Railway 200's Inspiration Train is currently (24th-29th November 2025) visiting Bishops Lydeard station on the West Somerset Railway.

I visited today, 25th November, along with fellow forum member PhilWakely. GWR had laid on a free shuttle (a Class 150) service from Taunton so we joined that for the rare opportunity to take a passenger train via Norton Fitzwarren Junction onto West Somerset Railway metals. That shuttle service is running again on Friday 28th November 2025 should anyone wish to make the trip to visit the Inspiration Train. The Inspiration Train is free to visit and the shuttle service from Taunton is also free. Booking is required though. This can be done on the WSR website. Tickets need to be booked at least 12 hours ahead of visit.

https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/view/inspiration-railway-2002-travelling-exhibition-train-visit-to-west-somerset-railway

The Inspiration Train itself? An okay exhibition. You can only put so much into Mk3 carriages while allowing for footfall through them. There are things to play with that will interest children, with historical artifacts, pictures and text to keep the grown ups interested. The best feature is the sand-pit, which Phil and I both enjoyed (big kids at heart!) The sand-pit is a little hard to explain. It has an interactive animation projected onto it, which changes the features of a railway landscape (hills, tunnels, rivers, track, viaducts...) as you change the topography of the sand. The animation changes in real time as you move the sand around. For example, if you pile it up and a hill and tunnel are built. Just be careful not to block tracks or derail the trains!

No more than half an hour is needed to walk through the exhibition. Here's a video of the day wot I made.

https://youtu.be/yk_o9FcQc3k?si=7WYuLw-MIujDNZtF

 

I have no idea how I managed to do it, but I did derail the train!