A Facebook Group

"I travelled on the West Somerset Railway in 2010" is a Facebook group for those who plan to travel on Britain's longest heritage railway in 2010. Hopefully a ticket will be purchased! It would be nice to see a large membership of the group on Facebook and even better if many members can make at least one trip this year and help the Railway reach a record 250000 passengers in 2010. I suppose the key to success is to ensure many Facebook users join up. I'm not sure how that is done effectively but I'm sure every effort will be made. There are ten stations - Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe Heathfield, Stogumber, Williton, Doniford, Watchet, Washford, Blue Anchor, Dunster and Minehead. And lots to superb scenery along the twenty mile steam powered railway which runs from the Vale of Taunton Deane, through the gap between the Quantock Hills and the Brendon Hills, to the Bristol Channel coast at Watchet, Blue Anchor and Minehead, the gateway to Exmoor. See www.wsr.org.uk for more details.

Snow but no supertrain to the rescue this time

A rare snowfall in West Somerset led briefly to a few transport problems. Of course it was nothing like the blizzard of 1978. Then, everything stopped. Except a few folks on the West Somerset Railway at Minehead who steamed "Vulcan" which then ploughed through chimney-high drifts all the way to Bishops Lydeard. Over the next few days, the little train was the only effective transport between West Somerset and the rest of the world. Mailbags, hospital patients and folks just trying to get home were carried in style through the snowy landscape. The Railway did a good job and got a very good press for its troubles. The recent snowfall cold have provided a perfect repeat but there appeared to be no desire this time. To be fair the roads were re-opened quickly and with the Railway's infrastructure more complex than it was in 1978 movement of any train, emergency or not, involves more people and more equipment - getting folks to their workplaces and getting the signals and points unfrozen would have been a major task. Nevertheless, it would have been nice to see No 88, two coaches (one a buffet) and No 9351 at the rear, chugging through the snow-covered West Somerset countryside, doing what steam trains do best.