S&D Railway Trust

Looking on google earth an the Swanage railway there is what looks to be a quarry siding site I cant help wondering if that was available and suitable for a new home for the S&DRT, even if 88 was based at the Mid Hants.

 

But there could be yet another appeal for money, to add to all those currently being made on the WSR!

 

Do not forget that some elements of the trackwork and the buildings are of S&DJR origin and therefore of historical significance to the Trust, who may not wish to part with them. Also, it may well be that they are considered to be part of the 'museum collection' and therefore may be subject to constraints on disposal of such within the Trust's 'constitution'.

 

Swanage is very short of available land for building maintenance and storage facilities for itself. I doubt it would give any land it does have up to a different organisation.

I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long before SDRT makes it’s intentions clear.

 

Would the PLC actually pay up though, Yes they would like the buildings and track, but I bet the board won't want to pay for it , the most ;likily option would be for the trust to negotiate additional time to vacate, to be able to relocate to a new location , if that was not possible, then clearly the only option to the trust is to appeal for help from the wider community, and to remove everything including the track leaving just an empty site.

 

However, also looking on Google Maps it also appears that there might be room for the S&DRT at the East Somerset Railway, where they are within walking distance of what remains of the S&D trackbed and a rather impressive S&D viaduct.

 

An option that has been suggested by several people recently. There is also the advantage that Cranmore has gained an impressive reputation for loco restorations recently. So it could be a useful engineering base to overhaul 53808, even if it subsequently moved to a longer line to earn it’s keep.

 

I think it can be stated on here now that 'summerof67''s post on here was an aberration, and a purely personal misunderstanding of quite a complex state of affairs in a fast moving scenario, currently. And when Roger was dealing with a lot else concerning '88''s move to the MHR, and it's inspection etc at Minehead via others.

 

There might be the possibility that another line would be interested in purchasing the track work, particularly the points/switches. I expect many other lines are aware of the Washford debacle.

 

I am sure by now that the WSR PLC board, and 'Lineisclear'(John Bailey) appreciate that under the terms of both leases (previous and currently), (or as John might suggest - 'holding over' under the previous lease), the SDRT own everything in Washford yard - track and buildings.

They are all excluded from the provisions of both leases as being, in another context, 'fixtures and fittings'.

 

I assume that you mean the Charlton Road viaduct, which AUIU is in private ownership?

IIRC there was a proposal some while ago - I'm not sure who was promoting it - that rather than extending the ESR westwards towards Shepton Mallet along the old GWR track-bed, it should swing south-west and go to a new terminus at/near the Bath & West showground. Is that still receiving any serious consideration?

There is already a large miniature railway at the B&W and lots of land to accommodate the S&DRT - probably about as near to the old S&DJR trackbed as they would be likely to get these days. Certainly lots of space for car-parking and easy road access!

 

Who owns the Bath & West showground? would they be likily to welcome another attraction on , or near the site As a link up with the East Somerset Railway , though. I can see the attraction .

 

From the nearest Bath & West Showground entrance to the S&D trackbed site on the north side of demolished Prestleigh Viaduct is a little short of half a mile. From there to the ESR's Mendip Vale station is about 1.6 miles of virgin construction, following the S&D route so far as possible. But that would involve re-excavation of Cannards Grave cutting and I see no likelihood of that taking place any time soon.

As it happens, there are historical ties between the ESR and the S&DRT's progenitor, the Somerset & Dorset Circle. In 1972 an agreement was reached for the formation of a Radstock Steam Trust under which it was planned that the Circle should co-operate with David Shepherd and his group based at Longmoor. The intention was to purchase the S&D site, buildings and track at Radstock, but David Shepherd's negotiations to this end with BR proved fruitless due to Coal Board reluctance to indicate their intentions regarding the two remaining North Somerset collieries at Kilmersdon and Writhlington, both rail-served. This led to David's withdrawal from Radstock in order to set up a new base at Cranmore and the end of the Steam Trust as a collaborative project of the two groups.

The S&D group's subsequent efforts to go it alone and operate the S&D as a light railway between Radstock and a mining museum created at the Writhlington pithead came to naught due to a hike in the value of scrap steel putting the price of purchase from BR beyond reach. Hence the move to Washford in 1976-76 - sorry, meant to say 1975-76.

So far as I am aware the cordial relationship that existed between the Circle and David Shepherd's group was unaffected by his decision to depart, so perhaps there's merit in investigating a revival of that association.

 

I recall visiting the ESR in 1981 when "Black Prince" was based there - an engine which worked over the S&DJR. By this time, I was familiar with Ivo Peters' wonderful pictures of his late lamented favourite line and when I took a picture of 92203 at some location along the line, it struck me that although the train consisted of two non-corridor Mk 1s and there was a GWR lower quadrant semaphore in my view, that it had a real "Somerset & Dorset feel" to it - although I hesitate to compare my photographic efforts with one of the great masters. Obviously, given the ESR runs so close to the old S&DJR, the similarities in the scenery is no great surprise, but it does show that a relocation to the ESR of the trust's assets would perhaps give us a better feel of the old S&DJR than Washford. Like many others on this forum, I find it positively heartbreaking to read of the current situation on the WSR, but lovely though the countryside is in West Somerset, the Quantocks are very different from the area through which the S&DJR ran

 

Looks like 88 wont be going anywhere for a long time. Visit round Minehead this weekend showed little progress on putting 53808 back together to go to the Mid-Hants in a couple of weeks. Looks like PLC are stringing SDRT along and have no intention of completing the loco before Christmas

 

I suspect the shed staff are actually doing their utmost to send her off in the very best condition they can. I imagine staff / management relations are under a lot of strain.

 

A thought that occurred to me today was this. Us "keyboard warriors", asking WSR members if they support certain PLC strategies are putting said members in an impossible position. We are asking them to stick their heads over the parapet and criticise the PLC, or keep quiet and be accused of "letting the indefensible go unchallenged". If they were to speak out, they might suddenly become personae no grata(s?, sorry, school latin was a long time ago) and lose any capacity they might have to influence WSR activities for the better.
Maybe we need to allow them the discretion to keep quiet when it is the wisest thing for them to do.

 

You may well be right but if you are it is a terrible indictment of certain people.

 

Then you have the problem with the 'other side of the coin'....if no one speaks out, then those in charge may well point to the lack of objections as tacit acceptance of their actions and policies. A very hard choice to make....

 

Are you suggesting new management is required?