North Dorset Railway has reached another historic milestone, having been granted the necessary exemptions which will allow it to begin carrying passengers. But before you rush to book your tickets, there is still much to do. To start with, NDR’s brake van will be the first coach to be used for passengers, and there are four to six weeks’ work to make it ready, to be followed by a similar period of training volunteers to operate it, so there won’t be much time to run before winter sets in. (The van has no heating!) The plan is to start regular rides next year, and NDR will also be working to get its newly arrived railbus ready, increasing passenger capacity from just 12 in the brake van to nearly 60.

Visitors will be charged for rides, but the station will remain free to visit. And don’t forget that the station will open especially this August Bank Holiday Monday, from 10:00am and 4:00pm, but is always open weekends and Wednesdays.

But if you can’t wait to see trains running, come along to the model railway event on Saturday 26th September, when more than 14 layouts will be displayed at the station and at Shillingstone Church Centre. There will be a charge for entry to the Centre, which will go towards the station’s maintenance, but entry to the station will be free, though donations are always welcome.

Event Code: [OTHER]

Ed’: We don’t know what time this event starts so we’ve marked it as ‘all day’.