JUNE 2012 NEWS : 

The 15th, 16th & 17th of June saw the Somerset countryside reverberating to the sounds of Sulzer, Napier and Hydraulic engines operating at the annual WSR Mixed Traffic Gala. The 2012 event was again blighted by poor weather, with only the Sunday producing any reasonable periods of sunlight to help enhance the event, however this didn't put enthusiasts off attending the railway gala or traveling on the line. The event featured three days of heritage and modern diesel haulage over the twenty mile branch to Minehead. Brake Van rides were also available at Bishops Lydeard to Norton Fitzwarren along with a special pre booked option to travel over the entire length of the line in a brake van. 'Driver for a Fiver' was also in operation at Minehead using one of the former Bridgwater ROF shunters and the rare Williton Depot Sentinel No.DH16. First Great Western also provided a Class 150 shuttle line to Taunton mainline station on Saturday and Sunday giving travel connections to mainline services.

Friday 15th was the only day of the event not to see a steam train in service on the line, Saturday and Sunday saw home fleet and visiting diesels sharing the tracks with differing steam locomotives. Williton Depot flung open its doors to the public to show the ongoing work on Class 35 Hymek No.D7018 which will hopefully return to WSR metals in 2013, after nearly twenty years out of service. Sadly there were two locomotive failures during the event, D1010 ‘Western Campaigner' had recurring issues with its transmission, after only one day in service it was sidelined at Williton Depot. D7017 was removed from its booked diagrams on Sunday with an unknown fault. There was also a brake fault at Bishops Lydeard on Sunday afternoon which resulted in the 15:45 departure to Minehead leaving 20 minutes late. Minimal delays occurred because of the failures, but this was probably due to the masses of time allowed between stations using the WSR clockface timetable, which for a gala using faster and more powerful locomotives is exceptionally slow and ponderous. GBRf were unable to supply a Class 66 for the Mixed Traffic Weekend due to their mainline work commitments, however they did manage to produce two Class 73's. 73119 ‘Borough of Eastleigh' had recently been returned to mainline with GBRf, and retains its BR Blue livery with subtle GBRf Europorte branding, while 73207 in BR Large Logo was former Gatwick Express loco, and more recently the Whitemoor Yard shunter. These 600 horsepower locos only featured on the Saturday evening and Sunday of the event, with only 73119 working brake van specials to and from Norton Fitzwarren, while 73207 was on static display at Bishops Lydeard. The DEPG's latest overhaul project Class 33 No.D6575 (33057) also looked superb and now outshines sister locomotive No.D6566 (33048).

It was pleasing to see that catering, on the service trains has been much improved than previous years and this is a positive sign that the railway has clearly taken into consideration,including the addition of external catering at Bishops Lydeard and Minehead to help boost the variety of what can be consumed. The marketing of local produce and Real Ale/ Cider was another addition which was pleasing to see had been included. As we have reported in previous news items on Taunton Trains we hope that one day the WSR will have the confidence to host a full blown diesel event, avoiding the need to use steam trains for just one weekend in the year. There is plenty more to build on for to make the event better than the last, diesel shunting demos at Washford or Dunster, or evening 'Fish & Chip' & 'Ale Trains', over the length of the line. There will come a day when a generation will exist who no longer remember steam operating on the mainline but will remember early heritage diesels. At Taunton Trains we are very much advocates for the promotion of Heritage Diesels on all preserved lines. Due to their limited use on passenger trains joe public rarely get to witness a working diesel locomotive, neither are they educated about their importance of the part they played in creating the modern railway we have today!. Some of the DEPG Diesel fleet are the same age of as some of the steam locomotives which operate on the WSR yet receive but a passing glance from those less informed, it would be fantastic to see information leaflets about the locomotives positioned on tables for the general public and enthusiasts to help, and to provide more information about the history behind each locomotive and how it came to be in the care and dedication of the DEPG.

The three day event has been a superb example of what can be achieved and leaves plenty more scope for development over future events. We would like to thank all those who've submitted images to Taunton Trains, there are simply too many to include on this site in one go, however in due course we will be adding a selection of our own images to our 83B Weebly website so please do have check this out in due course.