WSR AUTUMN GALA: 563 on Minehead turntable

Описание: 563 is turned on the turntable at Minehead Station on the West Somerset Railway.

The T3 locomotive, built in 1893, had just hauled a service from Bishops Lydeard during the railway's Autumn Steam Weekend and was preparing for the return journey.

The present over-girder turntable is a modified GWR St Blazey type with a 65ft diameter.

It was originally 55ft in diameter when it was purchased in 1974 from Pwllheli on the Cambrian coast line in North Wales.

It sat redundant at Minehead Station for many years and was not installed until 2008, as part of a wider £6million development that included car and coach parking, industrial units, a visitor centre and a youth club.

It was felt that the 55ft turntable would no longer be long enough to accommodate the largest locos, so it was agreed to extend it by 10ft with the help of genuine GWR modification drawings dating back decades.

Told to install the turntable within six months so the other development could progress, the WSR employed a contractor from the Midlands that was able to meet the tight timescale and refurbish the structure using original and new parts.

The turntable – 65ft long, 16ft wide and weighing over 50 tonnes – was transported back to Minehead in one piece in February 2008 with the help of a staged road closure between Taunton and Minehead.

Thousands of spectators watched as the turntable was transported along this 25-mile stretch on the A358 and A39.

There was relief when it passed between houses in Washford that were 16ft 4in apart, giving 2in clearance on either side.

It was craned into the pit the following day.

After all the associated work was completed, 4160, a GWR Large Prairie, became the first loco to board the turntable on 24 June 2008.

It is one of only two St Blazey type turntables still in use, along with one at Swindon.

It is the third turntable to be located at Minehead since the station was opened in 1874.

563, sporting Drummond green livery, was one of 20 T3 locos to be built for the London and South Western Railway.

It is the only one to be preserved and returned to service.

563 was based at Guildford, Eastleigh and Salisbury before being withdrawn in 1945 having racked up more than 1.5 million miles.

It was partially restored to help celebrate the centenary of London Waterloo Station in 1948 and was later moved to the National Railway Museum.

563 was used for a theatrical production of The Railway Children in Toronto, Canada, in 2011 and a repeat staging at London King's Cross in 2015.

It was donated to the Swanage Railway Trust in 2017 and was restored to full working order following a six-year revamp costing £650,000.

In October 2023 it hauled its first passenger train since 1945.

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