Contrast on the Railway Network
Roger Winnen
Roger Winnen
241017a Tamping Machines at Par today. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017b New livery for Cross Country sets at Plymouth. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017c The livery stands out at Plymouth. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017d The livery in close up. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017e Verity at Plymouth. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017f Legends of The Great Western. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017g The French Class 66 hauls the RHTT at Par. Copyright Roger Winnen
241017h Contrast at Par this evening. Copyright Roger Winnen
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 11
Cornish Mainline Stations Closed in October 1964 (1)
Michael L. Roach
There are currently 14 railway stations in the 75 miles between Saltash and Penzance; an average of 5¾ miles between each pair. The longest gap is St. Austell to Truro 14 miles; and the shortest Hayle to St. Erth just 1½ miles. None of the 14 stations deals with anything other than passengers (unless you know differently); no freight, mail, milk, newspapers or parcels traffic as there once was.
There were once many more stations on the mainline and in this article I will be looking at the last ones to close to passengers which is an amazing 60 years ago this month. So, no change in 60 years, and the possible re-opening of Carn Brea in the 1990s never happened. On and from 5 October 1964 the following stations closed to passengers:- Doublebois, Grampound Road, Chacewater, Scorrier, Gwinear Road and Marazion.
Looking a bit wider which were the last passenger stations to close, anywhere in Cornwall – I think it was the stations between Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) and Padstow, including Bodmin General and Bodmin North on and from 30 January 1967. Which were the first ones to close – Penponds (in 1852) and Angarrack second station (in 1853) both on the Hayle Railway. Further east the temporary station at Respryn closed in 1859 just 8 weeks after opening while the building of Bodmin Road Station was being completed. The last station to open (excluding heritage railways) was I think Boscarne Junction in 1964. But what was the last station to open anywhere in Cornwall that is still open to passengers ? I think it was Quintrell Downs Platform opened by the Great Western Railway on 2 October 1911 and now serving 3,000 passengers per annum.
There are at least two villages in Cornwall that have a railway adjacent or a short distance away that have never had a railway station provided; but they still could. They are Ponsanooth close to the Falmouth Branch and Coombe-by-St. Stephens beside the mainline between St. Austell and Truro. Ponsanooth in particular is a sizeable village surely deserving of an unstaffed halt, although I can see the difficulty of providing access to one as the single line comes off Ponsanooth Viaduct, crossing a minor road, and entering quite a deep cutting. However if the access was off the A393 Reduth to Falmouth road with a large car park it could become a park-and-ride station for both Truro and Falmouth. With two trains per hour in each direction for most of the day the Falmouth Branch has an excellent train service.
In addition to the current 14 stations and the 6 closed in October 1964 there were a further 9 which closed earlier. So with 6 plus 9 adding to 15 there are more closed stations on the main line in Cornwall than stations still open. With closure of the six stations imminent I decided to visit most of the doomed stations on Tuesday 8 September 1964 a month before closure. I had a West of England Rail-Rover so it was easy to hop between stations and backtrack as necessary; including walking from Marazion to Penzance and from Chacewater to Scorrier. Even so I did not manage to visit Doublebois that day. I left Plymouth at 09.15 and got back to Plymouth about 22.40 My last train was the 19.55 off Penzance, from St. Erth after visiting St. Ives. The 12.45 off Penzance was an 800-class Warship, but apart from that one trip to Gwinear Road every one of the other 8 trains was a 3-car dmu. Dieselisation of the main line had been completed a year or two earlier. In this first part I visit Marazion and Gwinear Road.
There were once many more stations on the mainline and in this article I will be looking at the last ones to close to passengers which is an amazing 60 years ago this month. So, no change in 60 years, and the possible re-opening of Carn Brea in the 1990s never happened. On and from 5 October 1964 the following stations closed to passengers:- Doublebois, Grampound Road, Chacewater, Scorrier, Gwinear Road and Marazion.
Looking a bit wider which were the last passenger stations to close, anywhere in Cornwall – I think it was the stations between Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) and Padstow, including Bodmin General and Bodmin North on and from 30 January 1967. Which were the first ones to close – Penponds (in 1852) and Angarrack second station (in 1853) both on the Hayle Railway. Further east the temporary station at Respryn closed in 1859 just 8 weeks after opening while the building of Bodmin Road Station was being completed. The last station to open (excluding heritage railways) was I think Boscarne Junction in 1964. But what was the last station to open anywhere in Cornwall that is still open to passengers ? I think it was Quintrell Downs Platform opened by the Great Western Railway on 2 October 1911 and now serving 3,000 passengers per annum.
There are at least two villages in Cornwall that have a railway adjacent or a short distance away that have never had a railway station provided; but they still could. They are Ponsanooth close to the Falmouth Branch and Coombe-by-St. Stephens beside the mainline between St. Austell and Truro. Ponsanooth in particular is a sizeable village surely deserving of an unstaffed halt, although I can see the difficulty of providing access to one as the single line comes off Ponsanooth Viaduct, crossing a minor road, and entering quite a deep cutting. However if the access was off the A393 Reduth to Falmouth road with a large car park it could become a park-and-ride station for both Truro and Falmouth. With two trains per hour in each direction for most of the day the Falmouth Branch has an excellent train service.
In addition to the current 14 stations and the 6 closed in October 1964 there were a further 9 which closed earlier. So with 6 plus 9 adding to 15 there are more closed stations on the main line in Cornwall than stations still open. With closure of the six stations imminent I decided to visit most of the doomed stations on Tuesday 8 September 1964 a month before closure. I had a West of England Rail-Rover so it was easy to hop between stations and backtrack as necessary; including walking from Marazion to Penzance and from Chacewater to Scorrier. Even so I did not manage to visit Doublebois that day. I left Plymouth at 09.15 and got back to Plymouth about 22.40 My last train was the 19.55 off Penzance, from St. Erth after visiting St. Ives. The 12.45 off Penzance was an 800-class Warship, but apart from that one trip to Gwinear Road every one of the other 8 trains was a 3-car dmu. Dieselisation of the main line had been completed a year or two earlier. In this first part I visit Marazion and Gwinear Road.
Marazion looking east on 8 September 1964. Note the camping coaches. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Marazion looking west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Marazion looking west from the road bridge. I have no idea what the parcels train is doing. The time is 11.50. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Helston branch platform at Gwinear Road. The branch had closed to passengers two years earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking east. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The business end of a level crossing gate which was very long. Note the extra height of the gate post and the extra supports to the gate. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking east again. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
45145 - The Last Ever Peak Arrival At Newquay
28th September 1985
Clive Smith
45145 has just arrived at Newquay with the Saturday 1V73 09.11 from Manchester Piccadilly as the passengers disembark and make their way to the exit. This was the last ever peak to visit Newquay.
I showed a similar picture on here about four years ago (click here), but this one has a different set of people walking down the platform. I'm so glad I captured this as so many shots I took were bereft of people and the fashions of the time. Usually I would wait until they'd all cleared away but with the shunter rapidly approaching and wanting to photo the run round I fired off two shots. I've marginally cropped this version and used Lightroom to sharpen the detail including the three semaphore signals and box at the opposite end of the platform. All three lines and platforms are visible.
Withdrawal of class 46s was completed in 1984 and inroads had started on class 45/0s. BR decided that from the start of the west of England 1985-86 winter timetable just Bristol Bath Road drivers would continue with traction knowledge of peaks. With Bristol drivers only having route knowledge to Plymouth, the death knell was sounded for peaks in Cornwall as any drivers from depots west of Bristol would then not be signed to drive peaks from early 1986. 'Refreshers' were compulsory for drivers who had not driven a loco class for six months. So with Newquay loco hauled services being 'summer only', the writing was on the wall for peaks to the North Cornwall coast. 28/09/85 was to be the last possible date and 1V73 09.11 Manchester to Newquay the best train likely to produce a peak as this was a through loco from Birmingham to Newquay. However the omens were not good as this train had produced a 47 throughout the month leaving Newquay bereft of peaks for a while. Fate deigned that the summer's last 1V73 would be hauled by 45145 and so it was that this workhorse class that roamed from Aberdeen to London and Holyhead to Penzance put in its final appearance at the resort.
I showed a similar picture on here about four years ago (click here), but this one has a different set of people walking down the platform. I'm so glad I captured this as so many shots I took were bereft of people and the fashions of the time. Usually I would wait until they'd all cleared away but with the shunter rapidly approaching and wanting to photo the run round I fired off two shots. I've marginally cropped this version and used Lightroom to sharpen the detail including the three semaphore signals and box at the opposite end of the platform. All three lines and platforms are visible.
Withdrawal of class 46s was completed in 1984 and inroads had started on class 45/0s. BR decided that from the start of the west of England 1985-86 winter timetable just Bristol Bath Road drivers would continue with traction knowledge of peaks. With Bristol drivers only having route knowledge to Plymouth, the death knell was sounded for peaks in Cornwall as any drivers from depots west of Bristol would then not be signed to drive peaks from early 1986. 'Refreshers' were compulsory for drivers who had not driven a loco class for six months. So with Newquay loco hauled services being 'summer only', the writing was on the wall for peaks to the North Cornwall coast. 28/09/85 was to be the last possible date and 1V73 09.11 Manchester to Newquay the best train likely to produce a peak as this was a through loco from Birmingham to Newquay. However the omens were not good as this train had produced a 47 throughout the month leaving Newquay bereft of peaks for a while. Fate deigned that the summer's last 1V73 would be hauled by 45145 and so it was that this workhorse class that roamed from Aberdeen to London and Holyhead to Penzance put in its final appearance at the resort.
45145 has just arrived at Newquay with the Saturday 1V73 09.11 from Manchester Piccadilly as the passengers disembark and make their way to the exit. This was the last ever peak to visit Newquay. 28.09.1985, copyright Clive Smith.
Many thanks for the great photo and article, Clive - very much appreciated.
More photographs of loco hauled Newquay trains, including Peaks, can be found in the Par - Newquay section - click here (1) or here (2).
More photographs of loco hauled Newquay trains, including Peaks, can be found in the Par - Newquay section - click here (1) or here (2).
Newquay Branch Closure
2 weeks - 18.11.2024 - 01.12.2024
Engineering work is taking place between Par and Newquay, closing all lines for two weeks.
As a result, no trains will run between Par and Newquay.
Replacement buses will run between St Austell and Newquay, calling at Luxulyan, Bugle, Roche, St Columb Road and Quintrell Downs.
The first bus each day will start from Par instead of St Austell.
The track upgrades being made are part of the service improvement work which will result in the Mid Cornwall Metro.
Info from National Rail - for more, click here.
As a result, no trains will run between Par and Newquay.
Replacement buses will run between St Austell and Newquay, calling at Luxulyan, Bugle, Roche, St Columb Road and Quintrell Downs.
The first bus each day will start from Par instead of St Austell.
The track upgrades being made are part of the service improvement work which will result in the Mid Cornwall Metro.
Info from National Rail - for more, click here.
A Family Connection
Alan Dolling
I was surprised to see the photograph of Silverton Station in Broad Gauge days submitted by Geoff Ryall as the smartly-dressed gentleman shown on the platform was my great-great grandfather, Roger Langdon, and the lady sat beside him was his wife, Anne. Roger was the stationmaster at Silverton Road, as it was originally known, and he was eventually superseded by one of his sons, Edward.
Roger was an extremely clever man. He constructed four telescopes and made an accurate model of the moon. He presented a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society and he also became interested in photography and constructed his own darkroom.
He started to write an autobiography but was unable to finish it due to deteriorating health and it was finally finished and published by his daughter Ellen. It is available online, the publisher's being the Cambridge Library Collection.
Roger was an extremely clever man. He constructed four telescopes and made an accurate model of the moon. He presented a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society and he also became interested in photography and constructed his own darkroom.
He started to write an autobiography but was unable to finish it due to deteriorating health and it was finally finished and published by his daughter Ellen. It is available online, the publisher's being the Cambridge Library Collection.
Geoff Ryall's photograph of Silverton station in broad gauge times, which we posted in yesterdays 'news' article. We now know that the gentleman is Roger Langdon, stationmaster at the time, and the lady is his wife Anne. Copyright Geoff Ryall.
Many thanks indeed for your email, Alan - so glad you saw the photograph and were able to provide the details for us.
St. Erth Footbridge Update
Dennis Clarke
A few photos from St Erth yesterday (15.10).
Talking to one of the engineers there, he informed me that the span from the old bridge will be removed over the weekend 26/27 October, so just over a week to get your photos in.
He also said the bottom sections of the stairs on the new footbridge cannot be completed until the whole of the old bridge is removed so there will be temporary stairs going off at 90 degrees, put in place for the time being.
Don’t shoot the messenger but this was what I was told!
Talking to one of the engineers there, he informed me that the span from the old bridge will be removed over the weekend 26/27 October, so just over a week to get your photos in.
He also said the bottom sections of the stairs on the new footbridge cannot be completed until the whole of the old bridge is removed so there will be temporary stairs going off at 90 degrees, put in place for the time being.
Don’t shoot the messenger but this was what I was told!
St. Erth new footbridge progress, 15.10.2024. Copyright Dennis Clarke.
St. Erth new footbridge progress, 15.10.2024. Copyright Dennis Clarke.
St. Erth new footbridge progress, 15.10.2024. Copyright Dennis Clarke.
A GWR 'Castle Class' HST heads for Penzance beneath the two St. Erth footbridges. 15.10.2024, copyright Dennis Clarke.
Many thanks, Dennis - hope the old footbridge finds a new home.
A note from Guy Vincent re: the above comment:
Re the soon to be dismantled GWR footbridge at St Erth, this going to Cranmore station on the East Somerset Railway. I’ll keep CRS up to date from time to time as the bridge is reassembled for its new role in preservation.
The St Erth bridge is of similar design to the one at Williton (West Somerset Railway), removed from Trowbridge in 1989.
Re the soon to be dismantled GWR footbridge at St Erth, this going to Cranmore station on the East Somerset Railway. I’ll keep CRS up to date from time to time as the bridge is reassembled for its new role in preservation.
The St Erth bridge is of similar design to the one at Williton (West Somerset Railway), removed from Trowbridge in 1989.
Many thanks Guy, good to hear it will still serve a useful purpose.