This autumn, 0-4-0 saddle tank Kilmersdon will be returning home when it hauls trains on the Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton in Somerset.

Kilmersdon is an R3 Class locomotive built in 1929 by Peckett & Sons, in Bristol, for the Somerset coalfields.

Although it is owned by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, it normally operates on the Watercress Line in Hampshire.

Kilmersdon was originally owned by the National Coal Board and spent most of its working life at Kilmersdon Colliery near Radstock, just a few miles from Midsomer Norton.

After the colliery closed, the National Coal Board agreed that it should go to the Somerset & Dorset Railway Museum Trust, and in 1973, it was moved by road to Radstock. In 1983, Kilmersdon spent time on the West Somerset Railway, and was usually to be found shunting at Washford, but also made occasional runs along the full length of the line.

By 2021, Kilmersdon was due for an overhaul, which took place in the Mid Hants Railway’s workshops at Ropley.

On weekends from October to Christmas, Kilmersdon will be the star of the Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton’s autumn steam season, where it will make nostalgic journeys through the Mendips with its whistle again echoing through the valleys.

At Halloween, there will be a choice of trains, with Kilmersdon offering a more relaxed ride through the steam-filled countryside, whilst a Haunted DMU will provide a spooky experience.

In December, Kilmersdon will star in the Santa Express services where carriages will be decked in festive finery, the scent of mince pies will permeate the air, and Santa will be in his grotto handing out gifts to the little ones.