News Archive for April 2026

Published on 29th April 2026

The Network Rail test unit No.950001 was in the Taunton area on the 29th April 2026.

The unit operated 2Q08 04:50 Bristol Kingsland Road - Plymouth Park Sidings via Westbury, Whatley Quarry, Merehead Quarry, Weston-supre-Mare padding Taunton at 11:07. The colourful unit was captured passing through the Taunton area.

Published on 26th April 2026

The West Somerset Railway is gearing up for a four-day Spring Steam Spectacular next weekend with up to eleven locomotives in steam due to operate over the 19-mile Quantock branch line, continuing the 50th Anniversary year of the line.

A selection of steam locomotives, big and small, will be operating throughout the event. Visiting Locomotives BR Manor No. 7802 'Bradley Manor', Bagnall 0-6-0ST No. 2996 'Victor', GWR 2-8-0 No.3850, LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley', Standard 4MT No.80078 and Hunslet No.1589 'Newstead' will join home floor locomotives BR Manor No. 7812 'Erlestoke Manor', and No. 7828 'Odney Manor', WSR Mogul No.9351, NCB Hudswell Clark No.1857 and Andrew Barclay Fireless Boots No.1.

With a huge amount of hard work having been carried out on the lineside vegitation, station appearance and general tidyness over the Winter period, the railway is looking fantasic and ready to recreate branchlines scenes from the page. For tickets and more information on the four-day spectacular please visit The West Somerser Railway Website

Published on 19th April 2026

Having completed the journey to Penzance on Saturday, 18th April 2026, SR Westcountry Pacific No. 34028 'Eddystone' began the lengthy return from Penzance to Chester on Sunday, 19th April 2026.

No. 34028 'Eddystone' hauled the train from Penzance and a servicing stop at Plymouth, and a longer planned break at Taunton between 13:31 and 15:09. As with the previous day, West Coast Railways support locomotive No.47826 remained on the rear of the train for train supply and shunting moves as required.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 18th April 2026

The Railway Touring Company's 'The Great Britain' charter made a welcome visit to Taunton on the 18th/19th April 2026.

The charter will cover the length of the UK during the coming week, routed from the South West into Wales to Chester, then over the Settle and Carlisle, onward to the Hope, Aire, and Eden Valleys. From there it's onto the Scottish Highlands, Fort William, Mallaig, Perth, Aberdeen, the North East, and back to London in a week.

The southwest leg of the XVIII charter was handled by the former preserved SR Southwest Country Bullied Pacific No. 34028 'Eddystone'. The charter operated as 1Z10 07:01 London Paddington - Exeter St Davids, taking a short servicing stop at Fairwater Yard prior to continuing south to Exeter for a longer servicing stop. The charter then later continued onward to Penzance. West Coast Railways Class 47 No.47826 (having received a repaint over the winter period) was marshalled at the rear of the train for train supply and shunting movements as required.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 18th April 2026

The Belmond Britannic Explorer was back for its second visit of the 2026 season on the 17th/18th/19th April 2026.

With door-interlocking issues from 2025 now seemingly resolved, the luxury train is settling into regular use with Belmond and GBRf. No. 66748 'St Michaels Mount' and No. 66742 'ABP Port of Immingham Centenary 1912-2012' operated in 'top and tail' formation from London Victoria on Friday, 17th April 2026, arriving during the early evening. After an overnight stay at the West Somerset Railway, passengers on board departed Bishops Lydeard on Saturday, 18th April, to head to Penzance. 66742 'ABP Port of Immingham Centenary 1912-2012' led the train to Taunton Station before running around the train to form a double-headed run with partner No. 66748 'St Michaels Mount' to head into Cornwall.

The next visit of this train is on the 1st May for another three-night visit to Cornwall with tickets on sale at £8,500.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 9th April 2026

With GB Railfreight now operating the loaded China Clay service north on a Thursday evening, the chance of new and varied shots for this service is possible.

Thursday, 9th April 2026, provided an opportunity to capture two trains (following one another), both with Royal connections to Queen Elizabeth II. Using a location just outside of our normal photographic limits at Huntworth, the following trains were captured.

GWR Hitachi IET No. 800003 'Queen Elizabeth II - Queen Victoria' passes Huntworth on the 9th April 2026. The five-car bi-mode unit was operating on 2U28, the 18:10 Taunton - Cardiff Central stopping service.

GBRf Class 66/7 No. 66734 'Platinum Jubilee' powers through Huntworth passing under the M5 on the 9th April 2026. GBRf were operating 6M53 11:45 Parkandillack - Cliffe Vale loaded with China Clay.

Published on 6th April 2026

April 2026 marks the 40th Anniversary of the closure of both Cogload Junction and Taunton West Signal Boxes.

Cogload Junction closed officially on Monday 7th April 1986. They had both been stripped of all their instruments just after closure on the night of Friday 4th April 1986, when the area occupation began at 21:30. Taunton West Station was stripped out on Friday 9th May after the weekend occupation began at 20:40 although it's official date was Monday 12th May (the panel for the latter was then transferred to Taunton East Junction as a temporary measure). But in March 1987, all signalling in the Taunton area was transferred to Exeter Panel. Many enthusiasts were able to make unofficial visits to these signal boxes (in particular Cogload Junction and Athelney), where many pictures exist taken from these locations. We would like to thank Richard Giles and Andy Hunt for their additional images and information, which further record the events of the modernisation in the 1980s.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 5th April 2026

Easter Sunday 5th April 2026, saw a total of six GBRf locomotives operating west of Taunton.

With the Britannic Explorer, Rail200 Exhibition Train, and a Cornish locomotive swap, GBRf were very busy in the area.

Platinum Jubilee GB Railfreight Class 66/7 No. 66734 'Platinum Jubilee' passes light engine through Taunton on Easter Sunday, 5th April 2026. The loco was operating 0C51 10:00 Westbury - Goonbarrow to replace the Cornish GBRF locomotive No. 66751 'Inspiration Delivered Hitachi Rail Europe', which had a locomotive fault.

GBRf sent two locomotives from Bristol to collect the Railway 200 'Inspiration' exhibition train from Minehead. No. 66719 'Michael Portillo' (in Railway 200 livery) and No. 66310 'Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway' are pictured passing Norton Fitzwarren, having crossed over onto the WSR link operating 0Z41 09:59 Bristol East Depot - Minehead, they later returned with the exhibition train heading for its next destination, Newquay.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 5th April 2026

The new Cross Country livery is beginning to spread its wings throughout the UK with three refurbished Voyager sets now in traffic.

No.220033, No.220027, and No.220028 are now outshopped in the brightly coloured livery. The upgrade will cover the entire 70-train fleet, focusing on internal upgrades, new seating, and a complete exterior overhaul.

With one of the new Cross Country liveried Voyagers leading through Allerford on Easter Sunday, 5th April 2026. No.220033 and No.220004 were operating the 1V54 09:36 Newcastle - Plymouth service. Photographers using this location should be mindful of the farmers' crops and use the footpaths and/or tractor wheel lines to prevent damage.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 5th April 2026

The Railway 200 ‘Inspiration’ train has been visiting the West Somerset Railway on its second visit to the line at Minehead over the past week as part of its continued tour of the UK celebrating 200 years of Britain's Railways.

During its tour of the UK, more than 80,000 people have immersed themselves in its interactive activities, engineering challenges, and historical artefacts. Thousands of schoolchildren have come aboard for bespoke tours, learning about the railway and the careers available on the network. There are now 8 locations that the train will visit during 2026, ending in Scarborough in June. The train itself, from a photography perspective, is elusive to capture during daylight hours, as it has almost always been moved at night. To capture the complete liveried train with locomotives in motion during daylight hours is rare. GBRf sent locomotives to collect the Railway 200 train from Minehead on Easter Sunday, 5th April 2026. No. 66310 'Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway' and No. 66719 'Michael Portillo' operated 0Z41 09:59 Bristol East Depot – Minehead, passing Taunton at 10:46 before heading onto the West Somerset Railway. After working through to Minehead, the pair were formed in top and tail formation, ready to haul the train to its next destination of Newquay. Photographers had to scramble after finding out the 16:05 departure from Minehead had in fact departed almost three hours ahead of schedule at 13:18. Upon arrival at Bishops Lydeard, the Railway 200 train was held for two hours waiting for a path onto the mainline to rendezvous with the crew from the Britannic Explorer for a driver swap. Both the Railway 200 Inspiration Train and Britannic Explorer were both in Taunton Station at 16:40.

Published on 5th April 2026

The Belmond Britannic Explorer made its first visit to the Southwest for the 2026 season over the long Easter Weekend.

After a disastrous start to 2025 with the set plagued with door interlocking issues and serious incidents while operating on the mainline, the set has been under Winter maintenance at Assenta Rail, Hamilton. Significant work has been carried out to overcome the issues experienced during the 2025 season. The Britannic Explorer luxury sleeper train will visit Taunton/ Bishops Lydeard/Minehead regularly over the 2026 season. The Easter Weekend visit arrived from London Victoria on Good Friday, 3rd April 2026, running slightly behind schedule as 1V01 15:48 London Victoria – Bishops Lydeard with No. 66748 'St Michaels Mount' leading and No. 66744 'Heart of Wales' on the rear. Once on the West Somerset Railway, the train made a late-night run through to Minehead, returning to Bishops Lydeard for its overnight stop. Saturday, 4th April, the train departed Bishops Lydeard to Penzance as 1C02 09:05 Bishops Lydeard – Penzance operating via Taunton Station to change direction and reform the locomotives to a double-headed formation. No. 66744 'Heart of Wales' and No. 66748 'St Michaels Mount' departed Taunton at 09:57 on time. After a night in Cornwall, the set then returned north on Sunday, 5th April. Because of engineering work at Bruton, the train could not complete its normal diagram and, as such, was revised for the Easter weekend. Sunday 5th April, the diagrams operated were 1C06 10:50 Fowey Dock Carne Point – Castle Cary, 1Z07 23:30 Castle Cary – Bishops Lydeard. After a second night on the West Somerset Railway, the train then departed early on Monday, 6th April as 1O00 05:46 Bishops Lydeard – London Victoria. We have provided a gallery of movements of the luxury train over the course of the Easter Weekend. The Britannic Explorer will be making frequent two-weekly visits to the Taunton area over the coming months, details of will which will be listed on our Tours Pages

To view the gallery, please click here.

Published on 5th April 2026

Easter Weekend Engineering between East Somerset Junction and Westbury provided a large quantity of engineering trains visiting Taunton to change direction and head east towards the weekend track renewal worksite.

Colas Rail Freight and Heavy Haul Rail (formerly Freightliner) were involved in delivering wagons, new ballast, and sleepers to the site for loading/ unloading over the weekend. Colas sent an influx of Class 70s on their booked services, which provided some added variety to these services. We have provided a gallery of images showcasing the busy freight scenes over this period.

Published on 3rd April 2026

Colas Rail operated the Network Rail test train through the Taunton area on Good Friday, 3rd April 2026.

No. 43257 'Bounds Green' No. 43277 'Safety Task Force' operated a revised diagram due to engineering work over the Easter period. No. 43257 'Bounds Green' led 1Q18 05:43 Reading Tirangle Sidings - Paington via Penzance, passing Taunton at 07:57, No. 43277 'Safety Task Force' later leads north operating 1Z18 15:39 Paington - Westbury Signal W213 via Bristol West Junction. The Network Rail test train also contained the Mentor overhead line testing coach, which is used to inspect overhead wires in the areas where they exist between Reading and Newbury.

To view the gallery, please click here.