Coming to a Heritage Railway in our Patch

[the green mile]

The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust at Midsomer Norton has long term aspirations to run trains between Radstock and Chilcompton. As part of the plans, there is a desire to own and operate its own locomotives as well as building suitable covered accommodation for their ongoing maintenance and overhaul.

Recently, an opportunity arose to purchase a partly restored BR Standard 9F 2-10-0; not something which comes along every day. It is very much a type of loco associated with the line, arguably as much so as the iconic S&D 7F 2-8-0ÔÇÖs. And of course, it was the last steam loco built at Swindon by British Railways, the 9F ÔÇÿEvening StarÔÇÖ, which hauled the very last Pines Express over the route 60 years ago.

The loco in question is no. 92207, unofficially named ÔÇÿMorning StarÔÇÖ, one of a batch built at Swindon Works in 1959. She only lasted for five and a half years before being withdrawn as part of the modernisation plans which eliminated steam. In recent years, the current owner has been overhauling the chassis in a secure location in Dorset making much steady progress. However, he has now decided to hand over the baton for others to see the project through to conclusion. The boiler resides up north pending an opportunity and funds to overhaul. There are a few bits missing, such the smokebox, cab and tender but nothing which is insurmountable. In fact, the wheelsets for the tender have been procured from a scrapped class 40 diesel loco, a solution which has been adopted by several preservation groups.

The plan is for the TrustÔÇÖs working volunteers to progress the work in the current location until suitable accommodation and facilities become available at Midsomer Norton. Naturally, ongoing hard cash will be required in the years ahead to fund the overhaul. If any of our members feel that this is a project they would be willing to support, details of how to get involved can be found on the TrustÔÇÖs website sdjr.co.uk under the ÔÇÿsupport usÔÇÖ section.

The long term aspiration is that one day we will one day be able to re-enact ÔÇÿThe PinesÔÇÖ climbing from MSN up the 1 in 50 to the Chilcompton tunnels. It will probably be just a short formation of four or five coaches but we can use our imagination to visualise the footplate once again in the very capable hands of Donald Beale and Peter Smith.

Roy