West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust WSRHT

The new appointment of a Heritage Trust Trustee

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Brown as a Trustee joining the board.

Martin holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Relations and worked with both the HSE and HMRI before taking up posts as Health and Safety Director with Tube Lines (London Underground Maintenance), Docklands Light Railway and London Overground and Crossrail. He has worked in a number of industry sectors, but in particular in construction and rail. He has now retired from full-time employment.

Initially, Martin will take on Board responsibility for the restoration of our heritage carriages, working alongside and continuing the excellent work of our former Chairman, Chris Austin. 

Steve Williams, Acting Chairman of the Trust, commented, “I am delighted to welcome Martin to the Board of Trustees, and this continues our policy of bringing in experienced professionals in many areas who can add significant value to the work of the Trust.  I am confident that Martin can bring a significant contribution to our future activities as we seek to develop a strong heritage experience for our visitors to the railway, bringing in both experienced professionals and existing volunteers”.

Martin Brown commented: ‘‘I am really pleased to be joining the Trust. It’s work in heritage restoration, and educational work lies at the heart of how we can make the railway more central to the community and engage more fully with people of all ages and backgrounds. We have so much to offer, and I really hope I can help realise this.” 

Restoration plays an integral part of the aims and objectives of the Heritage Trust. We continue to use our fine capabilities to restore carriages, in the same way, as we have done for more than three decades.
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Recent News Posts

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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