Our current magazine
Our current magazine is the summer issue – read about it on the membership page, or click on the image.
Featured products
Our online photo collection now contains over 1000 images, all of which are available for immediate download in low resolution as soon as you’ve completed checkout.
We’ve nearly 900 S&D images plus a selection of Southern images from the Branksome area featuring a wide variety of motive power.
Welcome
Originally established in 1966, the Trust keeps alive the memory of this most distinctive of cross-country railways with its wide variety of artefacts including locomotives, carriages and museum exhibits backed by restoration work, events and our quarterly magazine.
Washford S&DRT site and shop closed permanently
Owing to the Notice to Quit served on us by the West Somerset Railway, please note that the Washford site as occupied by the S&DRT is now closed and much of the rolling stock has now left the site. The shop no longer exists. Please see our online sales for all that the Washford shop used to stock, and more, and this page on how to see our artefacts from now on.
The S&DRT blog
An in-depth look at the work of the Trust. See the latest posting ‘Re-examining Wells Branch Brake Van No.9 – the last surviving S&D goods vehicle‘.
Newsletter
Subscribe to our occasional email newsletter here.
Latest Press Releases
18 August 2021.
Museum agreement between S&DRT and the S&DRHT at Midsomer Norton.
See all press releases.
Latest News
Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust on Facebook.
- Online Sales still open: Click on “Sales” at the top of this page or this link.
- Progress on ‘Kilmersdon’ with the frames now back on the wheels
- ‘Steam on the Levels’ on 14/15 May to feature S&DRT-owned Ashcott railtruck
- 53808 at the Watercress Line Spring Steam Gala, Friday 29 April ’22
- Watercress Line’s latest news video looks around the new museum and interviews our chairman
- Video of 53808’s Special Train on Sunday 6 March
- Special Train with 53808 on Sunday 6 March
- 53808 in action on a Watercress Line goods charter
- Donations of S&D-related artefacts are welcomed, subject to our collections policy.
The Trust’s S&D 7F No. 53808
A brief history of the S&D 7Fs.
How the S&D 7Fs came into being.
The S&D Railway and the Trust
The Somerset & Dorset Railway ran from Bath across the Mendips and through Dorset to Bournemouth, with branch lines across the Somerset Levels to Burnham-on-Sea, Bridgwater and Wells. Read more about the route of the S&D. The line’s early days are remembered for its distinctive Prussian Blue engines and coaches, and later for the holiday expresses from the north of England to the south coast. Read more about how the Trust came into being.
News & Events
Keep up to date with the latest news about our heritage railway steam engines and coaches, our workshops at Washford, and make a note of events celebrating the Somerset & Dorset Railway, including area group meetings, listed here
Online Sales
An extensive range of Books, DVDs and other items related to the S&D can be ordered online here . You can buy Membership online and also download images from the Trust’s photographic collection as well as audio files including Ivo Peters, Donald Beale and others.
Visit Us
The Trust is currently based at Washford Station on the heritage West Somerset Railway, but the station, shop and museum are currently closed and our stock and artefacts are being relocated to alternative sites, most notably the Watercress Line in Hampshire. Find out where to view our exhibits and see our stock list here.
Membership
Our members receive a variety of benefits including our quarterly magazine. Many also volunteer to keep steam railway memories alive by repairing and restoring rolling stock, researching and writing articles and arranging events. Your contribution is welcomed – you can join online here.
Photos, Videos & Edington Exhibiton
Information about the extensive photo collection of our favourite steam railway can be found here, we also now have several videos. Find out more about our annual model railway exhibition here.
Archives & Collections
As well as the museum, the Trust cares for extensive material and items covering all aspects of the Somerset & Dorset Railway, available for viewing and research. Check how to find and access this material here.
Welcome to the Trust
The Trust works in partnership with others to keep alive the memory of the Somerset & Dorset Railway and its importance as a major cross-country route for the communities through which it passed.
As well as gathering and recording information about the line, through artefacts, archives and oral history, the Trust promotes the spirit of the S&D through its distinctive locomotives and rolling stock, still at work today.
The Trust arranges events including an annual Model Railway Exhibition at Edington (near Bridgwater).
As well as the information available on this site, we also have a regularly-updated Facebook page 
with over 3000 followers and a wide selection of short videos on Vimeo 
and on YouTube. 
[Page header photo by Bob Curtis.]