The West Somerset Railway marked a milestone last month when the first HOBC (High Output Ballast Cleaner) train ran on the West Somerset Railway after a pause of six months.

The Network Rail train arrived at Norton Fitzwarren after being hauled by Freightliner Class 66 No. 66414 from Fairwater Yard.

This is the first day of operation since before the March COVID-19 lockdown which will now see more wagons full of used ballast being unloaded at John Luffman’s mineral handling site at Norton Fitzwarren.

At the Norton Fitzwarren site, the ballast is cleaned, recycled and re-graded for future use.

The ballast was transported in nine 80-tonne MFS wagons.

The last train movement on the WSR was in mid-March when a Class 09 and two BR Mk1 coaches and a Toad were used for a Footplate Training Day.

The current plan for the HOBC is to run five days a week until February 2021.

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