West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust WSRHT

‘Quantock Steamer’ launched

Over the weekend of 8th and 9th June, the West Somerset Railway (WSR) will be holding a special 40th anniversary Event to mark it becoming England’s longest heritage railway forty years ago in 1979. 

As Quantock Brewery is one of the closest businesses to Bishops Lydeard station, Quantock have brewed an exclusive new beer to mark this special occasion.  

The new beer is called ‘QUANTOCK STEAMER’ which is a light amber ale at 3.8% ABV, brewed with light roasted malts and two great English hops. These combined give fantastic notes of orange and citrus, plus a hint of spice. 

This new brew will only be available via the WSR’s train buffet cars, the Turntable cafe on Minehead station and the Quantock Brewery Shop & Taproom at Bishops Lydeard. The ‘Quantock Steamer’ will sit well alongside ‘Gold ’76’, another beer brewed by Quantock just for the WSR to mark the line’s initial 1976 reopening.

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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

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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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