West Somerset Railway
Between the Quantock Hills and the Coast. Steam trains through 20 miles of superb scenery.
Station Masters' Jottings
My apologies for the error in the last Station Jotting, - did you spot it in the forthcoming events section? The Annual Vintage Vehicle and Steam Fair is on the 7-8th August and not the 1-2nd. To save taking the car to this event why not take the train, which on the Saturday will be steam hauled. On the Sunday it will be pulled by the diesel multiple unit. Plans for this event are well advanced and it is a very good family day out with something for everyone. This year will see a larger steam entry.
The railway appears to be holding its own despite the recession. The Thomas the Tank and Friends weekend went well and thankfully the weather was kind. The news has just broken that the locomotive Tornado, which was due to visit the line for a few days in July, will not now appear and its place will be taken by resident loco Braunton, based at Williton. Like Tornado this loco has three cylinders and is used to and from the West Country. Tornado has crown stay problems again; a number of stays went earlier in the year and the boiler’s manufacturer sent representatives to investigate. The stays hold the firebox of the loco to the boiler barrel forming the water/steam jacket. It is unsure whether Tornado will be able to keep its other commitment to appear on the line in September.
The summer weather has brought on the flowers and as I write these jottings Clive Goddard, our resident gardener, has been exceedingly busy and the flower display on the station looks a treat. We have already had one judgment in the Railways Best Kept Station Competition and the competition is strong - all the stations down the line are out to get revenge on us for sweeping the board in the competition last year! I have to say they will have to go some as Clive has doubled his efforts and variety of flowers this year. The Taunton in Bloom Judges will have made their decisions by the time you read this article.
The second phase of loco compound work has now been completed and it is a credit to the Railway Company that this area has been tidied up and environ-mental facilities improved. This new facility will allow us to service four locos, which will allow us to support a three loco timetable from Bishops Lydeard in the future. The next phase, when finances permit, is to put up an engine shed over the site. Hopefully the two containers just outside the compound will be moved to Williton and the area tidied up to restore the loco crews’ parking area.
The repair and maintenance team continue to soldier on painting the station but, because of its South West position, the sun and the rain cause havoc and so it has become their ‘Forth Bridge’ - no sooner do they finish than they have to start again! The new point that is required for the Norton Triangle is about to be delivered and it will be a case of all hands to the pump to get it installed and working by September. This work will be done in conjunction with Network Rail as the point will be just on the boundary between them and the West Somerset Railway. Additional connections to the signalling linked to the Exeter Power Signal Box will have to be made, which will give greater flexibility for train movements in the future.
Ian Aldridge, Former Station Master, Bishops Lydeard
