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Heritage · Reg 1045547

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust

54 /100

Clarity score

Poor

Charity accounts, evidence & financial rating

54/100 Clarity Score · 2 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Register checked 4 October 2026 · latest accounts 2025

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Quick answer

Is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust a good charity?

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust scores 54/100 (2 stars, Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£666k total income, 0% cause spend, latest year). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Income

£666k

Accounts 2025-03-31

Spending

£588k

Accounts 2025-03-31

Charitable activities

0%

latest year · share of spending

Accounts filing

Late

Check register

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Bath · BA15 1UY Reg 1045547 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust do?

Restoration of part of the Somerset & Dorset Railway, based on Midsomer Norton Station, as a working heritage railway and museum.

Activities reported by the charity on the official register · extract . This is separate from the accounts data used for its rating.

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust hasn't added a description directly to CharityCompare yet. Work here? Add it free →

How much does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust raise and spend?

Accounts period 2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 · Source: Charity Commission filings

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust revenue and expenses for 2025
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £666k —
Total expenditure £588k —
Charitable activities £0 0%
Fundraising £0 0%
Reported governance £0 0%

Governance can already be allocated within other expenditure categories. It is not a separate measure of all administration costs; do not add these rows without checking the accounts notes.

What changed in Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust’s latest accounts?

Reported totals for 2025 compared with 2024. Changes can reflect the accounting period, restricted grants or restructuring as well as the charity’s work.

Reported income changes from £127k to £666k. We do not show a growth percentage across this large discontinuity: check whether the two accounts cover comparable activities and periods. Read the evidence and context.

These are annual figures. The Clarity Score may use averages across several disclosed years. Source: official accounts.

0%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £588k spent

  • Remaining expenditure100%

From the annual return

What does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust pay its staff, and where does its money come from?

Answers Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust gave in its annual return to the Charity Commission for the year ending 31 March 2025, plus its register entry. These are the charity's own disclosures, not part of the Clarity Score.

Where does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's money come from?

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust reported £666k total income for the year ending 31 March 2025. The largest sources were donations and legacies £600k (90%), other income £28k (4%), charitable activities £25k (4%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £50k.

  • Donations and legacies £600k · 90%
  • Other income £28k · 4%
  • Charitable activities (fees and contracts) £25k · 4%
  • Investments £13k · 2%

Cash at year end: £619k · unrestricted funds: £1.2m · restricted funds: £226k. Restricted funds can only be spent on purposes set by the donor.

Can I claim Gift Aid, and are the trustees paid?

The register records Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration. Work out your Gift Aid

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's annual return for the year ending 31 March 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

Registration details

Registered as a charity
Company number
03038464 (Companies House)
Also known as
Midsomer Norton Station Project
Previous names on the register
Somerset and Dorset Railway Trackbed Trust
Where it says it operates
Bath and North East Somerset · Somerset

Source: Charity Commission register and annual return data, Open Government Licence v3.0. A blank answer in the return is shown as not reported, never as “no”.

How have Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's finances changed over five years?

Income rose 524% from £107k in 2021 to £666k in 2025; spending was £588k in 2025.

£0 £200k £400k £600k £800k 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Income 2021: £107k Spending 2021: £81k Income 2022: £114k Spending 2022: £75k Income 2023: £106k Spending 2023: £86k Income 2024: £127k Spending 2024: £51k Income 2025: £666k Spending 2025: £588k Cause spend 2025: £0
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend
Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust income and spending by accounts year
Year Income Spending Charitable activities
2025 £666k £588k £0
2024 £127k £51k Not disclosed
2023 £106k £86k Not disclosed
2022 £114k £75k Not disclosed
2021 £107k £81k Not disclosed

Cause spend is plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission filings

Financial context

How do its finances compare with similar charities?

Compare Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust with 28 other heritage charities in our detailed dataset: the same regulator, £500k–£1m income band and accounts ending in 2025. Each period covers 50–54 weeks. These are reference points, not targets or a ranking of impact.

Swipe across the table to see the peer median and coverage.

Latest annual figures, accounts ending 2025-03-31. Peer medians exclude this charity; the median is the middle value.
MeasureThis charityPeer medianPeer coverage
Annual income £666k £723k 28 of 28
Annual spending £588k £673k 28 of 28
Charitable activities share 0.0% 94.9% 27 of 28

The annual spending share can differ from the multi-year average shown elsewhere. Missing disclosures are excluded, never counted as zero. We show a median only with at least ten peer disclosures. Different year-end months, restricted funding and delivery models can still limit comparisons.

How peers are selected Check this charity’s source accounts Choose between similar charities

How does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust compare?

The share of each group scoring at or below Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, including tied scores. A group matched on cause, income band and accounts year appears when at least ten records qualify. Broader groups below may mix reporting periods and operating models. Groups include this charity; percentiles measure our financial rating, not impact.

Same cause, income band and accounts year (2025) 3rdpercentile

Scores at or above 3% of 29 charities with the same primary cause, income band and latest accounts year · 54/100 vs 83 peer average.

Income band (£500k–£1m) 6thpercentile

Scores at or above 6% of 2,127 charities in its income band · 54/100 vs 78 peer average.

Heritage charities 15thpercentile

Scores at or above 15% of 150 charities in this cause · 54/100 vs 73 peer average.

How does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust compare, and where else can you look?

Compare Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust with others More heritage charities How we score charities

Where Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

Similar heritage charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

Evidence and interpretation

What the evidence says about Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust

In 2025, reported income was £665,804 and expenditure was £588,366. Income exceeded expenditure by £77,438. This annual balance is not the charity’s available cash or unrestricted reserves.

More financial context

Reported income changes sharply between 2024 and 2025. A numerical jump alone does not establish growth, decline or a restructuring. Read both sets of accounts to establish whether their periods and reporting boundaries are comparable.

Calculated from our dated accounts dataset, refreshed 2026-09-06. This is not an audit or a manual review of every filing. Original register and accounts · How calculations work.

Find the right support

Who it supports and how to access its work

Reported beneficiaries: Children/young People; Elderly/old People; People With Disabilities; Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies; Other Defined Groups; The General Public/mankind.

How it works: Provides Human Resources; Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space; Provides Services.

Use the official contact details to check eligibility, referrals, waiting lists and current service coverage. Broad register classifications and a contact address do not confirm that a particular service is available to you.

Explore source-checked support routes

Classifications supplied to the register; extract 2026-10-04. Register contact and activity details · Website listed for this charity

Look beyond the score

Results and impact evidence

We have not added a source-checked programme outcome for this charity. That is a gap in this profile, not evidence that the charity has no impact. Its annual report may contain results that have not been assessed here.

Reported grants to institutions: £0 (2025-03-31). This is spending reported in the annual return, not a measure of beneficiary outcomes or an open grant opportunity. It may already be included in charitable expenditure. Check the source accounts.

What these results can tell you

Counts of services delivered describe activity. They do not by themselves establish lasting change, what would have happened without the programme, or cost-effectiveness. Results with different definitions, populations or years should not be ranked against each other.

How to judge charity impact evidence

What is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's Beacon report?

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

75/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

No recorded lateness in available history = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more or unknown status = 0 pts. Missing data is not proof of late filing.

 33% 5/15 pts
Trustee oversight

Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three).

 100% 9 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies

Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return.

 100% 10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

13/100

Financial Health metrics for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of expenditure)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years = 0 pts. Reserves are not necessarily cash; needs vary by operating model.

 0% 0 months · 0/15 pts
Income stability / growth

+20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between.

 0% Comparability review needed · 0/10 pts
Liabilities to assets

0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt.

 80% 6% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

50/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below.

 0% 0% · 0/10 pts (Latest year)
Fundraising efficiency

≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income).

 100% 0p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (Latest year, disclosed years)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100

Community Support metrics for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between.

 100% 50 volunteers / 0 staff · 10/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What trust indicators does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

  • Accounts filed on time

    Filing status: late

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    9 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    0 employees · 50 volunteers

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores. Registration records a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice; it does not certify every fundraising activity.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 1045547

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • John Ronald Baxter
  • Philip Howard Jones since 2014
  • Stephen Lacey Chair · since 2016
  • Barrie Papworth since 2018
  • Roger Burfitt since 2018
  • Brian Litherland since 2018
  • Malcolm Barton since 2020
  • Joseph Cosgrave since 2020
  • Christopher Ruddick since 2022

How reliable is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2025
Filing date
Data refreshed

Medium confidence — some data missing or late

Scores reflect the accounts in our dated data extract. The live register may contain newer filings. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Check the current register entry · Report a data correction

Financial source extract: 2026-09-06. Organisation identifier: 1045547. Method version: 1.1. View method changes.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .

Your donation decision

What should you check before donating to Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust?

  1. 1. Match the name and charity number

    Check 1045547 on the official register. A real charity number alone does not prove that a fundraiser or appeal is authentic.

    Verify the registration →

  2. 2. Read the accounts in context

    Our latest accounts data covers 2025. Compare the accounts period, spending and reserves. An administration cost ratio alone cannot tell you how effective a charity is.

    Explore the financial evidence →

  3. 3. Look for evidence of results

    Read the trustees’ annual report for activities, outcomes and limitations. The Clarity Score measures public reporting; it does not establish the impact of a donation.

    How to read charity accounts →

  4. 4. Compare charities serving your cause

    Compare up to four charities, check the dates behind their figures, and decide which work you want to support. Complete your donation through a verified charity channel.

    Start a comparison with Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust →
How we score charities +

The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

Full methodology →

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

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How do you add Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's rating to your site?

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What red flags does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust have?

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust a good charity? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust scores 54 out of 100 (2 stars — Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 0% of its spending goes to charitable activities (latest year) and its accounts are late. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust a legitimate charity? +

The register data used for this profile lists Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust as a registered charity (charity number 1045547). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1045547&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

What is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's charity number? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's charity number is 1045547. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's charity rating? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust scores 54 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars — Poor). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (one red flag on this profile: late accounts filing). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 0% of Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's total spending went to charitable activities. That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's overheads? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 0% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 0% of expenditure (2025); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. The register does not show individual salaries; senior pay is disclosed in the trustees' annual report and accounts.

How much income does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust receive? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust reported £666k total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: check comparability.

Are Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: late (last filing 2026-01-09). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust based? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's registered contact address is in Bath (BA15 1UY). It tells the regulator it operates in Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset, with a focus on heritage.

Where does Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's money come from? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust reported £666k total income for the year ending 31 March 2025. The largest sources were donations and legacies £600k (90%), other income £28k (4%), charitable activities £25k (4%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £50k.

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust? +

The register records Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Are Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's trustees paid? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's annual return for the year ending 31 March 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

What was Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust previously called? +

The register lists this previous name for Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust: Somerset and Dorset Railway Trackbed Trust.

When was Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust registered as a charity? +

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust was entered on the register on 5 April 1995. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 03038464).

How does CharityCompare score Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? +

This profile was last updated on 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.