| S&D TRUST TOLD NO LEASE RENEWAL FOR WASHFORD SITE |
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| The Chairman of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, Godfrey Baker, has been informed that the West Somerset Railway Board of Directors have decided not to renew the Trust's lease on the Washford site which expires in 2020. Mr Baker said "The West Somerset PLC has informed the Trust that it will not be renewing the lease of the Washford Station site following its expiry on 1st May 2020 . The continuing success and growth of the West Somerset Railway mean that it is fast outgrowing its present infrastructure and is looking for more space." "The Trust's Management Committee will be considering all the options open to it very carefully and has begun the task of reviewing the implications of this development and formulating a strategy to deal with it including consulting with the Trust's membership. In the meantime the Trust will be maintaining all present operations at Washford, including the museum, retail shop, carriage and wagon restoration." "There is no doubt that this development presents a number of challenges to the Trust . However, the next eight years are a time for a fresh look at the future of the Trust and the opportunities it will bring." |
Mmmm... now let me see. There's a 70-mile railway linking Somerset and Dorset that still has some space...
ReplyDeleteShillingstone springs to mind!
ReplyDeleteWould be nice to see 88 at Midsomer Norton in 2020 :)
ReplyDeleteIt's sadly ironic that this is the second time they've been evicted from a leased site.
Time for the Trust to plan their relocation to Midsomer Norton. By 2020, progress towards Chilcompton should be well in hand.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the ideal opportunity for all the S&D groups to pull together and ensure that Washford finally secure a permanent, purchased site, on the S&D. The New S&D managed it within a few months of being in existence (at Midford). There are plenty of sections of trackbed available - or of course an existing site, if expanded, would be ideal.
ReplyDeleteBitton poss???
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with all. Time to bring it home.
ReplyDeleteMidford could have the signal box from Washford!!
ReplyDeleteI think there are three important parameters for any new location. a) It should be on the S&D b) It should be a largish location preferably with a reasonable length of both standard and narrow gauge running line and, most importantly c) It must be connected to or very close to either an existing network/community line or a line that would be restored within a few years of 2020. Few of us will still be running cars in 2020 so this is vital for both volunteers and visitors. Templecombe would be a fantastic location or Evercreech Junction with a running line to Templecombe Network Rail. Midsomer Norton if the line to Radstock and/or beyond to Frome/Bath is opened. Or even Shepton Mallet (Bath and West Showground area) with a connection via the East Somerset Railway. Or possibly Radstock to Writhlington. Of course some other lengths of the S&D may be reopened by 2020, although it's not as far away as it sounds!
ReplyDeleteNext stop- Midsomer Norton? Then as the line expands, other sites could be considered. This latest development plus the already conceived events for 2016, should now give an unstoppable impetus to a re-born S&D. To misquote Winston Churchill "This is the End of the Beginning!"
ReplyDeleteThis is great news for all the groups and just the 'push' that the original torch bearers needed to come home and build a new future and the new line.
ReplyDeleteRather than add to an existing site it would be best if they opened up on another section of the S&D. the more the better and of course the eventual aim would be a restored line in full. Let’s do this ourselves before the official railway bureaucrats’ get involved and cover the line in palisade fencing and the like....
ReplyDeleteThis is an opportunity, not an eviction. Return to proper S&D metals. Come back home? (I’m not a member of this group so it’s an outsider’s view, although I do get involved at MSN and Midford)
Midford needs a rebuilt signalbox…?
Masbury Station would have been ideal. Needs a restored box and has the potential for a fair bit of line re-laid towards the summit. Isn’t it owned by a Washford member?
Windsor Hill with its Viaduct and Tunnels and former sidings would make a great site? Last time I was there you could still find the indentations where the sleepers once lay in the sidings. The base of the box is still there, I think?
Nettlebridge Viaduct and a fair bit of unobstructed trackbed survive?
Moorewood Sidings would make a good site with the possibilities of narrow gauge laid on the former colliery connection?
Chilcompton Station is still there and could be a base to start from?
Chilcompton and Redlan Bridge site. Cutting towards Rock Bridge?
Wyke Champflower – Cole Curve? Trackbed in the countryside and a surviving bridge close to a planned connection with the GW main line. A strategic site for the future?
There are plenty of sites that could provide a new start and return for the Washford trust to S&D metals….
Knoxy
I agree with many of the previously posted comments. The S&DRT’s next base must be somewhere on the S&D. The presence of the Trust away from the S&D and on a former GWR line has always been something of an anomaly which has been harder to justify as the years have passed. Godfrey is right - the WSR’s decision not to renew their lease has to be seen as a great opportunity and not a setback.
ReplyDeletere Washford.
ReplyDeleteKnoxy and Anonymouse are right.
A relocation to S&D route is a grand opportunity but the need for easy access for the general public has to be assessed.
Most of Knoxy's suggestions are close to the A37 and should be ideal.