GWR Charity HST to Minehead

125 Group is very pleased to help support this special High Speed Train charity railtour:

The Somerset Explorer – Saturday 13th May 2017

Great Western Railway with Visit Somerset, West Somerset Railway and Buses of Somerset, a special HST (hoped to be celebrity power cars 43002 & 43185 with green livery set) will work the charity railtour, raising funds for Weston-super-Mare Hospice to celebrate the life and work of Bob Smart, the former chairman of Visit Somerset who sadly passed away last year.

There will be the GWR buffet car with GWR souvenirs available and the 125 Group Sales Stand on-board.

Various ticket options are available:

‘Explorer Option’:  Paddington depart 08.36/ arrive 18.57, Ealing Broadway 08.44/18.46, Reading 09.14/18.19, Didcot 09.34/18.02 via Frome and onto the WSR and through to Minehead (13.00/14.50) returning via Taunton Platform 2 and crossover at Taunton East Jn, Weston-super-Mare and booked Bristol TM Down Through Line in the Up direction.

There is the option of travelling to and from Paddington but leaving the train at Frome at 10.33 for a luxury coach or open top bus on a mystery land cruise re-joining at Weston 17.00.

Part Fare ‘Round Robin’ option for passengers joining the train at Frome from the 08.36 train from Swindon via Melksham, leaving at Weston for service train connections to the 18.32 Westbury to Swindon and 18.40 Westbury to Frome. Coach connections are also available to connect at Frome/Weston.

There are no pay on the day tickets, only on-line bookings are available (but with various options for group and staff fares etc).

Full details and ticket bookings available here: http://wsr_explorer.eventbrite.co.uk/?s=73482104

SPECIAL OFFER: For 125 Group members plus one accompanying person, early bird £25.50 discount – adult standard class only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, VALID for the HST all day option ONLY, enter promotional code:  HST_Group_41
Current 125 Group membership card must be presented on-board to validate this special offer.

Great Western HST Charity Railtour

Saturday 10th October 2015 is the date for a very special charity railtour using a GWR High Speed Train from London Paddington and intermediate stations running through to Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway, also visiting the mothballed Heathfield freight branch line. ‘The First Devon and Exeter Explorer HST Special’ is being run by GWR (the franchise succeeding FGW) in conjunction with the Branch Line Society, in aid of First Devon and Exeter Prostate Cancer Fund, with the aim of raising £20,000 for a portable scanner.

Timings are provisional and subject to Network Rail validation with pick up and set down at: London Paddington (07.15/20.39), Reading (07.42/20.08), Didcot Parkway (07.55/19.52), Swindon (08.15/ 19.33), Bristol TM (08.52/18.50), Taunton (09.25/ 18.02) and Exeter St. David’s (09.54/17.37) through P6 requested both ways. Then via Newton Abbot (through P1 requested), Totnes facing crossover at 222m 33ch to P2 (reverse) via the mainline connection onto the South Devon Railway to Buckfastleigh (11.15). Enjoy a break on the delightful South Devon Railway or this small market town with all its amenities and attractions. Given the length of a HST the front should be well beyond the end of the platform to clear the starting signal for return. There will be workshop tours and services operating on the SDR.

Departing at 11.25 the HST makes an extra optional return trip to Heathfield (12.44/12.55) also for local people, returning to Buckfastleigh at 14.47. It then picks up all the passengers from the main tour before departure at 15.02 to Heathfield again (16.22/16.42) then back to London Paddington. This might be the farewell railtour to the mothballed Heathfield branch which has had no booked traffic since the timber trains to Chirk were transferred to Exeter Riverside on 2 April 2015.

We are pleased to announce that the 125 Group sales stand will be on board the train, with a range of HST merchandise including mugs, DVDs and our new 2016 Calendar, with proceeds going to our preservation fund. A comprehensive catering service will also be available on board including real ales and freshly cooked food from the Travelling Chef, all proceeds from these services will be donated to charity. We hope you can join us on this very special charity HST railtour!

Standard class fares for pick up between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads £75, or £50 from Taunton or Exeter St Davids. Special fare from Buckfastleigh – Buckfastleigh £25 which will be donated to South Devon Railway and the Devon Diesel Society. First class fares are not available and no child discounts on this occasion.

Our friends at the Branch Line Society are handling bookings for this special HST railtour, for full details including provisional timings and how to book tickets, see their website http://www.branchline.org.uk/events.php