West Somerset Railway - Winter Steam Festival - 28/12/11

A visit to the West Somerset Railway for their annual Winter Steam Festival which was held on the 28th & 29th of December. The event featured five locomotives in steam and seven trains from both Minehead & Bishops Lydeard with an extra train from Bishops Lydeard on the 29th. This event would also feature the return of 6960 'Raveningham Hall' to revenue earning service after a major overhaul. The weather on the day was rather indecisive with sun, rain, wind & cloud but overall a really good day. Locomotives in steam were: S&DJR Class 7F 2-8-0 no.88 WSR 'Mogul' 2-6-0 no.9351 GWR 2884 Class 2-8-0 no.3850 BR(W) 7800 Class 4-6-0 no.7828 'Norton Manor' (aka 'Odney Manor') GWR 6959 Class 'Modified Hall' 4-6-0 no.6960 'Raveningham Hall' Shots included are: 88 climbing up to Crowcombe Heathfield with the 10:05 from Bishops Lydeard, the first train of the day. 7828 on the climb from Stogumber slipping past Leigh Bridge on the 10:00 from Minehead. 3850 passing Leigh Bridge with the 11:00 from Bishops Lydeard. 7828 seen after departing Bishops Lydeard with the 12:00 service. 6960 seen coasting towards Bishops Lydeard with the 11:00 from Minehead (I believe this was her first public service since overhaul) 6960 climbs up to Crowcombe Heathfield with the 13:00 from Bishops Lydeard. 9351 & 6960 depart simultaneously from Crowcombe Heathfield, 9351 hauling the 12:00 from Minehead. Most of the sound was coming from 6960, even the end of shot whistle. 88 arrives at Crowcombe Heathfield with the 13:00 from Minehead then 9351 arrives on the 14:00 from Bishops Lydeard. With the sun now shining we see 9351 departing for Minehead then the tail end of 88's train to Bishops Lydeard. Now back at Leigh Bridge we see 3850 climbing from Stogumber on the 14:00 from Minehead. Annoyingly the sun hid behind the clouds but reappeared after she pass. Sod's Law, don't you just love it? 88 is seen passing Leigh Bridge on the 15:00 from Bishops Lydeard. The final shot sees us at Stogumber where 7828 makes as fantastic departure on the 15:00 from Minehead, the sound can be heard echoing all round. Afterwards we had a nice cup of hot chocolate next to the fire in the station building to warm us up, not a bad way to end the day. Filmed on a Panasonic HDC-HS60 HD Camcorder Enjoy