It was a pretty impressive feat yesterday in Midsomer Norton when the local railway trust took delivery two 16ton mineral wagons.

It was a pretty big achievement with railway enthusiasts at the Somerset and Devon Railway Trust saying that it is probably half a century since these type of wagons have been seen in Midsomer.

The Trust bought the two ex-British Railways wagons from the Swanage Railway for £3,000. Transportation was approximately £750 and it will cost a further £2,500 to refurbish them. Both wagons require replacement flooring, together with a thorough treatment of all the rust prior to painting.

The final plan is recreate a typical S&D freight train and if they have any money left from their appeal they will buy additional wagons for their demonstration freight train.

Coal traffic was the lifeblood of the S&D. Many of the collieries operated along the northern section of the line and hundreds of these wagons were used every week to transport coal across the entire Bristol, Bath area and beyond.

You can donate to the fund raising here: the Just Giving site