NORTH DORSET RAILWAY

Registered charity 1181851 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE SHILLINGSTONE RAILWAY PROJECT

Our volunteers are restoring Shillingstone Station on the old Somerset and Dorset Railway, with a section of the original line, to how it was in the 1950s/60s. Work includes the renovation of the station buildings, platforms and railway infrastructure, plus the restoration of heritage rolling stock. We have a small museum, shop and cafe, for the benefit of local residents, visitors and volunteers.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE CIO ARE: TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC THE SECTION OF THE RAILWAY FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE SOMERSET AND DORSET JOINT RAILWAY RUNNING BETWEEN BLANDFORD FORUM IN DORSET AND TEMPLECOMBE IN SOMERSET (“THE RAILWAY”) AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE, ROLLING STOCK AND ASSOCIATED BUILDINGS IN PARTICULAR BY: 3.1 CARRYING OUT WORK TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE THE RAILWAY; 3.2 CARRYING OUT WORK TO ADVANCE TECHNICAL, HISTORICAL AND LOCAL EDUCATION ABOUT THE RAILWAY BY, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MUSEUM OF STEAM AND OTHER RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES, ROLLING STOCK, EQUIPMENT AND RELATED ARTEFACTS AND BY CONSERVING BUILDINGS AND OTHER HISTORIC FEATURES; 3.3 OPERATING A HERITAGE RAILWAY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC; AND 3.4 PROVIDING ACCESSIBLE FACILITIES FOR TRAINING, TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE FOR THOSE ENGAGED IN THE OPERATION OF THE HERITAGE RAILWAY AND RAILWAYS ELSEWHERE.

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Recreation · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total income increased to £181,250 from £136,247 in the prior year, resulting in a net surplus of £77,711. Total funds grew to £549,608, with unrestricted reserves significantly exceeding the stated policy target of £20,000. The charity reports no material uncertainties regarding its ability to continue as a going concern.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

Property (HM Land Registry)

5 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (3 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (16/12/2020) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Gavin Collinschair
• ALAN VICTOR WHIFFEN · trustee of 1 other charity
• Colin Fisher
• Diana West · trustee of 1 other charity
• Graham Cooke
• Hilary Daniels
• Martin Trott
• Philip Jacques
• Will Appelbee

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Dorset

Income and spending

Common questions

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST.

• SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST income £666k
• THE SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY TRUST LTD. income £319k
• Wensleydale Railway Trust income £378k
• WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST LTD income £88k
• WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY ASSOCIATION income £1.4m
• BODMIN RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST income £105k

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.