Line extensions laid by volunteers at Midsomer Norton Station have resulted in another length of running line, meaning they are almost at Chilcompton. The work means that visitors will soon be able to travel almost up to the Chilcompton tunnel by train. The next event in March will be an opportunity to ride behind a Jinty tank engine, one of the workhorses on the old Somerset and Dorset Railway.

Jinties would be shunting the yard at Radstock and then bringing empty coal wagons up to Norton Hill pit, shunting the yard at Midsomer Norton and then returning to Radstock with full coal wagons – a typical day’s work for such a locomotive. Five locos were built specifically for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway by Bagnalls of Stafford in 1929, but paid for by the Midland Railway and numbered in the S&D listing 19–24.

Visitors will be able to ride behind the Jinty and the station’s resident steam loco, Joyce, at the Spring Gala on Saturday, 10th and Sunday, 11th March.

The very successful Real Ale Train event, where customers receive beer on the train, will be repeated on the afternoon and evening of Saturday, 17th March, which is ticket only.

Sunday, 18th March will see more rides behind the Jinty and the opportunity to be a driver for a tenner on the Diesel 08. There are still some places left on the driver experience course, which will be on the Jinty engine on Thursday, 22nd March.

Volunteers are working hard to make sure that people have an all-round experience when they visit the station. The station is open on Sundays and Mondays for volunteers to come and work, but the shop, buffet car, and Museum are also open for visitors. The Railway welcomes men and women of all ages, from their teens to their eighties, to join them as volunteers, especially if they are local.

For details about volunteering at Midsomer Norton Station, call: 01761 411221, drop in on a Sunday or Monday, or visit: www.sdjr.co.uk