Minehead revisited
“The regulating bodies do not like to see battles for who has command of the ship and who holds the tiller”
“SIX for two hundred and thirteen.” The guard announces vehicles and tonnage to the driver of 2-6-0 No. 9351 standing at the head of the West Somerset Railway (WSR) 12.35 ‘Fish & Chips Special’ from Bishop’s Lydeard to Blue Anchor.
It is a warm day at the end of June and the railway should be teeming with visitors. Coach parties should be at their peak and schools ought to be organising steam railway outings as end-of term approaches. But Covid-19 has struck and the ‘twice-vaccinated’ are only now starting to venture outdoors. Today will see just two return journeys to Blue Anchor, compared with six on the equivalent date pre-Covid (two steam sets, one diesel) and seven in the summer peak timetable (three steam sets, one DMU).
Forty passengers represents the break-even load, and there must be a nearly 100 today. The revenue helps the cash flow, but it will never match the regular summer trains filled with bucket-and-spade families.
The postponement of lifting lockdown restrictions for a further month has hit the WSR and all tourist attractions hard. Operations and safety director Andy Castledine surveys
