Taunton to Minehead

[grahame]

Closed, 4th January 1971. Reopened by the West Somerset Railway as a tourist attarction, and now open to main line charters too - the West Somerset Railway that serves Williton (pop 3000), Watchet (5000) and Minehead (11000) is a prime candidate for restoration as a regular transport link from these hard-to-access communities in to Taunton.


Potential Commuter Train?


Butlins brings a LOT of people to Minehead


Minehead Town Centre - a bustling place!

Having been to Minehead yesterday and travelled along the West Somerset Railway, I wondered what we had here.  And what I have found is a need for aknowledgable update.  Can anyone fill me in on the various ideas that look like they might be practical to use this line as a regular public transport link?

[devon_metro]

I'd say something along the line of a summer 'butlins express' similar to last year (with more appropriate timings than last year!) Perhaps also more sensibly priced as the high fare often put people off going on it (inc me!) Sadly it isn't being run this year, although perhaps FGW could do something on summer Saturdays? (Paddington - Reading - Didcot - Swindon - Chippenham (with connecting train from Melksham of course ) - Bath - Keynsham - Bristol TM - Nailsea - Yatton - Worle - Taunton (pick up only) and MINEHEAD.)

Perhaps two round trips - 0915 and 1315 from Paddington?

Last years 'Butlins Express' operated by Victa Westlink



Only problem was that a number of the runs ran as empty trains

[John R]

The problem with the Butlins Express was the timings didn't allow day trippers to the West Somerset Rly and Minehead. The WSR/Butlins haven't been able to find an operator willing to support them this year, following Victa-Westlink's demise.

I believe the WSR's 5 yr plan is considering a diesel shuttle from BL to Taunton, but the obstacles in the privatised railway are considerable (though NYMR have overcome them).  That will appeal to those visiting the railway, but to provide an affordable option for day trippers to Minehead the minimum needed is a DMU service from Bristol to Minehead, say in the 6 weeks in the summer when commuter traffic is lighter. However, unlike yesterday, when FGW staff gave their time for free, running a service down to Minehead and then waiting several hours before the return would be costly in terms of unproductive staff time.

Given Butlins were interested in a service leaving Minehead late morning and arriving back late afternoon, maybe two return trips a day would meet this requirement and that of day trippers. Of course, these services will take paths on the WSR that will be very valuable in the peak for them, so they will need to consider the impact of losing those for the bread and butter customers wanting a trip behind a steam train.

The other consideration is that the line is limited to 25mph. This is fine for an excursion like yesterday, but does make the journey a bit long for the normal daytrip traffic that would be needed to make a service viable. I understand the WSR has no aspiration to increase this due to the significant costs involve once you go above that limit.
 

[chris from nailsea]

Steam-powered summer specials at West Somerset Railway are under threat after problems with tracks and trains have thrown one of the West's biggest tourist attractions into crisis just before the school holidays.

Only one of the railway's four steam locomotives is in operation after a severe fault on the track damaged wheels of other engines, making them unsafe for passengers. Sources close to the railway say maintenance work carried out free of charge by Network Rail as a training exercise is at the root of the problems - a claim West Somerset Railway manager Paul Conibeare denies.

He said: "The Network Rail train was used to grind the top of the tracks and did not cause this. What we have found on some stretches is an unusual lipping on the side of some of the tracks. When trains travel over tracks, over time some lipping will appear but this is something we haven't encountered before so it has been a learning curve for us."

Maintenance teams are now working through the night to grind down the rails by hand as time is running out before thousands of holiday makers arrive hoping to hop on board one of the iconic steam trains. The extra lipping of the tracks has damaged the trains' wheel flanges and tyres and the railway had no option but to withdraw the engines as the fault could cause engines to derail.

Mr Conibeare said: "Safety is paramount to us which is why we are working hard to sort these problems out."

Diesel trains will be used to substitute steam and ensure ordinary services are not interrupted but some people believe trade will still be hit when disappointed passengers hoping for steam decide to spend their money elsewhere.

The railway's annual family fun days are due to be held on the weekend of July 5 and 6 and although fears have been raised that the technical problems could put the event in jeopardy, Mr Conibeare says it will go ahead as normal.

The railway is running one steam train and one diesel engine to keep to its published timetables. See west-somerset-railway.co.uk for more information.

Full article in Western Daily Press: see
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145786&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231644&home=yes&more_nodeId1=145795&contentPK=20921924