The West Somerset Railway Association have published a brief report of the Trustee Meeting held on 138 July 2021. Click or tap the button below to load the webpage from the Association's website.

From the Bahamas Locomotive Society's Facebook page:

We're proud to announce that, following three highly successful railtours in six days, we will be running a repeat of last Saturday's railtour with The Railway Touring Company from London Paddington to the West Somerset Railway!

This tour will take place on Saturday 14 August, and is expected to follow the same timings as before, and will be our third railtour of the month.

We hope to see you there!

Here is an update on the WSR Plc's 'SOS' Appeal:

The total now stands at £32,793.44 - an increase of £3,373.37 on the last published figure of £29,420.07 on 12 July, representing 6.55% of the £500K initial target and 3.27% of the full £1 million appeal target. We’re closing in quickly on £50,000 as the next interim target week by week which is good news.

The first WSR Gala for a long time will be held on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 September 2021 which will be a true 'Mixed Traction' event.

There will be mainly diesel haulage on the Friday plus one steam loco in service, then a mix of three diesels and two steam engines on the Saturday.

Click or tap the button below for more information and to book tickets.

Friday 16 July 2021 saw trains running almost the full length of the line from Bishops Lydeard through to Dunster. The trains linked up with a small fleet of heritage buses travelling onwards to Minehead, and then returning later in the day. Two of the vintage buses were open-top types, both of which were very popular with visitors given the sunny weather; a 'disabled friendly' bus was on hand too to ensure everyone could travel.

The vintage bus shuttle services certainly proved their worth in carrying over 120 people on the Friday, and then many more passengers over the weekend, bringing Minehead back as a destination for the 20-mile line once more. The bus link service will continue now through the summer until the re-opening of Seaward Way Level Crossing.

And from Monday 19 July, the WSR opened all staffed stations between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. This also means that passengers will be able to walk up, buy a ticket and travel, without necessarily pre-booking. Stations at Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe Heathfield, Stogumber, Williton, Watchet, Blue Anchor, Dunster and Minehead will be open for business again. However, the stations at Doniford and Washford will remain closed for the time being.

Despite the easing of regulations on 19 July, the WSR team is working hard to ensure that passengers remain safe whilst Covid is still in circulation.

For this reason, the service pattern will be different from previous operations. Passengers from Bishops Lydeard, Watchet and Minehead will be able to purchase advanced reserved spaces at tables or in compartments, either by phone 01643 704996 on the internet (see button below). Various special food and drink options are also available, in addition to the regular buffet car sales.

The heritage buses will continue is service for most of the summer, but work on completing Seaward Way Level Crossing is proceeding well. A number of contractors, and the WSR's own technical team, have been working for several months, and the main technical contractors - Amey Rail - will start work on the ground shortly.

The crossing's new closed-circuit television system is also due to be installed shortly. At the moment, the crossing is unlikely to reopen for passenger trains before the end of September. But everyone involved is working hard to try to bring that date forward.

The West Somerset Railway is joining fellow heritage railways next week in a new nationwide campaign to raise greater awareness of Britain's heritage rail sector.

Spearheaded by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the 'Love Your Railway' campaign will run for six weeks this summer from 26 July to 5 September.

'Love Your Railway' will shine a spotlight on the important work heritage railways do for historic conservation, education and research, and will highlight how the nation's heritage railways have all been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of reduced capacities and income which have threatened their very existence.

The WSR is collaborating with over 35 other famous heritage railways, including the Bluebell Railway, Crich Tramway Village, Severn Valley Railway, and Snowdon Mountain Railway

WSR Plc Chairman Jon Jones-Pratt commented:

The WSR is pleased to support the 'Love Your Railway' campaign to highlight the work that heritage lines, such as ourselves, all over the country do to conserve, protect, promote, entertain and educate people about Britain's rich 200-year railway history and culture

Heritage railways in the South West, and across the country, have all had a very difficult time during the Covid-19 pandemic with severely restricted operations and mounting financial losses, so we need more people to come and visit us this Summer just to survive and keep the wheels turning for the future.

Chris Price, General Manager at North Yorkshire Moors Railway, said:

We're optimistic and excited about the summer ahead, but the last 12 months have been like no other year, with lockdowns, reduced capacities due to social distancing, and staff and volunteers falling victim to the virus.

There are more than 150 operational heritage railways in Britain, running trains over nearly 600 miles of track, which protect, conserve and bring to life part of the nation’s rich cultural heritage - giving enjoyment and learning to thousands of people every year.

We want to do all we can to raise awareness of every heritage railway across the country and the challenges we face; all the participating railways will be posting their own social media content across the six themed weeks, but we also want to encourage the public to get involved by sharing their favourite memories and inspiring imagery from their visits, using the hashtag #LoveYourRailway.

The six themed weeks will follow the following topics in this order: Heritage, Education, Volunteers, Family, Sustainability and Future.

The WSR's two main support charities, the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) and West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT) are both supporting the 'Love Your Railway' campaign via the WSR plc, and some of their activities will be featured in the coming weeks.

WSRHT Chairman, and WSR Plc director, Steve Williams comments:

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the 'Love Your Railway' campaign. As one of the two principal support charities on the WSR, the Trust is already taking a leading role in preserving, maintaining and managing a range of heritage items and activities across the railway, including museums and restoration of important heritage carriages.

WSRA Chairman Mike Sherwood said:

The WSRA is pleased to be supporting the WSR plc in this great initiative for the railway heritage movement in the UK.

The West Somerset Railway's General Manager's Office issued this notice on 18 July 2021:

Government Advice is that the general public should continue to wear masks in crowded places, including busy shops and on crowded trains.

We urge you to wear a face mask whilst on West Somerset Railway premises and in West Somerset Railway trains and buses, both for your safety and that of others, including our staff. You will notice that staff are usually wearing masks.

Some passengers on your train will be travelling in reserved coaches, and have paid in advance to travel in areas with significant circulation space. We regret that 'walk-up' passengers cannot travel in these areas of the train, and staff have been instructed to ask any passengers without advance reservations to leave these areas of the train. In extreme situations it may be necessary to ask you to take a later train. These areas of the train are clearly marked 'reserved'.

We thank you for your co-operation in these still difficult times. (This guidance is being regularly reviewed as circumstances change.)

The West Somerset Railway's 2021 'Red' timetable starts on 16 July 2021 with more trains on offer and more mileage too. Excursions from Bishops Lydeard to Dunster will be hauled by steam, with some additional workings headed by classic diesels.

Steam hauled excursion trains between Bishops Lydeard and Dunster

• These trains also stop at Watchet (only)
• Before 19 July, these trains also stop at Watchet (only)
• On and after 20 July, these trains stop at all intermediate stations except Washford and Doniford Halt
• A bus link will be provided between Dunster and Minehead
• At least one bus will be wheelchair accessible
• No other stations will be served

Diesel hauled excursion trains between Bishops Lydeard and Dunster

• These trains do not stop at other stations
• These trains also stop at Watchet and Blue Anchor. No other intermediate stations will be served
• No bus link between Dunster and Minehead

Click buttons below for dates, times and booking information

The West Somerset Railway Gala Planning Team has confirmed two small Gala events are planned for September and October 2021 as Government Covid restrictions are eased - the first enthusiast Gala events held at the Railway since the winter steam event in December 2019.

Friday 17 September and Saturday 18 September will see a 'Mixed Traction' weekend which will be mainly diesel haulage on the Friday plus one steam loco in service, then a mix of three diesels and two steam engines on the Saturday. Diesel locos planned to run are Hymek Class 35 no D7018 and Crompton Class 33 nos D6566 and D6575. Steam haulage will be drawn from nos 5199, 9351, 7822 or 7828.

Then, a couple of weeks later, the WSR plans its long awaited and ever popular 'Autumn Steam Gala' on three days between Friday 1 October and Sunday 3rd October inclusive.

All of the four home-based steam fleet of former GWR locos - nos 5199, 9351, 7822 or 7828 - are expected to be in action with one diesel - probably the Hymek - to give a distinct British Railways Western Region branch line feel.

A breakfast meal is planned to be available for advance bookings on the 'Quantock Belle' dining train, which will be attached to some trains during this weekend.

For both events, all trains are expected to run between Bishops Lydeard, Blue Anchor and Dunster Stations, plus maybe a couple of workings over the little used Bishops Lydeard to Norton Fitzwarren section. The short section between Dunster and Minehead will be unavailable, however, as engineering works continue on the renewal of the Seaward Way Level Crossing at Minehead, however, a heritage bus link will be provided for passengers to travel on to Minehead [we understand a wheechair accessible bus will also be available].

All of the above is subject to availability, budgetary pressures and Covid 19 restrictions of course, so would-be visitors are advised to check the WSR websites and social media pages for updates.

Tickets will be released as soon as possible, but not before Monday 19 July 2021.

Saturday 17 July will see the first diesel hauled diagram of 2021 and in fact since 2019. BR Class 35 'Hymek' no D7018 will be doing the honours by working the 11.35am Bishops Lydeard to Dunster and 1.25pm Dunster to Bishops Lydeard.

Click the button below for dates, times and booking details.

The West Somerset Railway received an unexpected cash boost just days after launching its recent £1 million Emergency SOS survival fund in early June. On hearing of the crisis appeal, the Railway was then contacted by Meercat Associates, a business procurement service operating across the UK and, after investigating the WSR's energy systems installed, then saved the railway £12,800 off their gas and electricity bills - vitally needed money which will now go towards the WSR’s SOS appeal. WSR Plc Chairman, Jon Jones-Pratt explains:

We operate 10 stations, gift shops and cafes, but had multiple energy and other suppliers with an array of contracts ending on different dates.

Managing our supply costs is very complex and time-consuming for us so, as well as the annual savings gained so far which will go towards our SOS appeal, we’re delighted that Meercat is now monitoring our ongoing consumption of core services and will give strategic advice as and when we should switch suppliers again in the future.

With the cost of energy continuing to rise, it's re-assuring to have this important support and expertise in place, and all of our meters are now aligned with common end dates, and managed through Meercat's portal. 

This not only allows the WSR full access to all meter details, usage and forecast costings, but also peace of mind when the contracts are approaching renewal that Meercat will drive the prices down for us by approaching all of the energy suppliers again.

And I'm delighted that Meercat are now keen to offer their free-of-charge services to other heritage railways around the country too who can benefit as well.

Here is an update on the WSR Plc's 'SOS' Appeal:

After the West Somerset Railway (WSR) launched its £l1 million 'SOS' appeal recently on 7 June, the 20-mile line has now raised almost £30,000 (£29,420.07 actual) in a month, so has made a good start towards the target.

The 'SOS' appeal was launched to keep the WSR going until next May after the unexpected rejection of the railway’s bid for £432,200 to the Government's Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) under its Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage (CRFH), and an anticipated poor 2021 season with limited income as a result of Covid restrictions and enforced lower capacity, plus the delays to re-open Seaward Way Level Crossing outside Minehead affecting normal trade badly too.

All this has left the railway facing an immediate need to raise £500,000 of the target total this year to just keep going, and then, if successful, another £500,000 for infrastructure. Otherwise, the WSR will have to look at other commercial methods to raise money, such as loans, overdraft and other measures that might be available, but that are expensive to implement and cost more longer term.

The second £500k from the 'SOS' Appeal is money that would allow the railway to then develop the railway's infrastructure over the winter as an investment for the future because the current budgets simply have no capital expenditure allowed for with cash being so tight at present. This would allow the WSR to make some big inroads into getting the infrastructure back to being a higher axle loading 'Red Route' railway again, so is considered to be high priority.

We aim to update the 'SOS' appeal figures every Monday, and the WSR's Facebook 'appeal thermometer' will become a regular feature again. Today's figures helpfully include an uplift of another £12,800 in monies which will count towards the appeal in savings from our utility bills. [further details about this project will be published soon]

So, £30,000 is a decent start for the ‘SOS’ appeal in around a month since launch, representing 6% of the £500K initial target and 3% of the full £1 million, especially with so many other appeals around in our sector at present. The WSR is now looking to expand its 'Fiver/Tenner a Month' regular donation scheme for supporters to help raise the monies required.

As yet, we have to determine with the WSR Association (WSRA) and WSR Heritage Trust (WSRHT) as our official support charitable bodies how, when and if they will be able to support the plc's 'SOS' appeal as they both did previously, and the plc is still considering launching the share appeal option too, although that costs money to hold of course, and has to be for specific purposes. It's still early days of course...And there might yet be a chance to bid for further CRFH monies from DCMS.

At Waterloo Station on 10 July 2021, Class 69 no 69002 was proudly named Bob Tiller CM&EE by the man himself - GB Railfreight's Engineering Director Bob Tiller - a fine tribute to Bob's 42 years of railway engineering experience. The new class 69 locomotive was Bob's brainchild and a new class of locomotive was born by using the redundant bodyshells and bogies from stored and no longer used old BR designed Class 56 locomotives and fitting them with a power unit, controls and electronics very similar to a class 66.

Bob was an early member of the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group (DEPG). His official posts started in 1983 as Publicity Officer then in 1984 moved to Secretary in 1984 and continued in that post until 1990 when he became Chairman and finally stepped down in 2009. In 2011 he became President and resigned this post and the Group in 2018. His many successes for the DEPG and for the West Somerset Railway include the moving of D1010 and D7018 to Williton, along with 50149 and the 'Kennedy' locos, and the purchase of North Star

Bob's unveiling of the nameplate bearing his name will be applauded as a fitting recognition of all that Bob has done for railways in general including the DEPG at Williton.

Saturday 17 July will see the first diesel hauled diagram of 2021 and in fact since 2019. BR Class 35 'Hymek' no D7018 will be doing the honours by working the 11.35am Bishops Lydeard to Dunster and 1.25pm Dunster to Bishops Lydeard. Further details are awaited, watch this space.

Andy Forster has kindly provided information about the recent work carried out by the Minehead Loco team on GWR 'Large Prairie' no 5199:

The repaint of GWR 2-6-2T no 5199 was a contract job at the request of the owners 'The 5199 Project'.

This has been a win-win operation all round, the locomotive returns to GWR livery, the owners get the repaint they wanted, and the income has enabled some of the WSR shed staff to stay off furlough.

Other minor works have included attention to the pony truck frame, spring stops, replacement jumper ring and clamps, cladding repairs, cab door repairs, and one replacement buffer.

No 5199, with Foxcote Manor, will head for Bishops Lydeard in a few days time. Each loco will be put to work heading trains from Bishops Lydeard to Dunster and back as the Railway extends the number of trains, on more days, and with longer journeys. More details of these services have been promised and will appear on this page as soon as received.

An interesting account by Rail Signalling and Power of the Relocatable Equipment Building recently installed at the site of the Seaward Way Level Crossing upgrade works is available online. Click or tap the button below.

The folks behind the rebuilding of GWR Autotrailer no 169 report on how they tackled a small matter of twisting and warping:

A few weeks back we reported that we had recovered the pair of 9"x3" oak sole plates for the final section of the carriage. These had been gently seasoning for 4-5 years in our workshop and whilst not expecting them to be perfectly straight (oak rarely is) one of the two was quite badly warped and twisted. One of the lessons learned from earlier sections was to ensure the scarfing joints between sections is manufactured prior to erecting the previous section. So we needed to attempt to straighten the timber to allow the joints to be made...

Click or tap the button to load the 169 blog for the rest of this story and lots more.

A £1 million 'Emergency SOS Survival Appeal' was launched in early June to help keep the West Somerset Railway going. WSR Plc, who run the Railway and who launched this Appeal, issued an update on 6 July announcing a running total of £13,725. Details of the Appeal and how to donate can be found on the official WSR website - just click or tap the button below.

ITV's Ben McGrail reports that the West Somerset Railway could close next year unless 'urgent fundraising takes place'. On his Facebook page, Ben writes:

A heritage railway in Somerset will run out of money and be forced to close unless urgent fundraising takes place. That's the warning from the boss [pictured above] of the West Somerset Railway, which has been hit hard by the Covid pandemic.

Trains are now running along most of the line again this summer, but the organisation says it needs to raise £1 million to survive.

Click the button below to hear the stark message from the WSR Plc Chairman in the ITV News West Country report on Ben's Facebook page...

From 16 July 2021, the Railway is offering excursions to Watchet, Dunster and (via bus link) Minehead, running to the 'red timetable'.The dates and times and booking details are available on the official WSR website - see buttons below for links to the official webpages.

There are several options - these are explained on the official webpage. These 'red timetable' trains will only call at Bishops Lydeard, Watchet and Dunster and will not stop at other WSR stations. Please note the bus transfer between Dunster and Minhead due to ongoing works at Minehead's level crossing - at the time of posting this news item it is not clear if the bus is suitable for wheelchair users so please discuss with the Railway 01643 704996 before booking.