Category: railways

In February 2024, the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust completed the purchase of the shed at track at Washford from the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust and agreed a new 10 year lease of the site with the West Somerset Railway PLC. Since then, work has been continuing to bring all the heritage stock owned by the Trust to the Washford site, which is now the base for all the Trust’s restoration activities.

The planned move of the three carriages previously stored at Dunster sidings to Washford was successfully completed on Monday 9 September by a WSR PLC specialist team, while the railway was closed to passenger traffic. Carriages 5131, 7740 and 2578 have been located in a siding near Dunster station for many years awaiting restoration, leaving them exposed to the sea air despite being covered with tarpaulin covers. Coastal storms have periodically caused further deterioration to the carriages. 

Given the poor condition of the carriages, a comprehensive risk assessment was prepared in advance of the move. This included a 3 meter hard hat exclusion zone around the move, and even a camera wired up to one of the shunters, pointing underneath the carriages to check if anything fell between the tracks during the move.  The whole exercise was professionally executed by the PLC team, using two top and tail shunters, without incident. 

The following day, the Trust’s horse box was brought by road from its previous location at Bishops Lydeard. During the First World War, horses and mules were used extensively by the British army – nearly one million by 1918 – and were transported by rail, and it is believed that this is the only one horse box of the era to survive. It was built for the LNWR and found on a farm at Pershore. Following the move to Washford, restoration of the horse box will be completed.

The Washford Engineerign Shed was open to visitors on 14tth & 15th September, as part of the Heritage Open Days and the WSR 1940s weekend.

The Oxford Preservation Trust is celebrating receiving a National Railway Trust Award for its restoration of the Rewley Road Swing Bridge. A plaque commemorating the work of many individuals in saving and restoring the bridge was unveiled on 7 September 2023.

Debbie Dance, Director of OPT was joined by Andy Savage and Tim Hedley Jones from the Railway Heritage Trust, and representatives of Network Rail and Historic England together with the judges, funders, and the specialist experts all of whom made a significant contribution to the project. And so good was their work that OPT was awarded the top national prize for railway heritage conservation. Later in the day Debbie was also joined by the Baron Hendy of Richmond Hill, Chair of Network Rail taking to the water to see the mechanism from below.

The London Midland and Scottish Railway Swing Bridge is a disused railway bridge over Oxford’s Sheepwash Channel and is one of only two moving bridges on the Thames – the other being Tower Bridge in London. The bridge was designed by engineer Robert Stephenson and built in 1850. A Scheduled Monument, the bridge holds a unique place in the history of England’s first railways, narrow versus wide gauge, and the battle between giants Brunel and Stephenson.

By 1951, it was no longer in use and closed to passenger traffic, and to goods by 1984, which led to its suffering from severe decay of the plating and paintwork which were protecting its surviving parts, including the original mechanism. The bridge had fallen into disrepair and was added to the national Heritage at Risk Register in 2013 where it remained for nearly ten years, until it was removed last year, as the restoration progressed.

“We are so delighted to have been recognised in this way and cannot thank the team enough for their part. The fact that it was recognised at a national level shows the importance of the structure which could have been so easily lost with its significance somewhat lost beneath its rusty exterior” This winter we will make the final touches with interpretation boards to go up and the sowing of a wildflower meadow to increase
biodiversity.” Debbie Dance, OPT Director.

Further details of the work of the OPT can be found here: https://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/