Stock shed offers major boost to Westonzoyland
The Westonzoyland Engine Trust celebrated the completion of a major project on August Bank Holiday Monday when a new locomotive and rolling-stock shed was opened during the Somerset pumping station museum’s Railway Gala.
Made possible by two years of fundraising and donations and grants by members, supporters, the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust, Sedgemoor District Council and the Garfield Weston Foundation, the project was focused on securing modern, museum-standard storage and display facilities for the Trust’s collection of narrow gauge locomotives and rolling stock.
The Trust’s two locomotives, a former Eclipse/Fisons peat works Lister and a Minworth sewage-treatment plant Simplex were shedded in the museum’s main engine house. But a complete overhaul of the 2ft gauge railway on site, including the arrival of another Lister from Dunball cement works, two passenger carriages and other freight stock meant much of the equipment had to be stored outside or away from public view.
“This new facility will not only improve the conditions in which these items can be kept, but it also allows us to display them in all weathers to our visitors and therefore develop a new museum experience,” a Trust spokesman said.
“Since starting the project, we have also been selected to take on a long-term loan of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust’s narrow gauge collection originally from the Eclipse/ Fisons peat works at Ashcott. This includes the Lister Railtruck that ran a tour Monday open day and timber replica peat wagons.
“We still have turntables, points and track panels to collect and this loan has only been able to be accepted due to the facilities this project has provided.”
The Trust also paid tribute to its volunteers; “The Trust is very proud that our volunteers have the skills to be able to carry out all the tasks involved in projects such as these – the value that adds to the scope of a fundraising project is immense and allows us to complete works with significantly larger contract values than the funding required.”