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Trouble at the seaside


Tim V

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Lovely Bank Holiday Monday at Weston Super Mare today, beach packed. Just like Bank Holidays were when I was a kid!

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Unfortunately, the Weston Miniature Railway is no more. It closed last year, and the track was lifted by Christmas. Apparently the owner retired, and sold the line. This was the main line looping round the putting green.

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The junction between the main line and the engine sheds, the base of the signal box is on the right.

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Lovely Bank Holiday Monday at Weston Super Mare today, beach packed. Just like Bank Holidays were when I was a kid!

Unfortunately, the Weston Miniature Railway is no more. It closed last year, and the track was lifted by Christmas. Apparently the owner retired, and sold the line. This was the main line looping round the putting green.

The junction between the main line and the engine sheds, the base of the signal box is on the right.

     

Just outside the gate of the second photo the rails remain imbedded in the tarmac of the footpath.

 

I tried to do a then and now shot, but do not have the right angle.

And yes I did have a ride that day, me & Mrs R were entertaining her nephew.

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The return working approaching the southern main line junction, 14/8/2012

 

cheers

 

edit  this is the reverse of Tim's shot looking back towards Beach Road, it is only 5 minutes from our flat.

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Alas the situation here is more complex than appears, there were plans to redevelop the golf side of the attraction under new ownership, and to hopefully retain the railway, however when these fell through/were delayed, the retiring owner had little choice but to lift the track and sell the stock.  All the stock, plus the signal box, are in store with a new owner and will hopefully be seen in public again at a new location in due course, although 'Dylan', the red steam outline loco, has recently had a weekend on loan to Hemsworth Water Park in Yorkshire to cover a loco shortage there.

 

Colin

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  • 2 months later...

Very sad closure - what with a new pier, and a miniature railway (which served excellent mugs of tea) I thought Weston was a proper seaside resort. I worked on the line for one season, the season it opened in 1981, when the line was owned by that doyen of miniature railways, Robin Butterell - as a schoolboy I prepped the steam engine and at end of day was allowed to drive!

 

I went and filmed the penultimate days operations September last year and chatted to Bob, the results of my filming efforts I uploaded to YouTube

 

Check out this video on YouTube:

 

 

 

Cheers Paul

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