The Somerset and Dorset Railway has announced that the locomotive ‘Kilmersdon’ will be steaming at its Halloween and Santa events in October and December.

The R3 class locomotive, which was built in 1929 by Peckett & Sons, is appearing courtesy of The Watercress Line and the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust.

It spent most of its working life at Kilmersdon Colliery near Radstock, and when the colliery closed, the National Coal Board placed the loco in the care of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Museum Trust. It was moved by road to Radstock in 1973, and ten years later, moved to Washford on the West Somerset Railway, where it gave displays of shunting and made occasional journeys along the full length of the line. In 2021, the Trust moved Kilmersdon to the Mid Hants Railway, which overhauled the loco at its Ropley facility.

Halloween at the Station will take place on 29 October, with free travel for children in Halloween costumes and tickets available for everyone else here.

Santa at the Station starts on 2 December, with full details and tickets available here.