West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Young blood at the WSR!! Great to see. <BJ>

''Today (Sat 11th Oct) saw young crews rostered for the steam services with an average age of around 30 years between them all. Not bad going at all!
S1 AM crew - Driver Liam Pope, Fireman Jake Genge and trainee Fireman Laurence Everett
S2 crew - Driver Aaron Manley and Fireman Liam Hebditch
S1 PM crew - Driver Chris Northey, Fireman Bailey Maxwell and Trainee Fireman Jack Edmondson.
Anyone who wants to come join us on the Steam department (young and old!) do come and join us''







News c/o 'WSR friends'

 

I went to the WSR Autumn Gala over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the event. It was a shame about the timetable slippages on all three days, but they didn't spoil my enjoyment of the gala. I was a bit disappointed by the cancellation of the MD - BA shuttles on Sunday but given the late running of services it was certainly a good call. A BIG thank you to all the railway's staff and volunteers for putting on such a good event. I'm looking forward to both the spring and autumn galas next year.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c803y974ypzo

Good publicity for WSR on BBC website.

 

Not sure it's been mentioned here, but GWR are running a shuttle service from Taunton to Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 25th and Friday 28th November in connection with the Rail 200 'Inspiration' exhibition train. Travel is free, but you need a pre-booked ticket for the exhibition train at Bishops Lydeard (which is also free!). Get yours here -->> https://www.west-somerset-railway.c...hibition-train-visit-to-west-somerset-railway

 

Great to see the 150 shuttling back and forth all day long today and back on Tuesday. Seems Tuesday all ran to time and today so far is also the same.

Great work from the WSR and GWR

 

The same unit (150248) worked the BL-TN shuttle at Mixed Traffic Weekend back in 2012:
https://www.wsr.org.uk/php/snap.php?i=2012/mtw/170612_2_man&f=newspix201206

 

Positive comments regarding the recent filming at the railway of the Agatha Christie film 'Seven Dials. It's available to watch on Netflix and it's very good. <BJ>

From Seb Welsh:
"Certainly something really interesting to be involved in and I am quite proud of the Railway's involvement when watching it.
Well done all who took part in the Operating of the Railway during the filming period and thank you from all of us on the management team for your professionalism.
Let's hope we get more of this filming work in the future as it is really valuable for the Railway".

From JJP:
"You guys have done well this year, pulled off many new opportunities which people don’t see.
So I am pleased you share this.
Vital income which is a game changer, hope for more filming jobs where the asset can be flexed well.
It’s really good news for Somerset and the Railway.
Well done all!"

 

It's good to see the WSR volunteers receiving such high praise from one of their leaders. <BJ>

''Whilst it may be a quieter time of year with less news to share, there is still plenty happening behind the scenes to ensure the railway is ready to celebrate it's 50th anniversary year in 2026 !
Among the numerous ongoing tasks is a front end refresh and deep clean of No. 9351, alongside mechanical work being carried out as part of the winter maintenance programme. Here’s a little snippet of what to expect in the coming weeks ...
It's been fantastic to see so many passionate and enthusiastic volunteers turning out and taking pride in helping to maintain our locos, especially considering the horrendous weather conditions of late.
Well done team''

Aaron Manley

 

WSR Autumn Steam Weekend 25-27 September

 

WSRA Locomotive Restoration News:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ykgw6w7n0o

 

£3million! I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that estimate... Other than the Flying Scotsman I can't think of another engine that's cost that much to overhaul, though I stand to be corrected.

 

A few years ago you could build a new A1 for that price.

 

You could build a new Atlantic for half that …

Tom

 

That seems an extraordinary amount, even for all paid labour. The wages at Williton must be very competitive!

 

It must be in a really bad condition?

 

You can never have too many Manors . <BJ>

 

Blue Peter’s restoration under Jeremy Hoskings was reported at an “estimated” £5m when it returned to traffic.

£3m for a manor when there’s other examples in-ticket means a long hard fundraising campaign I fear - cheaper unique engines in this thread will make it a hard sell.

 

Apparently pictures of a WSR loco getting a refresh have surfaced on the internet, much to the displeasure of WSR folk...