Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust

The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
Midsomer Norton Station,
Silver Street,
Midsomer Norton BA3 2EY
How to find us
(map & directions).

Telephone
01761 411221 (Sundays and Mondays).
Please note, due to limited opening days, phone messages cannot be checked daily, email is the best form of contacting us.

Open Sundays and Mondays for sales & viewing. For special events see Opening & Events page.

New visitors to the website:
Please see the General Information page for an overview of the Trust's work at Midsomer Norton.

Read the webmaster's regularly updated diary notes of what has been happening on and off the scene.

Last updated: 17.01.12

Help raise money with your internet searches
You can help us raise more money for the Trust just by using the link on the Fundraising page or clicking the logo above. Bookmark and use this link every time for all your internet searches and help our fundraising campaign. Start your internet search here.

We need your stamps!
We can recycle and sell your used postage stamps to raise money for the project at Midsomer Norton. Please see the fundraising page for further information.

Funded with assistance from

Latest news updated 14.01.12

PLEASE HELP US & DONATE
There are many projects at Midsomer Norton which rely on income and your generous support. We very much welcome your donations and ask that if you haven't already signed a Gift Aid declaration with us, that you do so in order that we can claim the tax back on your donations. Please us if you require a Gift Aid declaration form.

Quick links
About the S&DRHT
Welcome
How to find us & travel
Station site plan
S&D line map
Opening & events
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Become a member
Including online purchase & renewals
Make a donation
Links page

Volunteers needed
The railway project needs more volunteers, particularly with the current big push forward with new tracklaying. Volunteers are needed in all departments though, not just for manual work. If you have any skills we could use or time you wish to offer, please see the volunteering section on the membership page and get in touch to find out more.

Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust at Washford on the West Somerset Railway. Event diary dates here.

Website design: Ovals
Webmaster:

Current issue of the S&D Telegraph magazine:
Telegraph 37 front cover

Issue 38, August edition of The S&D Telegraph features:

• Planning for 2016's 50 years since closure anniversary
• Pigeon specials on the S&D
• Mapping the S&D: Stalbridge and Henstridge
• Bailey Gate milk traffic
• Wrap-around cover: action photo of No. D1120 at work
• All the latest news, views, comment and restoration latest

*Become a member and get your copy FREE

YouTube videos
Welcome to our YouTube service, please submit any videos to the Webmaster for consideration.

Latest addition: Diesel D1120 propels a ballast hopper wagon spreading ballast on the line on the 'extension' January 2012

	Track laying progress approaches half a mile With recent track laying and finishing work on both the Down and Up lines at Midsomer Norton, the sum total of running line from the bufferstops at Silver Street, to the current end of the Down line is 30 chains, or 3/8ths of (getting on for half) a mile. The track gang has recently been working hard adding the recently-delivered ballast consignment, jacking and packing the Down line to running standard, almost up to the end of the current leased property. George Morris's photo of 8th January shows the gang working on the Down line at the farthest southern extent of the current line, with the incomplete point to the Up line at the bottom right of the picture. Click on the thumbnail image to enlarge.
	Follow the S&D at Midsomer Norton Yes, we're even social networking these days! If you're a user of Facebook and want to see some other chat, information, photos and videos regarding the project, then just click on the Facebook logo link, left, and click 'Like' to regularly get updates from us.
	DMU sees first 'action' The newly-arrived DMU has seen it's first use already, on Saturday November 19th it was in use for driver training to ready staff for putting it into service as soon as possible. The owner and two members of the DMU restoration group were in attendance, going over the fine points of running and operating the two-car set on our railway. There is a buzz around at the station as members get used to the unit's presence and anticipate starting running 'proper' passenger services soon with this welcome new arrival. Click on the image, left to view a larger photo; taken outside the goods shed at MSN on Saturday November 19th
	New arrival at Midsomer Norton - it's a DMU! The much-talked about arrival at Midsomer Norton is now here. The long-term loan, two-car Class 108 Diesel Multiple Unit arrived on two low-loader road hauage lorries (Heanor Haulage) last night, Thursday November 17th at around 9pm. Ex-Network SouthEast set L231, consisting of vehicles 51909 and 54271, come from their previous restoration and storage home at Long Marston in Warwickshire. The DMU, on loan to the railway at Midsomer Norton, belongs to an owner group, who will restore and maintain the it during its stay, with some minor remedial attention being required before it is ready to run, hoped to be soon. The arrival will give the railway something rather more tangible with which to run public services, as the railway expands, extends and looks to attract more travelling public. While not strictly S&D period regulars, some DMUs did travel on the line, mainly around the time of closure on enthusiast specials. Here is a link showing the unit at Long Marston last year. Click on the photo, left to see a larger version.
	New semaphore signals added On Sunday October 30th, the first of two new signals were added to the station approaches layout at Midsomer Norton, when the Down Advance Starter (seen left) was installed next to the wall on the Down side of the line (left hand side, looking towards Chilcompton) on the bend where the main line leaves the station. This signal, fabricated by the S&T team, being on a bend, has a short overhanging gantry so the signal can be seen around the bend. The base was the only part of the main structure not built new, and this was unearthed at Binegar and donated recently to the railway. The second signal to be 'planted' on November 13th, was the Up Inner Home signal, opposite the new Down signal, and this protects the approaches to the station from the Chilcompton direction, with the addition of a sighting board. The Up signal now has to be bedded in and other equipment and moving parts added and connections made to the signalbox. Click on the images to see larger versions.
	New Trust Chairman At the Board meeting on October 8th, John Buck was appointed Chairman of the Trust. John succeeds John Baxter, who is taking a well-earned rest after 13 years in the post, but has accepted the Vice-Chairman position and will focus on the heritage side of the project. John (Buck) is a retired teacher from south-west London and has been a Trustee since 2009 and Vice-Chairman since 2010. He brings valuable experience of heritage railways from the Lynton & Barnstaple and has helped us greatly with fund-raising. We’ll provide a longer profile of John in the next issue of The S&D Telegraph.
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