Dawlish New Footbridge
Part 1
Roger Salter
Part 1
Roger Salter
The new footbridge & lifts at Dawlish Station opened yesterday ,so after Storm Babet I visited today.
All looking very smart the low glass screen over the lines excellent for viewing. on trying the lifts they were out of service & the ticket office closed for one & a half hours at lunchtime causing confusion to the many passengers .The pebbles were very deep on the walkways & stairs with no sign of clearing up taking place.
All looking very smart the low glass screen over the lines excellent for viewing. on trying the lifts they were out of service & the ticket office closed for one & a half hours at lunchtime causing confusion to the many passengers .The pebbles were very deep on the walkways & stairs with no sign of clearing up taking place.
Copyright Roger Salter
The footbridge lifts and stairways. Copyright Roger Salter
The footbridge lifts and stairways. Copyright Roger Salter
Crossing the new bridge. Copyright Roger Salter
Looking down from the bridge. Copyright Roger Salter
Thank you very much Roger
Farewell old Friends
Rail Adventure to Yarmouth.
Craig Munday
Rail Adventure to Yarmouth.
Craig Munday
Hi Keith
An opportunity to cover the East end of the patch coincided with Rail Adventure power cars working 5Z25 & 5Z26 Laira to Chaddeston around an hour apart.
14th Laira depot 43480 43468 / 43484 43465 stand ready for departure.
The respective trains were then pictured near Ivybridge and South Brent on their poignant journey onward to Yarmouth eventually.
With thanks to GWR and Rail Adventure for allowing the pictures.
Kind regards, Craig Munday.
An opportunity to cover the East end of the patch coincided with Rail Adventure power cars working 5Z25 & 5Z26 Laira to Chaddeston around an hour apart.
14th Laira depot 43480 43468 / 43484 43465 stand ready for departure.
The respective trains were then pictured near Ivybridge and South Brent on their poignant journey onward to Yarmouth eventually.
With thanks to GWR and Rail Adventure for allowing the pictures.
Kind regards, Craig Munday.
Laira depot 43480 43468 43484 43465. 14th October 2023. Copyright Craig Munday
Laira depot 43480 43468 43484 43465. 14th October 2023. Copyright Craig Munday
Laira depot 43480 43468 43484 43465. 14th October 2023. Copyright Craig Munday
5Z26 South Brent 43484 43465. 14th October 2023. Copyright Craig Munday
5Z25 43480 43468 Filham bridge, Ivybridge. 14th October 2023. Copyright Craig Munday
Many thanks Craig for those excellent pictures of a moment in history - both sets looking a credit to Laira.
Sandown
Isle of Wight
Michael Forward
Isle of Wight
Michael Forward
Hello Roger, Here are two pictures I took at Sandown, Isle of Wight on 18 May1982. The first shows unit 485041 pulling away from the station stop with the 15.24 to Ryde. These ex London Underground units, built in 1931/1932 ,were first delivered to The Island on 1 Sept. 1966 and entered service on 20 March 1967.They were formed into 4 VEC and 3TIS units.I remember ,at higher speeds, they gave a lively ride. Thanks, Michael. Copyright Michael Forward
Roger, We now see the Island’s locomotive in the station at Sandown. Formerly classified as 05001, it here carries it’s Departmental number 97803. Happy days. Copyright Michael Forward
Many Thanks Michael
Long live the bus
Padstow
Howard Sprenger
& Peter Murnaghan
Padstow
Howard Sprenger
& Peter Murnaghan
Padstow 31st July 1979 WN 377 (CVF 842) Copyright Howard Sprenger.
A request as to where 377 might be nowadays brought a rapid reponse from Howard Srenger and from Peter Murnaghan.
Howard writes - Thanks for putting the Padstow pictures up. You ask about the fate of the bus and the good news is that it appears to have survived. Its full history is recorded here, including its time at Padstow:
http://www.bristolsu.co.uk/l/operatordetails/easterncounties/cvf842.htm
Best regards, Howard.
http://www.bristolsu.co.uk/l/operatordetails/easterncounties/cvf842.htm
Best regards, Howard.
Morning Keith, I am happy to report that the old Bristol bus that lingered for many years at Padstow station in use as a crew facility still exists. The excellent Bristolsu.co.uk website shows that CVF 842 was preserved in 1986 and after passing through several different owners still exists today. Good news for a change. Best wishes Peter.
Many thanks to both Howard and Peter, that excellent website shows that that bus went into service weeks before I was born!!
CDA's for preservation.
Neil Phillips
Neil Phillips
It has been reported that the joint attempt by the National Wagon Preservation Group and the Bodmin & Wenford Railway to preserve a short rake of CDA china clay wagons has run into difficulties as the rising value of scrap metal meant they were outbid by a local scrap merchant.
This does not mean the end of the proposal as the 38 final operational wagons are still extant in St Blazey Yard so efforts will continue; however scrapping of the 40 long-stored wagons has proceeded apace, and unfortunately last week time ran out for first-built 375000 and 375001, which were stated by the NWPG to be the subjects of special bids by the Group. My photos were taken on Wednesday 4th October - 375000's hopper body was reportedly cut free from its chassis the following day and lifted off the day after. 375001 has since followed and a visit on Monday 16th October revealed its body sitting on the ground, awaiting collection with around seven others.
The loss of 375000 is unfortunate - as posted previously I was very lucky to photograph it brand new in St Blazey Yard 36 years ago (with impeccable timing, this being my first visit in ten years) and having thus developed a peculiar affection for this lump of metal I kept an eye open for it whenever I was able to see clay trains in Cornwall. Having moved back to Par on retirement in January 2020 and being aware of the large number of stored CDAs in St Blazey Yard I went in search of 375000 in March, more in hope than expectation – it was the third one I looked at! I have been monitoring its situation ever since, not always easy due to vegetation growth but it had a knack of finding itself parked in locations viewable from St Blazey Road which persisted until the very end. At one point about 18 months ago it and its long-term partner 375009 were extracted and repositioned between the wagon repair shop and turntable – at the time I hoped this indicated that its significance had been realised and its long-term future assured in one form or another (the first 13-ton ‘clayhood’ wagon B743000 was saved and I believe is still at the Wheal Martin China Clay Museum, although preserving a much larger CDA on site there may never have been a realistic proposition); however after a while the two wagons rejoined their stored mates in the main yard, and on reflection the purpose may have been to remove parts (canopy winding gear/air brake distributor/air cylinder) to keep others running - I didn’t notice this stripping until recently. Sadly this would have made the first-built CDA’s preservation more difficult, but still not impossible. However it certainly is impossible now.
I wish the NWPG and BWR the best of luck in their joint effort to save a few of these wagons for posterity, to join the ‘clayhoods’ already on the railway, and hope that it is acceptable to indulge in a little posterity of my own by reposting these two images representing first and last looks at the first-built CDA wagon. A lot of Cornish china clay was shifted by this fleet over three and a half decades!
Best regards,
Neil Phillips
This does not mean the end of the proposal as the 38 final operational wagons are still extant in St Blazey Yard so efforts will continue; however scrapping of the 40 long-stored wagons has proceeded apace, and unfortunately last week time ran out for first-built 375000 and 375001, which were stated by the NWPG to be the subjects of special bids by the Group. My photos were taken on Wednesday 4th October - 375000's hopper body was reportedly cut free from its chassis the following day and lifted off the day after. 375001 has since followed and a visit on Monday 16th October revealed its body sitting on the ground, awaiting collection with around seven others.
The loss of 375000 is unfortunate - as posted previously I was very lucky to photograph it brand new in St Blazey Yard 36 years ago (with impeccable timing, this being my first visit in ten years) and having thus developed a peculiar affection for this lump of metal I kept an eye open for it whenever I was able to see clay trains in Cornwall. Having moved back to Par on retirement in January 2020 and being aware of the large number of stored CDAs in St Blazey Yard I went in search of 375000 in March, more in hope than expectation – it was the third one I looked at! I have been monitoring its situation ever since, not always easy due to vegetation growth but it had a knack of finding itself parked in locations viewable from St Blazey Road which persisted until the very end. At one point about 18 months ago it and its long-term partner 375009 were extracted and repositioned between the wagon repair shop and turntable – at the time I hoped this indicated that its significance had been realised and its long-term future assured in one form or another (the first 13-ton ‘clayhood’ wagon B743000 was saved and I believe is still at the Wheal Martin China Clay Museum, although preserving a much larger CDA on site there may never have been a realistic proposition); however after a while the two wagons rejoined their stored mates in the main yard, and on reflection the purpose may have been to remove parts (canopy winding gear/air brake distributor/air cylinder) to keep others running - I didn’t notice this stripping until recently. Sadly this would have made the first-built CDA’s preservation more difficult, but still not impossible. However it certainly is impossible now.
I wish the NWPG and BWR the best of luck in their joint effort to save a few of these wagons for posterity, to join the ‘clayhoods’ already on the railway, and hope that it is acceptable to indulge in a little posterity of my own by reposting these two images representing first and last looks at the first-built CDA wagon. A lot of Cornish china clay was shifted by this fleet over three and a half decades!
Best regards,
Neil Phillips
1 - First-built CDA St Blazey 14th September 1987. Copyright Neil Phillips
2 - First-built CDA 375000 St Blazey, sadly its last day intact 4th October 2023. Copyright Neil Phillips
Many thanks Neil - we join you in wishing the NWPG and BWR the very best of luck in their joint efforts to save a few of these wagons.
Exeter Happenings
Paul Barlow
Paul Barlow
43301 43357 43303 43321 Exeter Riverside Sunday 15 October 2023
43321 43303 43357 43301 1910 Laira to Exeter Riverside running around an hour late passes Exeter13 October 2023 Copyright Paul Barlow.
43321 43303 43357 43301 1910 Laira to Exeter Riverside running around one hour late passes Exeter 13 October 2023. Copyright Paul Barlow.
Many thanks indeed Paul.