnel under the Quantock Hills - but Brunel suggested that although there may be coal under the hills, the tunnel was too long and costly compared to a direct route following the Qauntocks and accessing the Bristol & Exeter railway at Taunton. The second meeting was held in Taunton, which proposed a route which cut closer to the Quantocks, and then meandered down to Minehead. However, the first group had Brunel survey the route, and plans for broad gauge railway were submitted in November 1856.

The West Somerset Railway Company was incorporated on 17 August 1857 by way of Act of Parliament, and a propspectus issued to raise the required £120,000 - but share holders failed to take any interest. After a considerable delay, Furness of London started construction on 7 April 1859 at Crowcombe Heathfield. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed sa engineer for the project to build the West Somerset railway but the eminent GWR engineer and designer died before it was finished.

Operation

Soon it was taken over by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, which in turn was taken overby the Great Western Railway in 1874. The line, built to broad gauge standard, was converted to standard gauge in one day in October 1882. After the Beeching Axe review, the line was closed by British Railways in January 1971. The land was purchased by Somerset County Council, as the route of a potential new road to Watchet and Minehead for the heavy tourist traffic. However, this idea was dropped in consultation with the National Park authority, as the road would have impinged on Exmoor National Park.

Preservation

It reopened as a private heritage line at Easter 1976. Although a rail connection still exists to the national rail network at Norton Fitzwarren and Taunton, it is presently necessary to catch a bus between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard. This heavily restricts the WSR's ability to provide a true public transport alternative to the car, by its having to stop short of the major town of Taunton. However, the through the line from Taunton is used on Gala Weekends and by charter trains. The West Somerset Railway Association provides an army of volunteers who carry out a wide range of tasks to support the Railway from booking clerks to gardeners to engine drivers.

Train on the West Somerset Railway - Photo supplied by Dave Sorrell

Stations

From Taunton, towards Minehead: Taunton- an eventual goal, but with no present plans. Access from the West Somerset Railway to Taunton railway station is only via a connecting bus service at present.

Norton Fitzwarren - purchased, no access yet. To be the site of a new and major loco servicing facility, carriage works and access station.

Bishops Lydeard

First opened in 1862 when the line from Norton Fitzwarren to Watchet was opened, it was until closure a typical village station part way along a branch line. As the present Southern terminus of the WSR, the platforms, facilities and the car park have under gone extensive extension and refurbishment. The Station is the headquarters of the West Somerset Railway Association, and the "Quantock Belle" dining car train is also based here. A loco servicing depot is situated at the Taunton end of the Station. The old Goods Shed is restored as a visitor centre.

Crowcombe Heathfield

The station was built in 1862 when the line opened, the station stands at the highest point on the line, just under 400 feet above the sea. The railway workers cottages and station masters house, together with the main station building are the only original structures left. The upper half of the signal box was purchased from Ebbw Vale. Several films have been shot at Crowcombe Heathfield Station, including:

• The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night (A Hard Day's Night: the film a hard days night (1964) is a mockumentary written by Alun Owen)
• The Land Girls: the land girls is a 1998 film directed by David Leland and starring Catherine ...
• TV - The Flockton Flyer
• TV - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Stogumber Opened in 1862, a different layout to most stations, in that the main building lies on the opposite side of the tracks to the platform

Williton An unmolested example of a Bristol & Exeter Railway station, which retains a number of features including it's Italianate chimney. An original B&ER signal box, believed to be the only one surviving, guards the railway crossing - openly spaced thanks to the original installation of broad gauge in 1862. The Goods Shed is the WSR base for the Diesel and Electric Group. The Goods Shed is not original, having been donated by Tarmac Ltd after preservation from Swindon Railway works.

Doniford Built on a curve to serve the nearby Holiday complex, one-platform Doniford was opened in 1988. Built from 1930's vintage GWR pre-cast concrete from Montacute Station, an authentic GWR corrugated iron pagoda building was reclaimed from Cove on the former Exe Valley line.

West Somerset Steam Railway - Photo supplied by Dave Sorrell

Watchet The original terminus of the West Somerset Railway, the layout explains some of the odd features of this single platform station, before the line was extended to Minehead in 1874. The footbridge (the only one on the line) was added to maintain an original public right of way. The harbour was connected to the "main line" by a steep incline up to the goods shed.

Washford The second highest station on the line, Washford is built in a gap between the coastal cliffs and the Brendon Hills. It is accessed by two very steep inclines for steam trains - from Blue Anchor there is a one mile section at 1 in 65, the steepest on the line. The original station building of 1874, has a small shed next to it which originally housed the signal box, now a simple S&DJR frame. The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust took over the station in 1976 and restored it to S&DJR standards, making it one of the best awarded railway museums in the UK.

West Somerset Railway Museum

Blue Anchor A two station platform, it opened in 1874 with only one platform but was extended by the GWR in 1904. They also remodelled the station building, explaining why it does not look like those at either Washford, Dunster or Minehead. This is most notable in the odd shape of the ladies room, because it follows the boundary of the site.DunsterThe Station was first opened in 1874, located one mile from the picture postcard village of Dunster. The main building houses the Railway's ticket printing department, which utlilising an old Edmondson Press, supplies both the railway and many other heritage lines. The Goods Shed and yard house the Railway's Permanent Way department.MineheadMinehead railway station was first opened in 1874, and having been extended at least twice, not much of the orginial 1874 building exists. The original platforms are probably the longest on any preserved railway and can accommodate a sixteen coach train plus locomotive - just right for accomodating a Castle and 16 coaches with passengers going to/from Butlins.The station is the headquarters of the West Somerset Railway. All departments are based here:

• Operating
• Mechanical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Signal & Telegraph
• Administration
• Retail Outlet the "Buffer Stop"

Part of the original station building exists along with the Goods Shed, which is now part of the third Locomotive Shed on the line (together with the main Loco facility at Bishops Lydeard, and the S&DJR facility at Washford), the facility is also home to lines only turntable.Trivia

• During the summer the railway employs 28 people, in addition to many volunteers. It carries 200,000 passengers each year, and has so far (end of 2003) transported over 3 million people
• The West Somerset is featured in the PC simulation game "Train Driver"

Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

• GWR '38XX' 2-8-0 no 3850
• GWR '45XX' 2-6-2T no 4561
• GWR '55XX' 2-6-2T no 5542
• GWR '64XX'0-6-0PT no 6412
• BR(W) '78XX' 4-6-0 no 7828 "Odney Manor"
• BR(W) '78XX' 4-6-0 no 7820 "Dinmore Manor"
• BR(W) '5101' 2-6-2T no 4160
• WSR 2-6-0 no 9351 (rebuild of no 5193)
• SDJR 2-8-0 Class 7F no. 88 (current boiler ticket expires in 2016)
• SR 4-6-2 no 34046 "Braunton"
• Peckett 0-4-0ST no 1788 "Kilmersdon"
• Hawthorn Leslie 0-6-0ST no 3437 "Isabel"

Diesel Locomotives

• BR 0-6-0 Class 03 no. D2119
• BR 0-6-0 Class 08 no. D3462
• BR 0-6-0 Class 14 no. D9526
• BR Bo-Bo Class 25 no. D7523
• BR Bo-Bo Class 33 nos. D6566 and 33057
• BR B-B Class 35 nos. D7017 and D7018
• BR C-C Class 52 no. D1010 "Western Campaigner"

Diesel Multiple Units

• BR Class 103 unit 50413+56169
• BR Class 115 unit 51852+59678+51887 and 51859+51880
• BR Class 117 unit 117311 (51352+59505+51376)

Train services run from March to December with daily operation between the end oi May and the end of September. You can gain further details about the railway by contacting : The West Somerset Railway, The Railway Station, Minehead TA24 5BG. Telephone: 01643 704996 Website: www.west-somerset-rairway.co.uk

Although the junction between the West Somerset Railway and the main line network at Norton Fitzwarren has been upgraded to allow regular train movements on and off the line, there was a remaining limitation when it came to seeing steam-hauled excursions coming and going.

This was the inability to turn the steam engines around.

Steam engines are forbidden from taking trains "tender first", ie in reverse, when running on the main line network, and so when a steam-worked excursion train arrived on the WSR it often had to detach its engine at Bishops Lydeard, and whilst the coaches and passengers carried on to the coast behind a West Somerset loco, the main line one was running to West-bury in Wiltshire, Bristol or Paignton to turn.

This reduced the appeal of the special train for some potential passengers and the unproductive extra mileage by the loco added to the costs.

And so work has been carried out to install a turntable at Minehead, adjacent to the station, and a turning triangle at Norton Fitzwarren. The turntable came into use in 2008.

Both allow engines to be turned, bringing more business to the Railway and businesses in the surrounding communities.

The Online Newsletter May 2010

External links

• WSR Association
• bbc.co.uk/somerset: The Minehead Meander
• West Somerset Railway Official Site
• West Somerset Railway Unoffical Site
• trainweb.com/signalbox/branches/kw/

Contributed by: Julian Biggs, Jim Evans