In 1965, an informal Group of like-minded S&D enthusiasts were meeting and reporting on the likely demise of the S&D railway. On Saturday 15 January 1966, Messrs Yeomans (Chairman), Lacy (Secretary), and Knighton (Treasurer) of the Group agreed that the organisation would be known as The Somerset and Dorset Circle. The Circle would invite members to join at £1 per annum. The Circle stated object was to gather together and to exchange information in connection with the SDJR.
Each member would receive a monthly Bulletin, which would be divided into four parts
Part 1 - questions sent in by members, requiring answers;
Part 2 - Answers to questions raised in the previous Bulletin;
Part 3 - Articles and Items of Interest;
Part 4 - the Model Section.
The first Bulletin was published in January 1966, and ran to seven pages. A copy of the S& D line's Revised Passenger Services from 3 January 1966 was enclosed. 29 members were listed, three of whom have maintained their membership continuously ever since. One of them (David Milton) is the present Trust's Senior Trustee.
In the early Bulletins, the tradition of much useful exchange of information on historical and current matters became established and has continued strongly ever since. The late Robin Atthill, whose books are the principle histories of the line, became a member in February 1966. His contributions to the Bulletin were scholarly and extensive, and still make fascinating reading today. By the end of 1966, the Bulletin had published 113 Questions and Answers, 49 Items of Interest and 8 items on Modelling topics. The membership grew to 49 at year end.
By late 1967, insufficient copy was being sent in to fill a monthly edition of the Bulletin, so from rhe beginning of 1968 it became bi-monthly. Film shows, meetings amd attendance at traction engine rallies were becoming common for the active members of the Circle. The Bulletin notes that some members were collecting and preserving relics from the S&D.
At the Circle's AGM on 12 October 1968, the possibility of preserving an SDJR 2-8-0 locomotive was discussed. A decision was taken to elect a sub-committee to "investigate more fully the feasibility of the project". By the end of January 1969, the sub-committee was reporting that it had visited Dai Woodham at Barry Scrap Yard. Mr Woodham subsequently agreed to sell 53808 to the Circle for £2,500, payable in instalments. The locomotive was released to the Circle in July 1970.
Concurrent with the purchase of 53808, the Circle Committee was seeking a preservation base, and decided upon Radstock North Engine shed. The S&D line was still in operation there, in conjuction with the output from Writhlington Colliery. So, Radstock became the ideal location for the first Museum devoted to the S&D.
1969 to 1975 - Radstock
In late 1969, the S&D Railway Circle's base was soon established in the station and engine shed at Radstock where several items of rolling stock, some privately owned and some in the care of the Trust, were accumulated.
In the early 70s, steam open days were held at Radstock to generate funds and some of the signs and other memorabilia from the railway put on display in the station buildings. With the closure of the last remaining coalmine in Somerset at Kilmersdon Colliery in 1974, the Trust's collection of rolling stock was substantially increased by the addition of a Peckett 0-4-0 locomotive and a number of ex-NCB open wooden-planked coal wagons.
Late in 1972, it became clear that significant advantages would be obtained if a charitable trust were to be set up to run the S&D Museum, and in 1973 the Somerset & Dorset Railway Museum Trust (SDRMT) was granted charitable status. Its management committee and all its members were held in common with the Circle.
In the early 1970s there was great enthusiasm for all sorts of railway preservation projects. At Radstock a group of enthusiasts, closely associated with the S&DR Museum Trust and Circle, formed the S&D Light Railway Company with the aim of re-opening part of the S&D from Radstock to Writhlington (a distance of approximately 1.5 mile) where it was proposed to construct a mining museum. However, financial considerations coupled with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm on the part of the local councils and British Railways soon brought the realisation to those concerned that the project had no future.
In a period of intense activity during the winter of 1974/5, the museum at Radstock was disbanded and all the relics collected by the Trust put into store. Practically all the rolling stock at Radstock was moved either by rail or road to locations on the West Somerset Railway. Work began on establishing a new S&D museum at Washford.
1975 to Present - Washford
Despite the need to effect a rapid evacuation of the premises at Radstock, careful consideration had been given by the Trust Committee as to the best location for the Trust Headquarters. Of all the derelict stations on the West Somerset Railway, Washford seemed to offer the greatest potential for fulfilling the Trust's ambitions.
Though somewhat daunted both by the enormity of developing a green field site and by minimal cash reserves, the Committee felt certain that in the long term the Trust's future would be assured by undertaking the development of Washford. So, the small team of volunteers once again set to work, levelling the former goods yard at Washford and travelling to all sorts of curious locations in search of lengths of track and not-too-rotten sleepers and chairs.
At this time, the average S&D volunteer could expect to be covered almost head-to-toe in mud one week from wading through quarry waste in pursuit of a length of rail and then to lose a stone in weight the next week trying to extract 20ft of track from concrete 12ft thick! All of this was transported to Washford which was described (rather unkindly!) in the West Somerset Railway Journal as "looking like a battlefield".
These same volunteers then reassembled the track and points to create an extensive layout of sidings. At the same time, work began on repairing and renovating the Washford Station buildings so as to enable the display of the S&D Museum items held in store. By the late 1970s, it was possible for visitors to begin to see that some order was appearing out of seeming chaos and by the turn of the decade the Trust had the timerity to begin to charge for admission to its museum.
During this time the West Somerset Railway Company had been extending its train services southwards and increasing the frequency of trains serving Washford. The expansion that was being undertaken caused many anxious moments for both the Company and the Trust as the financial position of the Company became, to say the least, decidedly shakey! However, firm financial control of the Trust affairs was producing a very healthy recovery from what had appeared to be a hopeless position and membership numbers were rising.
The same strategies were now applied in the Company's affairs by the former Trust Treasurer, the late Peter J Rivett, who had joined the Company Board. The fortunes of the Company were soon to improve as dramatically as had the fortunes of the Trust.
The Trust worked with the Company most successfully in jointly achieving the restoration of the 2-8-0 Locomotive, 53808, winner of the Steam Heritage Award in 1988. This engine significantly helped in the recovery of the WSR and its conversion into the fine attraction it has become.
