West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Groan factor now unbearable. Off out to wash the cars...

Robin

 

Interesting the amount of parcels/baggage in the 1963 picture - was this normal at Dunster at the time?

Steve B

 

It might be interesting if somebody would care to have a stab at identifying the first (and/or second) vehicles in the train. Beyond my capabilities.

 

They look like carriages to me!

 

I don't know, the windows look high and not very many and it that some sort of running board?

I admit my eyes are not nearly as well attuned to these things as the majority of NP'ers who grew up looking at such things daily, and naturally I will bow to their expertise!

 

Well, it's carrying a Victoria and Dover via Herne Hill or Catford Loop and Chatham headcode if that helps ...

Oh hang on, wrong head code list. It's a Class B branch passenger train, if my understanding of such off-region arcana is correct.

Tom

 

Maybe it was the PW sending their waste materials somewhere else.

 

At the time there must have been some regular parcels/mail traffic on the line, and fitted non-passenger stock was sometimes added to the passenger trains. I remember (a year or so later) seeing a DMU across the fields from our holiday chalet near Blue Anchor with a fitted goods van in tow. I was just a little surprised to see so much at Dunster in the photo.

Steve B

 

Looking at the position of the step boards (no running board as such), and the carriage profile, I might guess at a Hawksworth brake, nothing more exotic than that, but the photo's not exactly pin sharp!

 

Does anyone know why the 09 shunter is stabled at CH?

DJB.

 

From my observations of the webcams, I think it took the Atlas crane there a few days ago, presumably to change the signal post, and has remained there since!

 

West Somerset Railway - Then and Now #124

Interlude.

We have been looking at Dunster for some days. The potential for creating a wonderful, beautiful, heritage historical location telling the story of Railway goods traffic is obvious. Obvious, apparently to all except those who set priorities for the WSR. It would be a project to make the heritage railway world sit up and take notice, which is something the WSR hasen't done for a while.

And it doesn't even require anything to be built at Dunster.

Imagine a visitor, tourist or class of school children picking up their audio guide from the station and then walking over to the yard, where each wagon tells the story of a different type of goods traffic.

Image a Gala with a heritage Goods lorry loading / unloading in the shed, and a horse shunting the wagons, with a Goods train calling every few hours to collect or drop
off a wagon.

Imagine a team of volunteers working to maintain and restore wagons in the dedicated repair shop in the corner of the yard, teaching traditional metal working, wordworking and signwriting skills.

Imagine that it's always 1949 at Dunster....

Imagine...

And all we need to do is to have the vision to find suitable (and better) premises for the WSR P.Way Department somewhere on 22 miles of Railway and help them move to it.

To help imagine, here are some photos of the goods facilities at Washford. Sadly demolished in the 1960's.

But Dunster is still there....

Imagine...

 

Robin it's a perfect solution for a small country station and I really hope the idea gains legs. They have been doing something similar with the goods yard at Kingscote for some while now, but it does seem to have slowed recently.
I have always been an advocate of the "Railway as Theatre" with volunteer-led demonstrations of day today activities on the railway as they would have happened, e.g shunting, loading of parcels, possibly some use made of the cattle dock etc.
Without doubt it's a way of bringing the railway and it's world to life again for visitors, rather than just a place to go and have a train ride.

 

I like this idea Robin. It would give the railway another attraction to advertise and help to draw in visitors. As a sort of "History of Railway Goods Heritage Centre" it could be promoted to local schools for educational trips. On gala days instead of running the goods train from BL to MD and putting it in a siding, it could run to Dunster for a shunting and marshaling demonstration which could be promoted as a special attraction for the gala. The goods yard would also be a good venue to hire out to photo charter organisers, or the WSR could organise their own.

 

It could be magical.

And transformative of our status as a Heritage Railway.

And the gateway to prove our suitability to receive further grant funding.

And...and...and...

Robin

 

Just needs a champion, PLC Board approval, somewhere for the PW dept to move to (hardest bit?) and a modest number of £££s. It would make an excellent HQ for the 813 fund's wagon stock on the WSR.

 

Well, there are rumours of the WSR plc heritage committee being reformed. What a great start to a revitalised focus on heritage (to counter all the galvanised post sign-gate nonsense) 'Dunster Goods' would be for the WSR.

Robin

 

The problem that I have with this is that our primary audience is not the enthusiasts such as ourselves, but would the general public be interested? However desireable we may think it would be I question if the average visitor, with some kids in tow, would be interested for more than a few minutes. Kids have a very short attention span. Probably enough for the turntable demonstration but not much more. I am sorry to say that I see this as yet another WIBN project.

 

Yes and no. While many sproggits undoubtedly have the attention span of a particularly dim goldfish, a magical moment will stay with a child for life - however brief that moment was. If an attraction at Dunster can just capture the merest fraction of that magic .......

 

Fair comment but it is the mass market we are targeting. Much of what might happen at Dunster is already on view at the excellent show put on at Washford by the S&DR guys.