Items added on the 1st October 2016 Those added most recently come first

Beware - Last Royal Duchy Railtour
Karl Hewlett

​Dear Keith.  Beware that Sundays final 'Royal Duchy' tour will be diesel hauled by a WCRC diesel throughout (likely to be a class 47/57), due to a operational incident with 46233 at the 'Midland Railway Centre', where the loco currently resides.
Regards
Karl (Now with an operational laptop!)  Thanks Karl

Memories at Bodmin
with the 50th Anniversary of the Closure of the North Cornwall Line
Roger Winnen

Remembering Malcolm Gordon a volunteer on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway

161001a Malcolm Gordon was a volunteer on the Bodmin & Wenford railway since its early days. Sadly a few weeks ago he passed away after a long illness. He was also a much respected member of St Austell AFC. This model of 4612 was carried on his coffin at yesterdays funeral service.

161001b The notice says it all! Ride the withered arm 50 years after closure.

There are a few pictures of the last day railtour of the North Cornwall Line in our features section.

161001c 30120 Backs onto the 13.00 service from Bodmin Parkway to Bodmin General. Copyright Roger Winnen

161001d In atmospheric lighting conditions 30120 prepares to run around its train. Copyright Roger Winnen

161001e I was invited aboard the T9 for a return working to Boscarne Junction. Viewed through the cab windows we run around our train. Copyright Roger Winnen

161001f This is the 14.10 service from Boscarne nearing Bodmin General where we came to grief after a number of wheel slips on the damp rails together with dragging brakes. Copyright Roger Winnen

161001g Eventually a Class 08 came to our rescue after a series of shunt moves as this engine was at the back of the queue (Rather like a Jethro tail) Copyright Roger Winnen

161001h This was the last train of the day to Boscarne Junction. I was the only passenger onboard. Copyright Roger Winnen

161001i The beautiful kept signal box at Bodmin General Station. Copyright Roger Winnen

The late running Night Riviera.
By Mick House. 

Looking on Real time Trains this morning I noticed that the Night Riviera headed by 57604 Pendennis Castle was running 13 minuets late from Liskeard and by the time it had arrived at Truro it was 50 minuets late.
When the train passed me on Apex Bridge I noticed that one of the doors on a sleeper coach at the rear of the train had bright yellow tape on it suggesting an incident on route had occurred, unfortunately the train had passed before I could photograph it, I did get a shot of her heading towards me.
She finally arrived at Penzance 54 minutes late at 08.46, so if anybody is about to get a photo of the door and or more details of the incident, we will add to the website.
By Mick House.     

57604 Pendennis Castle heading towards Apex Bridge. Photo Mick House.

Moorswater Viaduct
John Cornelius

Lucky John - in the cab of D1024 Western Huntsman heading an up train. Copyright.

Special coach
​- special interest
Mike Morant / Neil Phillips

Collett 5700 class pannier tank no. 9647 has just left Chard Central with a train bound for Chard Junction on 30/6/62. A note on the slide mount states that carriage is a converted slip coach. Chard Central would close to passenger trafic in the following September.
[Mike Morant collection]

​The single coach train in Mike Morant’s colour photo of 57xx pannier tank 9642 on the last day of the Taunton to Chard line shows a Hawksworth Brake Composite (BCK) vehicle in chocolate & cream livery in 1962 (a deliberate choice for the last day’s service?) As far as I’ve been able to find out there were only five Hawksworth vehicles in this livery at that time, all BCKs (ignoring the SK-based Dynamometer Car DW150192). Actually that classification is not entirely correct – W7372/7W were ‘proper’ BCKs but the other three – W7374/5/6W – were former slip coaches converted from this type in the 1950s but made redundant in 1960 when slip workings ceased. For this purpose they lost their corridor connections (so became BCs?) and were equipped with guard’s slip compartments at both ends, which changed the window arrangement at the passenger end. For this reason I’m certain the vehicle behind 4663 is one of the three former slip coaches which were demoted to branch line duties. These originally carried BR coaching stock roundels but this seems to have gone absent on this one since its relegation, which seems a bit mean!
 
The two ‘proper’ chocolate & cream BCKs were remarkable vehicles, one with a Cornish connection. They were outshopped by Swindon in 1948 in full GWR livery and used as brake and support coaches for the Royal Train, with the occasional run to special events such as the Newbury Races, being kept under cover at Old Oak Common when not in use. In 1957 they were fully repainted into the similar but simpler BR(WR) chocolate & cream livery (without BR roundels in this case) and continued in such use until eventually released to normal traffic in the early-mid 1960s, one further prestige duty being brake vehicles for the South Wales Pullman substitute set. They were withdrawn in late 1965 without ever carrying carmine & cream or maroon liveries like the rest of the Hawksworth coach fleet. Both went into preservation, 7372 ending up with GWR saddle tank 1363 at Bodmin General for many years (at least the GWS didn’t have to repaint it!) – both are still together at Didcot, while 7377 is at Buckfastleigh.
 
For b&w photos of the last slip coach working with W7374W and a great colour shot of the two ex-Royal BCKs together in normal service at Newport in 1965 visit this interesting website: http://www.robertdarlaston.co.uk and scroll down the ‘Railways 50years ago’ and ‘Railways5’ sections respectively.
 
Best regards,
Neil Phillips
 
(PS Not bad for a diesel enthusiast, eh?! I happen to have latched onto this subject at the beginning of this year when I saw a b&w photo of one of the ex-Royal vehicles leading the South Wales Pullman at Cardiff in 1965 and couldn’t figure out what two-tone livery it could have been in as late as 1965. Internet searches proved surprising…..I had no idea 1363’s companion at Bodmin General was so ‘well-connected’!!)
Well done Neil -many thanks and of course many thanks to Mike for the picture from his large collection.