Young Persons can travel for £2 on the the Sunday of the Spring Steam Gala

Young persons aged between 5 and 17 who are accompanied by an adult or senior citizen will be able to travel on the West Somerset Railway for a flat fare of £2.00 on Sunday April 30^th. This fare applies to all journeys including freedom of the line day rover tickets.

April 30^th will be the last day of the WSR’s Spring Steam Gala and with an hourly train service over the 20 miles of line between Bishops Lydeard (near Taunton) and Minehead there are plenty of chances to explore the railway and places of interest along the way. As well as the seaside at Minehead there is Dunster Castle, the old harbour town of Watchet. Or if the weather is kind it will be an opportunity to take a walk in the Quantock Hills and enjoy some home-made refreshments at Crowcombe Heathfield or Stogumber stations. On the railway itself there are museums at Bishops Lydeard, Washford and Blue Anchor plus model railways in action at Bishops Lydeard. For those who would like to have a look “behind the scenes” the workshops at Williton and Minehead will be open. Some of these will mean incurring an admission charge on top of the train fares.

The Gala, which runs overall from April 27^th to 30^th will see up to nine steam engines in action including four “guests” from other railways. These are Great Western “Large Prairie” 5199 from the Llangollen Railway whilst LMS 4F 43924 is making its first visit to the West Somerset, away from its home in Yorkshire on the Keighley and Worth Valley. Another debutant is Standard 2 MT 78018. This was restored to working life on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough in 2016 having last worked a train in 1965. Finally from the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire there will be Great Western 1501 which has only visited the WSR once before.

Tickets can be purchased on the day of travel but can be purchased in advance via www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk or by calling 01643 704996.