Plashford Bridge
Chris Harvey
Peter Griffiths
Noting that one of your correspondents regularly travels from Cornwall to Bristol for football reasons, made me realise that my own football travelling has now exceeded 35 years.
Over the years and different homes, my alternate weekends have involved a ‘Pilgrimage’ departing from Kemble, Chippenham and now Cam & Dursley and heading in a south westerly direction.
Anyway, back to railways…
On the return journey today, passengers on the 2E46 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester were spoilt with, unusually, a double Class 158.
Despite being 30+ years old, I find the Class 158’s vastly superior to the austere and noisy Class 165 & 166’s that normally operate this route.
A couple of snatched photos are attached, that may possibly be of interest.
Kind regards, Peter Griffiths.
Barnstaple
Tony Hill
I understand from Ian Dinmore and Colin Burges that these two coaches owned by the late Sir William McAlpine were in use on a private tour in May 1982 of the WestCountry by Sir William, which included a night in Barnstaple.
These coaches were preserved at the Fawley Hill Railway established over many years by Sir William.
All the best, Tony Hill.
David Hunt
With the help of the Internet it is now possible to find the ZULU trains (1Zxx and 2Zxx) running on any day of the week and at any location. If you look at the Railtour Sites it is still possible to find 4 or 5 special trains on any one day but this is over the whole of the country and the number of trains which could run is very much governed by the amount of coaching stock in private hands.
Referring back to my records in 1977 the situation was very different. All of the stock yards would have an allocation of coaches which were branded on the coach ends with A (BSK-A for example) which indicated that the coach was rostered up to 7 days a week, BSK-B up to 5 days a week and BSK-C or plain BSK which had no rostered work. Each coaching stock yard had sufficient spare coaches to make up a train and some yards could provide multiple sets.
In those days the railway catered for Reliefs, Charters, Merrymakers, Mystex and Footex Trains and probably more which I have now forgot about. The West of England was one of the favourite destinations for those trains. In those days it was not the absence of the trains but the ability to find what to expect.
I was fortunate enough to get the majority of this information and have selected 2 dates as examples
.
Monday 29 August, 1977
1Z34 16.25 Bristol Temple Meads to Newquay Load 8 coaches – Return 1Z34 17.35 Newquay to Bristol Temple Meads (50005)
1Z48 06.30 Bristol Parkway to Newquay Load 11 Coaches – Return 1Z48 18.16 Newquay to Bristol Parkway
1Z14 07.27 Great Malvern to Paignton Load 10 Coaches (50023) – Return 1Z14 18.55 Paignton to Great Malvern
2Z41 10.20 Newton Abbot to Exeter St Davids Load 7 Coaches (46002) – Return 2Z42 11.45 Exeter St Davids to Paignton
1Z70 07.25 Alfreton to Paignton Load 11 Coaches – Return 1Z70 18.05 Paignton to Alfreton (47535)
1Z08 10.05 Penzance to Cardiff Central Load 10 Coaches
1Z15 12.10 Penzance to Paddington Load 8 Coaches (47254)
1Z35 16.50 Paddington to Plymouth Load 10 Coaches (47251)
1Z45 16.41 Truro to Paddington Relief Load 12 Coaches (47237)
1Z15 15.45 Paignton to Paddington Load 8 Coaches (47031)
5Z03 09.00 Laira to Barnstaple Booked Load 12 Coaches BUT ran with Load 9 Coaches (25223)
1Z03 12.45 Barnstaple to Meeth Load 9 Coaches (25223?) – Return 1Z03 14.10 Meeth to Barnstaple (25223?)
5Z03 16.24 Barnstaple to Newton Abbot Load 9 Coaches (25223 PLUS 25052 DEAD IN TOW)
2Z64 17.25 Paignton to Exeter St Davids (50025)
2Z72 18.00 Paignton to Swindon Load 10 Coaches (47028)
Sunday 24 July 1977
1Z55 07.40 Gloucester to Paignton Load 12 Coaches (45025) – Return 1Z55 17.35 Paignton to Gloucester
1Z15 07.20 Bargoed to Paignton Load 11 Coaches (47251) – Return 20.20 Paignton to RHYMNEY
1Z35 08.00 Hereford to Paignton Load 10 Coaches (46053) - Return 1Z35 18.10 Paignton to Hereford
1Z85 07.05 Wolverhampton to Paignton Load 11 Coaches (46029) – Return 17.05 Paignton to Wolverhampton
1 Z86 17.25 Paignton to Bicester Load 10 Coaches
1Z65 18.55 Paignton to Paddington Load 10 Coaches
With such an array it was never possible to cover each individual working and the number of coaches were those advertised to run and the locomotive numbers in brackets were the one which was actually identified at Dawlish Warren or Exeter.
Although not included in this list there were numerous trains which ran to and from Teignmouth and even a Clacton-on-Sea to Starcross which when I found out it was coming so was able to warn the residents of this ‘sleepy’ little village what to expect.
David Hunt
St Ives branch blocked
Dennis Clarke