News Archive for October 2024

Published on 31st October 2024

Stars from the forthcoming Paddington in Peru unveiled a special livery on a Great Western Railway Intercity Express Train ahead of next month’s eagerly-awaited cinema release on the 8th November.

The Brown family – Hugh Bonneville (Mr Brown), Emily Mortimer (Mrs Brown), Madeleine Harris (Judy Brown) and Samuel Joslin (Jonathan Brown) launched the train at London Paddington on the 30th October.

One day later we captured the special liveried set at Taunton Station. GWR Hitachi IET No.802106 is pictured at Taunton on the 31st October 2024, the set was operating 1A98 19:04 Paignton - London Paddington. The colourful set featuring everyone's favourite bear, will be operating all over the GWR network so head out to the lineside with your marmalade sandwiches and you might just catch a glimpse of Paddington Bear!

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 30th October 2024

A four-day closure of the line between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa, for infrastructure upgrades provided travel disruption for passengers travelling between the two station.

GWR operated an hourly service from London Paddington to Bath Spa during the period. The engineering work provided an increase in engineers trains passing through Taunton Station conveying materials to the worksite via Bristol. Freightliner, GBRf and Colas Rail Freight were all involved in delivering trains on behalf of Network Rail.

We have provided a selection of images for the various engineers trains passing through the platform's at Taunton Station.

Published on 24th October 2024

The new Locomotive Services Ltd shortened West Highland Pullman passed Taunton for the first time on the 24th October 2024.

Formed of No. 43049 'Neville Hill' leading and No. 43050 'Loch Morar' on the rear the five car formation operated as 5Z42 07:55 Crewe HS - Goodrington Sidings in preparation for a charter the next day. The set was captured while passing through the area.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 10th October 2024

Merchant Navy No. 35028 'Clan Line' made a rare visit to the Southwest on Saturday 12th October.

The locomotive spends the majority of its time based in London to operate the Belmond Pullman. The Southern Pacific Locomotive was booked to operate t was operating 'The Atlantic Coast Express' one way charter. Having operated to Exeter St Davids from London Waterloo via the traditional Southern route during the morning/ afternoon, Clan Line later retuned through Taunton operating as 1Z29 16:40 Exeter St Davids - London Waterloo. The charter operated via Bristol, Bath Spa, Westbury and Salisbury to head back to the Capital.

Published on 10th October 2024

Colas Class 70 locomotives have not been that common in the Taunton area over the last year.

However engineering work for Network Rail did bring a pair of locomotives to the area during early October. On Thursday 10th October 2024, Colas Class 70 No.70811 and No.70816 operated 6C43 17:10 Westbury - Goodbarrow Junction to deliver ballast for overnight engineering work. The pair returned early next morning heading back to Westbury.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 3rd October 2024

Taunton Trains would like to announce the addition of two brand new history picture boards at Taunton Station and Weston-super-Mare.

We would like to thank GWR for their continued support and drive to bring more pictorial displays for the general public to enjoy. At Taunton Trains we are always keen to keep the heritage and history of the railways alive in the local area alive for future generations. Our thanks also goes to Faye Keane the Community Development Offices from the Severnside Community Rail Partnership for her assistance and support in producing the colourful displays.

The new Taunton Station picture board is located on Platform 5 (outside the waiting room), and features 40 years of High Speed Train operations through Taunton, at the time we were developing ideas for the next picture board, the last passenger HST had finished just operating at Taunton. It was felt it would be a fitting tribute to the iconic train which so many thousands of passengers would have travelled on from Taunton. The Weston-super-Mare is located on Platfrom 1 at Weston-super-Mare station. This picture board was developed in conjunction with the Weston Railway Society, our particular thanks goes to Chris Perkins and Ian Chancellor who were instrumental in helping to source the historic images to record the history of Weston-super-Mare station.

We hope passengers and enthusiasts enjoy looking at memories from the past, and we would like to thank all those who helped supply images for use in creating these colourful boards. Be sure to take a look next time you are at Taunton, and don't forget we also have our original history board on Platform 2.

Published on 3rd October 2024

Discover the wonders of Somerset in the new illustrated map on display at Taunton Station.

Working with local artist Susie Thomas and Great Western Railway, Severnside Community Rail Partnership have supported the creation of a huge new mural which can be found at the North entrance to the station, as the location of the former ticket offices.

Spotting an opportunity, Station Manager Adam Hopkins approached Severnside Community Rail Partnership for advice on sourcing local talent to brighten up the plain wall sitting alongside the gate line. After consulting local station users, a plan was hatched to create a colourful illustration of Somerset and the attractions that could be found within a reasonable distance. The design would also showcase many businesses and landmarks of Taunton Town Centre too. Susie Thomas was selected for the commission owning to her passion for all things local, her creative flair and experience designing the Taunton Christmas Tree Trail and Arts Trail. Keen to represent the County well, she worked closely with Great Western Railway’s Marketing Team as well as Visit Somerset to shortlist the destinations to include in the illustration.

Susie Thomas, Artist, said: “As a Somerset Illustrator who loves my home town of Taunton (and also has a bit of an obsession with maps) working on this project has been incredibly exciting! I thought I knew the County pretty well but illustrating almost 40 of our wonderful landmarks and attractions introduced me to a few new ones and taught me a little bit more about our beautiful County. I used to commute by train to work in Bath and became very familiar with the railway station at Taunton - it’s really special to have my work on the wall for all to see. The artworks here have been created using a combination of painting and digital artwork.”

Giles Adams, Chair, Visit Somerset, said: “Travel is about purpose, excitement and discovery and innovative maps have always been an essential part of journey planning. This creative and inspirational map shows the connectivity to and from Somerset’s county town, Taunton, bringing our local destinations closer to life's adventure.”

Adam Hopkins, Station Manager, Great Western Railway, said: “We’re thrilled with the new illustrated map and it has certainly gone down well with customers passing through the station. We’re grateful to Susie Thomas for brilliantly capturing so much of what the county has to offer, and to Severnside Community Rail Partnership for bringing this project to fruition.”

On Thursday 3rd October 2024, the final piece was officially unveiled, revealing a colourful and impressive 4x2 metre illustration. Each of the destinations has a detailed icon which pops out of the design to grab your attention, and the railway stations highlight an easy way to explore some of these by train.

The Severnside Community Rail Partnership are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate and strengthen their relationships with the station team, the local community and businesses. They would like to thank Jo Hake at Great Western Railway for her expertise and support with the project, the Station Team for getting the project off the ground and to Susie Thomas for her dedication and creativity.