Station Masters Jottings
View special events below
The railway appears to be going from strength to strength,
thankfully the
passenger numbers are holding up and the Spring Steam gala was a
great success. By the time you get to read this article, the newest
mainline steam locomotive to be built (named Tornado) will have scurried
down the mainline from Gloucester to Minehead for a stay of two weeks and
will
take part in the Mixed Traffic weekend over the 14th & 15th June. The
loco will be on
the 11.30am train from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead most days during it’s
stay between
the 1st and 15th June. Leaflets covering timings are available from the station.
It
will then work a train back out to Birmingham on the 18th May. On the afternoon
of the
7th June, St Mary’s Church are holding a service on the platform where
it is hoped the
loco will be blessed in a simple ceremony by the Rector. It will also take
part in marking
the 30th Anniversary of trains running between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard.
The railway has been very lucky to secure such a fine loco as it is very
popular with
steam
enthusiasts throughout the country. It is booked to haul quite a few special
trains,
including from Bristol to Kingswear in July. This train can be caught from
Taunton for
a thoroughly good day out. The journey is a delight, especially when dashing
between
Exeter and Newton Abbott along the sea wall.
Down at the station the maintenance team have painted the toilet block and
put the
final touches to what was the old ticket office. New signs have gone up and
a hand rail
has been provided up the slope to the new ticket office. The new notice board
is now
by the main entrance to the station - if you would like to have your local
events
advertised please contact the WSRA Manager Susan Kaufman, (her number is
431311), or visit the WSRA office on the industrial estate. A second-hand
coach has
arrived on the line from London, and it will be refurbished before going
into traffic.
Unfortunately it is in British Rail blue and white, which is going to remain
its colours for
some time, so it is going to look out of place.
At Norton Fitzwarren more track work will appear as a new head shunt is put
in off of
the existing catch point by the bridge. This is to allow shunting movements
to take
place without the need to block the main running line between Taunton and
Bishops
Lydeard. When the next point is put in on the East cord of the triangle (Heading
towards Taunton and linking up with the old Barnstaple formation), this will
allow the
shunting to take place. The aggregate trains were suspended for two weeks
following
a derailment in Taunton`s Fairwater Yard, where a wagon split the points
in a
shunting accident. The wagon concerned turned over on its side - if this
was not
enough the crane that came to assist in lifting it back onto the tracks hit
the overhead
power lines and destroyed all the signalling equipment between Bridgwater
and
Tiverton! This resulted in serious disruption to the train service for two
weeks and
hundreds of houses in the area had their electricity cut off for a short
while. Thankfully
no one was hurt. We are expecting a more track at some time in the future
to allow us
to do further work on this project. Additional work to improve conditions
for the
exhibitors and the public is also taking place on the Rally field site, ready
for this years
Steam Fayre and Vintage Vehicle Rally on the 1st & 2nd of August.
Ian Aldridge former Station Master.
2009 Special Events
21-22nd March Spring Steam Gala
26-29th March Spring Steam Gala
12-14th June Mixed Traffic Weekend
4-5th July Thomas the Tank will be with us again
1-2nd August Annual Steam Fayre & Vintage Vehicle Rally at
Norton Fitzwarren
2nd August Toy & Train Collectors Fair - Minehead Station
12-13th September Camra Real Ale Festival - Minehead Station
1-4th October Autumn Steam Gala
24-25th October Somerset in Autumn
4-5th December Dunster by Candlelight
5-6,12-13,19-20,23-
24th December
Santa Trains
14-15-16th December Carol Trains
29-30th December The Winter Steam Festival
There will be Fish & Chip Specials, Murder Mystery Trains
and you can
book Cream Teas too. Additional Quantock Belle dining trains are running
this year and if you fancy driving or firing a steam loco why not try one
of
the steam enginemens courses? There are ticket concessions to Dunster
Castle if you travel by train again this year and please do not forget that
if
you are residents in the TA post code area you can be a Star card holder
giving discount travel on the railway.
For information on all the above. with the exception of the Quantock Belle
bookings and the Steam Fayre, ring 01643 704996. For the QB and Steam
Fayre ring 01823 433856. As Wallace and Gromit would say -
“A Grand Day Out”