East Somerset Railway

http://www.ukrailtours.com/product/the-somerset-strimmer/

Nice to see a rail tour use the link to ESR next year. And a 59 too. I’ve booked.

 

Would anyone know what’s in steam Saturday 8th December please

 

5637 operating on Santa Specials.

 

Couple of pictures and a video of 5637 on the Santa's yesterday (16 December)

 

A couple of pictures of the cleared (through the snow) section east of Cranmore station towards Merehead quarry. This has been opened up for an incoming charter in March. As a side note the ESR's own permanent way has undergone heavy investment in the last 3 or 4 years with, amongst other things, concrete sleepers replacing wooden ones from Merryfield Lane to the Cattle Crossing just west of Cranmore West, and brand new rail has been inserted from Mendip Vale up towards the Maesdown Road Bridge and more rails are being replaced in Mendip Vale loop this closed season.

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Is the section from the Quarry to Cranmore Network Rail and where does the line officially change hands?

 

Yes Merehead to Cranmore is Network Rail owned. The section is approximately 1 mile long, the change over is under the bridge that the above photo was taken. There's a set of catch points that can only be set for a train to pass with keys from both the ESR and NR.

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Maybe the sign, on the right of the photo, has some relationship to the break in ownership.

 

Yep, that's the NR to ESR stop board.

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DB 59203 has become the first rail vehicle to arrive at Cranmore from the national network since 2014 on a test run in preparation for 'The Somerset Strimmer' railtour on 16 March.

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Photos of 59203 on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/eastsomersetrailway/photos/?ref=page_internal

Realtime trains:

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O88410/2019/03/07/advanced
This one seems a bit odd as it is stated as cancelled?

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O88416/2019/03/07/advanced

 

Timings now up for 16 March railtour:

Outbound: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U53082/2019/03/16/advanced
Return: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U53083/2019/03/16/advanced

Ivatt 2 46447 is rostered to be working ESR trains west from Cranmore.

 

The East Somerset does possess a certain rustic charm of its own and it reminds me of the early days of railway preservation. It appears to be a pretty threadbare operation but is blessed with a lot of space at Cranmore and obviously has a very committed workforce in the workshops. Given the shenanigans on the other side of Somerset perhaps more volunteers who just want to enjoy a quiet day will drift towards the East?

 

And, having had a chat to a few senior people whilst on a charter there, the railway has a solid and sustainable financial model built around a number on income streams.

 

And if you like simple, straightforward, entertaining, friendly and very good value for money, give the Steam Gala a go next weekend, my dad loves it and the model shop to splash his birthday cash!

 

Is there any prospect of ESR ever running over part of this line in any capacity, even if limited to X amount of days?
Further are there any plans to extend into Shepton Mallet? Visited last year and whilst I enjoyed my visit, there wasn't too much to keep me there long.

 

In the short term no. It is hoped that the spur will be used for incoming traffic more often but I would not expect to see anything as regards to the ESR operating the branch in the immediate future. To extend to Shepton would require a very large sum of money and faces a couple of other challenges as mentioned up the thread. Although the railway has made a very healthy profit in the last few years the money that has been made is being reinvested in the current operation and is not large enough to fund a major extension but if the line was to extend it would most likely be towards the quarry. Please note that this not an official response.

 

Its worth pointing out that like the other line in the county, the ESR has had its problems & has/had a significant track maintenance backlog

 

Did it cross the SDJR at Shepton

 

I thought Avonmouth was a terminus? Yet the tour runs thru