West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust WSRHT

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THE END! 130 YEARS AGO SAW THE END OF BROAD GAUGE ON THE RAILWAY NETWORK

Over two days 20th & 21st May 1892 an army of over 4000 railway men, changed 171 miles, (42 miles of them being double track!) of Broad Gauge track to Narrow Gauge, now known as Standard Gauge. West Somerset Railway’s Taunton to Minehead branch being part of this mega engineering feat.
 
The Trust are holding a small exhibition of Broad Gauge and its designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in The Gauge Museum from Saturday 21st May through to Thursday June 3rd.
Come and visit our museum, lots to see, including our Victorian Sleeping Car 9038. Hands-on experiences for the young and young at heart! On weekends the model railway is running on the upper floor of the museum.
 
The Gauge Museum is open, with free entry, every day that trains are running. For more information on trains check www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk
 
We are always pleased to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust or who would be interested in volunteering or who would like to make a donation towards the work we are doing.
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The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is pleased to publish the minutes of its May Board Meeting on Thursday, 29th May 2025.

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

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WSRHT IGGY Day | 21/06/25

June 23, 2025

WSRHT IGGY DAY | 21.06.25

The WSRHT in conjunction with Emerald Ant CIC were delighted to welcome visitors to the Gauge Museum on Saturday 21st June, but with the added attraction of IGGY in the car park.

What’s IGGY? 

He is a large dinosaur who provides the backstory and stage to the history of fossils. Dramatised by a very small but talented team of actors who introduced us to historical figures such as Charles Darwin, Mary Anning &  through the two performances that were enjoyed by children and adults alike. www.emeraldant.com

The WRSHT were also further wonderfully supported by the SW Heritage Centre, who very kindly provided a wide selection of fossils for visitors to the day to handle. The fossils included ichthyosaur, ammonites, plant and bivalve fossils. These were of great interest to all our museum visitors not just those there for the IGGY event.  www.heritage.org.uk

Further support came from Jack Wichard & his partner Dylan who brought along a display of life size dinosaur skulls which they had 3D printed.

Circular writing, using the various fossil shapes were on offer in the main museum, along with cutting out fabric ammonites, decorating them ready to go onto the wall hangings designed and made by our education officer Helen Anson. The wall hangings will be on display in the museum.

Also grateful thanks go Pam Anson who made “dinosaur” cakes & biscuits plus museum team of Rob, Alan& Pauline, & Tony for their support on a very hot day.

A thank you to the friends of Bishops Lydeard Station(FoBLS) for the loan of their gazebo and  safety barriers.

In closing again many thanks to the following:

Emerald Ant CIC, SW Heritage Centre, Jack & Dylan, FoBLS.

Ian Camp

Curator