VOLUNTEERS who run the secluded Stogumber station on the West Somerset Railway have now raised more than £20,000 to improve the line.

The income has come from subscriptions and donations to the organisation Friends of Stogumber Station (FOSS), all of which goes to improvements at the station, plus the profit from popular cream teas and home-made cakes served to visitors enjoying the colourful picnic area set out where the station’s goods shed, and sidings once stood.

Money has been used to buy the wooded hillside behind the station from Somerset County Council to preserve its setting, while sufficient funds have been allocated for the repair and maintenance of all the buildings, fences, benches, and other items on the site.

The Friends have also helped the railway through the Covid crisis and put funds towards the renewal of some of the tracks.

Meanwhile, preservation work at Stogumber on the raised platform where cattle used to be penned before being taken by rail to nearby markets has been carried out over several years by a team of volunteers.

The project to restore the iron railings and brickwork has been almost completed, and the official opening is to be marked during the WSR’s Spring Steam Gala (May 5 to May 8).

Company chairman Jon Jones-Pratt said he wanted to praise stationmaster Bob Preston and the volunteers for their fantastic effort and their long-standing support of the railway.

He said: “This is a great effort which we much appreciate, and is more good news at the start of what we hope will be a highly successful and enjoyable season from the commencement of our train services on March 19.”