TWO West Somerset Railway (WSR) supporters will be raising funds for steam train restoration work when they they run in April’s London Marathon.

Reece Bartle-Coates will be taking part in his first marathon, while Joe Rogers is an experienced distance runner and the first to run the 20 miles of the WSR line from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead, calling at all 10 stations en route.

Mr Rogers is also the author of a several books, including ‘Railway Enthusiasm in 21st Century Britain’, published by Amberley Publishing in 2024.

Money raised by the pair will help with the aim of the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) to have BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No 80064 back in service by 2028.

Its boiler was recently sent from Williton to Bury for work to be carried out by experts at Riley and Son.

The locomotive has been under restoration since being gifted to the WSRA by the 80064 Locomotive Group.

WSRA chairman Edward Martin said: “The association is very grateful to Joe and Reece for their commitment to fund-raising for the restoration of 80064 and we hope that that each mile they cover will be generously supported.

“We must also thank local businesses that supported our pre-Christmas raffle to raise funds for the same purpose.

“We were hoping to raise a four-figure sum and were delighted it realised £1,922.”

Mr Rogers has been seeing a spinal specialist and a physiotherapist for chronic back pain following injuries suffered in both 2024 and 2023 but still expects to finish the marathon, even if he has to walk part of it.

Mr Bartle-Coates, who completed the recent Bath Two Tunnels half-marathon, hopes to reach £2,000 toward the engine restoration.

Both Mr Rogers and Mr Bartle-Coates have GoFundMe pages for donations, while cheques in multiples of £26.38 can also be sent to the WSRA.