Railway Herald
A visitor to the West Somerset Railway's Autumn Steam Gala from 6th-9th October was Hawksworth-designed ex-BR(W) auto-trailer No. W233W. Built at Swindon in 1951 and used mainly on the Clevedon branch, after withdrawal in 1965 it went into service stock until 1998. Restoration has been undertaken by 5542 Ltd and the vehicle was returned to service in the summer of 2016 on the South Devon Railway. It is seen here at Bishops Lydeard coupled to GWR class 1400 0-4-2T No. 1450, and on the Saturday, it worked services to Norton Fitzwarren and along the stub of the Barnstaple branch to Allerford Bridge and to Crowcombe Heathfield. On the Sunday, it was confined to the Crowcombe Heathfield service because the GWR DMU shuttle from Taunton was in operation.
Tim Edmonds
