THE special First Great Western Commemorative Train to mark the 40th Anniversary of the closure of the Taunton-Minehead branch line of British Rail will leave Taunton for Minehead on Sunday at 10.40am.
The closure of the line in 1971 was the first act in the story which led to its re-opening as the modern day West Somerset Railway from 1976 onwards.
Today the WSR is one of the leading heritage railways in the world and a major tourist attraction, carrying over 200,000 passengers each year.
The special train is formed of a First Great Western Class 150 diesel train of a type that works the surviving branch lines in South West England today.
It will be the first time however that one of these trains has run to Minehead and virtually all of the seats on the special have been sold.
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