TWO ‘PRAIRIES’ AND A ‘MANOR’ IN WSR JOINT INITIATIVE
A joint fundraising appeal has been launched by the West Somerset Railway plc and West Somerset Railway Association to restore not one but three GWR locomotives. The West Somerset Railway Locomotive Restoration Fund aims to bolster the 20-mile line’s steam fleet by overhauling ex-Barry ‘Large Prairie’ No. 4110 (owned by the plc) and the WSRA’s two locomotives, ‘Small Prairie’ No. 4561 and ‘Manor’ No. 7821 Ditcheat Manor. It is part of a strategy to “secure a locomotive fleet which is historically appropriate and that meets the operational needs of the WSR for the next decade” as well as strengthening the WSRA’s support to the railway. John Irven, Chairman of the WSR plc and Paul Whitehouse, Chairman of the WSRA, said: “The WSRA membership voted decisively last year to have Nos. 4561 and 7821 restored and running on the WSR. No. 4110 is owned by the WSR plc, with an existing fundraising programme including a shareholder appeal in 2015. “However, running two separate fundraising exercises for the locomotives makes little sense to us. We have concluded that all three locomotives should now be covered by the same programme. It will be led by the Association, which as a charity can benefit from Gift Aid where appropriate. The first phase will focus on finishing the restoration of No. 4561, with the plc also starting work on No. 4110. “The two organisations anticipate that No. 4561 will be required for traffic in 2021, No. 4110 in 2022 and No. 7821 in 2026. “The WSRA has a clear role to support the heritage of the West Somerset Railway, as part of coordinated fundraising by all railway family members. By taking on this appeal, the WSRA will free up the WSR plc to concentrate on raising funds for other key investment projects. “We both call on all supporters of the West Somerset Railway to back this initiative.” Acquired from the Southallbased GWR Preservation Group in 2015 (SR442), No. 4110 - a former Taunton locomotive that worked the Minehead branch in the early 1960s - has never steamed in preservation. No. 4561 is currently under overhaul at Williton, having last run in 1998; while Ditcheat Manor, purchased by the WSRA from Ken Ryder in 2008, last steamed at the Churnet Valley Railway in 2007 and is currently on static display at STEAM Museum in Swindon.