Welcome to Stogumber Station

Alan Bines

Aug 09, 2018

(Alan is second from the left in this delightful photograph) We are collecting donations in memory of our past station master, Alan Bines. If you would like to make a donation please send a cheque made out to Friends of Stogumber Station to FOSS Treasurer, 5 Archers Grove, Stogumber, Taunton TA4 3AJ

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2018 FOSS AGM

Aug 02, 2018

Please make a note in your diaries, Friday 28 September 3 pm in the waiting room at Stogumber Station. NOTICE OF MEETING I, Colin White, Acting Chairman of FOSS, hereby give notice of the 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Stogumber Station Please note that only current membership card holders will be allowed to attend. To be held at The Waiting Room, Stogumber Station Friday 28th September at 15:00 Within the constitution of FOSS and the minutes of the Annual meeting the following Agenda items will be dealt with:

1. Welcome from the Acting Chairman
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes of the 2017 AGM
4. Vote to accept minutes
5. Chairman’s Report
6. Treasurer’s Report
7. Station Master’s Report
8. Membership Secretary’s Report.
9. Life Membership & 2019 Membership fees
10. FOSS members Open Floor Time (limited to 5 minutes per request) for initial discussions to take place, (topics for discussion to be forwarded to the A/Chairman ahead of the meeting please)
11. Election of New Chairman
12. Any Other Business
13. Closing Remarks
14. Meeting Close (approx.17:00)

  Copies of the minutes of the 2017 AGM and the 2017 Accounts will be available for inspection at the meeting. If you have an email address then please send it to me.                                                                    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… FORM OF PROXY AND ATTENDANCE SLIP                             Please return to Mr C White, Acting Chairman of FOSS, 5 Archers Grove, Stogumber TA4 3AJ or email to colincwhite5@btinternet.com I, _____________________ _______________________  shall/shall not be attending the 2018 AGM. As I am not attending I nominate ___________________________ (insert name) as my proxy to attend the meeting and vote on my behalf. or I wish the Acting Chairman of FoSS to hold my proxy and vote as he sees fit. (Please delete and complete as appropriate)

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Cattle dock - further update

Jul 23, 2018

Thanks to Robin White for these photographs, here is the cattle dock as you have probably never seen it. Thank also to the working party of Bob, Peter, Robin, Russell, Tom and Colin. ... no vegetation .... ... much of the brick floor is still there  .... ... passing goods train and skip visible .... ... edging exposed .... ... part of a wall exposed ....

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Scrumptious summer treats at Stogumber

Jul 15, 2018

We have new items on our menu and fresh ideas this summer.

• Cream Teas : Our scones are now baked by a member of our team and they come with lots of delicious jam and Cornish cream.
• Cheesy Scones which are served with Chili jam and butter.
• Home-made cakes which are excellent value at £1.50 for a generous slice.
• We buy our beef pasties from a local bakery and they are delicious.
• Currently we are selling Pork and Cyder pasties to see if they are popular. Why not try one?

Despite the dry weather we still have a very colourful and peaceful garden.

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Benches

Jun 30, 2018

  The WSRA have awarded us the money to have our two benches covered in upholstery like the one shown in the photograph.

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Cattle dock clearance

Jun 30, 2018

Picture above : Early morning working party at Stogumber cattle dock on Saturday 30 June watch 'Ravingham Hall' go by. Picture below is a 'Before' the working party started and the two concrete posts, which can be seen either side of the ramp, have now been removed. Picture below is an 'After' the working party event when even more progress was made by Sunday 1 July.  Here is a picture showing Russell and the removal of the final concrete post for which we are running a caption competition! Here is Robin's account to whom we are indebted for the pictures and Russell for the equipment. "The first working party of the project to refurbish Stogumber cattle dock was held over the weekend of 30 June / 1 July. The work tackled was the clearing of the slope up to the dock and the access to that. This involved digging out some tenacious shrubs; extracting the concrete posts installed to fence off the access ramp when the dock was closed; clearing the vegetation off the slope; regrading it to a proper profile, removing the ‘hump’ where the slope ‘lands’ on the Station yard; and grass seeding the cleaned ramp. We also trimmed the bottom of the newly-installed rail access gates so that they open easily when required. On this weekend of exceptionally hot weather, work started at 06:00 for two of the team, reinforcements arrived later and work stopped by lunchtime. Obviously there was a certain amount of tea / coffee drinking and train watching involved. All objectives set for the weekend were achieved, and a well-filled skip now awaits collection. It was particularly satisfying to have the ramp seeded in time for the Sunday afternoon rain. Some WSR archaeology was revealed. The dock was built around the pre-existing Goods Office, demolished in the years running up to closure. The plinth course of stonework has emerged. The next working party will be on Saturday and Sunday 21 to 22 July, when it is hoped more normal weather will be experienced and we can keep to the planned 10:00 to 16:00 working hours. The object will be to strip the vegetation off the top surface of the dock ready for similar grassing where the surface is beaten earth, and to allow the refurbishment of the brick area under the original pens to be tackled later. More hands welcome. There are now rumours of the possibility of a significant military exhibit on the dock during the WSR 40’s weekend in September... Bob, Colin, Russell and Robin" The retaining wall can be clearly seen here.

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Thursday 12 July - station closed

Jun 30, 2018

Stogumber Station will be closed all day on Thursday 12 July as we are all away saying farewell to one of our members, Alan Bines. The station will be open as usual on Friday 13 July.

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Cattle Dock - working party

Jun 25, 2018

There will be a working party at Stogumber Station on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July to clear the cattle dock of the debris and plant life. Please leave a message on our new answer phone service on 01984 656755 if you are able to offer a couple of hours to help.

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Alan Bines

Jun 21, 2018

We regret to announce the passing of our Chairman(FoSS), Station Master and friend, Alan Bines, who has made such a huge contribution to Stogumber Station. Alan is pictured here  the second from the left. Alan passed away in a nursing home in  Williton on Wednesday. Alan's farewell will be held  at Taunton Crematorium on Thursday 12 July at 1-00pm. A collection will be made in Alan's memory and proceeds will go to Stogumber Station, which was Alan's final wish. Please note that Stogumber Station will be closed for the entire day as a mark of respect.      

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Diesel Days

Jun 07, 2018

Why not spend some time this Diesel Gala at Stogumber, as we offer

• a wonderful garden
• good viewing points
• cream teas
• Gil's cakes
• full refreshments
• a model railway

Our dedicated staff will make sure you have an enjoyable time and there is good parking at the station. Volunteers? We are always looking for people who want to volunteer so please contact our stationmasters Alan or Bob if you are interested.

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