News Archive for May 2018

Published on 27th May 2018

The Northern Belle dining train paid a brief visit to Taunton on the 27th May 2018.

The train which was previously hauled by Direct Rail Services is now in the hands of West Coast Railways. Two Class 57 locomotives operated the train with No.57601 leading the 1Z30 11:05 Bromsgrove - Taunton running via Westbury. Once at Taunton the train reversed with No.57313 taking the lead to form the 1Z31 14:35 Taunton - Bromsgrove leg of the trip. The train is pictured passing Durston on the return leg of the high-class dining trip.

Published on 26th May 2018

Ex-SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028 'Clan Line' visited Somerset on Saturday 26th May 2018 with UK Railtours 'The Quantock Intruder' steam charter.

The locomotive sweeps around the Somerset Level curves at Oath hauling the 1Z26 08:05 London Paddington to Minehead charter. The tour was returned to London by DB Cargo Class 67 No.67016 with the steam locomotive then staying on the line until Tuesday 29th when it departed to the GWR operated St Philips Marsh in Bristol.

Published on 8th May 2018

UPDATE: It's with regret that the DEPG have announced that their owing to a technical issue with No.D7017 while operating on 5th May that long term overhaul and sister locomotive No.D7018 will not be back in traffic in time for the 2018 Diesel Gala Weekend.

No.D7017 has been repaired and has been worked light engine to Bishops Lydeard ready for its planned visit to the Swanage Railway Diesel Gala on 10th to 13th May. Regrettably, the repair has necessitated Hymek No.D7018 lending its voltage regulator to keep her older sister in traffic. This unfortunately means that, because of other delays and interruptions the DEPG have reluctantly had to make the hard decision to postpone the relaunch of No.D7018 at our own Gala in June until a suitable opportunity later in the year.

The 2018 West Somerset Railway Diesel Gala is heading on the right track with the announcement of their event which will run from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th June 2018. The theme of 'Vintage Diesels to the Seaside' is planned to celebrate the 1970s and 1980s when a great variety of diesel locos were called on to haul holiday trains to the seaside all over the UK. On the Friday and Saturday all services will be diesel hauled with a limited number of steam hauled trains booked for the Sunday along with the diesels.
Guest locomotives attending the event have now been confirmed as Class 20’s 20189 & 20205 (courtesy of Michael Owen) hauling Class 45 No. 45041 'Royal Tank Regiment' (Courtesy of Peak Locomotive Company), Class 50 No. 50035 'Ark Royal' (courtesy of Class 50 Alliance) and Deltic Class 55 No. 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier' (courtesy of the Deltic Preservation Society). All these visitors carry British Rail Blue livery. GBRf will be providing transport for these locomotives to the WSR from their various locations around the UK.

The DEPG 'home fleet' is hoped to be back to full strength after huge efforts by the volunteers at Williton. Class 14 No. D9526, (making its return to traffic after a heavy overhaul), Class 33s No.D6566 (No.33048) & No.D6575 (No.33057). No.D6566 itself re-entering service after a heavy overhaul. Class 35 Hymek No.D7017. The ever popular Western Class 52 No. D1010 'Western Campaigner' will also be back on the rails with it's twin maybach engines in action. These locos will also be joined by Class 09 D4107 which will operate shuttles between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren.
A big feature of the 2018 event is a brand new timetable, which should bring far more interest and dynamic travel to the discerning diesel enthusiast.
The gala will also be complemented by a Beer Festival which is being planned for the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust site at Washford to run over the weekend. It is planned to have a good number of real ales available from both local west country breweries and some from further afield to cater for all tastes. Food will also be available at the festival. All trains will call at Washford to enable diesel gala visitors to indulge in a pint or two in between their haulage runs. Please note that there will be no car parking available at Washford and all visitors are encouraged to travel by train.

Published on 8th May 2018

Its hard to believe that it was 17 years ago since the last new trains were introduced in the South West, and even then people were asking how can a four and five car unit do the job of an eight coach High Speed Train.

Since then, and following the complete failure of Virgin Trains much publicized 'Operation Princess' (the operation which was going to bring a clock face timetable and more frequent train services to compensate for reducing the length of the train) the Cross Country route has been stuck with trains which were unsuitable for the job. With minimal luggage space for the long journeys they cover, overhead shelves big enough for little more than a brief case, smelly chemical toilets, and no on board catering, electronic reservation systems which often didn't work, the Voyagers have hardly helped the travelling public enjoy the journey, unless of course you travel off peak when they are empty. The 'super' tilting Voyager was also paraded as an innovation to speed up journey times by allowing train to tilt into the curves at faster speeds. In reality the system has only ever operated on the West Coast Mainline leaving 22 examples of the Class with the system isolated never having been used in the South West. The equipment however was all paid for as part of the original new train order. Arriva (part of Deutsche Bahn) and who won the Cross Country franchise after Virgin, have done little more than rebrand the service, and add a few more seats by removing the Virgin Shop. While some of the interiors may have been refreshed over time, the ambiance is principally the same as those which were delivered some 17 years ago. The Voyagers are beginning to showing their age with their outdates decor. At least the Voyagers do have padded seats, which are a comparative luxury on a long journey compared to the Class 800s which are being introduced by GWR. Perhaps the biggest flaw of the Voyager Fleet (and one which still dogs the fleet) is their dislike a salt water which resulted in several high profile failures and rescues on the sea Walls section. Sadly this fault has never been solved and now results in the complete cancellation of services south of Exeter St Davids during high seas or rough weather along the sea wall section between Dawlish and Teignmouth. Such an acceptance of service cancellation for a train which isn't up to the job of being hit by waves on the sea wall isn't acceptable in the modern age, but sadly this has become the normal course of action for Cross Country services during inclement conditions.

The invitation to tender for the Cross Country Franchise starts in October 2018 with the contract to be awarded by the Government in August 2019.Transport Focus.are looking into Key Issues surrounding the Cross Country Franchise and are working with the DFT to make sure the passengers voice is heard by those in Whitehall. The future of the Cross Country network and trains will soon begin to be mapped out once again, will it lead to an add on Class 800 IET order from Japan, a new train order with a specification fit for the Cross Country network, or a revamp of existing trains possibly reformed into longer sets. In just over a year the picture will begin to appear.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 6th May 2018

Sunday 6th May 2018 proved to be one of the hottest Bank Holiday weekends on record.

Local Canal Barge owners on the Taunton and Bridgwater Canal also made the most of the amazing weather with a gathering of ten floating homes moored at Cogload Junction having small picnic with refreshing drinks. Local railway enthusiasts who had also arrived to make the most of the amazing photographic conditions, stumbled upon the amazing scene at Cogload Junction. Never before have we seen so much added interested in the Cogload Junction scene.

The gathering of vessels complimented the more modern scenes of GWR's newest trains passing over the Cogload Junction. The canals once the life blood of the UK for transporting goods were once decimated by the upsurge of the railways, but now enjoy a new ear thanks to the resurgence in leisure activities such as walking, cycling, and boating. The GWR Class 800 Bi-mode units made a rare Sunday appearance on what is believed to be their first Sunday passenger diagram to Taunton since introduction.

Published on 3rd May 2018

Two more GWR HST sets have been taken off lease on the week commencing 30th April.

The de-branded set both operated initially between Laira and St Philips Marsh before making their way north for a new life in Scotland. Tuesday 4th May saw the first set pass Taunton at 11:57 working the 5Z43 10:15 Laira - St Philips Marsh formed of set LA11 41135, 42280, 42502, 42265, 42279, 42281 and powercars No.43143 & No.43003. The second set operated on Wednesday 5th May with set LA71 44004, 44035, 41010, 42013, 42553, 42360, 42012, 42014 with powercars No.43031 and No.43152.