A FUNDRAISING charity bookstall has helped to pay for more than £150,000 of projects on the West Somerset Railway in the last 14 years.

New chimneys, fencing and a station canopy are just some of the projects which have been funded by the Readers' Halt bookstall on Minehead railway station.

The stall was the brainchild of the late David Perry back in 1998 when he was the secretary of the Friends of Minehead Station.

A team of volunteers put the stall together from a flat-pack kit but immediately feared they might have bitten off more than they could chew.

Some were worried they would not be able to collect enough books and magazines to keep the halt stocked, while others feared it would take years of sales to pay for the stall itself, let alone any railway-related projects.

But they need not have worried as the stall covered its own costs within six months and on more than one occasion extra storage space has had to be found to cope with the level of book and magazine donations.

Martyn Snell, the current chairman of the Friends, said: "When the Friends of Minehead Station began it was hoped that it would be able to fund some small items of expenditure such as paint and brushes to assist with routine maintenance of the station.

"As it transpired, thanks to donations in a collecting box and the remarkable flow of donated items that that have enabled the dedicated team to keep sales from the Readers' Halt rolling along, we have far exceed the wildest dreams of Dave Perry and the others who got the Friends off the ground over a decade ago."

To date, the sale of books and magazines, together with jigsaws and pictures, has paid for a £500 platform resurfacing, a £5,000 toilet refurbishment, £20,000 towards the cost of a new station canopy and repairs, £15,000 for new chimneys, £2,000 for a new workshop, £18,000 for a canopy refurbishment, £5,000 to replace canopy lights, £5,000 for a toilet modesty screen and £30,000 to cover new front fencing pending planning permission.

In addition, £3,000 went towards replacing an engine shed chimney, £10,000 to paint the engine shed, £15,000 for a new entrance gate, £11,500 for a new Friends workshop, plus a further £10,00 set aside for new fencing alongside the car park.

Incredibly, the figures do not include all the money spent on paint and wood, floral displays and smaller items, such as new locks, all of which are needed to keep the station operating all year round.

"There is still much more to do and we hope that the donations of goods and personal time will continue for many years to come," Mr Snell said.

Originally, the stall was run by Frances Bristow and Kathy Knott, while in more recent years it has been run by a team of volunteers overseen by Wendy and Jeff Cousins.

And while it is no surprise that transport and railway books prove popular, by far the best earners for the bookstall are paperback fiction and magazines snapped up by holidaymakers to read in their rented accommodation.

"Quite a large number of customers are regulars and requests for specific magazines and books have been known to come in from as far afield as Hong Kong!" Mr Snell said.

Photo: Steve Guscott