Index > About the Trust > History of the Trust > Washford The S&D established at Washford Washford Pictures 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. 53808 came out of service in May 1996 for a two year overhaul, which has still not been completed by the WSR plc. Washford Pictures © SDRT 2006 All material contained herein is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced, copied, held in an electronic repository system (particularly on another web site) without seeking permission. Every effort has been made to identify the holders of copyright material included within this website. If any material has been used inadvertently without permission or attribution the Trustees of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust will be pleased to receive information with a view to correcting this in further updates.