ARCHIVED NEWS
2010
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June 25th 2010Booking Office now open for business for the first time in 44 years!At an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. today, Crowcombe Booking Office was officially opened by Retired joint Station Masters Walter Harris & Mike Hodge, in front of some 30 railway staff and visitors. Walter Harris bought the first ticket from booking Clerk David Bartin, once Walter & Mike had cut the traditional ribbon. Young Emily, grand-daughter of Station Master Ted & Jan Cubitt, also presented a posy of flowers to Jean Hodge. The first members of the general public to purchase tickets were Mr & Mrs Green from Hereford, [2 return tickets to Minehead and 2 bicycle tickets.] This has been the culmination of some 6 months work. Work began in January during the snow, when paint was stripped, walls repaired and a general clearance of the room. Professional help was given by Ian Palmer with carpentry, and the railway's RAMS group give a great job in making a new ticket window surround and shutter. The rest of the work was undertaken by "The Friends". Grateful thanks is also due to Graham Robinson for all his help and advice and the time he has taken in training the station staff.
photos © Tim Stanger Click on images to view larger size |
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June 19th 2010Crowcombe hosts another fashion shoot. Yet another fashion company Bravissimo used the station setting for a fashion shoot, in glorious weather. Station Staff laid on a buffet lunch which was very well received. The company paid for the buffet and also made a generous donation, all of which has helped to swell the station funds. photos © John Ayres & Trevor Holland |
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 Judging by the smug look on Mr A's face the day was not all work and no play. photo © Mrs A! .jpg) |
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15th June 2010Booking Office Training.The stock of tickets for the station have arrived from Dunster, and training of station staff is now underway. Graham Robinson has spent some considerable time setting the ticket rack up for us. Graham's considerable experience both on WSR and formerly with BR has ensured that it is "a proper job". Some 16 members of the Station staff our now being trained, again by Graham, to ensure as far as possible that we can get to grips with all the WSR systems and sell tickets for the first time at the station since 1964. The official opening is imminent, and immediately afterwards we hope to sell tickets every day trains run. Whilst we do not anticipate that this function will be a full-time occupation and will fit in with other station duties, we would very much like to hear from anyone who would like to be involved. The 2 pictures below show very little has changed since the 1960's. The left-hand image shows Mr L. Davey in BR days. The quality of the picture is quite poor, having been copied from a small image in The Railway Magazine in 1970. The right-hand image is of Graham Robinson in similar pose. Please click on the images for a larger view.
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June 4th 2010"The 7.15 to Crowcombe Heathfield" a great successOn a perfect summer's evening some 70 passengers gathered at Bishops Lydeard to catch the special service to Norton Fitzwarren. There, in the field adjacent to the station, David Holmes [Chairman of WSRA], gave a very amusing and informative talk and answered questions about the construction and progress of the Triangle. We were also entertained by some 4 trains on the main line, which punctuated the proceedings. There followed a delightful journey in the DMU against the setting sun to Crowcombe Heathfield Station where a Somerset supper of bread, local cheese, and salad followed by apple pie and cream, washed down with local cider [what else?]. At 21.40 precisely the train returned to Bishops Lydeard where it was still light. Whilst the event was a social event nevertheless, due to the generosity of those people who donated food, drink and raffle prizes a very useful contribution was made to station funds. Some pictures are below © Tim Stanger. To enlarge them, click on the image and use the "return button" to come back to this report.
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"Garden Party" Monday 24th May 2010Led by Gill Southwood the station's head gardener, volunteers planted a large number of plants in the cool of the evening. Some hanging baskets were also put up, ensuring that we will have a very colourful garden display throughout the summer. Judging by some of the pictures © Martin Southwood it was not all work!
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On Friday 26 March 2010The Chairman of Somerset County Council, Cllr John Edney, at a reception in Taunton, for over a hundred people, presented various awards to the good and the great. The award for community service in the county, for 2009, was presented to Walter Harris and Michael Hodge, to mark thirty three years service as joint Station Masters at the station. An award, richly deserved. They were proposed for the award by Peter Martin and seconded by new Crowcombe Heathfield Station Master Ted Cubitt, who also attended the event. |
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March 18th 2010
The station is really looking very smart after the hard winter and in anticipation of a busy Spring Gala. The picture opposite [copyright Alan Tupman] shows From L-R Marjorie Phillips-Mepham, Margaret Bartin & Sue Stanger, in the well stocked waiting room. Thanks to them and many others the station is ready to welcome visitors. Also the gardens are beginning to come out of hibernation thanks to Gill & Martin Southwood and Beryl Ayres, even if the daffodils will only just be in bloom for Gala time. At the Gala there will be a varied range of snacks and of course teas & coffees, as well as the usual warm welcome, with a roaring fire, if the Gala lives up to its usual reputation for less than balmy weather. |
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| 25th February 2010 STATION HOSTS FASHION SHOOT Crowcombe Heathfield Station was chosen by HEARTFELT BOUTIQUE of Watchet, owned by Mandy Hawkins & Becky Griffiths as the ideal location for their fashion shoot. Photography was by Martin Hill of Taunton. The station has been promised some prints which will be on show hopefully for the Spring Gala. On this gloomy Thursday, with no trains running, it was very surprising to see so many male volunteers and staff at the Station including two members of the Civil Engineering Dept. Strange that!. Some very kind remarks were left in the Station's visitors book, and by all account we should have soon a couple of new "Friends" of the station. Photo opposite Tim Stanger ( by kind permission of Martin Hill ) |
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| 25th February 2010. Some further shots of the shoot. Taken by Tim Stanger by kind permission of Martin Hill Photography |
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| February 13th 2010 | The inaugural meeting of "FoCHS" was held in
Crowcombe Village. Some 34 people attended , and by the end of the
meeting some 32 had signed up as "A Friend". The Meeting was chaired by
Paul Conibeare, GM of the West Somerset Railway plc, and the draft
constitution was adopted unanimously. Seven members were duly elected
onto the committee-
>> details If you would like to join us, either just to support the work done at the station, or indeed help us, even just occasionally, a link for a printable application form is opposite. |
>> Application Form | |||||||||||||
| January 28th 2010 | "Lad Porter" Ted Cubitt gains promotion to Station
Master at the Station after some 30 years service! Paul Conibeare G.M. of the WSR plc seen here on the left of Ted, announced to the volunteers at the lunch that Ted was successful at his interview and will take up the reigns from Mike & Walter from 1st February. The "Friends" of the station, look forward to supporting Ted, and ensuring that Crowcombe Heathfield remains the favourite station on the WSR for many visitors and volunteers alike. |
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| January 28th 2010 | Walter Harris & Mike
Hodge were guests of honour at their retirement lunch at
the Rectory Cannington . Some 30 Crowcombe Heathfield Station volunteers
, past and present, enjoyed an excellent buffet provided by Reverend
Peter Martin. The magnificent desserts were made by some of the
station's lady volunteers. Mike & Walter were presented with large framed photographic prints of the station, taken by Don Bishop ARPS, by Paul Conibeare, [photo Tim Stanger]. We are sure Mike and Walter will continue to volunteer at the station for many years to come. |
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