This weekend’s “Autumn Steam Weekend” at the West Somerset Railway will feature three locomotives that spent much of their lives in industrial service.

From Friday, 17th, until Sunday, 19th October, Boots No. 1, Caledonia Works 1219, and Great Western Railway No. 813 will be the gala’s star attractions.

Boots No. 1 will perform demonstration movements in the yard at Minehead. It is the last surviving working example of a fireless locomotive in Britain, which was used in hazardous locations, where a live fire or spark would be dangerous.

Steam to fill the boiler and power the locomotives was stored in a tank, which was charged with high-pressure steam created elsewhere on the site, well away from flammable materials.

Caledonia Works 1219, built by Andrew Barclay in Kilmarnock, worked for many years at Stewarts and Lloyds steelworks in Motherwell, Scotland.

In 2016, it underwent restoration at Williton on the West Somerset Railway, and this will be its last public appearance before withdrawal from service for another major overhaul.

Great Western Railway No. 813 was built to perform shunting and local freight work for the Port Talbot Railway in South Wales. It was displaced by the GWR’s 57xx Class 0-6-0 pannier tanks, with five being sold to South Wales collieries whilst 813 was acquired by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which refurbished it and sold it to a colliery service near Newcastle.

When Britain’s coal mines were nationalised, 813 passed into the fleet of the National Coal Board, and was the only surviving locomotive from the Port Talbot Railway. With the decline of the coal mines, 813 was withdrawn from service but was saved from scrap by the GWR 813 Trust.

During the weekend, on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th, 813 will work demonstration freight trains with wagons owned by the Trust. On Sunday, the 19th, it will operate some passenger trains between Minehead and Blue Anchor.

The other steam locomotives appearing at the weekend are London and South Western Railway T3 Class No. 563, GWR Castle Class No. 5029 Nunney Castle, GWR Manor Class No. 7828 Odney Manor, and GWR Mogul No. 9351, which will all be operating trains between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead.

At Bishops Lydeard, the Taunton Model Railway Group’s club room will be open for visitors, whilst at Washford, visitors can view progress on the Heritage Carriages Project.