West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust WSRHT

Alan as DMU driver with the last ‘staff and ticket’ movement between Williton and Crowcombe Heathfield in 2006.

After 29 years service to the WSR, the Trust will miss the support of Alan Meade who has retired as a Trustee and as leader of the Model Railway Group at the Gauge Museum.

Alan, who was 80 in March and lives in Axminster has found the journey by public transport to Bishops Lydeard to be difficult and of course, the travel ban resulting from the Coronavirus crisis and the risk of infection has meant that he has been unable to travel since the end of March.

His career on the railway included time as a guard, guards’ training, DMU driver and managing the model railway group. In this role he encouraged and enthused a whole generation of young volunteers, many of whom have gone on to fill other important posts on the railway, including that of General Manager. Under his leadership, a steady stream of young people queued up to join the group, until Coronavirus stopped everything in its tracks.

Brought up in Eastleigh, Alan’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Southern practice and performance was a healthy counterpoint to the Great Western obsession that many of us have, and this was reflected in the number of light pacifics and rakes of green coaches that appeared on the layout when he was PIC.

We shall miss his wise counsel and good humour and wish him well in retirement.

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WSRHT Board Meetings – July, September and November 2024

Board Meeting Minutes Published
July, September and November Meetings

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is pleased to publish the minutes of three recent Board Meetings. July Board Meeting held on Thursday, 25th July 2024. September Board Meeting held on Thursday, 26th September 2024. November Board Meeting held on Thursday, 28th November 2024.

Please click the Board Meeting links below to access the document as a pop-up tab. Alternatively, to view all Trust Board Meetings since 2016 – view the collection

July Board Meeting 25th July 2024
September Board Meeting 26th September 2024
November Board Meeting 28th November 2024

Trust News on Toplight Carriage No. 3639

WSRHT News on Toplight Carriage No. 3639

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is pleased to confirm the move of Toplight carriage no. 3639 from Williton to Washford was completed by a WSR PLC team using two shunters on Monday 7th October. 

The special train also carried a wreath in memory of Ronnie Wainhouse who passed away recently.  Ronnie was a well loved member of the carriage restoration team working for the past 10 years on both 6705 and 3639 – he will be sorely missed.

Due to the poor condition of the carriage, the move was completed using a specially devised safety procedure (as used for moving the earlier carriages from Dunster) at a maximum speed of 5mph with careful monitoring along the way before arriving safely at Washford.

The restoration of 3639 has been ongoing for many years at Williton without using any covered accommodation. The move to Washford brings a much improved environment for the Trust’s carriage restoration team with the carriage now residing under cover in the shed at Washford next to Collett carriage no. 6705 where restoration work will be carried out on both carriages.

© WSRHT 2024

Ongoing Website Maintenance

Maintenance to the WSRHT Website

The official website of the WSRHT is undergoing a short maintenance overhaul, but will remain live throughout this time. However, visitors to the website may notice some modest changes from time to time, which reflect valuable feedback from our members, volunteers, and members of the public. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for supporting our Heritage Trust and Railway. Our social media accounts remain open, live and will continue to update our community. 

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