Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust is a UK-registered charity, that through operating a heritage railway museum at Midsomer Norton railway station, aims to increase the length of its operations over the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway between Radstock and Shepton Mallet. It is separate to and should not be confused with the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust, which is located at the West Somerset Railway's Washford railway station.
History
The S&D Heritage Trust was formed some 30 years after the closure of the S&DJR in 1966 under the Beeching Axe, headquartered in Midsomer Norton. The station site was sold in 1969 to a local school, and then in 1995 to the Wansdyke district council,[1] who leased it to the Trust to restore to its 1950s condition.[2]
The Trust has since restored the original station buildings, a signalbox and a goods shed. A museum is located in an old horse stable block that houses a collection of S&DJR memorabilia, and there is also a pillbox with World War II exhibits. The Trust has over time relaid the majority of track within the station site to largely the layout of the 1950s.
A road bridge over the railway, north east of the station has been removed. Having agreed a lease arrangement with the trackbed owners, the trust has extended the track southwards up the ruling 1:50 gradient along the of trackbed towards Chilcompton. It became operational in early 2018. Further extension Southwards will require removal of a filled in cutting and restoration of the former Chilcompton railway tunnel.[3]
In May 2013 an online appeal was launched to raise £500,000 by 30 September 2013 to purchase the station at the summit of the S&DJR at Masbury.[4] The Trust eventually raised only £80,000 by the deadline, and the site was sold to another party.[5]
Operations
The trust has two operational diesel locomotives on site, and under a Light Railway Order allow it to operate passenger trains south towards Chilcompton.[6]
Rolling stock
Locomotives
- Sentinel 0-4-0VBT, works no. 7109 named 'Joyce'. Similar to the S&DJR Sentinels used on the line at Radstock North and built at the Sentinel Waggon Works, but neither survived into preservation. In service - boiler ticket expires 2026 (privately owned).[7]
- English Electric 0-6-0DH, works no. D1120, in service
- British Railways Class 08 D4095, built Horwich Works 1961. TOPS number 08881. In service
Previous visitors
- British Railways 4MT BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T 2-6-4 Tank 80072 Visited from the Llangollen Railway Seprtember 2016 numbered as 80043 for the duration of the visit as this was the number of a classmate that had worked on the Somerset & Dorset line in the 60s
- LMS Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0 Tank 47406
- Key
Coaching stock
British Rail Mark 1 coaches were the principal passenger stock of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway from 1951 until the closure of the railway on 6 March 1966.The railway currently has three of these vehicles but the aim is to eventually have two rakes of 3 coaches including a BSK or BSO with one train in BR lined maroon and the other in BR Southern Region green.
| Number & Name | Description | History & Current Status | Livery | Owner(s) | Date | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 255 | 6-wheel 5 Compartment Third | Under restoration (body only), on modified underframe of a LMS CCT and Six-wheel 5 Compartment Third. | N/A | unknown | 1890 | ~ |
| No. M34527 | Mk1 BSK | Under restoration | BR lined maroon | Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust | 1955 | ~ |
| No. M26049 | Mk1 SK | Operational. | BR lined maroon. | Private Owner. | 1962 | ~ |
| No. S1162S | SR PMVY | Operational | SR Green | Private Owner | 1945 | ~ |
| No. M59664 | Class 115 DMU TCL | Static | BR line green | Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust | 1960 | ~ |
| No. 10023 | Mk3a RFB | Static used as buffet car | Plain green | Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust | 1980 | ~ |
See also
References
- ↑ "Midsomer Norton Station". Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Searching for a lost line. Gordon Jones. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
- ↑ "Visitor Information" (PDF). Somerset and Dorset Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
- ↑ "Home". The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
- ↑ £500k needed in three months to buy iconic railway station Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Masbury station". Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ↑ "The S&D Mendip Mainline Project". Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ Andy Chapman. "Sentinel Steam Loco 7109: 7109 Ownership". Sentinel7109.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-06.