This year’s Spring Steam Spectacular at the West Somerset Railway saw a 50 percent increase in visitor numbers compared with last year’s event.

The Spectacular was held for four days over last weekend’s Bank Holiday, from Friday, 3rd to Monday, 6th May.

It is a yearly event where locomotives from other heritage railways and the railway’s home fleet operate services to an intensive timetable designed to maximise the mileage covered.

Train services also operated over the rarely used sections of track between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren.

Locomotives visiting the line were:

• London and North Eastern Railway B1 Class 4-6-0 No. 61306 Mayflower.
• London and North Western Railway 0-6-2 ‘Coal Tank’ No. 1054.
• Great Western Railway 0-6-2 tank No. 6695.
• British Railways Western Region Modified Hall Class No. 6990 Witherslack Hall.
• Hunslet 0-6-0 tank engine No. 1873 Jessie.

Locomotives from the West Somerset Railway’s home fleet were:

• Great Western Railway Manor Class 4-6-0 No. 7828 Odney Manor.
• Great Western Railway 2-6-0 No. 9351.
• British Railways Western Region Pannier Tank No. 9466.

Among the additional attractions throughout the weekend were Brake Van rides, on-train dining, and a photographic evening.

The large number of visitors added to the atmosphere of the weekend and brought back a reminder of previous galas.

For enthusiasts of diesel traction, the railway is holding its Summer Diesel Festival from Thursday, 6th to Saturday, 8th June, with Class 50 No. 50033 Glorious already confirmed as a visitor.

As during the Spring Steam Spectacular, some trains will continue past Bishops Lydeard to the very southern end of the line at Norton Fitzwarren.

On all three days, the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group’s depot at Williton will be open on for visitors.

As part of the Festival, on the Saturday evening at the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group’s depot at Williton, Geoff Hudson, a former Fleet Manager at British Rail’s Laira depot in Plymouth will share his experiences of working with Class 50s, appropriately using 50033 Glorious as a background for his talk..

We are extremely proud and grateful to our Gala Planning Team for their efforts in organising such a complex and diverse event for our visitors. The feedback from passengers has been extremely positive and the event really showcased what the West Somerset Railway can achieve.

The Gala Planning team is predominantly made up of volunteers, who co-ordinate the event alongside their other life commitments, which highlight the amount of dedication and time that volunteers commit to the railway.

Plans are already underway for the Spring Steam Spectacular event for next year. Where we hope to provide another successful event.

Kerry Noble, Kerry Noble General Manager General Manager