Extracts from the diary of a lifetime enthusiast.
Michael L. Roach.
Michael L. Roach.
Regular viewers will be aware that Michael L. Roach has been a long term member of the Cornwall Railway Society and a very regular contributor to our many pages. More recently he has provided us with considerable information from his collections in the 1960's which saw the elimination of steam from regular usage on our system. You will find some of his contributions in earlier 'Features' but below we have collected those which appeared in our Features April to September 2023.
Features April to September 2023
Item 2309
Portreath Station Master
Portreath Station Master
The Station Master
The Station Master was a person of some importance in his locality, but it is a term which has largely gone out of fashion in favour of station manager. The s/m was responsible for basically everything that went on at his appointed station. Unstaffed platforms and halts would not have a resident station master but would come under the s/m at an adjacent station, as at Liddaton Halt seen in one of the photos in Part 13 of this series. Liddaton would have come under the s/m at Coryton a short distance away. It would not have been a particularly onerous job at Coryton with one platform, three passenger trains and one freight train in each direction; but with few staff he would have to deputise for everyone and be prepared to do anything needed. However being s/m at a small station would have been a good stepping stone to applying for the position at a larger station if one wanted promotion. Being the station master at Plymouth North Road Station would have been a completely different proposition and responsibilities would have included hiring and firing staff and meeting VIPs off the train. How about Plymouth Millbay Station with a huge goods station alongside. This would have had a Chief Goods Manager to oversee the daily running of the goods department but would he have ranked equal to the s/m or reported to him – I do not know.
It was good to see Michael Bushell's excellent 1960s photographs of Portreath Harbour in Latest News on 25 April 2023. Adjacent to the harbour was a goods yard at the bottom of a cable-worked incline at the end of a freight-only branch. The yard had three wagon turntables, a dozen sidings, stables, offices etc. Goods trains stopped at the top of the incline with only wagons being worked up and down the incline. Until the autumn of 2022 it had never occurred to me what grade of railwayman would have been in charge of the goods yard at Portreath – maybe a goods clerk, chief goods clerk, yard foreman, yard inspector or station inspector perhaps under the supervision of the station master at Redruth or Carn Brea Stations on the Cornish main line. I doubt that I would have expected a station master to be appointed to a non-passenger station. In the autumn of 2022 I came across this entry in the November 1929 edition of the Great Western Magazine and was quite surprised by the position that Mr. Jenkins had occupied for 20 years.
The death occurred on 28 September 1929, at the age of 76, of Mr. J.H. Jenkins who retired from the position of station master at Portreath in March 1917. Mr. Jenkins was transferred to the Great Western Railway Company's service from the West Cornwall Railway in February 1876 and spent the whole of his career in Cornwall. He was station master at Portreath for twenty years.
If Porteath had been at the end of a branchline where the passenger service had been withdrawn I could have understood that the station master may have been kept on to deal with all matters in the staton's new guise, but that did not apply here. Perhaps the explanation lies in just how busy the harbour had been in the past. There were, and are, no lock gates at Portreath so at low tide the two docks empty of water completely with ships sitting on the floor of the dock. Ships entering or leaving the harbour have to wait until at least half tide before they can enter or leave. In the Victorian times the harbour was receiving up to 700 ships per annum which equates to one on every high tide six days a week throughout the year. The ships were quite small but even so there would be a couple of hundred tons of goods to be moved in or out by rail every single working day. Until the advent of the motor lorry the remaining mines in the area would have been totally reliant on the harbour and the branchline to bring in the coal for the steam engines and to take away the ore that was going for smelting elsewhere and for the tin and copper ingots that had been smelted locally.
MLR / 30 April 2023
The Station Master was a person of some importance in his locality, but it is a term which has largely gone out of fashion in favour of station manager. The s/m was responsible for basically everything that went on at his appointed station. Unstaffed platforms and halts would not have a resident station master but would come under the s/m at an adjacent station, as at Liddaton Halt seen in one of the photos in Part 13 of this series. Liddaton would have come under the s/m at Coryton a short distance away. It would not have been a particularly onerous job at Coryton with one platform, three passenger trains and one freight train in each direction; but with few staff he would have to deputise for everyone and be prepared to do anything needed. However being s/m at a small station would have been a good stepping stone to applying for the position at a larger station if one wanted promotion. Being the station master at Plymouth North Road Station would have been a completely different proposition and responsibilities would have included hiring and firing staff and meeting VIPs off the train. How about Plymouth Millbay Station with a huge goods station alongside. This would have had a Chief Goods Manager to oversee the daily running of the goods department but would he have ranked equal to the s/m or reported to him – I do not know.
It was good to see Michael Bushell's excellent 1960s photographs of Portreath Harbour in Latest News on 25 April 2023. Adjacent to the harbour was a goods yard at the bottom of a cable-worked incline at the end of a freight-only branch. The yard had three wagon turntables, a dozen sidings, stables, offices etc. Goods trains stopped at the top of the incline with only wagons being worked up and down the incline. Until the autumn of 2022 it had never occurred to me what grade of railwayman would have been in charge of the goods yard at Portreath – maybe a goods clerk, chief goods clerk, yard foreman, yard inspector or station inspector perhaps under the supervision of the station master at Redruth or Carn Brea Stations on the Cornish main line. I doubt that I would have expected a station master to be appointed to a non-passenger station. In the autumn of 2022 I came across this entry in the November 1929 edition of the Great Western Magazine and was quite surprised by the position that Mr. Jenkins had occupied for 20 years.
The death occurred on 28 September 1929, at the age of 76, of Mr. J.H. Jenkins who retired from the position of station master at Portreath in March 1917. Mr. Jenkins was transferred to the Great Western Railway Company's service from the West Cornwall Railway in February 1876 and spent the whole of his career in Cornwall. He was station master at Portreath for twenty years.
If Porteath had been at the end of a branchline where the passenger service had been withdrawn I could have understood that the station master may have been kept on to deal with all matters in the staton's new guise, but that did not apply here. Perhaps the explanation lies in just how busy the harbour had been in the past. There were, and are, no lock gates at Portreath so at low tide the two docks empty of water completely with ships sitting on the floor of the dock. Ships entering or leaving the harbour have to wait until at least half tide before they can enter or leave. In the Victorian times the harbour was receiving up to 700 ships per annum which equates to one on every high tide six days a week throughout the year. The ships were quite small but even so there would be a couple of hundred tons of goods to be moved in or out by rail every single working day. Until the advent of the motor lorry the remaining mines in the area would have been totally reliant on the harbour and the branchline to bring in the coal for the steam engines and to take away the ore that was going for smelting elsewhere and for the tin and copper ingots that had been smelted locally.
MLR / 30 April 2023
Item 2307
1962 - A fascinating history of the Plymouth area & a series of photographs taken by Michael L. Roach. [A continuation of the series from 2303 onwards.]
1962 - A fascinating history of the Plymouth area & a series of photographs taken by Michael L. Roach. [A continuation of the series from 2303 onwards.]
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 13
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The 3.05pm to Launceston
In the last passenger timetable trains departed Plymouth Station for Lanson (in the vernacular) at 7.10; 10.40 (SO); 3.05; 6.20 and 8.40 (SO) and took 93 – 95 minutes for the 35 miles. Google maps says that the 26 miles by road can be covered in as little as 48 minutes. Trains returned from Lanson at 7.05; 10.15; 12.40 (SO); 5.40 and 8.40 (SO). It can be seen that there were only three trains each way Monday to Friday. There was no Sunday Service although there had been thirty years earlier. I photographed the 3.05 to Lanson many times in 1961 and 1962 both at stations and in the countryside There had been a train from Plymouth to Lanson around this time, just after 3.00pm, for many years. In 1902 it departed at 3.10 and took 105 minutes. In 1932 it departed at 3.03 and took 96 minutes – the small prairies had arrived to haul the trains, with the first one 4401(previously numbered 3101) arriving at Laira Shed on 14 October 1905). The first 4500-class 2-6-2T arrived on 6 December 1907 in the shape of 4513 (previously 2174). The 4500s and the 5500s remained the staple motive power on the Plymouth to Launceston trains until the last day of scheduled passenger trains on 29 December 1962.
The 3.05pm normally departed from platform 8 at Plymouth Station. The train would either be stopped with the engine just clear of the awning as in the second photograph attached to this article or with the coaches opposite the top of the steps by the subway if only two coaches were hauled up from Millbay. The reason for these two different stopping places can be seen in the first photo where the empty stock is arriving from the carriage sidings at Millbay Station with six coaches but only the first two are for the 3.05pm with the other four being detached and left for another train. The empty coaches left Millbay at 2.55 and were due to arrive at platform 8 at 3.00pm. The 3.05 arrived Lanson at 4.39 and then formed the 5.40 Lanson to Plymouth due 7.25 to run ECS to Millbay at 7.30pm. Job done – now the crew can run light engine from Millbay to Laira Shed and sign off on Monday to Friday.
However on Saturdays there was another train to Lanson at 8.40pm and the engine, stock and footplate crew that arrived Plymouth at 7.25 could well have worked that train. It would have been a way of changing the loco that was out-stationed at Lanson for the following week. The 8.40 (SO) crossed the 8.35 (SO) from Lanson to Plymouth at Tavistock South; and here the loco crews would have changed footplates to work back to their home depots having earned a couple of hours of overtime.
In the last passenger timetable trains departed Plymouth Station for Lanson (in the vernacular) at 7.10; 10.40 (SO); 3.05; 6.20 and 8.40 (SO) and took 93 – 95 minutes for the 35 miles. Google maps says that the 26 miles by road can be covered in as little as 48 minutes. Trains returned from Lanson at 7.05; 10.15; 12.40 (SO); 5.40 and 8.40 (SO). It can be seen that there were only three trains each way Monday to Friday. There was no Sunday Service although there had been thirty years earlier. I photographed the 3.05 to Lanson many times in 1961 and 1962 both at stations and in the countryside There had been a train from Plymouth to Lanson around this time, just after 3.00pm, for many years. In 1902 it departed at 3.10 and took 105 minutes. In 1932 it departed at 3.03 and took 96 minutes – the small prairies had arrived to haul the trains, with the first one 4401(previously numbered 3101) arriving at Laira Shed on 14 October 1905). The first 4500-class 2-6-2T arrived on 6 December 1907 in the shape of 4513 (previously 2174). The 4500s and the 5500s remained the staple motive power on the Plymouth to Launceston trains until the last day of scheduled passenger trains on 29 December 1962.
The 3.05pm normally departed from platform 8 at Plymouth Station. The train would either be stopped with the engine just clear of the awning as in the second photograph attached to this article or with the coaches opposite the top of the steps by the subway if only two coaches were hauled up from Millbay. The reason for these two different stopping places can be seen in the first photo where the empty stock is arriving from the carriage sidings at Millbay Station with six coaches but only the first two are for the 3.05pm with the other four being detached and left for another train. The empty coaches left Millbay at 2.55 and were due to arrive at platform 8 at 3.00pm. The 3.05 arrived Lanson at 4.39 and then formed the 5.40 Lanson to Plymouth due 7.25 to run ECS to Millbay at 7.30pm. Job done – now the crew can run light engine from Millbay to Laira Shed and sign off on Monday to Friday.
However on Saturdays there was another train to Lanson at 8.40pm and the engine, stock and footplate crew that arrived Plymouth at 7.25 could well have worked that train. It would have been a way of changing the loco that was out-stationed at Lanson for the following week. The 8.40 (SO) crossed the 8.35 (SO) from Lanson to Plymouth at Tavistock South; and here the loco crews would have changed footplates to work back to their home depots having earned a couple of hours of overtime.
5741 Six empty coaches hauled by 4591 are seen arriving at platform 8 at 2.58pm on Saturday 20 October 1962. The loco and first two coaches will form the 3.05pm to Launceston. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5948 5541 stands at platform 8 with the 3.05pm on 10 February 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5739 4591 again with the 3.05pm passing the hamlet of Goodameavy between Clearbrook and Yelverton on Saturday 13 October 1962.
7025 The 3.05pm slows to a stop at Liddaton Halt at 4.19pm 75 minutes into the journey on Monday 23 April 1962. The train engine is 5564 of Laira Shed as are all these locos in this group. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 14
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Right Angle
Railway enthusiasts have been taking three-quarter front views of steam locomotives ever since the camera was invented a few years after the steam railway engine was invented; but what does three-quarter front mean ? Does it mean any angle from say 10 degrees to 80 degrees off the centreline or axis of the loco and tender, or an angle around 45 degrees (i.e three-quarters from the back). Is there an angle which gives more pleasing result than others ?
The Great Western built a prototype of its 2800-class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive in 1903 and a production series from 1905. They were the first 2-8-0 locos in Britain and would soon be copied by all the major railways of Britain. They would remain the standard freight engine until the arrival of the 9F 2-10-0s in the 1950s, and they would still be hauling heavy freight trains right through the nineteen fifties. On the Great Western the 2800s would haul up to 100 wagons from South Wales to London. The last 2800 was withdrawn in 1965. Laira Shed usually had two of the class which was not a lot when one considers that in the late 1940s there were twenty freight trains coming down the line from Newton Abbot each and every day Monday to Saturday, but that meant lots of 2-8-0s and other mixed traffic locos arriving which could be used on freight trains back up the line.
The attached photos show 3849 on the coaling line loop at Laira Shed late on the morning of Saturday 12 May 1962. The loco was only at Laira for just three months from April to July that year, and appears to be in ex-works condition. The photos wre taken at approximately minute intervals while a freight train was passing and stopped on the main line behind. The freight train is likely to be the 5.50am Penzance to Tavistock Junction. At this stage in the rundown of steam clean engines were becoming quite rare so I would often take more than one view of the engine when one turned up at Laira. Not exactly sure why but often one view would turn out to be more pleasing than the others.
MLR / 12 April 2023
Railway enthusiasts have been taking three-quarter front views of steam locomotives ever since the camera was invented a few years after the steam railway engine was invented; but what does three-quarter front mean ? Does it mean any angle from say 10 degrees to 80 degrees off the centreline or axis of the loco and tender, or an angle around 45 degrees (i.e three-quarters from the back). Is there an angle which gives more pleasing result than others ?
The Great Western built a prototype of its 2800-class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive in 1903 and a production series from 1905. They were the first 2-8-0 locos in Britain and would soon be copied by all the major railways of Britain. They would remain the standard freight engine until the arrival of the 9F 2-10-0s in the 1950s, and they would still be hauling heavy freight trains right through the nineteen fifties. On the Great Western the 2800s would haul up to 100 wagons from South Wales to London. The last 2800 was withdrawn in 1965. Laira Shed usually had two of the class which was not a lot when one considers that in the late 1940s there were twenty freight trains coming down the line from Newton Abbot each and every day Monday to Saturday, but that meant lots of 2-8-0s and other mixed traffic locos arriving which could be used on freight trains back up the line.
The attached photos show 3849 on the coaling line loop at Laira Shed late on the morning of Saturday 12 May 1962. The loco was only at Laira for just three months from April to July that year, and appears to be in ex-works condition. The photos wre taken at approximately minute intervals while a freight train was passing and stopped on the main line behind. The freight train is likely to be the 5.50am Penzance to Tavistock Junction. At this stage in the rundown of steam clean engines were becoming quite rare so I would often take more than one view of the engine when one turned up at Laira. Not exactly sure why but often one view would turn out to be more pleasing than the others.
MLR / 12 April 2023
7072 2-8-0 number 3849 is standing on the coaling line loop, turned and ready to head back up the line. Behind is another 2-8-0 number 4703, designed for a different purpose and a long-term resident of St. Phillips Marsh Shed at the time. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7073 I have moved to the left to stand on the incline up to the coaling stage. The large building on the skyline is a school. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7074 In this final view I have moved much closer to 3849 and crouched down. In the background is the Laira roundhouse. This is my favourite view of the three. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 15
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Plympton
Plympton Station was 4 miles east of Plymouth Station at the foot of Hemerdon Bank and alongside Boringdon Road. A layby marks the location of the former station buildings and entrance. To the west and the other side of an overbridge carrying Plymbridge Road was the goods yard. Alongside the yard was an important road, now the B3416, but in 1962 it was the A38 and carrying all the trunk road traffic until a bypass was finished some ten years later. In the accompanying photo, which was taken from Meadow View Road looking roughly east, the A38 runs in front of the 2-storey building on the left and past the end of the sheds on the right. The tower is that of St. Mary's Church because this small town was called Plympton St. Mary, although the railway station was always called just Plympton. A short distance to the east and south of the main A38 through the centre of Plympton St. Mary was another town called Plympton St. Maurice. This second town has the ruins of a castle and an ancient grammar school which Sir Joshua Reynolds attended as he was born and brought up here. It is suggested that most people living in Plymouth know little or nothing about Plympton St. Maurice as it is well hidden and one does not pass through it by accident. I knew nothing about the town umtil a school trip there at the age of 9 or 10 years when we visited the castle and the Guildhall.
On the south side of St. Marys Church, and opposite the churchyard, was a cattle market which closed circa 2001. Because it was only a couple of hundred yards from the goods yard it is believed that cattle leaving by rail would have been walked from the market to the goods yard, including holding up the trunk road traffic as they crossed the A38. The photo shows empty cattle wagons on both sides of the main line with the nearest ones in a dead end siding, and the far ones in the goods yard which consisted of two loops and no dead end sidings. The loco that brought in some of the wagons was small prairie 5544 of Laira Shed and in the photo it is departing, to return a few hours later to collect the loaded wagons and take the cattle wagons to Tavistock Junction Yard on the first part of their journey to their new owners. Most small livestock markets have either closed or been relocated to edge-of-town sites (as at Truro). One that survives almost untouched by the passage of time is at Devils Bridge a short distance from the terminus of the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge railway. Another is at Kington in Herefordshire, a small town near the border with Wales, where the auction mart remains in the centre of the town surrounded by domestic and commercial properties. I have written an article about the sale which took place at Kington Mart on 31 August 1938 (which will be published elsewhere), when no less than 22,000 sheep were auctioned. In the 1930s the railways still reigned supreme in longer distance transport; and for shorter distances the sheep were expected to walk from the farm to the mart and from the mart to their new home; as they were to Kington Railway Station which was on the edge of the town. The Great Western Railway rose to the occasion and provided 200 cattle wagons for the sheep to be hauled away. This would have been a major logistical exercise involving many railwaymen and train movements. Kington was on the single track New Radnor Branch and the largest locos permitted were the 7400-class pannier tanks which could haul 30-wagon trainloads on the branch. However the first train away was of 60 cattle wagons which would have needed to be double-headed
The loco seen at Plympton Goods Yard on 1 March 1962 was small prairie 5544. The loco had arrived at Laira from Truro on 15 July 1961 and was condemned at Laira on 21 September 1962. It was hauled to Cashmore's yard at Newport and scrapped. All my other photos of 5544 were of the loco on passenger trains on the Launceston Branch with the last one being taken on 19 May 1962. In 1962 the eastern boundary of the City of Plymouth ran along the centre of the River Plym at Marsh Mills seen in the photos in Parts 2 and 4 of this series. Plympton came under the jurisdiction of the Plympton St. Mary Rural District Council, but with Local Government Reorganisation on 1 April 1974 the Plympton RDC was abolished and its territory carved up with Plympton going to an enlarged City of Plymouth and the rest, with six other small councils, forming the South Hams District Council centred on Totnes. Plympton Station closed to passengers on and from 2 March 1959 and to goods on and from 1 June 1964. A campaign has been under way for some time to open a new railway station at Plympton. My thoughts on the subject are that if Plympton is to get a new station it should be a parkway style station with a large car park. There could be a suitable site off the B3416 just a half mile east of Tavistock Junction Yard where there are a number of supermarket sheds between the B3416 and the railway and they appear to be little used. With the site being just a mile off a junction on the A38 Devon Expressway the station could serve the northern and eastern sides of Plymouth; West Devon and East Cornwall.
MLR / 6 April 2023
Plympton Station was 4 miles east of Plymouth Station at the foot of Hemerdon Bank and alongside Boringdon Road. A layby marks the location of the former station buildings and entrance. To the west and the other side of an overbridge carrying Plymbridge Road was the goods yard. Alongside the yard was an important road, now the B3416, but in 1962 it was the A38 and carrying all the trunk road traffic until a bypass was finished some ten years later. In the accompanying photo, which was taken from Meadow View Road looking roughly east, the A38 runs in front of the 2-storey building on the left and past the end of the sheds on the right. The tower is that of St. Mary's Church because this small town was called Plympton St. Mary, although the railway station was always called just Plympton. A short distance to the east and south of the main A38 through the centre of Plympton St. Mary was another town called Plympton St. Maurice. This second town has the ruins of a castle and an ancient grammar school which Sir Joshua Reynolds attended as he was born and brought up here. It is suggested that most people living in Plymouth know little or nothing about Plympton St. Maurice as it is well hidden and one does not pass through it by accident. I knew nothing about the town umtil a school trip there at the age of 9 or 10 years when we visited the castle and the Guildhall.
On the south side of St. Marys Church, and opposite the churchyard, was a cattle market which closed circa 2001. Because it was only a couple of hundred yards from the goods yard it is believed that cattle leaving by rail would have been walked from the market to the goods yard, including holding up the trunk road traffic as they crossed the A38. The photo shows empty cattle wagons on both sides of the main line with the nearest ones in a dead end siding, and the far ones in the goods yard which consisted of two loops and no dead end sidings. The loco that brought in some of the wagons was small prairie 5544 of Laira Shed and in the photo it is departing, to return a few hours later to collect the loaded wagons and take the cattle wagons to Tavistock Junction Yard on the first part of their journey to their new owners. Most small livestock markets have either closed or been relocated to edge-of-town sites (as at Truro). One that survives almost untouched by the passage of time is at Devils Bridge a short distance from the terminus of the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge railway. Another is at Kington in Herefordshire, a small town near the border with Wales, where the auction mart remains in the centre of the town surrounded by domestic and commercial properties. I have written an article about the sale which took place at Kington Mart on 31 August 1938 (which will be published elsewhere), when no less than 22,000 sheep were auctioned. In the 1930s the railways still reigned supreme in longer distance transport; and for shorter distances the sheep were expected to walk from the farm to the mart and from the mart to their new home; as they were to Kington Railway Station which was on the edge of the town. The Great Western Railway rose to the occasion and provided 200 cattle wagons for the sheep to be hauled away. This would have been a major logistical exercise involving many railwaymen and train movements. Kington was on the single track New Radnor Branch and the largest locos permitted were the 7400-class pannier tanks which could haul 30-wagon trainloads on the branch. However the first train away was of 60 cattle wagons which would have needed to be double-headed
The loco seen at Plympton Goods Yard on 1 March 1962 was small prairie 5544. The loco had arrived at Laira from Truro on 15 July 1961 and was condemned at Laira on 21 September 1962. It was hauled to Cashmore's yard at Newport and scrapped. All my other photos of 5544 were of the loco on passenger trains on the Launceston Branch with the last one being taken on 19 May 1962. In 1962 the eastern boundary of the City of Plymouth ran along the centre of the River Plym at Marsh Mills seen in the photos in Parts 2 and 4 of this series. Plympton came under the jurisdiction of the Plympton St. Mary Rural District Council, but with Local Government Reorganisation on 1 April 1974 the Plympton RDC was abolished and its territory carved up with Plympton going to an enlarged City of Plymouth and the rest, with six other small councils, forming the South Hams District Council centred on Totnes. Plympton Station closed to passengers on and from 2 March 1959 and to goods on and from 1 June 1964. A campaign has been under way for some time to open a new railway station at Plympton. My thoughts on the subject are that if Plympton is to get a new station it should be a parkway style station with a large car park. There could be a suitable site off the B3416 just a half mile east of Tavistock Junction Yard where there are a number of supermarket sheds between the B3416 and the railway and they appear to be little used. With the site being just a mile off a junction on the A38 Devon Expressway the station could serve the northern and eastern sides of Plymouth; West Devon and East Cornwall.
MLR / 6 April 2023
5997 Prairie 5544 is seen leaving Plympton Goods Yard with a brake van at 12.07pm on 1 March 1962. The cattle market is just out of the photograph on the right hand side.
Many thanks Michael - your detailed is article full of interest.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 16
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Penzance Viaduct
The railway line we see today between Penzance and Truro was built as a single track by the Hayle Railway and the West Conwall Railway and later doubled by the Great Western Railway. The Hayle and West Cornwall Railways were both slightly quirky with a rich history which can be read on Wikipedia. There are eight railway viaducts in the 26 miles of track between the two towns but there were once nine. Despite this number of viaducts there are two deep valleys crossed by huge embankments, and I wonder why ?
The two large embankments are located in the villages of Brea and Carn Brea between Camborne and Redruth and are both around 20 to 25 metres high. When they were built in the 1830s any compaction of the fill material forming the embankments would have been primitive at best – perhaps a granite roller pulled by two horses; at worst no compaction at all. I think the reason for building embankments rather than viaducts are the long cuttings on both sides in an endeavour to make a reasonably level route through this mining district. It would have been very convenient to use the excavated material from the cuttings in the valleys and to balance the cut and fill. The material is likely to have been end-tipped into the valley leading to settlement for a number of years under self weight and the weight of the trains. The track would have to be packed up regularly to avoid a dip in the vertical alignment. These two embankments could be among the highest railway ones in Britain.
At the other end of the spectrum from the huge embankments mentioned above was the ninth viaduct which was dispensed with long ago. It was located just outside Penzance Station and was 347 yards long, which was the the longest between Penzance and Truro. Penzance Viaduct was just a few yards above ground level which was the foreshore of the beach with the tide coming and going beneath the viaduct. The viaduct was originally a timber trestle carrying a single line. This construction of a timber trestle across a beach was not unique but was quite rare in Britain. It is thought that all examples have been replaced. Maintenance costs were high due to regular damage by gales, so when the Cornish main line was being doubled it was quite natural to replace the viaduct with a stone-faced rubble embankment. The work was carried out between 1919 and 1921. In the last photograph of the attached article note what appears to be concrete fence posts which was most unusual for the time.
SCANS
7056-8 Scans of an article which appeared in the Great Western Railway Magazine for June 1922
MLR / 21 April 2023
The railway line we see today between Penzance and Truro was built as a single track by the Hayle Railway and the West Conwall Railway and later doubled by the Great Western Railway. The Hayle and West Cornwall Railways were both slightly quirky with a rich history which can be read on Wikipedia. There are eight railway viaducts in the 26 miles of track between the two towns but there were once nine. Despite this number of viaducts there are two deep valleys crossed by huge embankments, and I wonder why ?
The two large embankments are located in the villages of Brea and Carn Brea between Camborne and Redruth and are both around 20 to 25 metres high. When they were built in the 1830s any compaction of the fill material forming the embankments would have been primitive at best – perhaps a granite roller pulled by two horses; at worst no compaction at all. I think the reason for building embankments rather than viaducts are the long cuttings on both sides in an endeavour to make a reasonably level route through this mining district. It would have been very convenient to use the excavated material from the cuttings in the valleys and to balance the cut and fill. The material is likely to have been end-tipped into the valley leading to settlement for a number of years under self weight and the weight of the trains. The track would have to be packed up regularly to avoid a dip in the vertical alignment. These two embankments could be among the highest railway ones in Britain.
At the other end of the spectrum from the huge embankments mentioned above was the ninth viaduct which was dispensed with long ago. It was located just outside Penzance Station and was 347 yards long, which was the the longest between Penzance and Truro. Penzance Viaduct was just a few yards above ground level which was the foreshore of the beach with the tide coming and going beneath the viaduct. The viaduct was originally a timber trestle carrying a single line. This construction of a timber trestle across a beach was not unique but was quite rare in Britain. It is thought that all examples have been replaced. Maintenance costs were high due to regular damage by gales, so when the Cornish main line was being doubled it was quite natural to replace the viaduct with a stone-faced rubble embankment. The work was carried out between 1919 and 1921. In the last photograph of the attached article note what appears to be concrete fence posts which was most unusual for the time.
SCANS
7056-8 Scans of an article which appeared in the Great Western Railway Magazine for June 1922
MLR / 21 April 2023
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 17
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
St. Columb Road Station & St. Blazey Shed
Twelve months ago the website celebrated a railtour which had taken place 60 years earlier on 28 April 1962, not just with the usual words and photographs but also with original paperwork. The railtour was the Plymouth Railway Circle's Cornwall Mineral Lines Brake Van Tour starting at Truro Station and finishing at St. Blazey some ten hours later. All the dead end goods only lines traversed that day have since closed. St. Blazey Shed turned out two small prairies to haul the eleven brakevans; one from the earlier series and one from the second series with larger side tanks. The two locos were 4564 and 5531 and they were coupled bunker-to-bunker so that the leading loco was always facing forward after each of the nine reversals. St. Blazey shed closed to steam that weekend and this was the last revenue earning train rostered for steam by St. Blazey Shed. For reasons now forgotten I chose to leave home in Plymouth later and follow the railtour by car. I first caught up with the railtour a mile southeast of Perranporth Station. It was 12.22pm and the train was on time. I then cut across country to get ahead of the train and catch it at St. Columb Road Station which then still had a passing loop and a signal box. The two locos made a fine sight as the train entered the station to pass the dmu on the 12.42 Par to Newquay, and again as it left the station. The well-known photographer Peter Gray was stood alongside me and took an almost identical view of the train leaving St. Columb Road. My final visit of the day was to St. Blazey where on shed were: 3790, 3791, 4665, 5518, 5539, 8719 and 9665 i.e. two prairies and five pannier tanks. There may have been some diesels but if there were they were not recorded. Just one of the steam locos was actually in steam and that was 5518. So what happened to the three prairies in steam that day:
4564 was a Penzance based engine at the time of the railtour. One authority says it was stored for the next 16 months but both agree that it spent its last days at Gloucester Shed from September 1963 until withdrawal in September 1964.
5518 was a St. Blazey engine and was stored after the railtour and closure of the shed to steam. 5518 also went to Gloucester Shed in September 1963 and was withdrawn there in May 1964.
5531 was also a St. Blazey engine and was also stored. The loco was allocated to Laira from September to November 1963 but then moved (along with seven others of the class) to Southall Shed until withdrawal in December 1964. Here it would have been used, inter alia, on moving empty stock into and out of Paddington Station something which I believe the class had never done before in the previous fifty years.
NOTES:
None of the photos attached were shown 12 months ago.
To find the sixtieth anniversary item put “28th April 1962” in the search box above.
MLR / 22 April 2023
Twelve months ago the website celebrated a railtour which had taken place 60 years earlier on 28 April 1962, not just with the usual words and photographs but also with original paperwork. The railtour was the Plymouth Railway Circle's Cornwall Mineral Lines Brake Van Tour starting at Truro Station and finishing at St. Blazey some ten hours later. All the dead end goods only lines traversed that day have since closed. St. Blazey Shed turned out two small prairies to haul the eleven brakevans; one from the earlier series and one from the second series with larger side tanks. The two locos were 4564 and 5531 and they were coupled bunker-to-bunker so that the leading loco was always facing forward after each of the nine reversals. St. Blazey shed closed to steam that weekend and this was the last revenue earning train rostered for steam by St. Blazey Shed. For reasons now forgotten I chose to leave home in Plymouth later and follow the railtour by car. I first caught up with the railtour a mile southeast of Perranporth Station. It was 12.22pm and the train was on time. I then cut across country to get ahead of the train and catch it at St. Columb Road Station which then still had a passing loop and a signal box. The two locos made a fine sight as the train entered the station to pass the dmu on the 12.42 Par to Newquay, and again as it left the station. The well-known photographer Peter Gray was stood alongside me and took an almost identical view of the train leaving St. Columb Road. My final visit of the day was to St. Blazey where on shed were: 3790, 3791, 4665, 5518, 5539, 8719 and 9665 i.e. two prairies and five pannier tanks. There may have been some diesels but if there were they were not recorded. Just one of the steam locos was actually in steam and that was 5518. So what happened to the three prairies in steam that day:
4564 was a Penzance based engine at the time of the railtour. One authority says it was stored for the next 16 months but both agree that it spent its last days at Gloucester Shed from September 1963 until withdrawal in September 1964.
5518 was a St. Blazey engine and was stored after the railtour and closure of the shed to steam. 5518 also went to Gloucester Shed in September 1963 and was withdrawn there in May 1964.
5531 was also a St. Blazey engine and was also stored. The loco was allocated to Laira from September to November 1963 but then moved (along with seven others of the class) to Southall Shed until withdrawal in December 1964. Here it would have been used, inter alia, on moving empty stock into and out of Paddington Station something which I believe the class had never done before in the previous fifty years.
NOTES:
None of the photos attached were shown 12 months ago.
To find the sixtieth anniversary item put “28th April 1962” in the search box above.
MLR / 22 April 2023
7028 St. Columb Road signal box which was located on the east-bound platform. The box was closed and the crossing loop taken out of use on and from Monday 4 January 1965. There were no trains on Sundays in winter. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7029 The railtour enters St Columb Road at 1.25pm 3L past a corrugated iron shed believed to be a lamp hut. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7031 The railtour leaves St. Columb Road at 1.30pm 5L and passes over the A39 trunk road. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7032 The railtour waits for the gates to be opened at the level crossing south of St. Dennis Junction where the B3279 crossed the line. The time is now 3.53pm and the train was on time. The chap walking towards the camera was a well-known local enthusiast but I do not know his name. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7036 Two of the seven steam locos on St. Blazey shed on the evening of 28 April 1962. Only 5518 was in steam. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 18
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Station Master
The Station Master was a person of some importance in his locality, but it is a term which has largely gone out of fashion in favour of station manager. The s/m was responsible for basically everything that went on at his appointed station. Unstaffed platforms and halts would not have a resident station master but would come under the s/m at an adjacent station, as at Liddaton Halt seen in one of the photos in Part 13 of this series. Liddaton would have come under the s/m at Coryton a short distance away. It would not have been a particularly onerous job at Coryton with one platform, three passenger trains and one freight train in each direction; but with few staff he would have to deputise for everyone and be prepared to do anything needed. However being s/m at a small station would have been a good stepping stone to applying for the position at a larger station if one wanted promotion. Being the station master at Plymouth North Road Station would have been a completely different proposition and responsibilities would have included hiring and firing staff and meeting VIPs off the train. How about Plymouth Millbay Station with a huge goods station alongside. This would have had a Chief Goods Manager to oversee the daily running of the goods department but would he have ranked equal to the s/m or reported to him – I do not know.
It was good to see Michael Bushell's excellent 1960s photographs of Portreath Harbour in Latest News on 25 April 2023. Adjacent to the harbour was a goods yard at the bottom of a cable-worked incline at the end of a freight-only branch. The yard had three wagon turntables, a dozen sidings, stables, offices etc. Goods trains stopped at the top of the incline with only wagons being worked up and down the incline. Until the autumn of 2022 it had never occurred to me what grade of railwayman would have been in charge of the goods yard at Portreath – maybe a goods clerk, chief goods clerk, yard foreman, yard inspector or station inspector perhaps under the supervision of the station master at Redruth or Carn Brea Stations on the Cornish main line. I doubt that I would have expected a station master to be appointed to a non-passenger station. In the autumn of 2022 I came across this entry in the November 1929 edition of the Great Western Magazine and was quite surprised by the position that Mr. Jenkins had occupied for 20 years.
The death occurred on 28 September 1929, at the age of 76, of Mr. J.H. Jenkins who retired from the position of station master at Portreath in March 1917. Mr. Jenkins was transferred to the Great Western Railway Company's service from the West Cornwall Railway in February 1876 and spent the whole of his career in Cornwall. He was station master at Portreath for twenty years.
If Porteath had been at the end of a branchline where the passenger service had been withdrawn I could have understood that the station master may have been kept on to deal with all matters in the staton's new guise, but that did not apply here. Perhaps the explanation lies in just how busy the harbour had been in the past. There were, and are, no lock gates at Portreath so at low tide the two docks empty of water completely with ships sitting on the floor of the dock. Ships entering or leaving the harbour have to wait until at least half tide before they can enter or leave. In the Victorian times the harbour was receiving up to 700 ships per annum which equates to one on every high tide six days a week throughout the year. The ships were quite small but even so there would be a couple of hundred tons of goods to be moved in or out by rail every single working day. Until the advent of the motor lorry the remaining mines in the area would have been totally reliant on the harbour and the branchline to bring in the coal for the steam engines and to take away the ore that was going for smelting elsewhere and for the tin and copper ingots that had been smelted locally.
MLR / 30 April 2023
The Station Master was a person of some importance in his locality, but it is a term which has largely gone out of fashion in favour of station manager. The s/m was responsible for basically everything that went on at his appointed station. Unstaffed platforms and halts would not have a resident station master but would come under the s/m at an adjacent station, as at Liddaton Halt seen in one of the photos in Part 13 of this series. Liddaton would have come under the s/m at Coryton a short distance away. It would not have been a particularly onerous job at Coryton with one platform, three passenger trains and one freight train in each direction; but with few staff he would have to deputise for everyone and be prepared to do anything needed. However being s/m at a small station would have been a good stepping stone to applying for the position at a larger station if one wanted promotion. Being the station master at Plymouth North Road Station would have been a completely different proposition and responsibilities would have included hiring and firing staff and meeting VIPs off the train. How about Plymouth Millbay Station with a huge goods station alongside. This would have had a Chief Goods Manager to oversee the daily running of the goods department but would he have ranked equal to the s/m or reported to him – I do not know.
It was good to see Michael Bushell's excellent 1960s photographs of Portreath Harbour in Latest News on 25 April 2023. Adjacent to the harbour was a goods yard at the bottom of a cable-worked incline at the end of a freight-only branch. The yard had three wagon turntables, a dozen sidings, stables, offices etc. Goods trains stopped at the top of the incline with only wagons being worked up and down the incline. Until the autumn of 2022 it had never occurred to me what grade of railwayman would have been in charge of the goods yard at Portreath – maybe a goods clerk, chief goods clerk, yard foreman, yard inspector or station inspector perhaps under the supervision of the station master at Redruth or Carn Brea Stations on the Cornish main line. I doubt that I would have expected a station master to be appointed to a non-passenger station. In the autumn of 2022 I came across this entry in the November 1929 edition of the Great Western Magazine and was quite surprised by the position that Mr. Jenkins had occupied for 20 years.
The death occurred on 28 September 1929, at the age of 76, of Mr. J.H. Jenkins who retired from the position of station master at Portreath in March 1917. Mr. Jenkins was transferred to the Great Western Railway Company's service from the West Cornwall Railway in February 1876 and spent the whole of his career in Cornwall. He was station master at Portreath for twenty years.
If Porteath had been at the end of a branchline where the passenger service had been withdrawn I could have understood that the station master may have been kept on to deal with all matters in the staton's new guise, but that did not apply here. Perhaps the explanation lies in just how busy the harbour had been in the past. There were, and are, no lock gates at Portreath so at low tide the two docks empty of water completely with ships sitting on the floor of the dock. Ships entering or leaving the harbour have to wait until at least half tide before they can enter or leave. In the Victorian times the harbour was receiving up to 700 ships per annum which equates to one on every high tide six days a week throughout the year. The ships were quite small but even so there would be a couple of hundred tons of goods to be moved in or out by rail every single working day. Until the advent of the motor lorry the remaining mines in the area would have been totally reliant on the harbour and the branchline to bring in the coal for the steam engines and to take away the ore that was going for smelting elsewhere and for the tin and copper ingots that had been smelted locally.
MLR / 30 April 2023
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 19
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
On 5 May 1962 I took a half-day trip from Plymouth to Newton Abbot and return for the princely sum of 6 shillings (30p – current price £8.50). The outward journey was on the 2.30pm which was The Royal Duchy, the 11.30am Penzance to Paddington; 7 coaches hauled by a D800 series Warship. The train was allowed nine minutes at Newton to attach a rake of coaches from Paignton. The object of the trip was to return on the 4.56pm off Newton a regular steam turn at the time. The train was the once-daily Liverpool to Plymouth which travelled via the Welsh Marches line, but the only stops on that route were Shrewsbury, Hereford and Pontypool Road Stations with the train avoiding Newport by means of the east curve at Maindee. Table 164 reveals that the train also had through coaches from Manchester to Kingswear. The two sections departed Liverpool (Lime Street) at 9.10am and Manchester (Picadilly) at 9.30am. The two sections joined at Crewe and left there at 10.20am. The train was allowed 64 minutes for the 32 miles from Newton to Plymouth with stops at Totnes and Brent. The loco had no difficulty keeping to time with on-time departure from Newton and on-time arrival at Plymouth. However that statement conceals a laboured climb from Totnes to Tigley when speed dropped to 14mph before Tigley Box recovering to 30mph at Rattery Box. The engine was single chimney Castle number 5055 Earl of Eldon of Newton Abbot Shed and the load was 7 coaches, which was well within the limit for a Castle-class engine over the South Devon Banks of 315 tons. The loco would be stored 4 months later but resurrected to work again from other sheds.
CAPTIONS
7064 5055 stands at platform 2 at Newton Abbot on 5 May 1962 with the Liverpool to Plymouth portion of 7 coaches two minutes before departure. The Kingswear portion was due to depart four minutes after the Plymouth train at 5.00pm.
7066 5055 stands at platform 3 at Plymouth in the rain two minutes after arriving on time. The station tower in the background was then brand-new.
7157 A short train stands at the mystery station somewhere in Cornwall, Devon or Somerset in June 1962. The mystery station will be revealed in Part 20.
MLR / 7 May 2023
CAPTIONS
7064 5055 stands at platform 2 at Newton Abbot on 5 May 1962 with the Liverpool to Plymouth portion of 7 coaches two minutes before departure. The Kingswear portion was due to depart four minutes after the Plymouth train at 5.00pm.
7066 5055 stands at platform 3 at Plymouth in the rain two minutes after arriving on time. The station tower in the background was then brand-new.
7157 A short train stands at the mystery station somewhere in Cornwall, Devon or Somerset in June 1962. The mystery station will be revealed in Part 20.
MLR / 7 May 2023
7064 5055 stands at platform 2 at Newton Abbot on 5 May 1962 with the Liverpool to Plymouth portion of 7 coaches two minutes before departure. The Kingswear portion was due to depart four minutes after the Plymouth train at 5.00pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7066 5055 stands at platform 3 at Plymouth in the rain two minutes after arriving on time. The station tower in the background was then brand-new. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7157 A short train stands at the mystery station somewhere in Cornwall, Devon or Somerset in June 1962. The mystery station will be revealed in Part 20. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to your part 20 and details of the mystery station.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 20
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Day Trip to Lynton & Lynmouth
Once a year I took my parents out for a longer day trip in their car which was not the most reliable, so it really was a bit of an adventure. In 1962 the destination was Lynton in North Devon for a trip on the cliff railway – from top to bottom and return. We headed north from Plymouth up the A386 via Tavistock and Sourton to Barnstaple from where it was the A39 via Blackmoor Gate; a total distance of about 80 miles. These days Google Maps tells us that the best route from Plymouth to Lynton is via the M5 and Tiverton taking just over 2 hours for the 107 miles. In 1962 the journey would have taken us a minimum of 2¾ hours and probably at least 3½ hours by the time we stopped somewhere en-route to photograph at least one steam train somewhere. Luckily my parents were very tolerant of my hobby and stopping almost anywhere there was a railway line to be seen. In 1962 the infrastructure of the railways was much as it had always been for decades and worth photographing but the era of mass destruction of station buildings and signal boxes etc. was about to start.
The towns of Lynton and Lynmouth are only a short distance apart horizontally but a fair way apart vertically with steep roads joining the two which caused major problems before the advent of motorised road vehicles. A cliff railway was proposed and built primarily for freight transport originally, only later becoming a major passenger transport artery. There are only three 100 percent water-powered funicular railways in the world and the L & L is both the longest and the steepest in the world. There are two tracks and two cars connected by cables with four separate braking systems. On the signal to start water is released from the car at the bottom until both cars start to move; with the water being replaced by topping up the tank when the car reaches the top. The gauge of the track is 1,118 mm (44 inches); the rise is 152.4 metres; the track length is 262.7 metres; and the gradient is steeper than 1 in 2. Much of the infrastructure remains just as it was built for the opening in 1890 when it was a triumph of Victorian engineering. The cliff railway is now a major tourist attraction in its own right as well being the best way for pedestrians to travel up and down the hill between the two towns. The narrow-gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway was completed to Lynton in 1898 and opened up the area to tourism. Before 1898 the tourist would have to have taken the stagecoach or a horse bus from Minehead (17 miles) or Barnstaple (20 miles). Although the A39 trunk road passes close to both towns the area is still relatively isolated. The one petrol filling station in the area is one of the few in the whole of England to receive a Government subsidy of 5p a litre because of its isolation and the high costs bringing fuel to it.
It was my first visit to the area in 1962 and I found the cliff railway very impressive with one reason being the sheer length of it. As a pedestrian it was quite easy to avoid the cliff railway going down but I would not wish to walk up the hill to save a few bob. By the look of the attached photos there were plenty of other people who thought similarly. The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway is well worth a visit. It would be interesting to learn whether the top car is pinned in position, chocked or attached in some way overnight to take the strain off the cables when not in use.
In the last part of this series the article finished with a mystery picture. The answer was Meeth Halt on the Halwill Junction to Torrington Line seen on the evening of 11 June 1962. There will be more on Meeth Halt in a later part of this series. There were two correct answers and they came from Roy Hart and Roger Winnen. The photo was taken on the way home from Lynton to Plymouth on the evening of 11 June 1962, and the train was the 6.30pm Halwill Junction to Torrington hauled by an unrecorded Ivatt 2-6-2 tank. This was the second, and last, passenger train of the day to travel the full length of the line.
MLR / 8 May 2023
Once a year I took my parents out for a longer day trip in their car which was not the most reliable, so it really was a bit of an adventure. In 1962 the destination was Lynton in North Devon for a trip on the cliff railway – from top to bottom and return. We headed north from Plymouth up the A386 via Tavistock and Sourton to Barnstaple from where it was the A39 via Blackmoor Gate; a total distance of about 80 miles. These days Google Maps tells us that the best route from Plymouth to Lynton is via the M5 and Tiverton taking just over 2 hours for the 107 miles. In 1962 the journey would have taken us a minimum of 2¾ hours and probably at least 3½ hours by the time we stopped somewhere en-route to photograph at least one steam train somewhere. Luckily my parents were very tolerant of my hobby and stopping almost anywhere there was a railway line to be seen. In 1962 the infrastructure of the railways was much as it had always been for decades and worth photographing but the era of mass destruction of station buildings and signal boxes etc. was about to start.
The towns of Lynton and Lynmouth are only a short distance apart horizontally but a fair way apart vertically with steep roads joining the two which caused major problems before the advent of motorised road vehicles. A cliff railway was proposed and built primarily for freight transport originally, only later becoming a major passenger transport artery. There are only three 100 percent water-powered funicular railways in the world and the L & L is both the longest and the steepest in the world. There are two tracks and two cars connected by cables with four separate braking systems. On the signal to start water is released from the car at the bottom until both cars start to move; with the water being replaced by topping up the tank when the car reaches the top. The gauge of the track is 1,118 mm (44 inches); the rise is 152.4 metres; the track length is 262.7 metres; and the gradient is steeper than 1 in 2. Much of the infrastructure remains just as it was built for the opening in 1890 when it was a triumph of Victorian engineering. The cliff railway is now a major tourist attraction in its own right as well being the best way for pedestrians to travel up and down the hill between the two towns. The narrow-gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway was completed to Lynton in 1898 and opened up the area to tourism. Before 1898 the tourist would have to have taken the stagecoach or a horse bus from Minehead (17 miles) or Barnstaple (20 miles). Although the A39 trunk road passes close to both towns the area is still relatively isolated. The one petrol filling station in the area is one of the few in the whole of England to receive a Government subsidy of 5p a litre because of its isolation and the high costs bringing fuel to it.
It was my first visit to the area in 1962 and I found the cliff railway very impressive with one reason being the sheer length of it. As a pedestrian it was quite easy to avoid the cliff railway going down but I would not wish to walk up the hill to save a few bob. By the look of the attached photos there were plenty of other people who thought similarly. The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway is well worth a visit. It would be interesting to learn whether the top car is pinned in position, chocked or attached in some way overnight to take the strain off the cables when not in use.
In the last part of this series the article finished with a mystery picture. The answer was Meeth Halt on the Halwill Junction to Torrington Line seen on the evening of 11 June 1962. There will be more on Meeth Halt in a later part of this series. There were two correct answers and they came from Roy Hart and Roger Winnen. The photo was taken on the way home from Lynton to Plymouth on the evening of 11 June 1962, and the train was the 6.30pm Halwill Junction to Torrington hauled by an unrecorded Ivatt 2-6-2 tank. This was the second, and last, passenger train of the day to travel the full length of the line.
MLR / 8 May 2023
7154 The queue waiting to go down the cliff railway approaching 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7152 I think that this car is descending; and a minute or two later:- Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7153 this car is approaching the top station. Note how the rails are held together with tie-bars and the twin cable haulage system by which the heavier descending car hauls the lighter car up the incline. Copyright MIchael L. Roach.
7155 The queue to join the car at the bottom of the incline. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7156 The lower car starts to ascend watched by the people queueing as they look into the sun. All views taken on the afternoon of 11 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Mike. We look forward to item 21 of your memories.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 21
Steam and the Forder Valley Link Road
Michael L. Roach
Steam and the Forder Valley Link Road
Michael L. Roach
The steam roller was patented in France in 1859 and the first British examples appeared in the 1860s. There were a number of maufacturers who adapted their design of traction engine to the new three smooth roll design which was ideal for building roads. Marshalls of Gainsborough were one of the major manufacturers but they produced their first diesel roller in 1925. Steam rollers were still in use throughout the 1960s but in rapidly diminishing numbers. The last steam roller that I saw in use was on a road widening contract. The location was alongside the Vulcan Inn (now a cafe) close to the site of the former Doldowlod railway station on the A470 in Radnorshire where the trunk roasd was being widened and straightened; and the date was 24 August 1971. The roller was Aveling & Porter no. 11208; a 10-tonner dating from 1925 and belonging to the Radnor County Council which is now part of Powys County Council. The roller entered preservation and was last heard of in Kington, Herefordshire.
In Part 9 of this series (10 March) I explained how my first job on a construction site was setting out the Forder Valley Link Road in Spring 1962. The road was built across a flood plain and at the peak there were six road rollers compacting the formation most of them being Marshalls, including one Marshall steam roller. It is believed that most of the rollers were on hire from the well-known firm of R.Dingle & Sons of Stoke Climsland. The Marshall roller in question had the works number 88166 and the registration DCV 5, and it dated from 1937. The roller was driven by one “Taffy” Dare who hailed from the Valleys of South Wales and he lived the typical life that such drivers had been living for the previous 80 to 90 years. Taffy left home at Stoke Climsland, near Callington Cornwall, very early on a Monday morning in good time to light up the engine and raise steam ready to start work at 07.30 with the rest of the construction workers. From Monday evening to Thursday evening Taffy spent four nights in his living van which he had towed to site. This was without doubt a lonely life for a married man but on Friday evening he could damp down the fire and go home for the weekend. He obviously had no car because he had driven the roller to site, so perhaps he had a small motor bike with him. DCV 5 was one of several of Dingle's steam rollers to make it into preservation and when last heard of it belonged to an enthusiast living in Redruth.
CAPTIONS
7006 The typical parts of a steam roller can be seen in this broadside view of DCV 5 on 17 April 1962.
7007 In this view the Marshall is rolling material brought from the other end of the site.
7008 Here we see a lorry bringing material excavated on site and which will be spread in layers by a bulldozer and compacted by rollers. One of the dozers on site was a Hanomag which were never common in Britain. The firm was better known by railway enthusiasts for its steam locomotives. The first three images were all taken at Longbridge at the east end of the road scheme.
7145 On 6 June 1962 the Marshall roller is seen at the other (west) end of the scheme close to where the road joined back into the existing A374 road.
MLR / 21 May 2023
In Part 9 of this series (10 March) I explained how my first job on a construction site was setting out the Forder Valley Link Road in Spring 1962. The road was built across a flood plain and at the peak there were six road rollers compacting the formation most of them being Marshalls, including one Marshall steam roller. It is believed that most of the rollers were on hire from the well-known firm of R.Dingle & Sons of Stoke Climsland. The Marshall roller in question had the works number 88166 and the registration DCV 5, and it dated from 1937. The roller was driven by one “Taffy” Dare who hailed from the Valleys of South Wales and he lived the typical life that such drivers had been living for the previous 80 to 90 years. Taffy left home at Stoke Climsland, near Callington Cornwall, very early on a Monday morning in good time to light up the engine and raise steam ready to start work at 07.30 with the rest of the construction workers. From Monday evening to Thursday evening Taffy spent four nights in his living van which he had towed to site. This was without doubt a lonely life for a married man but on Friday evening he could damp down the fire and go home for the weekend. He obviously had no car because he had driven the roller to site, so perhaps he had a small motor bike with him. DCV 5 was one of several of Dingle's steam rollers to make it into preservation and when last heard of it belonged to an enthusiast living in Redruth.
CAPTIONS
7006 The typical parts of a steam roller can be seen in this broadside view of DCV 5 on 17 April 1962.
7007 In this view the Marshall is rolling material brought from the other end of the site.
7008 Here we see a lorry bringing material excavated on site and which will be spread in layers by a bulldozer and compacted by rollers. One of the dozers on site was a Hanomag which were never common in Britain. The firm was better known by railway enthusiasts for its steam locomotives. The first three images were all taken at Longbridge at the east end of the road scheme.
7145 On 6 June 1962 the Marshall roller is seen at the other (west) end of the scheme close to where the road joined back into the existing A374 road.
MLR / 21 May 2023
7006 The typical parts of a steam roller can be seen in this broadside view of DCV 5 on 17 April 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7007 In this view the Marshall is rolling material brought from the other end of the site. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7008 Here we see a lorry bringing material excavated on site and which will be spread in layers by a bulldozer and compacted by rollers. One of the dozers on site was a Hanomag which were never common in Britain. The firm was better known by railway enthusiasts for its steam locomotives. The first three images were all taken at Longbridge at the east end of the road scheme. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7145 On 6 June 1962 the Marshall roller is seen at the other (west) end of the scheme close to where the road joined back into the existing A374 road. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to part 22. Keep Rollin' along.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 22
Meeth Halt and the Chelfam Viaduct
Michael L. Roach
Meeth Halt and the Chelfam Viaduct
Michael L. Roach
The story of a day trip from Plymouth to Lynton was related in Part 20 on 18 May 2023; and how such trips were usually accompanied by stops enroute to photograph a train or two, if the timing was right, and if not some railway infrastructure. On this particular day, Bank Holiday Monday 11 June 1962 there were two railway stops on the outward trip to Lynton and one on the return leg several hours later. The first stop was at a bridge over the Barnstaple to Taunton line between Barnstaple and the first station at Swimbridge. The line passed north of and within half a mile of the village of Landkey, but a station or halt was never provided which seems quite remiss of the GWR in view of the number of platforms and halts they did provide in the 1920s and 1930s to much smaller settlements. A minor road headed north from Landkey and passed over the line on an overbridge. I think we probably stopped here to eat our sandwiches while the next train was awaited. I walked along the top of the cutting a short distance west of the bridge to photograph the 1.17pm Barnstaple Junction to Taunton train some six minutes into its 100 minute journey to Taunton. The train consisted of a bogie parcels van and three passenger coaches hauled by Churchward Mogul 6372. The engine was a regular on the line and a long-term resident of Taunton Shed continuously from before nationalisation until withdrawal in December 1963. The railway line closed completely in October 1966 and the bridge has been replaced by a much longer one which now spans the North Devon Link Road, constructed along the alignment of the railway in parts. The road is numbered the A361 which is an interesting road as it wends its way from Ilfracombe across Devon and then across the full width of the Counties of Somerset, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire before entering Nothamptonshire and terminating at Kilsby where it joins the A5 – the Holyhead Road. The A361 is the longest three-digit A road in the whole of the United Kingdom running for about 210 miles in total. Apart from 15-20 miles at each end the road runs wholly through GWR and Western Region territory.
The next stop was just two miles further north but would probably have taken in excess of ten minutes to reach because of the very narrow roads. I did not realise before that the two railways were just so close but here we were only three miles out of Barnstaple and from here the two lines would diverge rapidly. The second line was the narrow gauge Lynton & Barnstaple and I had come to see the wonderful Chelfham Viaduct for the first, and only, time. The viaduct was constructed in 1896-7 to carry the line across a valley at a height of 21 metres and is 121 metres long consisting of eight arches. It was built of cream bricks from the works at Peters Marland which began their near 30 mile journey from the brickworks to the site on the 3-foot gauge Torrington & Marland Railway of 1881. Although the L&B closed in 1935 the viaduct survived to be extensively restored in the year 2000 and has been listed Grade II since 1965. Chelfham Viaduct was the largest structure on any English narrow gauge railway system. Both from ground level and from photographs it is hard to realise that it is not carrying a single line of standard gauge track. A magnificent structure. I took a couple of photographs and we moved on to Lynton and the top end of the cliff railway.
We arrived at Lynton parked up and took a trip down the cliff railway to see Lynmouth and its harbour. In 1962 it was just ten years since the disastrous floods of Friday 15 August 1952 which was still very fresh in everyone's minds. After 70 years the Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952 remains the worst river flood experienced in the UK. More than 100 buildings were detroyed and 34 people lost their lives. We stayed a couple of hours and then set out for the journey home via the centre of Barnstaple this time. First stop was just outside the village of Meeth on the A376 and roughly half way home. We had travelled this way in the morning but not stopped. A quarter of a mile south of this small village a railway line crossed the A376 on an ungated level crossing. Trains were required to stop and whistle before carefully crossing if the traffic had stopped, because this was a Light Railway constructed in accordance with the 1896 Act of Parliament. The speed limit on the whole of the line was 25mph, although it was not part of the 1896 Act but dated back much further to an Act of 1868. There is just one line left on the national network still operated as a light railway and that is the Heart of Wales line. The line that passed through Meeth was the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway opened on 27 July 1925 and closed on 1 March 1965, although freight continued to be carried at the northern end for a few years. An unstaffed halt was provided adjacent to the level crossing and was photographed as the 6.30pm from Halwill Junction to Torrington train passed consisting of just one passenger coach hauled by an Ivatt 2-6-2 tank. The photograph was used as a mystery photo in Part 19 and there were a couple of clues. There were few one-coach corridor coach steam trains in the west country in the 1960s and most of them were a single autocoach. The other was the ballast, as with lower speeds and lower axle loads light railways often used poor quality ballast, as here, that would not be considered for a normal standard-gauge railway. However a point worth noting in the second photo is that, although the ballast is poor, the sleepers appear to be closer together than normal. Meeth was the final stop at the end of a great day out with railway photos taken at four different locations, including the cliff railway.
MLR / 27 May 2023
The next stop was just two miles further north but would probably have taken in excess of ten minutes to reach because of the very narrow roads. I did not realise before that the two railways were just so close but here we were only three miles out of Barnstaple and from here the two lines would diverge rapidly. The second line was the narrow gauge Lynton & Barnstaple and I had come to see the wonderful Chelfham Viaduct for the first, and only, time. The viaduct was constructed in 1896-7 to carry the line across a valley at a height of 21 metres and is 121 metres long consisting of eight arches. It was built of cream bricks from the works at Peters Marland which began their near 30 mile journey from the brickworks to the site on the 3-foot gauge Torrington & Marland Railway of 1881. Although the L&B closed in 1935 the viaduct survived to be extensively restored in the year 2000 and has been listed Grade II since 1965. Chelfham Viaduct was the largest structure on any English narrow gauge railway system. Both from ground level and from photographs it is hard to realise that it is not carrying a single line of standard gauge track. A magnificent structure. I took a couple of photographs and we moved on to Lynton and the top end of the cliff railway.
We arrived at Lynton parked up and took a trip down the cliff railway to see Lynmouth and its harbour. In 1962 it was just ten years since the disastrous floods of Friday 15 August 1952 which was still very fresh in everyone's minds. After 70 years the Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952 remains the worst river flood experienced in the UK. More than 100 buildings were detroyed and 34 people lost their lives. We stayed a couple of hours and then set out for the journey home via the centre of Barnstaple this time. First stop was just outside the village of Meeth on the A376 and roughly half way home. We had travelled this way in the morning but not stopped. A quarter of a mile south of this small village a railway line crossed the A376 on an ungated level crossing. Trains were required to stop and whistle before carefully crossing if the traffic had stopped, because this was a Light Railway constructed in accordance with the 1896 Act of Parliament. The speed limit on the whole of the line was 25mph, although it was not part of the 1896 Act but dated back much further to an Act of 1868. There is just one line left on the national network still operated as a light railway and that is the Heart of Wales line. The line that passed through Meeth was the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway opened on 27 July 1925 and closed on 1 March 1965, although freight continued to be carried at the northern end for a few years. An unstaffed halt was provided adjacent to the level crossing and was photographed as the 6.30pm from Halwill Junction to Torrington train passed consisting of just one passenger coach hauled by an Ivatt 2-6-2 tank. The photograph was used as a mystery photo in Part 19 and there were a couple of clues. There were few one-coach corridor coach steam trains in the west country in the 1960s and most of them were a single autocoach. The other was the ballast, as with lower speeds and lower axle loads light railways often used poor quality ballast, as here, that would not be considered for a normal standard-gauge railway. However a point worth noting in the second photo is that, although the ballast is poor, the sleepers appear to be closer together than normal. Meeth was the final stop at the end of a great day out with railway photos taken at four different locations, including the cliff railway.
MLR / 27 May 2023
7148 Churchward Mogul 6372 heads east on the 1.17pm Barnstaple Junction to Taunton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7149 Chelfham Viaduct seen from the west side. The viaduct was built in 1896-7 of more than 250,000 cream coloured bricks, and has 8 arches of 13 metre span. Copyright Michael L. Roach. (it is probably Michael's car parked on the left hand side of this view.
7151 This view of the Viaduct shows the curved south end. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7157 The 6.30pm from Halwill Junction to Torrington stops at Meeth Halt at 7.12pm on Monday 11 June 1962. Copyight Michael L. Roach.
7158 Meeth Halt looking towards Halwill Junction. The photographer is looking east but the line is about to embark on a right-hand curve of more than 90 degrees after which the line will be heading south west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to part 23.
1962 – PART 23 Opening of the First Length of the Great Western Railway.
Michael L. Roach.
Michael L. Roach.
Nothing to do with '62 but this series is a convenient place to put it. As only an occasional visitor to London and beyond I have always felt that Paddington Station is special when passing through it. Arriving at the station on the way home and waiting for our train to appear on the departure board the whole ambience of the station lifts the spirits especially when one looks up and sees the wonderful roof structure designed by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel 170 years ago. The present station opened in 1854 – there is interesting information on the history of the station on the Network Rail website under iconic infrastructure. The station replaced an original temporary structure dating back to the opening of the line in 1838.
It was 185 years ago today on Monday 4 June 1838 that the first length of the Great Western Railway opened for passengers. It was the 23 miles from Paddington to a temporary station at Maidenhead. Considering that the GWR's Act of Parliament only received the Royal Assent on 31 August 1835 to build 23 miles of railway in less than 3 years, including the magnificent Wharncliffe Viaduct was a major achievement. The man driving the construction was Isambard Kingdom Brunel who had been appointed the Engineer to the railway on 7 March 1833 just 6 weeks after the company was founded on 21 January 1833. Brunel was 27 years of age but had already made his mark in civil engineering. Three years later the final length was completed and passenger trains could run the whole length to Bristol on 30 June 1841. The newspapers of the day were effusive in their praise of the GWR. Here is some typical wording from the Windsor and Eton Express - “The first portion of this stupendous and important undertaking have been opened to the public …........ and the ease with which the various journeys were conducted, added to the rapidity of the trains, was such at once to inspire the public with confidence in the safety of the engines. Immense multitudes flocked to witness the passing of the trains and every bridge was thronged with spectators …..... whose countenances bore evident signs of astonishment at the velocity with which the ponderous machine shot through the bridge arches.” The first timetable showed trains leaving Paddington at 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 12 noon, 16.00, 17.00, 18.00 and 19.00. On the first day the railway carried 1,479 passengers and took £226 in fares. For the first week the figures were 10,360 passengers and £1,552 .
It is worth saying a bit about the first station at Maidenhead which was a temporary affair where the line crossed the Great West Road (now the A4) on a skew arch bridge built of brick where the railway was on a high embankment. The bridge is still there exactly as built except that it has been widened to take four tracks. The first station was east of the crossing of the River Thames where the bridge over the river was still under construction in June 1838. The entrance to the temporary station was on the west side of the A4 in the bridge abutment with a flight of steps leading up to the platform. The first station was only in use for two years until the line was extended to Reading and the permanent Maidenhead station opened. 183 years after it closed the huge arched entrance to the temporary station is still quite obvious on the south side of the bridge and can be seen on streetview.
MLR / 28 May 2023
It was 185 years ago today on Monday 4 June 1838 that the first length of the Great Western Railway opened for passengers. It was the 23 miles from Paddington to a temporary station at Maidenhead. Considering that the GWR's Act of Parliament only received the Royal Assent on 31 August 1835 to build 23 miles of railway in less than 3 years, including the magnificent Wharncliffe Viaduct was a major achievement. The man driving the construction was Isambard Kingdom Brunel who had been appointed the Engineer to the railway on 7 March 1833 just 6 weeks after the company was founded on 21 January 1833. Brunel was 27 years of age but had already made his mark in civil engineering. Three years later the final length was completed and passenger trains could run the whole length to Bristol on 30 June 1841. The newspapers of the day were effusive in their praise of the GWR. Here is some typical wording from the Windsor and Eton Express - “The first portion of this stupendous and important undertaking have been opened to the public …........ and the ease with which the various journeys were conducted, added to the rapidity of the trains, was such at once to inspire the public with confidence in the safety of the engines. Immense multitudes flocked to witness the passing of the trains and every bridge was thronged with spectators …..... whose countenances bore evident signs of astonishment at the velocity with which the ponderous machine shot through the bridge arches.” The first timetable showed trains leaving Paddington at 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 12 noon, 16.00, 17.00, 18.00 and 19.00. On the first day the railway carried 1,479 passengers and took £226 in fares. For the first week the figures were 10,360 passengers and £1,552 .
It is worth saying a bit about the first station at Maidenhead which was a temporary affair where the line crossed the Great West Road (now the A4) on a skew arch bridge built of brick where the railway was on a high embankment. The bridge is still there exactly as built except that it has been widened to take four tracks. The first station was east of the crossing of the River Thames where the bridge over the river was still under construction in June 1838. The entrance to the temporary station was on the west side of the A4 in the bridge abutment with a flight of steps leading up to the platform. The first station was only in use for two years until the line was extended to Reading and the permanent Maidenhead station opened. 183 years after it closed the huge arched entrance to the temporary station is still quite obvious on the south side of the bridge and can be seen on streetview.
MLR / 28 May 2023
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 24
An afternoon at Great Aish
Michael L. Roach
An afternoon at Great Aish
Michael L. Roach
The village of Aish is a short distance north-west of the town of South Brent which once had a railway station - the junction station for the Kingsbridge Branch. Aish is now one of Network Rail's timing points because of its emergency crossover located there. Great Aish is a large house south of the village looking out onto the railway line. Leaving the site of South Brent station heading west the line passes under an overbridge carrying Vicarage Road over the railway. In 1962 this was a good place to see if there was a train in the up passenger loop to the west of the station. The line passes over the River Avon on its journey from Dartmoor to the estuary at Kingsbridge and immediately embarks on a long left hand curve which takes the line through 90 degrees from facing almost west to almost south. The radius of the curve is a little over 20 chains. The line here is on gently rising gradients to a minor summit at the site of Wrangaton Station.
The outside of the curve at Great Aish is ideal for photographing trains in the afternoon from about 14.00 hours onwards. I decided to spend much of the afternoon of 2 June 1962 in the fields to the west of the railway. It was a Saturday two weeks before the start of the summer timetable that year and some extra trains had started to run. I knew that there were very few regular scheduled steam trains left at this time as dieslisation was about 90 percent complete at the time but I was usually optimistic that some steam power would appear. I was there in the fields at Aish from about 3.15pm to 6.00pm and saw just four steam engines of which three were lucky extras. On the way to Aish I had stopped at Stowford Bridge, Ivybridge to see a train I hoped would produce steam, and it did in the shape of a Grange and a King. At this time steam double-headers and King-class locos were both very rare on the South Devon main line. As the afternoon wore on and the sun went round I moved northwards to get a different view of the curve. The sight of the afternoon was 5917 on a 10-coach train heading westwards. The limit for a Hall on Dainton and Rsttery banks was 275 tons (about 8C) so it should have had assistance from Newton Abbot to Brent, after which it was allowed to take 392 tons (about 11C). 5917 had been based at Laira until May 1962 when it moved to Exeter. The last train to be seen was a down freight train which could have been the 10.00am from Avonmouth running more than 90 minutes late or the 4.55pm from Hackney Yard running 20 minutes early. Both terminated at Tavistock Junction Yard. I think the former is more likely in view of the St. Phillips Marsh loco hauling the train. Readers are recommended to look at the OS 25-inch plan on NLS Maps, particularly the 1873-1888 series where it can be seen that the main line was then single track and Brent Station had just one platform because the Kingsbridge Branch did not open until 1893.
CAPTIONS
7139 At 2.54pm on Saturday 2 June 1962 6841 Marlas Grange (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) and 6015 King Richard III head west at Stowford Bridge. 6015 had been based at Old Oak Common Shed for the whole of its life starting on 15 June 1928 but moved to Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton on 4 June 1962, just two days after this photo was taken.
7140 At 3.42pm 5917 Westminster Hall heads around the curve with a westbound extra train of ten coaches. I am in the field (969) opposite Great Aish House and the milepost is 230¼. The feature in the background is Brent Hill. It is believed that the later emergency crossovers would be behind me.
7141 At 4.48pm Laira's 2-8-0 no 3849 heads slowly down the gradient with a heavy permanent way train which was put into the up loop.
7142 At 5.05pm 5917 (seen earlier) heads back up the line light engine.
7143 At 6.01pm Churchward Mogul 6312 (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) passes the end of the loop with 34 wagons. The loco was withdrawn three months later.
7228 This is what Brent Station looked like in 1962 taken from Vicarage Road on 7 July 1962 looking east towards Totnes and Newton Abbot.
MLR / 6 June 2023
The outside of the curve at Great Aish is ideal for photographing trains in the afternoon from about 14.00 hours onwards. I decided to spend much of the afternoon of 2 June 1962 in the fields to the west of the railway. It was a Saturday two weeks before the start of the summer timetable that year and some extra trains had started to run. I knew that there were very few regular scheduled steam trains left at this time as dieslisation was about 90 percent complete at the time but I was usually optimistic that some steam power would appear. I was there in the fields at Aish from about 3.15pm to 6.00pm and saw just four steam engines of which three were lucky extras. On the way to Aish I had stopped at Stowford Bridge, Ivybridge to see a train I hoped would produce steam, and it did in the shape of a Grange and a King. At this time steam double-headers and King-class locos were both very rare on the South Devon main line. As the afternoon wore on and the sun went round I moved northwards to get a different view of the curve. The sight of the afternoon was 5917 on a 10-coach train heading westwards. The limit for a Hall on Dainton and Rsttery banks was 275 tons (about 8C) so it should have had assistance from Newton Abbot to Brent, after which it was allowed to take 392 tons (about 11C). 5917 had been based at Laira until May 1962 when it moved to Exeter. The last train to be seen was a down freight train which could have been the 10.00am from Avonmouth running more than 90 minutes late or the 4.55pm from Hackney Yard running 20 minutes early. Both terminated at Tavistock Junction Yard. I think the former is more likely in view of the St. Phillips Marsh loco hauling the train. Readers are recommended to look at the OS 25-inch plan on NLS Maps, particularly the 1873-1888 series where it can be seen that the main line was then single track and Brent Station had just one platform because the Kingsbridge Branch did not open until 1893.
CAPTIONS
7139 At 2.54pm on Saturday 2 June 1962 6841 Marlas Grange (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) and 6015 King Richard III head west at Stowford Bridge. 6015 had been based at Old Oak Common Shed for the whole of its life starting on 15 June 1928 but moved to Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton on 4 June 1962, just two days after this photo was taken.
7140 At 3.42pm 5917 Westminster Hall heads around the curve with a westbound extra train of ten coaches. I am in the field (969) opposite Great Aish House and the milepost is 230¼. The feature in the background is Brent Hill. It is believed that the later emergency crossovers would be behind me.
7141 At 4.48pm Laira's 2-8-0 no 3849 heads slowly down the gradient with a heavy permanent way train which was put into the up loop.
7142 At 5.05pm 5917 (seen earlier) heads back up the line light engine.
7143 At 6.01pm Churchward Mogul 6312 (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) passes the end of the loop with 34 wagons. The loco was withdrawn three months later.
7228 This is what Brent Station looked like in 1962 taken from Vicarage Road on 7 July 1962 looking east towards Totnes and Newton Abbot.
MLR / 6 June 2023
7139 At 2.54pm on Saturday 2 June 1962 6841 Marlas Grange (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) and 6015 King Richard III head west at Stowford Bridge. 6015 had been based at Old Oak Common Shed for the whole of its life starting on 15 June 1928 but moved to Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton on 4 June 1962, just two days after this photo was taken. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7140 At 3.42pm 5917 Westminster Hall heads around the curve with a westbound extra train of ten coaches. I am in the field (969) opposite Great Aish House and the milepost is 230¼. The feature in the background is Brent Hill. It is believed that the later emergency crossovers would be behind me. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7141 At 4.48pm Laira's 2-8-0 no 3849 heads slowly down the gradient with a heavy permanent way train which was put into the up loop. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7142 At 5.05pm 5917 (seen earlier) heads back up the line light engine. Copyight Michael L. Roach.
7143 At 6.01pm Churchward Mogul 6312 (82B – St. Phillips Marsh) passes the end of the loop with 34 wagons. The loco was withdrawn three months later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7228 This is what Brent Station looked like in 1962 taken from Vicarage Road on 7 July 1962 looking east towards Totnes and Newton Abbot. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks indeed Michael - we now have part 25 to look forward to.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 25
Laira Shed - Engines around the coaling stage.
Michael L. Roach
Laira Shed - Engines around the coaling stage.
Michael L. Roach
I visited Laira Steam Shed many times in 1962. Here are a few of the photos taken in the Spring of 1962 when there was still a good range of different steam classes arriving down the Western Region main line friom Newton Abbot although the coaling line was often empty. At the time the line from Exeter via Okehampton and Friary Shed both belonged to the Southern Region but that would change at the end of 1962. From 1 January 1963 the line and shed would be administered by the Western Region. Friary shed would be closed a few months later with the remaining locos transferred to Laira Shed.
MLR / 8 June 2023
MLR / 8 June 2023
6979 Small prairie tank 4574 is seen on the coaling line at 5.05pm on Saturday 7 April 1962.Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7026 Hall 4982 is standing on the coaling line loop on the evening of Wednesday 25 April 1962. Acton Hall was based at Laira from August 1961 to May 1962 when it was withdrawn. Despite being a Laira engine this was the only occasion I photographed it.
7026 Hall 4982 is standing on the coaling line loop on the evening of Wednesday 25 April 1962. Acton Hall was based at Laira from August 1961 to May 1962 when it was withdrawn. Despite being a Laira engine this was the only occasion I photographed it. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7068 Laira's 5568 is stood on the south side of the coaling stage showing the later corrugated iron sheet extension allowing locos to be coaled on both sides of the coaling stage. Photo taken on the morning of Saturday 12 May 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7070 Laira's 7916 Mobberley Hall on the same line. This was one of the routes used by locos leaving the roundhouse; and some drivers would add an extra tub or two of coal as they passed the coaling stage if there was room in the tender. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7096 7805 Broome Manor of 88A Cardiff Canton Shed on the coaling line on the morning of 26 May 1962. The loco moved to Cardiff East Dock on 21 July 1962 in anticipation of the closure of Canton to steam a few weeks later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7137 Laira's 4920 Dumbleton Hall was immaculate when seen on the morning of Saturday 2 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach
7159 Cardiff Canton Shed's 9F number 92232 is seen at 7.30pm on Wednesday 13 June 1962. It may have run light engine to Tavistock Junction later that evening to take out the 9.40pm SX freight to Cardiff. On Saturdays only the train left Tavistock Junction at 8.05pm and for a few months in summer it was possible to photograph the train being banked up Hemerdon Bank by a steam engine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7167 6028 King George VI is moving towards the coaling stage at 4.45pm on Saturday 23 June 1962 after bringing in 10C from Northampton. The loco had moved from Canton to Old Oak a week earlier on 15 June. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 26
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset
Michael L. Roach
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset
Michael L. Roach
At the end of June 1962 I made my first longer trip of the year – a two day trip to the Somerset and Dorset line from Bath to Bournemouth. It was my first visit to the line, although I had passed through Templecombe on a Salisbury to Exeter train several times in the previous two years. The visit was prompted by the news in the Spring of 1962 that “The Pines Express” was to be diverted away from the line with the start of the winter timetable in September 1962. The Pines was the only named train on the S & D and ran from Manchester to Bournemouth every weekday but in the future would travel via Oxford and Reading.
For this trip I would travel to the S & D by car to give some flexiblilty in where we stayed and the order we did things in an endeavour to travel over all the remaining parts of the S & D that were still open to passengers in 1962. My friend had lived and worked in Plymouth until about 12 months earlier but now lived and worked in London. He would join me at Templecombe. I left home in Plymouth mid-morning on Friday 29 June 1962 and made my way leisurely eastwards stopping at several places on the way to take railway photos at places I might never again visit. In one case it would be 50 years before I returned. First stop was on Honiton Bank to see the down Atlantic Coast Express pass in the hands of a Merchant Navy. Next were three stations and halts on the Yeovil to Dorchester line, followed by two locations on the Yeovil to Taunton line which was still steam operated at the time. By the time I reached Templecombe it was 7.45pm but still quite light and I took 5 photos in the next hour at the shed and the station; including one of the 6.45pm Bournemouth to Bath being hauled into the station by the station pilot on the back of the train because of the unusual layout. I think my friend arrived on the 5.00pm from Waterloo. We spent the night at Evercreech – the village that is, not Evercreech Junction.
On the Saturday we were up bright and early to catch the 8.15am Evercreech Junction to Highbridge and its return working at 9.45am. Arrival back at Evercreech Junction was on time at 10.44am. We then drove the 10 miles to Templecombe station and parked up in order to catch the 12.03pm north to Bath Green Park passing 4 trains in the opposite direction. Our train back south was the Pines Express, the 3.30pm off Green Park. It arrived on time behind “Peak” D65 and left on time behind Bullied light pacific 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” of Bournemouth Shed which was its last shed as it was withdrawn two years later. The train was piloted by 75009 of Templecombe Shed as far as Evercreech Junction. We had forty minutes at Bournemouth West where M7 no. 30057 was the station pilot before departing on the 6.48pm. This was the last train of the day Monday to Friday, but there was a later one on Saturdays at 10.00pm. Both trains ran only as far as Templecombe, but that was far enough for us. It would have taken me about three hours to drive home to Plymouth on the roads of the day. A long and tiring day but a great introduction to the Somerset and Dorset.
SCANS
7185 GWR Collet Goods 3216 rests between duties at Templecombe Station on the evening of 29 June 1962. It was acting as station pilot hauling north-bound trains backwards into the station; and hauling south-bound trains backwards out of the station to regain the S&D main line.
7194 BR Standard 82002 stands at Highbridge with the 9.45am to Evercreech Junction.
7202 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F number 53808 seen out of steam at Bath Green Park Shed at 2.00pm on Saturday 30 June 1962.
7207 LMS “Crab” number 42790 of Saltley Shed stands at Bath Green Park Station.
MLR / 20 June 2023
For this trip I would travel to the S & D by car to give some flexiblilty in where we stayed and the order we did things in an endeavour to travel over all the remaining parts of the S & D that were still open to passengers in 1962. My friend had lived and worked in Plymouth until about 12 months earlier but now lived and worked in London. He would join me at Templecombe. I left home in Plymouth mid-morning on Friday 29 June 1962 and made my way leisurely eastwards stopping at several places on the way to take railway photos at places I might never again visit. In one case it would be 50 years before I returned. First stop was on Honiton Bank to see the down Atlantic Coast Express pass in the hands of a Merchant Navy. Next were three stations and halts on the Yeovil to Dorchester line, followed by two locations on the Yeovil to Taunton line which was still steam operated at the time. By the time I reached Templecombe it was 7.45pm but still quite light and I took 5 photos in the next hour at the shed and the station; including one of the 6.45pm Bournemouth to Bath being hauled into the station by the station pilot on the back of the train because of the unusual layout. I think my friend arrived on the 5.00pm from Waterloo. We spent the night at Evercreech – the village that is, not Evercreech Junction.
On the Saturday we were up bright and early to catch the 8.15am Evercreech Junction to Highbridge and its return working at 9.45am. Arrival back at Evercreech Junction was on time at 10.44am. We then drove the 10 miles to Templecombe station and parked up in order to catch the 12.03pm north to Bath Green Park passing 4 trains in the opposite direction. Our train back south was the Pines Express, the 3.30pm off Green Park. It arrived on time behind “Peak” D65 and left on time behind Bullied light pacific 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” of Bournemouth Shed which was its last shed as it was withdrawn two years later. The train was piloted by 75009 of Templecombe Shed as far as Evercreech Junction. We had forty minutes at Bournemouth West where M7 no. 30057 was the station pilot before departing on the 6.48pm. This was the last train of the day Monday to Friday, but there was a later one on Saturdays at 10.00pm. Both trains ran only as far as Templecombe, but that was far enough for us. It would have taken me about three hours to drive home to Plymouth on the roads of the day. A long and tiring day but a great introduction to the Somerset and Dorset.
SCANS
7185 GWR Collet Goods 3216 rests between duties at Templecombe Station on the evening of 29 June 1962. It was acting as station pilot hauling north-bound trains backwards into the station; and hauling south-bound trains backwards out of the station to regain the S&D main line.
7194 BR Standard 82002 stands at Highbridge with the 9.45am to Evercreech Junction.
7202 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F number 53808 seen out of steam at Bath Green Park Shed at 2.00pm on Saturday 30 June 1962.
7207 LMS “Crab” number 42790 of Saltley Shed stands at Bath Green Park Station.
MLR / 20 June 2023
7185 GWR Collet Goods 3216 rests between duties at Templecombe Station on the evening of 29 June 1962. It was acting as station pilot hauling north-bound trains backwards into the station; and hauling south-bound trains backwards out of the station to regain the S&D main line. Cooyright Michael L. Roach.
7194 BR Standard 82002 stands at Highbridge with the 9.45am to Evercreech Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7202 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F number 53808 seen out of steam at Bath Green Park Shed at 2.00pm on Saturday 30 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7207 LMS “Crab” number 42790 of Saltley Shed stands at Bath Green Park Station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 27
Honiton Bank
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset
Michael L. Roach
Honiton Bank
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset
Michael L. Roach
Honiton Bank
On 29 June 1962 I set out by car for the Somerset & Dorset line. The route to Exeter was along the A38 which in 1962 was very different to today's Devon Expressway which is dual carriageway the whole way. The only places to have a bypass in 1962 were Buckfastleigh and Ashburton – both were single carriageway and very necessary and built pre 1939 ? In 1962 the A38 went through the middle of Plympton, Ivybridge, Bittaford, Wrangaton and Chudleigh. At Exeter I turned on to the A30 to Honiton and there on to the A35 which is unchanged to this day as it strikes uphill out of Honiton. After just 2 miles I turned off to the north on a minor road and went down to the Southern main line just to the east of Honiton Tunnel where a road bridge gave a good open view of the double-track in 1962 in contrast to today's tree-lined single-track. It was just over a quarter of a mile to the east end of Honiton Tunnel; and at the west end was the summit of the 7-mile climb of Honiton Bank mostly at a gradient of 1 in 80.
I was on this bridge to see another time-limited named train “The Atlantic Coast Express.” The steam-age ACE outlived the Pines Express by just two years with the last ACE running on 5 September 1964 with the end of the summer timetable. The name Atlantic Coast Express would be revived by First Great Western some 44 years later for a summer only Paddington to Newquay HST-operated train. I saw 3 passenger trains pass before moving on after an hour. The three engines were from three different classes and two different sheds. I returned to this bridge just once on 14 August 1966 to see a railtour come up the bank. Unfortunately the engine disgraced itself by stopping short of steam on the bank; but fortunately for me and the others gathered on the bridge it stopped just in front of us about 100 yards away. The engine was A2 number 60532 “Blue Peter” on a railtour from Waterloo to Exeter and return via Taunton. The train was already running an hour late before it stalled, and the load was just nine coaches.
MLR / 21 June 2023
On 29 June 1962 I set out by car for the Somerset & Dorset line. The route to Exeter was along the A38 which in 1962 was very different to today's Devon Expressway which is dual carriageway the whole way. The only places to have a bypass in 1962 were Buckfastleigh and Ashburton – both were single carriageway and very necessary and built pre 1939 ? In 1962 the A38 went through the middle of Plympton, Ivybridge, Bittaford, Wrangaton and Chudleigh. At Exeter I turned on to the A30 to Honiton and there on to the A35 which is unchanged to this day as it strikes uphill out of Honiton. After just 2 miles I turned off to the north on a minor road and went down to the Southern main line just to the east of Honiton Tunnel where a road bridge gave a good open view of the double-track in 1962 in contrast to today's tree-lined single-track. It was just over a quarter of a mile to the east end of Honiton Tunnel; and at the west end was the summit of the 7-mile climb of Honiton Bank mostly at a gradient of 1 in 80.
I was on this bridge to see another time-limited named train “The Atlantic Coast Express.” The steam-age ACE outlived the Pines Express by just two years with the last ACE running on 5 September 1964 with the end of the summer timetable. The name Atlantic Coast Express would be revived by First Great Western some 44 years later for a summer only Paddington to Newquay HST-operated train. I saw 3 passenger trains pass before moving on after an hour. The three engines were from three different classes and two different sheds. I returned to this bridge just once on 14 August 1966 to see a railtour come up the bank. Unfortunately the engine disgraced itself by stopping short of steam on the bank; but fortunately for me and the others gathered on the bridge it stopped just in front of us about 100 yards away. The engine was A2 number 60532 “Blue Peter” on a railtour from Waterloo to Exeter and return via Taunton. The train was already running an hour late before it stalled, and the load was just nine coaches.
MLR / 21 June 2023
7172 It is 1.30pm on Friday 29 June 1962 and Merchant Navy 35014 “Nederland Line” of Nine Elms Shed storms up the 1 in 80 gradient with 12C on the 11.00am from Waterloo; i.e The Atlantic Coast Express. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7173 Battle of Britain light pacific 34076 “41 Squadron” of Exmouth Junction Shed comes down the gradient from Honiton Tunnel with three coaches and two vans. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7174 Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2 tank 41299 comes up the bank with three coaches on a local train at 2.06pm. The engine had spent its first ten years from new (1951-1961) at Bricklayers Arms before coming to Exmouth Junction 17 months before the picture was taken. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
We look forward to a continuation of your visit to the S & D - many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 28
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset and en route
The Yeovil - Dorchester line
Michael L. Roach
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset and en route
The Yeovil - Dorchester line
Michael L. Roach
Yeovil – Dorchester Line
In the last part I was leaving the railway bridge just east of Honiton Tunnel at about 2.15pm to continue on the journey eastwards towards the Somerset & Dorset. Next stop was at Chetnole on the Yeovil to Dorchester line. The line was built by the Great Western after taking over the Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Railway which ran out of money, and opened to Weymouth in January 1857. Chetnole Halt opened in September 1933 and is still open 90 years later – a remarkable survivor when the next station to the south, Evershot, serving a much larger and important village closed in October 1966. In 1962 Chetnole had two platforms on a double track main line still carrying express passenger trains from Paddington to Weymouth and perishable trains of potatos, tomatoes and flowers from Weymouth Quay to the Midlands. When I returned to Chetnole in 2012 it retained a single platform on a single line carrying dmus only; and is a request stop used by 3,000 passengers pre-covid. I moved on northwards to Yetminster then a fully functioning staffed station with signal boxh, but now also a single platform unstaffed halt used by 7,700 passengers pre-covid. Next station was Thornford Bridge Halt now a single platform used by 3,500 pre-covid. The three villages are one, two and three miles off the A37 from Dorchester to Yeovil and it could be the difficulty and time involved in providing a bus service along the narrow roads that has led to the survival of the three unstaffed halts.
MLR / 22 June 2023
In the last part I was leaving the railway bridge just east of Honiton Tunnel at about 2.15pm to continue on the journey eastwards towards the Somerset & Dorset. Next stop was at Chetnole on the Yeovil to Dorchester line. The line was built by the Great Western after taking over the Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Railway which ran out of money, and opened to Weymouth in January 1857. Chetnole Halt opened in September 1933 and is still open 90 years later – a remarkable survivor when the next station to the south, Evershot, serving a much larger and important village closed in October 1966. In 1962 Chetnole had two platforms on a double track main line still carrying express passenger trains from Paddington to Weymouth and perishable trains of potatos, tomatoes and flowers from Weymouth Quay to the Midlands. When I returned to Chetnole in 2012 it retained a single platform on a single line carrying dmus only; and is a request stop used by 3,000 passengers pre-covid. I moved on northwards to Yetminster then a fully functioning staffed station with signal boxh, but now also a single platform unstaffed halt used by 7,700 passengers pre-covid. Next station was Thornford Bridge Halt now a single platform used by 3,500 pre-covid. The three villages are one, two and three miles off the A37 from Dorchester to Yeovil and it could be the difficulty and time involved in providing a bus service along the narrow roads that has led to the survival of the three unstaffed halts.
MLR / 22 June 2023
7175 The up platform at Chetnole Halt looking north from the road into the village on 29 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7176 The down platform at Chetnole. The halt was built by the GWR in 1933 but was painted in Southern green and cream in 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7177 Yetminster Station showing the down platform and station masters house. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7179 Thornford Bridge Halt looking north towards Yeovil and showing the down side only. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7179 Thornford Bridge Halt looking north towards Yeovil and showing the down side only. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7180 The up platform seen from the road bridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
Item 2312
1962 - Part 23
Opening of the First Length of the Great Western Railway
Nothing to do with '62 but this series is a convenient place to put it. As only an occasional visitor to London and beyond I have always felt that Paddington Station is special when passing through it. Arriving at the station on the way home and waiting for our train to appear on the departure board the whole ambience of the station lifts the spirits especially when one looks up and sees the wonderful roof structure designed by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel 170 years ago. The present station opened in 1854 – there is interesting information on the history of the station on the Network Rail website under iconic infrastructure. The station replaced an original temporary structure dating back to the opening of the line in 1838.
It was 185 years ago today on Monday 4 June 1838 that the first length of the Great Western Railway opened for passengers. It was the 23 miles from Paddington to a temporary station at Maidenhead. Considering that the GWR's Act of Parliament only received the Royal Assent on 31 August 1835 to build 23 miles of railway in less than 3 years, including the magnificent Wharncliffe Viaduct was a major achievement. The man driving the construction was Isambard Kingdom Brunel who had been appointed the Engineer to the railway on 7 March 1833 just 6 weeks after the company was founded on 21 January 1833. Brunel was 27 years of age but had already made his mark in civil engineering. Three years later the final length was completed and passenger trains could run the whole length to Bristol on 30 June 1841. The newspapers of the day were effusive in their praise of the GWR. Here is some typical wording from the Windsor and Eton Express - “The first portion of this stupendous and important undertaking have been opened to the public …........ and the ease with which the various journeys were conducted, added to the rapidity of the trains, was such at once to inspire the public with confidence in the safety of the engines. Immense multitudes flocked to witness the passing of the trains and every bridge was thronged with spectators …..... whose countenances bore evident signs of astonishment at the velocity with which the ponderous machine shot through the bridge arches.” The first timetable showed trains leaving Paddington at 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 12 noon, 16.00, 17.00, 18.00 and 19.00. On the first day the railway carried 1,479 passengers and took £226 in fares. For the first week the figures were 10,360 passengers and £1,552 .
It is worth saying a bit about the first station at Maidenhead which was a temporary affair where the line crossed the Great West Road (now the A4) on a skew arch bridge built of brick where the railway was on a high embankment. The bridge is still there exactly as built except that it has been widened to take four tracks. The first station was east of the crossing of the River Thames where the bridge over the river was still under construction in June 1838. The entrance to the temporary station was on the west side of the A4 in the bridge abutment with a flight of steps leading up to the platform. The first station was only in use for two years until the line was extended to Reading and the permanent Maidenhead station opened. 183 years after it closed the huge arched entrance to the temporary station is still quite obvious on the south side of the bridge and can be seen on streetview.
MLR / 28 May 2023
Opening of the First Length of the Great Western Railway
Nothing to do with '62 but this series is a convenient place to put it. As only an occasional visitor to London and beyond I have always felt that Paddington Station is special when passing through it. Arriving at the station on the way home and waiting for our train to appear on the departure board the whole ambience of the station lifts the spirits especially when one looks up and sees the wonderful roof structure designed by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel 170 years ago. The present station opened in 1854 – there is interesting information on the history of the station on the Network Rail website under iconic infrastructure. The station replaced an original temporary structure dating back to the opening of the line in 1838.
It was 185 years ago today on Monday 4 June 1838 that the first length of the Great Western Railway opened for passengers. It was the 23 miles from Paddington to a temporary station at Maidenhead. Considering that the GWR's Act of Parliament only received the Royal Assent on 31 August 1835 to build 23 miles of railway in less than 3 years, including the magnificent Wharncliffe Viaduct was a major achievement. The man driving the construction was Isambard Kingdom Brunel who had been appointed the Engineer to the railway on 7 March 1833 just 6 weeks after the company was founded on 21 January 1833. Brunel was 27 years of age but had already made his mark in civil engineering. Three years later the final length was completed and passenger trains could run the whole length to Bristol on 30 June 1841. The newspapers of the day were effusive in their praise of the GWR. Here is some typical wording from the Windsor and Eton Express - “The first portion of this stupendous and important undertaking have been opened to the public …........ and the ease with which the various journeys were conducted, added to the rapidity of the trains, was such at once to inspire the public with confidence in the safety of the engines. Immense multitudes flocked to witness the passing of the trains and every bridge was thronged with spectators …..... whose countenances bore evident signs of astonishment at the velocity with which the ponderous machine shot through the bridge arches.” The first timetable showed trains leaving Paddington at 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 12 noon, 16.00, 17.00, 18.00 and 19.00. On the first day the railway carried 1,479 passengers and took £226 in fares. For the first week the figures were 10,360 passengers and £1,552 .
It is worth saying a bit about the first station at Maidenhead which was a temporary affair where the line crossed the Great West Road (now the A4) on a skew arch bridge built of brick where the railway was on a high embankment. The bridge is still there exactly as built except that it has been widened to take four tracks. The first station was east of the crossing of the River Thames where the bridge over the river was still under construction in June 1838. The entrance to the temporary station was on the west side of the A4 in the bridge abutment with a flight of steps leading up to the platform. The first station was only in use for two years until the line was extended to Reading and the permanent Maidenhead station opened. 183 years after it closed the huge arched entrance to the temporary station is still quite obvious on the south side of the bridge and can be seen on streetview.
MLR / 28 May 2023
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 29
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset arrival at Templecombe
A trip to the Somerset and Dorset arrival at Templecombe
After taking some photos on the Yeovil to Taunton line in Part 28 I finally reached Templecombe station about 7.30pm on Friday 29 June 1962. Soon after I was able to greet my friend IDM who had arrived at Templecombe on the 5.00pm from Waterloo hauled by Bulleid Pacific 34056 “Croydon” of Exmouth Junction Shed. The engine lasted until May 1967, which was almost the end of steam on the Southern Region. We watched the station pilot ex-GWR 0-6-0 no. 3216 bring the 6.45pm from Bournemouth West backwards into the S&D platform at the station. The 4C had been hauled from Bournemouth by BR 2-6-0 no 76015 of Bournemouth Shed. Templecombe Shed lay to the east of the S&D main line which passed under the Waterloo to Exeter line east of the station. We walked there and bunked the shed at 8.45pm that evening. I recorded four of the engines in my photos, although there were more than that on shed. It was a dull evening but the resultant photos of the engines on shed were quite acceptable despite being taken at 1/30 second.
MLR / 24 June 2023
MLR / 24 June 2023
7183 Bullied Pacific 34056 “Croydon” departs Templecombe with 5C on the 5.00pm Waterloo to Yeovil Junction on the evening of 29 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7184 Collet goods 3216 pilots the 6.45pm from Bournemouth West into the platform at Templecombe where the train terminated. At the other end of the 4C was the train engine 76015. The main road through the village passed under the railway just here between the engine and the photographer. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7186 4F 0-6-0 no. 44557 is seen on Templecombe Shed; the engine had been on the S&D since nationalisation but would depart to Carlisle Kingmoor a few weeks later in August 1962. Behind is 8F no. 48468. \copyright Michael L. Roach.
7187 A general view of Templecombe Shed at 8.55pm on 29.06.1962 with 44557 and 48468 on the right. In the foreground is 2223 (withdrawn the previous month) and just beyond the wooden-bodied wagon was 82001. All four engines recorded had interesting shed histories. It was a dull evening and the last two photos were taken at 1/30 second. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 30
Evercreech Junction to Highbridge
Evercreech Junction to Highbridge
The night of 29/30 June 1962 was spent close to the railway at Evercreech village 1½ miles north of Evercreech Junction. For northbound trains Evercreech Junction signalled the long climb to Masbury Summit more than 8 miles long and mostly at 1 in 50. It was a formidable obstacle for freight trains that were often banked in the rear. The night of 29/30 June was cool and still with no wind. In those conditions the noise of two steam engines battling their way up a steep gradient carried on the still air and we heard a couple of freight trains making their way noisily up the bank. There was no finer sound for a steam enthusiast and it proved that the line was still open 24 hours a day in summer 1962. We were away early the next morning to Evercreech Junction to catch the 8.15am to Highbridge for Burnham-on-Sea. The train of two coaches and a van was hauled by BR Standard 82002. Two engines were passed en-route 2219 close to the actual junction and 43216 at Shapwick Halt with 7 wagons on a returning freight train. It was a 45-minute trip to cover the 22½ miles which was very good by the standards of the time. The S&D Station at Highbridge adjoined the former B&ER/GWR station on the Bristol to Taunton line. We walked up to the A38 through the town to photograph a traction engine in a yard alongside Huntspill Road which may have been the yard previously used by the firm of W.W. Buncombe. The firm was formerly a well-known purchaser and hirer of steam rollers, and had a large fleet available for use on schemes all over southern England.
MLR / 27 June 2023
MLR / 27 June 2023
7188 Coach W6218W seen at Evercreech Junction before departure on the 8.15am to Highbridge. It had just been overhauled and painted. Note that “Return to Princetown” had been repainted on the coach despite the fact that the Princetown Branch had closed six years earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach,
7190 Close-up of “Return to Princetown” which was quickly painted out. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7192 Burrell Showmans engine no 2877 “His Majesty” in a yard in Highbridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7193 82002 at Highbridge on the 9.45am to Evercreech Junction on Saturday 30 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to the rest of your S & D visit.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 31
Michael goes off the rails for one episode
Michael goes off the rails for one episode
A last look at the Forder Valley link road.
Some of you have enjoyed my occasional diversions into road building and the construction of a mile of single 24-foot carriageway which I worked on in the Spring of 1962 in the Forder Valley. Plymouth. At its eastern end the new road joined the A38 close to the River Plym (and not far from Marsh Mills Station) at a new roundabout. For most of its length the road had no raised kerbs or gullies. The surface water drained off the road on one side into a “french drain”. One reason for choosing this style of drainage was the very poor longitudinal gradient of just 1 in 400. The edge of the road was delineated by a 12 inch (305mm) square insitu flush kerb. The top was finished with fine concrete made of white cement to reflect the light from car headlights in the dark as there was no street lighting other than at the roundabout.
MLR / 28 June 2023
Some of you have enjoyed my occasional diversions into road building and the construction of a mile of single 24-foot carriageway which I worked on in the Spring of 1962 in the Forder Valley. Plymouth. At its eastern end the new road joined the A38 close to the River Plym (and not far from Marsh Mills Station) at a new roundabout. For most of its length the road had no raised kerbs or gullies. The surface water drained off the road on one side into a “french drain”. One reason for choosing this style of drainage was the very poor longitudinal gradient of just 1 in 400. The edge of the road was delineated by a 12 inch (305mm) square insitu flush kerb. The top was finished with fine concrete made of white cement to reflect the light from car headlights in the dark as there was no street lighting other than at the roundabout.
MLR / 28 June 2023
7011 Ready-mixed concrete is about to be poured into the 12-inch gap between two sets of steel road forms to make the flush kerb. The date is 18 April 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7012 The concrete came from the RMC Plant on the eastern side of Plymouth at Moorcroft Quarry. At the time there were just two plants in Plymouth. The other was on the western side of the city near the Torpoint Ferry slipway. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7163 Here we are looking west along the new road from the middle of the new roundabout. The car is an Austin A40 and the lorry is believed to be a Seddon. Note the Tecalemit factory on the right. The date is 22 June 1962 and the roundabout has just opened to traffic. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7164 Looking west again with the FVLR on the extreme left. The car is pre-war and there were still a lot around in 1962. The Bedford lorry has delivered beer barrels to a distribution depot in Union Street and is now returning to the Starkey, Knight and Ford Brewery at Tiverton with the empty barrels. The firm was acquired by Whitbread the same year i.e 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7166 Looking in the opposite direction towards the bridge over the River Plym and Marsh Mills railway station. There is remarkably little traffic heading out of Plymouth on the A38 at 4.05pm on a Friday afternoon. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - how sparse the traffic was - the good old days one might say. So much detail, an excellent record for all. We look forward to getting back on the rails in the next episode.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 32
Back on the Somerset and Dorset
Evercreech Junction
Back on the Somerset and Dorset
Evercreech Junction
Evercreech Junction
We travelled back to Evercreech Junction behind 82002 on the 9.45am from Highbridge. There was a lengthy stop at Glastonbury and Street Station where we crossed Collet goods 3215 on the 9.55am from Evercreech Junction to Highbridge. In a siding was ex-Midland Railway 0-6-0 number 43216 shunting wagons; we had seen the loco on 7 wagons at Shapwick Halt on the outward journey. The previous evening at Templecombe Shed we had seen a Fowler 0-6-0 number 44557 one of five built specifically for working on the Somerset and Dorset line out of a class of 530 examples. The one at Glastonbury and Street was much older – 43216 was a Johnson 0-6-0 dating from 1890 and one of 935 built and then 72 years old. The engine would be withdrawn just a few weeks later in the August of 1962. As we arrived at Evercreech Junction we could see that there was a Standard loco in the centre siding waiting to pilot a northbound express over the summit to Bath.. The summit was 8 miles away to the north just beyond Masbury Halt. We took a few photos from the footbridge and then drove north to Masbury. The 45-mile return trip to Highbridge had cost me 5 shillings and 3 pence for a day return (63 old pence and 26 new pence)
MLR / 9 July 2023
We travelled back to Evercreech Junction behind 82002 on the 9.45am from Highbridge. There was a lengthy stop at Glastonbury and Street Station where we crossed Collet goods 3215 on the 9.55am from Evercreech Junction to Highbridge. In a siding was ex-Midland Railway 0-6-0 number 43216 shunting wagons; we had seen the loco on 7 wagons at Shapwick Halt on the outward journey. The previous evening at Templecombe Shed we had seen a Fowler 0-6-0 number 44557 one of five built specifically for working on the Somerset and Dorset line out of a class of 530 examples. The one at Glastonbury and Street was much older – 43216 was a Johnson 0-6-0 dating from 1890 and one of 935 built and then 72 years old. The engine would be withdrawn just a few weeks later in the August of 1962. As we arrived at Evercreech Junction we could see that there was a Standard loco in the centre siding waiting to pilot a northbound express over the summit to Bath.. The summit was 8 miles away to the north just beyond Masbury Halt. We took a few photos from the footbridge and then drove north to Masbury. The 45-mile return trip to Highbridge had cost me 5 shillings and 3 pence for a day return (63 old pence and 26 new pence)
MLR / 9 July 2023
7195 At Glastonbury and Street we passed Johnson 0-6-0 43216 engaged on shunting wagons. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7196 82002 is seen at Evercreech Junction just after arriving from Highbridge. The lines to Bath and Highbridge diverged just beyond the lines of wagons in the sidings on the left. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7197 Another view of the train that we had arrived on. Note the engine in the centre waiting to pilot a train to Bath. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - your pictures bring back memories for me too - I was there on the last day. We look forward to Part 33.
1962 Part 33. Back on the S &D
Masbury – Steep Gradients and the 7Fs
Michael L. Roach
Masbury – Steep Gradients and the 7Fs
Michael L. Roach
Masbury – Steep Gradients and the 7Fs
For north-bound trains the climb to the summit began just before Evercreech Junction Station and ended just past Masbury Halt 8½ miles away. The incline was split into two parts, both at 1 in 50, with three quarters of mile of downhill through Shepton Mallet Station. Most expresses were assisted with a pilot engine at the front running right through to Bath Green Park Station. For the last few years of the line's existence Bath Shed had a couple of 9F 2-10-0 freight engines. With their small wheels and large tractive effort the 9Fs could take longer passenger trains unassisted. but only in summer when train heating was not required, as the 9Fs did not have any. However nearly 50 years before our visit Henry Fowler CME of the Midland Railway designed a small class of 2-8-0 freight engines with 4 feet 7½ inch wheels specifically for hauling freight trains over the steep gradients of the S & D. Six were built in 1914 and a further five in 1925 making a total of 11 in the class, which BR designated 7F. On Saturdays in Summer the 7Fs were pressed into use on the long distance passenger trains to and from Bournemouth. At the time of our visit the six in the first batch had all been withdrawn but the second batch of five 7Fs was intact. We saw just one number 53808 which lasted until February 1964, but was out of use that day. In the other direction the climb from Bath to Masbury was more than 17 miles long but pilot engines ran through to Evercreech Junction before being taken off. That climb will be described in a later part of the series.
After arriving at Evercreech Junction in the previous part we drove north to a bridge over the line near the summit of the bank. The first train to come up the bank was the 9.25am SO Bournemouth West to Manchester and Liverpool behind 9F 92245. Next came the 9.45am Bournemouth West to Manchester which was The Pines Express behind a double header. From Monday to Friday the train also had through coaches to Liverpool and Sheffield. There were other Saturday holiday trains from Bournemouth West at 8.40am to Derby on three Saturdays only; at 10.05 to Bradford; at 10.32am to Manchester on nine Saturdays and at 11.12am to Sheffield. A year later in summer 1963 there would be no long distance expresses but some trains would run to and from Bristol Temple Meads where there were connections for all parts. We drove south to park the car at Templecombe Station where we needed to be at the end of the day. The train journey to Bath was on the 12.03 local off Templecombe consisting of 75071 with three coaches. This was a very routine journey of 95 minutes but what was interesting was the number of steam engines seen en route, as follows:
Templecombe 73049 on 9.53am Bath – Bournemouth
Evercreech Junction 75009 pilot engine; 43216 shunting
Shepton Mallet 73024, 73051 on 11.55am Bath – Bournemouth
Chilcompton * 92001 on 12.25pm Bath – Bournemouth
Radstock North 47557 on shed
Midford 44559 on 1.10pm Bath – Templecombe actually between Chilcompton
and Midsomer Norton
MLR / 9 July 2023
For north-bound trains the climb to the summit began just before Evercreech Junction Station and ended just past Masbury Halt 8½ miles away. The incline was split into two parts, both at 1 in 50, with three quarters of mile of downhill through Shepton Mallet Station. Most expresses were assisted with a pilot engine at the front running right through to Bath Green Park Station. For the last few years of the line's existence Bath Shed had a couple of 9F 2-10-0 freight engines. With their small wheels and large tractive effort the 9Fs could take longer passenger trains unassisted. but only in summer when train heating was not required, as the 9Fs did not have any. However nearly 50 years before our visit Henry Fowler CME of the Midland Railway designed a small class of 2-8-0 freight engines with 4 feet 7½ inch wheels specifically for hauling freight trains over the steep gradients of the S & D. Six were built in 1914 and a further five in 1925 making a total of 11 in the class, which BR designated 7F. On Saturdays in Summer the 7Fs were pressed into use on the long distance passenger trains to and from Bournemouth. At the time of our visit the six in the first batch had all been withdrawn but the second batch of five 7Fs was intact. We saw just one number 53808 which lasted until February 1964, but was out of use that day. In the other direction the climb from Bath to Masbury was more than 17 miles long but pilot engines ran through to Evercreech Junction before being taken off. That climb will be described in a later part of the series.
After arriving at Evercreech Junction in the previous part we drove north to a bridge over the line near the summit of the bank. The first train to come up the bank was the 9.25am SO Bournemouth West to Manchester and Liverpool behind 9F 92245. Next came the 9.45am Bournemouth West to Manchester which was The Pines Express behind a double header. From Monday to Friday the train also had through coaches to Liverpool and Sheffield. There were other Saturday holiday trains from Bournemouth West at 8.40am to Derby on three Saturdays only; at 10.05 to Bradford; at 10.32am to Manchester on nine Saturdays and at 11.12am to Sheffield. A year later in summer 1963 there would be no long distance expresses but some trains would run to and from Bristol Temple Meads where there were connections for all parts. We drove south to park the car at Templecombe Station where we needed to be at the end of the day. The train journey to Bath was on the 12.03 local off Templecombe consisting of 75071 with three coaches. This was a very routine journey of 95 minutes but what was interesting was the number of steam engines seen en route, as follows:
Templecombe 73049 on 9.53am Bath – Bournemouth
Evercreech Junction 75009 pilot engine; 43216 shunting
Shepton Mallet 73024, 73051 on 11.55am Bath – Bournemouth
Chilcompton * 92001 on 12.25pm Bath – Bournemouth
Radstock North 47557 on shed
Midford 44559 on 1.10pm Bath – Templecombe actually between Chilcompton
and Midsomer Norton
MLR / 9 July 2023
7198 9F 92245 is seen climbing to Masbury Summit with 11C for Manchester. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7199 With 12 coaches in tow 92233 is assisted by 75023 on the northbound “Pines Express”. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7200 S&D 7F number 53808 is seen dead on Bath Green Park Shed just 160 minutes after the previous photograph during which we had travelled 20 miles south by car to Templecombe; 37 miles north by train to Bath and walked the half mile or so out to the shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Micheal - we look forward to Part 34.
1962 Part 34.
Bath Green Park shed
Michael L. Roach
Bath Green Park shed
Michael L. Roach
Bath Green Park Shed
We arrived at Bath Green Park Station at 1.37pm on a local train of three coaches from Templecombe hauled by 75071 which we would soon see on shed. The date was Saturday 30 June 1962, and we departed again at 3.30pm for Bournemouth West. In the meantime we walked out to Bath Shed which was located beside the former Midland line to Mangotsfield roughly half way to Bath Junction where the Somerset and Dorset line started. The shed was on the opposite side of the River Avon to Bath Green Park Station and involved a much longer walk than the rail distance would suggest to reach the entrance to the shed. The shed was coded 22C up to 1950; then 71G to 1958 when transfer to the Western Region made it 82F. There were two separate dead-end sheds of 4 tracks and 2 tracks. The shed closed on 7 March 1966 with the closure of the Somerset and Dorset line. It looks very much to me like the bridge which formerly carried the railway over the River Avon between Bath Green Park Station and Shed has been turned into a road bridge.
The undoubted star of our visit to Bath Green Park Shed was seeing one of the Fowler 7F 2-8-0s number 53808 built in 1925 for the first time as they had a great reputation for haulage of freight trains Monday to Friday and passenger trains on summer Saturdays. Later in the year the Railway Observer reported (October 1962 page 320) that “On the last passenger working of the summer season to be powered by a S&DJR 2-8-0 53808 with the eight coach Exmouth to Cleethorpes had to stop for a blow-up at Shepton Mallet but ran thence to Bath in 40 minutes passing Masbury Summit at 24mph.” Two 7Fs from the second batch of five have been preserved numbers 53808 and 53809. There is much more about both engines on the website preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.co
MLR / 10 July 2023
We arrived at Bath Green Park Station at 1.37pm on a local train of three coaches from Templecombe hauled by 75071 which we would soon see on shed. The date was Saturday 30 June 1962, and we departed again at 3.30pm for Bournemouth West. In the meantime we walked out to Bath Shed which was located beside the former Midland line to Mangotsfield roughly half way to Bath Junction where the Somerset and Dorset line started. The shed was on the opposite side of the River Avon to Bath Green Park Station and involved a much longer walk than the rail distance would suggest to reach the entrance to the shed. The shed was coded 22C up to 1950; then 71G to 1958 when transfer to the Western Region made it 82F. There were two separate dead-end sheds of 4 tracks and 2 tracks. The shed closed on 7 March 1966 with the closure of the Somerset and Dorset line. It looks very much to me like the bridge which formerly carried the railway over the River Avon between Bath Green Park Station and Shed has been turned into a road bridge.
The undoubted star of our visit to Bath Green Park Shed was seeing one of the Fowler 7F 2-8-0s number 53808 built in 1925 for the first time as they had a great reputation for haulage of freight trains Monday to Friday and passenger trains on summer Saturdays. Later in the year the Railway Observer reported (October 1962 page 320) that “On the last passenger working of the summer season to be powered by a S&DJR 2-8-0 53808 with the eight coach Exmouth to Cleethorpes had to stop for a blow-up at Shepton Mallet but ran thence to Bath in 40 minutes passing Masbury Summit at 24mph.” Two 7Fs from the second batch of five have been preserved numbers 53808 and 53809. There is much more about both engines on the website preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.co
MLR / 10 July 2023
7201 53808 stands out of use on 30 June 1962 at Bath Green Park Shed. This seemed to be a favourite siding to park a 7F while not in use. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7204 Another view of Fowler 7F number 53808. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
44146 of Bristol Barrow Road stands on the south side of the 2-track wooden shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7205 A general view of the 4-track stone shed showing left to right 44856, 75027, 73054 and 75071. 44856 was based at 8A Edge Hill, Liverpool. 75027 had an interesting shed history as it started life at Laira Shed, Plymouth for just four months in 1954. Later in 1962 75027 moved to Machynlleth Shed to work trains on the Cambrian. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
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With reference to the Midland bridge and comments on its position and current use we are most grateful for the following received from Chris Osment and Guy Vincent.
Chris Osment writes - There were two parallel, but separate, double-track rail bridges across the River Avon into Bath (Green Park) station. The upstream (southern) bridge remains and has been converted into a road for access to the car-park. The deck was removed from the downstream (northern) bridge and replaced by a narrower pedestrian bridge - the unused parts of the original pillars are still visible in the rivers.
When the railway area was redeveloped four new roads were created and giving names associated with the railway. A large 'gyratory' system (which still exists) on the Lower Bristol Road became 'Pines Way', whilst the feeder road into the old railway site became 'Ivo Peters Road' (after the well-known railway photographer). Two internal site roads were named 'Stanier Road' and 'Beale Way' (after the well-known S&D driver).
Subsequent alterations within the site resulted in the loss of both the latter roads, although the 'Stanier Road' name seems to persist in some references. Apparently Donald Beale's widow complained that the 'memorial' to her late husband had been obliterated without any consultation or respect of his memory, so subsequently the name has been re-applied to a new riverside path behind the site of the old engine shed, although it is hard to spot.
Regards
Chris
When the railway area was redeveloped four new roads were created and giving names associated with the railway. A large 'gyratory' system (which still exists) on the Lower Bristol Road became 'Pines Way', whilst the feeder road into the old railway site became 'Ivo Peters Road' (after the well-known railway photographer). Two internal site roads were named 'Stanier Road' and 'Beale Way' (after the well-known S&D driver).
Subsequent alterations within the site resulted in the loss of both the latter roads, although the 'Stanier Road' name seems to persist in some references. Apparently Donald Beale's widow complained that the 'memorial' to her late husband had been obliterated without any consultation or respect of his memory, so subsequently the name has been re-applied to a new riverside path behind the site of the old engine shed, although it is hard to spot.
Regards
Chris
Guy Vincent writes - Here are three photos from May 2020 of the former Midland Railway lattice pattern bridge at the entrance to Bath Green Park station, referred to by Mike Roach in the latest instalment of his excellent series covering the year 1962. The bridge now takes Stanier Road into Sainsbury's car park. There were originally two identical spans side by side but post closure the northern one was removed and later replaced by the modern pedestrian footbrige that can be seen in pictures 2 and 3.
Lastly, a photo taken inside Green Park station on 6th March 2006 when preserved S&D loco, 7F 2-8-0 no 53809, was on display during a week-long event marking 40 years since closure of the Somerset and Dorset railway. This was the engine involved in the 1929 accident at Bath Junction after the crew became incapacitated by fumes inside Combe Down tunnel, and was based at Bath Green Park shed for its entire career. See feature elsewhere on this site.
Guy Vincent.
Lastly, a photo taken inside Green Park station on 6th March 2006 when preserved S&D loco, 7F 2-8-0 no 53809, was on display during a week-long event marking 40 years since closure of the Somerset and Dorset railway. This was the engine involved in the 1929 accident at Bath Junction after the crew became incapacitated by fumes inside Combe Down tunnel, and was based at Bath Green Park shed for its entire career. See feature elsewhere on this site.
Guy Vincent.
Bath Green Park former Midland Railway bridge from South. 8th May 2020. Copyright Guy Vincent
Bath Green Park former Midland Railway Bridge looking East 25th May 2020. Copyright Guy Vincent. The familiar outline of Green Park station is seen in the background.
Bath Green Park former Midland Railway bridge looking west 25th May 2020. Copyright Guy Vincent
Bath Green Park S&D 89 (53809) 6th March 2006. Copyright Guy Vincent.
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1962 Part 35.
Bath Green Park Station
Michael L. Roach
Bath Green Park Station
Green Park Station was built by the Midland Railway as the terminus of their branch from Mangotsfield and opened to passengers in 1870. The station was designed by the Midland's in-house architect to blend in with the Georgian buildings around it. The origins of the Somerset & Dorset line lay in the Somerset Central Railway opened in 1854 and the Dorset Central Railway opened in 1860. The two railways amalgamated in 1862 under the name Somerset & Dorset Railway with the aim of reaching Bath which was completed and opened in 1874. However the extension had exhausted the company financially and in 1876 the company became the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway owned 50/50 by the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway. The aim of the new owners in taking over the S&D was quite specific and well-known and that was to exclude the Great Western Railway from the area. With the Grouping of 1922-23 the ownership transferred to the London, Midland & Scottish and the Southern Railways. The main station buildings and overall roof of Bath Green Park Station survive to this day. The station only ever had two platforms and S&D trains departing for Templecombe and Bournemouth travelled over the former Midland route for the first half mile before diverging on to S&D metals at Bath Junction where the climbing started.
MLR / 14 July 2023
Green Park Station was built by the Midland Railway as the terminus of their branch from Mangotsfield and opened to passengers in 1870. The station was designed by the Midland's in-house architect to blend in with the Georgian buildings around it. The origins of the Somerset & Dorset line lay in the Somerset Central Railway opened in 1854 and the Dorset Central Railway opened in 1860. The two railways amalgamated in 1862 under the name Somerset & Dorset Railway with the aim of reaching Bath which was completed and opened in 1874. However the extension had exhausted the company financially and in 1876 the company became the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway owned 50/50 by the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway. The aim of the new owners in taking over the S&D was quite specific and well-known and that was to exclude the Great Western Railway from the area. With the Grouping of 1922-23 the ownership transferred to the London, Midland & Scottish and the Southern Railways. The main station buildings and overall roof of Bath Green Park Station survive to this day. The station only ever had two platforms and S&D trains departing for Templecombe and Bournemouth travelled over the former Midland route for the first half mile before diverging on to S&D metals at Bath Junction where the climbing started.
MLR / 14 July 2023
7206 Crab 42790 is seen at Bath Green Park Station at 2.30pm on Saturday 30 June 1962 on an unidentified train. The engine was based at Saltley Shed and may have arrived overnight on the 10.30pm Sheffield to Bournemouth train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7208 A general view of Bath Green Park looking towards the buffers. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to part 36.
1962 Part 36.
A journey on the
'Pines Express'
Michael L. Roach
A journey on the
'Pines Express'
Michael L. Roach
In the last Part we had returned from the engine shed to the station at Bath Green Park on Saturday 30 June 1962. The main aim of the day and the whole weekend was to travel on the Pines Express the full length of the Somerset and Dorset line from Bath to Bournemouth a distance of 71½ miles before the Pines was rerouted away from the S&D two months later. The line was single as far as Midford; then double; and single again for seventeen miles from Templecombe to Blandford Forum with crossing loops at Stalbridge, Sturminster Newton and Shillingstone.
On Saturdays the Pines left Manchester Picadilly at 10.30am with a restaurant car and through coaches from Manchester only. There was only one timetabled stop at Gloucester Eastgate (2.23 – 2.27) before reaching Bath at 3.25pm. The train arrived at Bath on time behind Peak-class diesel D65 with twelve coaches. West Country 34045 assisted by pilot BR Standard 4-6-0 75009 came on to the rear of the train because the station was a terminus. I took no photographs of the two engines presumably because they were off the end of the platform. I logged the times of the train over the whole journey but in more detail over Masbury Summit from MP 12 at Midsomer Norton to MP 25 at the approach to Evercreech Junction Distant signal. I did not record detailed times on the climb out of Bath; but am not sure why. The milepost distances started at Bath Junction half a mile out of Green Park Station.
The train departed on time at 3.30pm. Midford (4.36 miles) was passed at 3.39pm a very creditable performance for a climb mostly at 1 in 50. At Midford the line became double track and the gradients became uphill to Wellow and then undulating to Radstock North (10.65 miles) passed at 3.48pm. Here the climbing started in earnest to Masbury Summit (18.25 miles) initially at 1 in 50. Speed was around 18/19 mph to Chilcompton (14.49 miles). The gradient eased through the station enabling the two locos to gain speed to 24 mph on the 1 in 50 gradient to milepost 15 (15.50 miles). For the next mile to milepost 16 the gradient eased to 1 in 60 and speed increased to 32 mph. The gradients eased further for the next mile covered at an average of 36 mph to milepost 17. Over the three remaining quarter miles to the summit speed gradually fell – 34.6, 31.1 and 29.0 mph as the gradients were also easing to 1 in 63 and then 1 in 73. The train passed the summit at milepost 17¾ (18¼ miles) at 4.06.31 for an average speed of 30 mph from Bath.
Once over the summit speed increased rapidly into the fifties peaking at 60mph between mileposts 20½ and 20¾. Shepton Mallet was situated on a short piece of uphill but was still passed at 56mph before the downhill resumed at 1 in 50 but this was taken a bit easier at an average of 51mph through Evercreech New to Evercreech Junction distant which was at caution and there was a heavy brake application, but the home must have cleared, and we entered Evercreech Junction Station and stopped 7½ minutes early. Here the pilot engine 75009 came off; 43216 seen much earlier had arrived with its freight train and was shunting; and 82002 passed on the 4.05pm Templecombe to Highbridge train. The train departed Evercreech Junction at 4.29pm one minute early. We passed 4F 0-6-0 number 44417 on the 4.15 local from Templecombe to Bath near Cole and then entered the single line at Templecombe without stopping.
At Stalbridge our train waited from 4.53 to 5.00pm to cross a northbound train which turned out to be Standard class 5 number 73049 with 7C on the 3.40 Bournemouth to Bristol which ran Mondays to Saturdays, running on time. Stalbridge was a scheduled stop for The Pines. The next scheduled stop was at Blandford Forum where two engines coupled together were waiting to proceed north on the single line; they were 73051 and 92001. There were further scheduled stops at Broadstone and Poole. We were stopped by signals in Branksome Station for six minutes waiting to diverge off the main line to Bournemouth Central and Waterloo and on to the short branch to Bournemouth West which was still reached exactly on time at 6.08pm. I think you could describe the schedule of the Pines Express as reasonable and not very taxing if trains were running to time on the single line sections. Our short time at Bournemouth West will be described in a forthcoming part which will round-off the series about the Somerset and Dorset.
FOOTNOTE to Part 36
I have been reading the magazines of the original Great Western Railway for more than sixty years and am still buying more copies for my collection. I never cease to be fascinated by the facts that the editor recorded for posterity, and on the morning that this article was sent to Keith came across this item in the magazine for June 1906. At that time the GWR was still building locos of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement and just starting to build a fleet of 4-6-0s which would lead to the Castle-class in 1923. After each bank holiday the magazine would record some details of the very heavy passenger trains worked out of the capital to places like Chester, Kingswear, New Milford, Penzance, Plymouth and Weymouth. There were a few 4-6-0s available but most of the trains would be hauled by 4-4-0s and 4-4-2s, and the loads that the company expected their engineman to handle were prodigous. This is the one that caught my eye on the morning of 29 July 2023. The date was Thursday 12 April 1906, the day before Good Friday, and the train was the 6.30pm Paddington to Plymouth via Bristol. The driver was called Price and Chippenham was reached at an average speed of 51 mph. The engine was 4-4-0 no. 3310 and the load was 17 8-wheel and one 6-wheel coaches. The 18 coaches would have weighed about 600 tons. The Castle Cary cut-off opened just 11 weeks later saving 20 miles.
Michael L. Roach.
On Saturdays the Pines left Manchester Picadilly at 10.30am with a restaurant car and through coaches from Manchester only. There was only one timetabled stop at Gloucester Eastgate (2.23 – 2.27) before reaching Bath at 3.25pm. The train arrived at Bath on time behind Peak-class diesel D65 with twelve coaches. West Country 34045 assisted by pilot BR Standard 4-6-0 75009 came on to the rear of the train because the station was a terminus. I took no photographs of the two engines presumably because they were off the end of the platform. I logged the times of the train over the whole journey but in more detail over Masbury Summit from MP 12 at Midsomer Norton to MP 25 at the approach to Evercreech Junction Distant signal. I did not record detailed times on the climb out of Bath; but am not sure why. The milepost distances started at Bath Junction half a mile out of Green Park Station.
The train departed on time at 3.30pm. Midford (4.36 miles) was passed at 3.39pm a very creditable performance for a climb mostly at 1 in 50. At Midford the line became double track and the gradients became uphill to Wellow and then undulating to Radstock North (10.65 miles) passed at 3.48pm. Here the climbing started in earnest to Masbury Summit (18.25 miles) initially at 1 in 50. Speed was around 18/19 mph to Chilcompton (14.49 miles). The gradient eased through the station enabling the two locos to gain speed to 24 mph on the 1 in 50 gradient to milepost 15 (15.50 miles). For the next mile to milepost 16 the gradient eased to 1 in 60 and speed increased to 32 mph. The gradients eased further for the next mile covered at an average of 36 mph to milepost 17. Over the three remaining quarter miles to the summit speed gradually fell – 34.6, 31.1 and 29.0 mph as the gradients were also easing to 1 in 63 and then 1 in 73. The train passed the summit at milepost 17¾ (18¼ miles) at 4.06.31 for an average speed of 30 mph from Bath.
Once over the summit speed increased rapidly into the fifties peaking at 60mph between mileposts 20½ and 20¾. Shepton Mallet was situated on a short piece of uphill but was still passed at 56mph before the downhill resumed at 1 in 50 but this was taken a bit easier at an average of 51mph through Evercreech New to Evercreech Junction distant which was at caution and there was a heavy brake application, but the home must have cleared, and we entered Evercreech Junction Station and stopped 7½ minutes early. Here the pilot engine 75009 came off; 43216 seen much earlier had arrived with its freight train and was shunting; and 82002 passed on the 4.05pm Templecombe to Highbridge train. The train departed Evercreech Junction at 4.29pm one minute early. We passed 4F 0-6-0 number 44417 on the 4.15 local from Templecombe to Bath near Cole and then entered the single line at Templecombe without stopping.
At Stalbridge our train waited from 4.53 to 5.00pm to cross a northbound train which turned out to be Standard class 5 number 73049 with 7C on the 3.40 Bournemouth to Bristol which ran Mondays to Saturdays, running on time. Stalbridge was a scheduled stop for The Pines. The next scheduled stop was at Blandford Forum where two engines coupled together were waiting to proceed north on the single line; they were 73051 and 92001. There were further scheduled stops at Broadstone and Poole. We were stopped by signals in Branksome Station for six minutes waiting to diverge off the main line to Bournemouth Central and Waterloo and on to the short branch to Bournemouth West which was still reached exactly on time at 6.08pm. I think you could describe the schedule of the Pines Express as reasonable and not very taxing if trains were running to time on the single line sections. Our short time at Bournemouth West will be described in a forthcoming part which will round-off the series about the Somerset and Dorset.
FOOTNOTE to Part 36
I have been reading the magazines of the original Great Western Railway for more than sixty years and am still buying more copies for my collection. I never cease to be fascinated by the facts that the editor recorded for posterity, and on the morning that this article was sent to Keith came across this item in the magazine for June 1906. At that time the GWR was still building locos of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement and just starting to build a fleet of 4-6-0s which would lead to the Castle-class in 1923. After each bank holiday the magazine would record some details of the very heavy passenger trains worked out of the capital to places like Chester, Kingswear, New Milford, Penzance, Plymouth and Weymouth. There were a few 4-6-0s available but most of the trains would be hauled by 4-4-0s and 4-4-2s, and the loads that the company expected their engineman to handle were prodigous. This is the one that caught my eye on the morning of 29 July 2023. The date was Thursday 12 April 1906, the day before Good Friday, and the train was the 6.30pm Paddington to Plymouth via Bristol. The driver was called Price and Chippenham was reached at an average speed of 51 mph. The engine was 4-4-0 no. 3310 and the load was 17 8-wheel and one 6-wheel coaches. The 18 coaches would have weighed about 600 tons. The Castle Cary cut-off opened just 11 weeks later saving 20 miles.
Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 37 Michael L. Roach
Bournemouth West
Bournemouth West
We arrived at Bournemouth West at 6.08pm on Saturday 30 June 1962 on the Pines Express exactly on time; and departed again forty minutes later. We saw a good range of steam engines before leaving on the 6.48pm to Templecombe. Our train of four coaches was hauled by a BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0. I must have been getting tired because the details of the trip were not recorded except for the most interesting part, which was passing a Great Western designed Modified Hall number 7910 “Hown Hall” of Southall Shed which could have arrived at Poole on a train from Bradford.
After arriving back at Templecombe at 8.10pm I bade farewell to my friend and set out on the 100 mile drive home to Plymouth which would have taken me about three hours on the roads of the day, so probably arriving home around 11.15pm after a long and enjoyable day. Google maps tells me that the drive now takes about two hours. As I was writing this I came across a record of another occasion when I caught the 6.48pm from Bournemouth to Templecombe some three years later on 12 June 1965. This time there was no car waiting and it was train the whole way. First a 3-car dmu to Yeovil Junction, then a Warship hauled express to Exeter; finishing with another Warship from Exeter to Plymouth via Newton Abbot. Arrival at Plymouth was at 12.50am. It would have been around 1.05am when I arrived home on foot.
Conclusion
In order to construct the Bath Extension it was necessary for the railway to cross the Mendip Hills at Masbury between Binegar and Shepton Mallet at an elevation of 811 feet (247 metres). Bearing in mind that the railway at Bath was at just 70 feet (21 metres) above sea level trains faced a formidable climb to reach the summit. The engineer did well to keep the maximum gradient to 1 in 50. Masbury was the highest elevation of any standard guage railway for many miles in any direction. To the north one would have to travel to the north of Tissington in the Peak District to reach the same elevation; to the southwest beyond Okehampton at Meldon. To the east and south it is believed that no railways reach an elevation of 800 feet. It was this northern part of the S and D that gave the line real individuality and interest.
There were numerous joint railways in Britain but the Somerset and Dorset was one of the best known and best loved and survived longer than most. This weekend was a very good introduction to the Somerset and Dorset Line which was still busy at the time and still one hundred percent steam-worked. I would return to the line several times over the next three and a half years with every later visit being by train, so the visit to Masbury would turn out to be the only visit to the lineside away from stations. My next visit to the line would be 15 months later when I had my one and only trip behind a 9F ever. As I was writing this series for the Cornwall Railway Society website a new book about the Somerset & Dorset was starting to be advertised; the latest in a very long line of books on the subject. I have not seen the book but feel that this could turn out to be the most definitive book on the line yet, judging by the other books I have by the same publisher. The book is a limited edition of 1500 published by the Lightmoor Press titled “A Pictorial Atlas of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway.” 468 pages in two volumes supplied in a slip case costing £90. ISBN 9781915069252
CAPTIONS
7219 M7 class 0-4-4 number 30057 is seen at Platform 2 of Bournemouth West Station on the evening of 3 June 1962. Another M7 had banked the Pines Express out of Poole to just west of Branksome.
7220 Roofboard on a BR standard coach.
7221 West Country 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” of Bournemouth Shed is seen reversing the 12C of The Pines Express out of Bournemouth West Station into the carriage sidings.
7222 Schools class 30926 Repton of Basingstoke Shed is seen leaving Bournemouth West with seven coaches. The loco was withdrawn six months later and preserved.
7223 A general view of Bournemouth West Station showing platforms 3 to 6 and 76011 on the 6.48pm to Templecombe.
MLR / 14 July 2023
After arriving back at Templecombe at 8.10pm I bade farewell to my friend and set out on the 100 mile drive home to Plymouth which would have taken me about three hours on the roads of the day, so probably arriving home around 11.15pm after a long and enjoyable day. Google maps tells me that the drive now takes about two hours. As I was writing this I came across a record of another occasion when I caught the 6.48pm from Bournemouth to Templecombe some three years later on 12 June 1965. This time there was no car waiting and it was train the whole way. First a 3-car dmu to Yeovil Junction, then a Warship hauled express to Exeter; finishing with another Warship from Exeter to Plymouth via Newton Abbot. Arrival at Plymouth was at 12.50am. It would have been around 1.05am when I arrived home on foot.
Conclusion
In order to construct the Bath Extension it was necessary for the railway to cross the Mendip Hills at Masbury between Binegar and Shepton Mallet at an elevation of 811 feet (247 metres). Bearing in mind that the railway at Bath was at just 70 feet (21 metres) above sea level trains faced a formidable climb to reach the summit. The engineer did well to keep the maximum gradient to 1 in 50. Masbury was the highest elevation of any standard guage railway for many miles in any direction. To the north one would have to travel to the north of Tissington in the Peak District to reach the same elevation; to the southwest beyond Okehampton at Meldon. To the east and south it is believed that no railways reach an elevation of 800 feet. It was this northern part of the S and D that gave the line real individuality and interest.
There were numerous joint railways in Britain but the Somerset and Dorset was one of the best known and best loved and survived longer than most. This weekend was a very good introduction to the Somerset and Dorset Line which was still busy at the time and still one hundred percent steam-worked. I would return to the line several times over the next three and a half years with every later visit being by train, so the visit to Masbury would turn out to be the only visit to the lineside away from stations. My next visit to the line would be 15 months later when I had my one and only trip behind a 9F ever. As I was writing this series for the Cornwall Railway Society website a new book about the Somerset & Dorset was starting to be advertised; the latest in a very long line of books on the subject. I have not seen the book but feel that this could turn out to be the most definitive book on the line yet, judging by the other books I have by the same publisher. The book is a limited edition of 1500 published by the Lightmoor Press titled “A Pictorial Atlas of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway.” 468 pages in two volumes supplied in a slip case costing £90. ISBN 9781915069252
CAPTIONS
7219 M7 class 0-4-4 number 30057 is seen at Platform 2 of Bournemouth West Station on the evening of 3 June 1962. Another M7 had banked the Pines Express out of Poole to just west of Branksome.
7220 Roofboard on a BR standard coach.
7221 West Country 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” of Bournemouth Shed is seen reversing the 12C of The Pines Express out of Bournemouth West Station into the carriage sidings.
7222 Schools class 30926 Repton of Basingstoke Shed is seen leaving Bournemouth West with seven coaches. The loco was withdrawn six months later and preserved.
7223 A general view of Bournemouth West Station showing platforms 3 to 6 and 76011 on the 6.48pm to Templecombe.
MLR / 14 July 2023
7219 M7 class 0-4-4 number 30057 is seen at Platform 2 of Bournemouth West Station on the evening of 3 June 1962. Another M7 had banked the Pines Express out of Poole to just west of Branksome. Copyright Michael L.Roach.
7220 Roofboard on a BR standard coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7221 West Country 34045 “Ottery St. Mary” of Bournemouth Shed is seen reversing the 12C of The Pines Express out of Bournemouth West Station into the carriage sidings. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7222 Schools class 30926 Repton of Basingstoke Shed is seen leaving Bournemouth West with seven coaches. The loco was withdrawn six months later and preserved. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7223 A general view of Bournemouth West Station showing platforms 3 to 6 and 76011 on the 6.48pm to Templecombe. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
We very much look forward to your records of your further visits to the Somerset and Dorset.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 38 Michael L. Roach
Tall Ships Race and a VIP visitor
Tall Ships Race and a VIP visitor
Tall Ships Race
The race came to Falmouth in 1966 when I went out in a pleasure boat to see the ships cross the start line and I was able to photograph them under sail; a truly memorable and spectacular event to witness. The tall ships return to Falmouth this month (August 2023) when the vessels will be moored in Falmouth Docks and some will be open to visitors from 15 to 18 August. Earlier in 2023 some of the ships had taken part in a 4-leg race across the North Sea starting from Den Helder (Netherlands) on 2 July; then going to Hartlepool, Frederickstaad (Norway), Lerwick (Scotland) finishing at Arendal (Norway). Wikipedia has an interesting list of sailing ships that have participated in the races over the years.
Hartlepool has a large number of docks which were united and extended by the North Eastern Railway. The tall ships were there from 6 to 9 July 2023 when they departed at 15.00 hours for Frederickstaad. I watched one of the ships, the DAR MLODZIECY of Poland cross the North Sea. On the morning of 11 July at 09.00 the ship was making 10 knots but at 22.00 that evening it was making 14 knots as it entered The Skaggerack. At the same time I was also watching the cruise liner Aurora (because our neighbours were aboard) on a 11-night trip from Southampton to the Fjords of Norway and very often it was travelling much slower than 14 knots. In a joint venture with other contractors the Austrian construction company Strabag is building some of the tunnels on HS2. The firm has just completed a new factory within the dock complex at Hartlepool on 24 July 2023, which will produce 83,000 concrete tunnel segments for HS2 which will be transported south by rail.
My first encounter with the Tall Ships was in 1962 on the evening of Monday 6 August which was a Bank Holiday. We travelled from Plymouth to Dartmouth to see the Tall Ships sheltering in the harbour at Dartmouth and some were duly photographed from the harbour wall. Most were some distance away but with the wonders of modern technology in the form of home scanning and cropping the sailing ships have been brought closer. The three largest ships were: the SORLANDET of Norway built 1927 and displacing 891 tons; the GORCH FOCH of Germany built 1958; and the AMERIGO VESPUCCI of Italy built 1931 and displacing 4,081 tons. Thirty two vessels crossed the start line in Torbay at 3.00pm on Wednesday 8 August 1962 for the next leg to Rotterdam.
The tall ships are returning to Falmouth in a few days time; and full details can be found at www. falmouth.co.uk/tallships. Among the large sailing ships confirmed as attending is the DAR MLODZIECY and the CUAUHTEMOC. The latter is the sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy for officers; and is a pleasing looking vessel – a barque 220 feet (67 metres) long displacing 1800 tons. When I searched marinetraffic.com for the Cuauthemoc on the morning of the 4 August it was in the Mediterranean west of Corsica on passage from Naples to Falmouth. I checked again on Sunday 6 August and the Cuauhtemoc passed through the Straits of Gibralter between noon and 13.00 hours that day making 8.5 knots using the engine. The vessel is scheduled to arrive Falmouth at 09.00 on Tuesday 15 August 2023.
It is particularly appropriate that Cuauhtemoc is coming to Cornwall because there are many links and connections between Cornwall and Mexico. As the price of tin collapsed in Victorian times many Cornish miners and mining engineers went overseas to work, including Mexico. Many of those emigrants stayed in their adopted countries, as a personal anecdote will show. It was just after lunch at our house in Camborne, Cornwall on Friday 30 September 2022 when the doorbell rang. Standing on the doorstep was a man in his fifties who was obviously foreign, but he spoke perfect English. He explained that his brother, mother and father were in the hire car parked outside the house. We invited them into the house, gave them some hospitality, and delayed their journey back to London by some ninety minutes. They explained that their surname was Rowe; that they were all Mexican-born and lived on the outskirts of Mexico City. The older man's grandfather had been a mining engineer who had been born, raised and studied in Cornwall. He had gone to work in the metal mines of Mexico in the 1910s, returned to Cornwall and finally returned and stayed in Mexico, marrying and raising a family. His last address in Cornwall was at our house in Camborne about 1916. You can imagine our surprise and delight at being able to be a small part of their 4-night visit to Britain. What had prompted their visit, which they had been talking about for years, was watching the funeral of our Queen on television a few weeks earlier.
MLR / 6 August 2023
The race came to Falmouth in 1966 when I went out in a pleasure boat to see the ships cross the start line and I was able to photograph them under sail; a truly memorable and spectacular event to witness. The tall ships return to Falmouth this month (August 2023) when the vessels will be moored in Falmouth Docks and some will be open to visitors from 15 to 18 August. Earlier in 2023 some of the ships had taken part in a 4-leg race across the North Sea starting from Den Helder (Netherlands) on 2 July; then going to Hartlepool, Frederickstaad (Norway), Lerwick (Scotland) finishing at Arendal (Norway). Wikipedia has an interesting list of sailing ships that have participated in the races over the years.
Hartlepool has a large number of docks which were united and extended by the North Eastern Railway. The tall ships were there from 6 to 9 July 2023 when they departed at 15.00 hours for Frederickstaad. I watched one of the ships, the DAR MLODZIECY of Poland cross the North Sea. On the morning of 11 July at 09.00 the ship was making 10 knots but at 22.00 that evening it was making 14 knots as it entered The Skaggerack. At the same time I was also watching the cruise liner Aurora (because our neighbours were aboard) on a 11-night trip from Southampton to the Fjords of Norway and very often it was travelling much slower than 14 knots. In a joint venture with other contractors the Austrian construction company Strabag is building some of the tunnels on HS2. The firm has just completed a new factory within the dock complex at Hartlepool on 24 July 2023, which will produce 83,000 concrete tunnel segments for HS2 which will be transported south by rail.
My first encounter with the Tall Ships was in 1962 on the evening of Monday 6 August which was a Bank Holiday. We travelled from Plymouth to Dartmouth to see the Tall Ships sheltering in the harbour at Dartmouth and some were duly photographed from the harbour wall. Most were some distance away but with the wonders of modern technology in the form of home scanning and cropping the sailing ships have been brought closer. The three largest ships were: the SORLANDET of Norway built 1927 and displacing 891 tons; the GORCH FOCH of Germany built 1958; and the AMERIGO VESPUCCI of Italy built 1931 and displacing 4,081 tons. Thirty two vessels crossed the start line in Torbay at 3.00pm on Wednesday 8 August 1962 for the next leg to Rotterdam.
The tall ships are returning to Falmouth in a few days time; and full details can be found at www. falmouth.co.uk/tallships. Among the large sailing ships confirmed as attending is the DAR MLODZIECY and the CUAUHTEMOC. The latter is the sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy for officers; and is a pleasing looking vessel – a barque 220 feet (67 metres) long displacing 1800 tons. When I searched marinetraffic.com for the Cuauthemoc on the morning of the 4 August it was in the Mediterranean west of Corsica on passage from Naples to Falmouth. I checked again on Sunday 6 August and the Cuauhtemoc passed through the Straits of Gibralter between noon and 13.00 hours that day making 8.5 knots using the engine. The vessel is scheduled to arrive Falmouth at 09.00 on Tuesday 15 August 2023.
It is particularly appropriate that Cuauhtemoc is coming to Cornwall because there are many links and connections between Cornwall and Mexico. As the price of tin collapsed in Victorian times many Cornish miners and mining engineers went overseas to work, including Mexico. Many of those emigrants stayed in their adopted countries, as a personal anecdote will show. It was just after lunch at our house in Camborne, Cornwall on Friday 30 September 2022 when the doorbell rang. Standing on the doorstep was a man in his fifties who was obviously foreign, but he spoke perfect English. He explained that his brother, mother and father were in the hire car parked outside the house. We invited them into the house, gave them some hospitality, and delayed their journey back to London by some ninety minutes. They explained that their surname was Rowe; that they were all Mexican-born and lived on the outskirts of Mexico City. The older man's grandfather had been a mining engineer who had been born, raised and studied in Cornwall. He had gone to work in the metal mines of Mexico in the 1910s, returned to Cornwall and finally returned and stayed in Mexico, marrying and raising a family. His last address in Cornwall was at our house in Camborne about 1916. You can imagine our surprise and delight at being able to be a small part of their 4-night visit to Britain. What had prompted their visit, which they had been talking about for years, was watching the funeral of our Queen on television a few weeks earlier.
MLR / 6 August 2023
7271 The Sorlandet of Norway moored in the River Dart onb the evening of 6 August 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7272 The Gorch Foch of Germany. Cpyright Michael L.Roach.
7274 The Amerigo Vespucci of Italy. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7276 The Amerigo Vespucci again with Kingswear as a background. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7277 Sorlandet (left) and Gorch Foch (right); the smaller sailing vessels in the middle were not recorded as I could probably not identify them.. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 39 Michael L. Roach
6400-class Pannier Tank to Launceston
6400-class Pannier Tank to Launceston
In the 1950s and up to the closure of the line at the end of 1962 passenger and freight trains between Plymouth and Launceston, via Tavistock South, were hauled almost exclusively by GWR prairie tanks in the 4500 and 4575 series. However between Plymouth and Tavistock South there more trains and more variety of motive power. The trains were mostly autotrains which meant that the coaches, normally one or two, were propelled one way and hauled the other. Most were worked by one of the 40 engines in the 6400-class of pannier tank of which Laira Shed normally had three with two being needed on most days. When none were available the autotrains could be worked by one of the prairie tanks of which Laira had 8 or 9 of the class, including some auto-fitted examples which had been displaced from the Welsh Valleys after they had been replaced by diesel multiple units in 1958. If no prairie tanks were available the train would be worked by a 5700-class pannier tank. The 6400-class never normally proceeded north of Tavistock to Lydford and Launceston.
On Saturday 18 August 1962 I decided to spend the afternoon photographing trains in the woods to the west of Lydford Station where the line was descending at a constant gradient of 1 in 55 or 1 in 57 for more than four miles to the station at Coryton. Heavy earthworks were necessary with high embankments and deep cuttings through rock. It is hard to see why the line was brought this way to reach an elevation of 700 feet AOD on the edge of Dartmoor when a direct route from Lifton to Tavistock would have saved at least four miles of track and served the villages of Chillaton and Lamerton leaving the LSWR to serve Lydford and Mary Tavy. My first port of call was at milepost 21¾ (measured from Tavistock Junction); approximately 2¼ miles west of Lydford. I recorded that the train in scan 7296 was on a 70 foot (20 metre) high embankment and I was standing on the top of a 25 feet (8 metre) high cutting. After capturing 4570 with two coaches I moved further east a quarter of a mile to milepost 21½ to see the 12.14pm SO train come down the bank running a few minutes late. It was most unusual for me to record comments like this but the train was recorded as “belting along,” and it can be seen in scans 7298 and 7300 that 1/250 of a second has not quite stopped the train. The two corridor coaches (one in chocolate and cream, and one in maroon) were being hauled by a 6400-class pannier, the first and only time I ever saw one between Tavistock and Launceston. It was quite a strange feeling to see 6400 on this stretch of line.
The 6400-class were visually very similar to the 5700-class standard pannier tanks, with many dimensions being similar or identical (e.g. length, width, height, driving wheel diameter). The main differences were that the cylinder diameter was one inch less on the 6400s and the boiler pressure was 165psi against 200psi. The 6400s had a lot less power, but enough for what they were designed for which was autotrains up to four coaches long. British Railways rated the 6400s as 2P; while the 5700s were rated 3F. In reality BR used the standard pannier tank as a 3MT (mixed traffic) engine, and they were used as the standard passenger engine on many branch lines all over the Western Region, including some longer routes like the 47 miles from Newport to Brecon. The 6400s always appeared lower and squatter than the standard pannier and they were with the boiler pitch being 3-inch (76mm) lower. The real giveaway was the taller chimney on the 6400s.
The 12.14pm SO from Plymouth was due to arrive Launceston at 1.47pm; and it might have been expected that the engine off the 1.47 arrival would have worked back on the 2.05pm SO Launceston to Plymouth passenger train except that it didn't as the 2.05pm was worked by the engine that had worked out on the daily goods from Tavistock Junction. This left the engine off the 12.14 to return with the Launceston to Tavistock Junction goods train enabling the freight train crew to shorten their day after a very early start. It would be interesting to see what would happen on this day in view of the fact that a pure passenger loco, 6400, with less tractive effort had arrived on the 12.14 from Plymouth.
.MLR / 17 August 2023
On Saturday 18 August 1962 I decided to spend the afternoon photographing trains in the woods to the west of Lydford Station where the line was descending at a constant gradient of 1 in 55 or 1 in 57 for more than four miles to the station at Coryton. Heavy earthworks were necessary with high embankments and deep cuttings through rock. It is hard to see why the line was brought this way to reach an elevation of 700 feet AOD on the edge of Dartmoor when a direct route from Lifton to Tavistock would have saved at least four miles of track and served the villages of Chillaton and Lamerton leaving the LSWR to serve Lydford and Mary Tavy. My first port of call was at milepost 21¾ (measured from Tavistock Junction); approximately 2¼ miles west of Lydford. I recorded that the train in scan 7296 was on a 70 foot (20 metre) high embankment and I was standing on the top of a 25 feet (8 metre) high cutting. After capturing 4570 with two coaches I moved further east a quarter of a mile to milepost 21½ to see the 12.14pm SO train come down the bank running a few minutes late. It was most unusual for me to record comments like this but the train was recorded as “belting along,” and it can be seen in scans 7298 and 7300 that 1/250 of a second has not quite stopped the train. The two corridor coaches (one in chocolate and cream, and one in maroon) were being hauled by a 6400-class pannier, the first and only time I ever saw one between Tavistock and Launceston. It was quite a strange feeling to see 6400 on this stretch of line.
The 6400-class were visually very similar to the 5700-class standard pannier tanks, with many dimensions being similar or identical (e.g. length, width, height, driving wheel diameter). The main differences were that the cylinder diameter was one inch less on the 6400s and the boiler pressure was 165psi against 200psi. The 6400s had a lot less power, but enough for what they were designed for which was autotrains up to four coaches long. British Railways rated the 6400s as 2P; while the 5700s were rated 3F. In reality BR used the standard pannier tank as a 3MT (mixed traffic) engine, and they were used as the standard passenger engine on many branch lines all over the Western Region, including some longer routes like the 47 miles from Newport to Brecon. The 6400s always appeared lower and squatter than the standard pannier and they were with the boiler pitch being 3-inch (76mm) lower. The real giveaway was the taller chimney on the 6400s.
The 12.14pm SO from Plymouth was due to arrive Launceston at 1.47pm; and it might have been expected that the engine off the 1.47 arrival would have worked back on the 2.05pm SO Launceston to Plymouth passenger train except that it didn't as the 2.05pm was worked by the engine that had worked out on the daily goods from Tavistock Junction. This left the engine off the 12.14 to return with the Launceston to Tavistock Junction goods train enabling the freight train crew to shorten their day after a very early start. It would be interesting to see what would happen on this day in view of the fact that a pure passenger loco, 6400, with less tractive effort had arrived on the 12.14 from Plymouth.
.MLR / 17 August 2023
7296 4570 rounds the curve at milepost 21¾ with the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7298 6400 with two corridor coaches (one in maroon and one in chocloate & cream) belting downhil at milepost 21½ with the 12.14pm SO Plymouth to Launceston. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7300 A much cropped scan of the negative used in the previous image. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7301 4574 (unusually not bunker first) crossing the river just west of Coryton Halt with the 2.05pm SO Launceston to Plymouth and the same two corridor coaches as seen earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael looking forward to part 40.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 40 Michael L. Roach
Coryton
Coryton
Coryton
Coryton Station was 26¾ miles from Plymouth on the GWR's branch to Launceston, and 24 miles from Tavistock Junction. Milepost 24 was just off the west end of the single platform. The railway was located in and followed the valley of the River Lyd for several miles each side of the station. To the west of the station the gradients were generally easy at 1 in 140 or less; but to the east it was a different story as the line climbed higher and higher above the river in order to leave the valley on the approach to Lydford Station more than 4¼ miles away. The first two miles of the bank were at a gradient if 1 in 55 and the remaining two miles at 1 in 57. As an aside this was a similar gradient and length to the more famous incline leading up to the summit at Talerddig on the Cambrian main line east of Machynlleth, where double-headed steam trains would struggle up the bank with a dozen coaches on summer Saturdays up to 1966. Luckily there were few heavy trains on the Launceston Branch and the small prairie tanks, which were the normal motive power, coped with the two coach passenger trains and the ten or twelve wagons of the returning freight train. The prairies were allowed to take 220 tons from Launceston to Plymouth which equates to just over six coaches.
The hamlet of Coryton was some distance from its railway station and the population of the whole parish when the railway was being planned and built was just 375 persons. This suggests to me that the station was provided originally to break up the long distance (7m 51c) between the stations each side of Coryton at Lifton and Lydford, because the railway was built at a time when railway promoters considered that a station should be provided every three miles or so. In 1933 Coryton issued 3,508 passenger tickets and dealt with 3,150 tons of goods and minerals; an average working day would have seen the staff issue 11 passenger tickets and deal with 10 tons of goods. The station was destaffed in 1959.
It is known that the local squire used Coryton Station as it was the nearest station to his family home at Lewtrenchard, two miles north of the station. He was also an anglican priest, collector of folk songs, novelist and writer on various subjects, including hymns. His most famous work was to write the words for the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” in 1865. He was the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) and Lewtrenchard is a place of pilgrimage to this day. Until recently there was a Sabine Baring-Gould Appreciation Society with its own website. He will have a huge number of descendants as he fathered no less than 15 children. Next year will mark the hundredth anniversary of his death and articles are already starting to appear in the local papers; e.g. WMN on 12 August 2023 where the writer said that Sabine Baring-Gould's greatest achievement was as a collector of folk songs of the West Country.
I was there in the vicinity of Coryton Station on the afternoon of Saturday 18 August 1962 from about 2.00pm to 7.45pm and witnessed five trains pass. It was my only visit to Coryton and the weather was kind unlike the weather on the day this article was written, 18 August 2023, which started with some sunny periods but degenerated to torrential rain and gale force winds called “Storm Betty.”
The trains I saw at Coryton were:
4574 on the 2.05pm SO Launceston to Plymouth
6400 on the 2.20pm Launceston to Tavistock Junction freight
4555 on the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston
4555 on the 5.40pm Launceston to Plymouth
5568 on the 6.20pm Plymouth to Launceston
It was 5¼ hours between photographing the first and the last of the trains listed. It can be seen that 6400 (and its footplate crew ?) did indeed swop duties with 4574 the engine of the goods train. Something different would have happened on Mondays to Fridays because the 12.14pm from Plymouth did not run being Saturdays Only. It was highly unusual to see a 6400-class pannier tank on a goods train and in the 60 years since I have not even seen another photograph of such an occurrence, except on a heritage railway. 6400 emerged from Swindon Works in February 1932 and spent its first 27 years at just two sheds in South Wales. It moved to Laira on 18 April 1959 and would have worked the Saltash autos until replaced by dmus after which it would have worked principally between Plymouth and Tavistock South.
MLR / 18 August 2023
Coryton Station was 26¾ miles from Plymouth on the GWR's branch to Launceston, and 24 miles from Tavistock Junction. Milepost 24 was just off the west end of the single platform. The railway was located in and followed the valley of the River Lyd for several miles each side of the station. To the west of the station the gradients were generally easy at 1 in 140 or less; but to the east it was a different story as the line climbed higher and higher above the river in order to leave the valley on the approach to Lydford Station more than 4¼ miles away. The first two miles of the bank were at a gradient if 1 in 55 and the remaining two miles at 1 in 57. As an aside this was a similar gradient and length to the more famous incline leading up to the summit at Talerddig on the Cambrian main line east of Machynlleth, where double-headed steam trains would struggle up the bank with a dozen coaches on summer Saturdays up to 1966. Luckily there were few heavy trains on the Launceston Branch and the small prairie tanks, which were the normal motive power, coped with the two coach passenger trains and the ten or twelve wagons of the returning freight train. The prairies were allowed to take 220 tons from Launceston to Plymouth which equates to just over six coaches.
The hamlet of Coryton was some distance from its railway station and the population of the whole parish when the railway was being planned and built was just 375 persons. This suggests to me that the station was provided originally to break up the long distance (7m 51c) between the stations each side of Coryton at Lifton and Lydford, because the railway was built at a time when railway promoters considered that a station should be provided every three miles or so. In 1933 Coryton issued 3,508 passenger tickets and dealt with 3,150 tons of goods and minerals; an average working day would have seen the staff issue 11 passenger tickets and deal with 10 tons of goods. The station was destaffed in 1959.
It is known that the local squire used Coryton Station as it was the nearest station to his family home at Lewtrenchard, two miles north of the station. He was also an anglican priest, collector of folk songs, novelist and writer on various subjects, including hymns. His most famous work was to write the words for the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” in 1865. He was the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) and Lewtrenchard is a place of pilgrimage to this day. Until recently there was a Sabine Baring-Gould Appreciation Society with its own website. He will have a huge number of descendants as he fathered no less than 15 children. Next year will mark the hundredth anniversary of his death and articles are already starting to appear in the local papers; e.g. WMN on 12 August 2023 where the writer said that Sabine Baring-Gould's greatest achievement was as a collector of folk songs of the West Country.
I was there in the vicinity of Coryton Station on the afternoon of Saturday 18 August 1962 from about 2.00pm to 7.45pm and witnessed five trains pass. It was my only visit to Coryton and the weather was kind unlike the weather on the day this article was written, 18 August 2023, which started with some sunny periods but degenerated to torrential rain and gale force winds called “Storm Betty.”
The trains I saw at Coryton were:
4574 on the 2.05pm SO Launceston to Plymouth
6400 on the 2.20pm Launceston to Tavistock Junction freight
4555 on the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston
4555 on the 5.40pm Launceston to Plymouth
5568 on the 6.20pm Plymouth to Launceston
It was 5¼ hours between photographing the first and the last of the trains listed. It can be seen that 6400 (and its footplate crew ?) did indeed swop duties with 4574 the engine of the goods train. Something different would have happened on Mondays to Fridays because the 12.14pm from Plymouth did not run being Saturdays Only. It was highly unusual to see a 6400-class pannier tank on a goods train and in the 60 years since I have not even seen another photograph of such an occurrence, except on a heritage railway. 6400 emerged from Swindon Works in February 1932 and spent its first 27 years at just two sheds in South Wales. It moved to Laira on 18 April 1959 and would have worked the Saltash autos until replaced by dmus after which it would have worked principally between Plymouth and Tavistock South.
MLR / 18 August 2023
7302 6400 passes under the minor road alongside Coryton Station and sets out on the 4-mile climb to Lydford at 1 in 55/57 with 10 wagons on the 2.20pm Launceston to Tavistock Junction goods train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Coryton station. Copyright Michael L. Roach. It hadn't been repainted since 1946!
7307 4555 calls at Coryton with the 3.05pm from Plymouth to Launceston. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7313 5568 sets out from Coryton with the 6.20pm from Plymouth to Launceston. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - looking forward to part 41.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 41
The Life of GWR Prairie Tank 4555
Michael L. Roach
The Life of GWR Prairie Tank 4555
Michael L. Roach
The Great Western Railway's small prairie loco 4555 would become well-known towards the end of its service with British Railways and after its subsequent preservation. The loco was built in September 1924 and was one of a batch of six constructed that month numbered 4555 – 4560. Two of the six locos went new to Laira and four went to Tyseley – a shed that would become very familiar to 4555 many years later. Two of the batch have been preserved i.e 4555 and 4560. 4555 was condemned by British Railways in December 1963. During its 39 years of service the loco was quite nomadic moving sheds a total of 7 times accordng to one source but another quotes 13 moves just after nationalisation, including 8 between Machynlleth and Pwllheli in 4 years. 4555 spent a total of 17 years at those two sheds working trains up and down the Cambrian Coast. I was privileged to see 4555 working out of Laira because it has become one of the most well-known tank engines and non-named engines in preservation.
My interest in 4555 began when it moved to Plymouth on 19 May 1962 because that was where I lived at the time. It would be in service at Laira for about a year and was condemned on 2 December 1963. I photographed 4555 for the last time on 8 June 1963 so it may have not done much work in the last few months. From May until December 1962 the loco would be mostly hauling passenger and freight trains over the 34 miles between Plymouth and Launceston via Tavistock South until the line closed. In the first couple of months of 1964 the loco was hauled away to Swindon Works for a light overhaul before entering preservation in the spring of 1964.
For the next 18 months 4555 was based at Tyseley Shed in Birmingham which was still open to steam at the time and the loco operated some railtours while based there. The first one was on 2 May 1964 when it hauled a railtour from Merthyr to Brecon and back, in tandem with pannier tank 3690 on the weekend the line closed to freight (it had already closed to passengers at the end of 1962). The loco did not formally change ownership until 19 May 1964. The new owners paid just £750 for the engine which included the cost of the overhaul and a spare boiler which surely was the bargain of the twentieth century. While the loco was based at Tyseley it was used on all sorts of normal BR trains. It is worth looking at the story of 4555 on the website preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com
Note: This is a revised version of an article which first appeared in the Newsletter of the Norfolk Railway Society
MLR / 21 August 2023
My interest in 4555 began when it moved to Plymouth on 19 May 1962 because that was where I lived at the time. It would be in service at Laira for about a year and was condemned on 2 December 1963. I photographed 4555 for the last time on 8 June 1963 so it may have not done much work in the last few months. From May until December 1962 the loco would be mostly hauling passenger and freight trains over the 34 miles between Plymouth and Launceston via Tavistock South until the line closed. In the first couple of months of 1964 the loco was hauled away to Swindon Works for a light overhaul before entering preservation in the spring of 1964.
For the next 18 months 4555 was based at Tyseley Shed in Birmingham which was still open to steam at the time and the loco operated some railtours while based there. The first one was on 2 May 1964 when it hauled a railtour from Merthyr to Brecon and back, in tandem with pannier tank 3690 on the weekend the line closed to freight (it had already closed to passengers at the end of 1962). The loco did not formally change ownership until 19 May 1964. The new owners paid just £750 for the engine which included the cost of the overhaul and a spare boiler which surely was the bargain of the twentieth century. While the loco was based at Tyseley it was used on all sorts of normal BR trains. It is worth looking at the story of 4555 on the website preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com
Note: This is a revised version of an article which first appeared in the Newsletter of the Norfolk Railway Society
MLR / 21 August 2023
5728 4555 Leaves Yelverton Tunnel and passes through Yelverton Station with 11 wagons on the 2.20pm freight from Launceston to Tavistock Junction Yard running a few minutes late at 4.28pm on 22 September 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7255 4555 powers down the bank between Lipson Junction and Laira Junction past Laira steam shed on the 12.14pm SO Plymouth to Launceston train on 28 July 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7310 4555 stops at Coryton with the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston train on 18 August 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7312 4555 sets out from Coryton with the 5.40pm Launceston to Plymouth on 18 August 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael we look forward to Part 42.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 42 Michael L. Roach
Near Brentor
In Parts 39 and 40 I showed photos taken on the afternoon and evening of 18 August 1962 west of Lydford Station on the GWR's Launceston Branch. On my way there I stopped south of Lydford and near Brentor village to catch the 10.25am Plymouth to Launceston on film. The first photo shows the train hauled by Laira's 4570 heading north-east to Lydford; note the enthusiast at the window of the first coach. In the second photo the engine is about to pass under Burn Lane which had given me access to the area. The last view is looking north-east from the bridge showing the proximity of the GWR's single line to Launceston and the Southern Railway's main line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton. The whole area looked incredibly neat in 1962 but within 6 years both lines would be closed. and the area is now a jungle of scrub and small trees. The three bridges carrying Burn Lane over the railways are still there.
Heavy Trains (1)
I have written before of the huge loads that the Great Western expected their footplatemen to work out of Paddington at holiday periods in the early years of the last century with quite small engines. It will be recalled that the 4-6-0 express passenger classes in the shape of the 2-cylinder Saints and 4-cylinder Stars had only just started to come off the production line and most expresses were still being hauled by 4-4-0 classes. In this article I am going to recount just a couple of examples from the ones listed regularly in the GWR Magazine. The first trip comes from 24 December 1906. Early that Christmas Eve the 12.17am to Birkenhead set out from Paddington with one 6-wheel coach and 17 8-wheel coaches. The engine given to the driver for this formidable load was no. 16 which was one of William Dean's four prototypes in the Armstrong class of 4-4-0 double-frame locos built at Swindon in 1894. Number 16 was actually a rebuild of an un-named 2-4-0 broad-gauge convertible engine built in 1888. After rebuilding the engine was named “Brunel” and was a particularly handsome looking locomotive, and very similar in appearance to the Dean “singles” with an extra pair of driving wheels partly beneath the cab. William Dean was the CME (Chief Mechanical Engineer) of the GWR from 1877 to 1902 when he retired due to ill health and was succeeded by his deputy George Jackson Churchward which ensured continuity and it was the latter who moved the engines up a size by designing 4-6-0s. On this day in 1906 number 16 reached its first stop at Reading at an average speed of 44 mph. Although the first stop was at Reading the load had been reduced by two 8-wheel coaches at Twyford, presumably by the use of slip coaches because this was the heyday of slip operation on the GWR peaking at 79 in 1908. I guess that the slip coaches were destined to give a late-night service to Henley-on-Thames. In my 1902 timetable the then 12.15am “fast corridor train to Birmingham and Liverpool” slipped a coach or coaches at Twyford at 1.02am giving an arrival at Henley at 1.20am but only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The driver of no. 16 was one William Tallis and at Easter 1907 he was again on the 12.17 am to Birkenhead with 4-4-0 no. 7 another of Dean's prototypes on Thursday 28 March at the start of the Easter rush. Whitsuntide 1907 Tallis was again rostered on the 12.17am to Birkenhead on Saturday 18 May with prototype no. 8 and 14 8-wheelers and 3 6-wheelers averaging 44 mph to Reading. Tallis was obviously a very reliable driver, but was reliant on a competent fireman working hard for the four hours it took to reach Wolverhampton, where Tallis was based. The distance from Paddington was 141 miles 61 chains via Oxford. At the time the average distance covered by a GWR passenger train driver was around 100 miles per shift.
MLR / 15 September 2023
In Parts 39 and 40 I showed photos taken on the afternoon and evening of 18 August 1962 west of Lydford Station on the GWR's Launceston Branch. On my way there I stopped south of Lydford and near Brentor village to catch the 10.25am Plymouth to Launceston on film. The first photo shows the train hauled by Laira's 4570 heading north-east to Lydford; note the enthusiast at the window of the first coach. In the second photo the engine is about to pass under Burn Lane which had given me access to the area. The last view is looking north-east from the bridge showing the proximity of the GWR's single line to Launceston and the Southern Railway's main line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton. The whole area looked incredibly neat in 1962 but within 6 years both lines would be closed. and the area is now a jungle of scrub and small trees. The three bridges carrying Burn Lane over the railways are still there.
Heavy Trains (1)
I have written before of the huge loads that the Great Western expected their footplatemen to work out of Paddington at holiday periods in the early years of the last century with quite small engines. It will be recalled that the 4-6-0 express passenger classes in the shape of the 2-cylinder Saints and 4-cylinder Stars had only just started to come off the production line and most expresses were still being hauled by 4-4-0 classes. In this article I am going to recount just a couple of examples from the ones listed regularly in the GWR Magazine. The first trip comes from 24 December 1906. Early that Christmas Eve the 12.17am to Birkenhead set out from Paddington with one 6-wheel coach and 17 8-wheel coaches. The engine given to the driver for this formidable load was no. 16 which was one of William Dean's four prototypes in the Armstrong class of 4-4-0 double-frame locos built at Swindon in 1894. Number 16 was actually a rebuild of an un-named 2-4-0 broad-gauge convertible engine built in 1888. After rebuilding the engine was named “Brunel” and was a particularly handsome looking locomotive, and very similar in appearance to the Dean “singles” with an extra pair of driving wheels partly beneath the cab. William Dean was the CME (Chief Mechanical Engineer) of the GWR from 1877 to 1902 when he retired due to ill health and was succeeded by his deputy George Jackson Churchward which ensured continuity and it was the latter who moved the engines up a size by designing 4-6-0s. On this day in 1906 number 16 reached its first stop at Reading at an average speed of 44 mph. Although the first stop was at Reading the load had been reduced by two 8-wheel coaches at Twyford, presumably by the use of slip coaches because this was the heyday of slip operation on the GWR peaking at 79 in 1908. I guess that the slip coaches were destined to give a late-night service to Henley-on-Thames. In my 1902 timetable the then 12.15am “fast corridor train to Birmingham and Liverpool” slipped a coach or coaches at Twyford at 1.02am giving an arrival at Henley at 1.20am but only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The driver of no. 16 was one William Tallis and at Easter 1907 he was again on the 12.17 am to Birkenhead with 4-4-0 no. 7 another of Dean's prototypes on Thursday 28 March at the start of the Easter rush. Whitsuntide 1907 Tallis was again rostered on the 12.17am to Birkenhead on Saturday 18 May with prototype no. 8 and 14 8-wheelers and 3 6-wheelers averaging 44 mph to Reading. Tallis was obviously a very reliable driver, but was reliant on a competent fireman working hard for the four hours it took to reach Wolverhampton, where Tallis was based. The distance from Paddington was 141 miles 61 chains via Oxford. At the time the average distance covered by a GWR passenger train driver was around 100 miles per shift.
MLR / 15 September 2023
7282 4570 heads north-east near Brentor village with the 10.25am Plymouth to Launceston on 18 August 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7283 4570 heads under Burn Lane Bridge. Note the enthusiast at the window of the first coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7285 View north-east from Burn Lane Bridge towards Lydford Station. The boundary of the Dartmoor National Park lies one kilometre to the west and the bulk of the high moor to the east. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7427 4-4-0 number 16 “Brunel” a rebuild dating from 1894. This fine looking engine had just half the tractive effort of the next engine to bear the name of Brunel – 4-6-0 Castle class 5069 of 1938. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we're all looking forward to part 43.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 43 Michael L. Roach
The Southern Railway's Z-Class
On Saturday 28 July 1962 I took a half-day trip from Plymouth to Exeter, outwards at 2.45pm. This was The Royal Duchy, the 11.50am off Penzance which was allowed nearly eight hours to reach Paddington at 7.42pm. The load was 14C hauled by a D8xx series Warship piloted by a North British Type 2 in the D63xx series; and the duo took 14 minutes to pass Hemerdon Box. The fare was ten shillings (50p) return. There was one scheduled stop at Totnes and no less than three signal slows and three signal stops. The pilot came off at Newton Abbot on the through road. Just in front of my train must have been the late running 12.30 Newquay to Paddington which was nominally non-stop from Plymouth to Paddington. My train started 4L and lost a further 13 minutes to Exeter St. Davids where I stayed from 4.30pm to 7.47pm photographing steam. No film was expended on photographing diesels, as film was too precious, although I did photograph diesels later in the 1960s. Ten steam engines were photographed, as follows: 1009, 1471, 3810, 9635, 30957, 31853, 34011, 34023, 34081, and 34096 representing seven different classes. The highlights were seeing GW 2-8-0 3810 on a parcels train; an SR 0-8-0 30957 on banking duties; and seeing the Okehampton to Surbiton car-carrier banked up the 1 in 37 to Exeter Central.
Several British railways built 0-8-0 tender engines for haulage of heavy freight trains, but 0-8-0 tank engines were very rare. The Southern Railway's Z-class was a 3-cylinder 0-8-0 tank engine designed by Richard Maunsell for heavy shunting. The initial batch of eight were built at Brighton Works in 1929 and at first they were spread all over the Southern system. A second order for ten engines to be built at Eastleigh in 1931 was cancelled due to the depression in trade of the early 1930s. With a tractive effort of 29,380 and all the 71 ton weight on the driving wheels the Z-class were the complete master of what they were asked to do. British Railways rated the class 7F and numbered them 30950 to 30957.
Although the class had been based at Exeter before, the first half of the 1950s saw none at Exmouth Junction Shed. Two of the class arrived in 1956; one in 1958; and no less than five in 1959, meaning that the whole class had gravitated to Exmouth Junction Shed, although I cannot imagine that Exeter ever needed all eight engines. This state of affairs would last from May 1959 to October 1962 when the first of the class was condemned and by the end of that year the whole class had been withdrawn. An attempt to preserve 30952 for use on the Bluebell Railway ended in failure and all eight examples were cut up. In two adjacent images are shewn examples of two differentn 8-coupled engines. The one thing they have in common is the driving wheel diameter which is very similar. A comparison of all the other main dimensions shows them to be completetely different; Maunsell was quite definitely not copying Churchward's 2800-class 2-8-0s intoduced 25 years earlier or the 4200-class of 1910. This was the only occasion I managed to capture a Z-class on film.
I left Exeter at 7.47pm (5L) on a Manchester to Plymouth train as far as Newton Abbot where I transferred to the following 4.30pm Paddington to Truro train (The Mayflower) perhaps in the vain hope that the train might be steam-hauled. Both were hauled by unrecorded D800-series Warships.
MLR / 23 September 2023
On Saturday 28 July 1962 I took a half-day trip from Plymouth to Exeter, outwards at 2.45pm. This was The Royal Duchy, the 11.50am off Penzance which was allowed nearly eight hours to reach Paddington at 7.42pm. The load was 14C hauled by a D8xx series Warship piloted by a North British Type 2 in the D63xx series; and the duo took 14 minutes to pass Hemerdon Box. The fare was ten shillings (50p) return. There was one scheduled stop at Totnes and no less than three signal slows and three signal stops. The pilot came off at Newton Abbot on the through road. Just in front of my train must have been the late running 12.30 Newquay to Paddington which was nominally non-stop from Plymouth to Paddington. My train started 4L and lost a further 13 minutes to Exeter St. Davids where I stayed from 4.30pm to 7.47pm photographing steam. No film was expended on photographing diesels, as film was too precious, although I did photograph diesels later in the 1960s. Ten steam engines were photographed, as follows: 1009, 1471, 3810, 9635, 30957, 31853, 34011, 34023, 34081, and 34096 representing seven different classes. The highlights were seeing GW 2-8-0 3810 on a parcels train; an SR 0-8-0 30957 on banking duties; and seeing the Okehampton to Surbiton car-carrier banked up the 1 in 37 to Exeter Central.
Several British railways built 0-8-0 tender engines for haulage of heavy freight trains, but 0-8-0 tank engines were very rare. The Southern Railway's Z-class was a 3-cylinder 0-8-0 tank engine designed by Richard Maunsell for heavy shunting. The initial batch of eight were built at Brighton Works in 1929 and at first they were spread all over the Southern system. A second order for ten engines to be built at Eastleigh in 1931 was cancelled due to the depression in trade of the early 1930s. With a tractive effort of 29,380 and all the 71 ton weight on the driving wheels the Z-class were the complete master of what they were asked to do. British Railways rated the class 7F and numbered them 30950 to 30957.
Although the class had been based at Exeter before, the first half of the 1950s saw none at Exmouth Junction Shed. Two of the class arrived in 1956; one in 1958; and no less than five in 1959, meaning that the whole class had gravitated to Exmouth Junction Shed, although I cannot imagine that Exeter ever needed all eight engines. This state of affairs would last from May 1959 to October 1962 when the first of the class was condemned and by the end of that year the whole class had been withdrawn. An attempt to preserve 30952 for use on the Bluebell Railway ended in failure and all eight examples were cut up. In two adjacent images are shewn examples of two differentn 8-coupled engines. The one thing they have in common is the driving wheel diameter which is very similar. A comparison of all the other main dimensions shows them to be completetely different; Maunsell was quite definitely not copying Churchward's 2800-class 2-8-0s intoduced 25 years earlier or the 4200-class of 1910. This was the only occasion I managed to capture a Z-class on film.
I left Exeter at 7.47pm (5L) on a Manchester to Plymouth train as far as Newton Abbot where I transferred to the following 4.30pm Paddington to Truro train (The Mayflower) perhaps in the vain hope that the train might be steam-hauled. Both were hauled by unrecorded D800-series Warships.
MLR / 23 September 2023
7256 0-4-2 no. 1471 propels the 3.15pm from Dulverton into Exeter St. Davids at 4.33 on 28 July 1962. Note the banking engine on the left. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7257 34023 Blackmore Vale leaves St. Davids on the Brighton to Plymouth train. 34023 lasted until the end of steam on the Southern Region and was preserved. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7258 1471 takes water ready for its next trip to Dulverton at 5.48pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7259 Z-class 30957 banks the Surbiton car carrier train out of St. Davids. The train engine was 34096 Trevone hauling three coaches and eight GUVs. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7265 3810 is seen on a lengthy down parcels train. 3810 was based at Cardiff Canton Shed but would move to East Dock Shed the following month to allow Canton to be converted to a diesel depot. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
As usual an invaluable collection of pictures from 1962 and we all look forward to part 44.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 44 Michael L. Roach
Exeter St. Davids
Exeter St. Davids is the main railway station serving the city of Exeter – population 133,000 – now 173 miles from Paddington via Westbury. However when the station opened in 1844 it was the western terminus of the Bristol & Exeter Railway and all trains to and from London ran via Bristol giving a distance of 194 miles to the capital. The station remained a terminus until the line was extended to Teignmouth in 1846 by the South Devon Railway. The B&ER, the SDR and the Cornwall Railway amalgamated with Great Western Railway in 1876; and the GWR carried out many improvements to St. Davids over the years between 1876 and 1947. The railways of Britain were nationalised on 1 January 1948. Latest figures for usage of the station are 2,200,000 plus 900,000 changing trains. As built the station was one of Brunel's infamous single-sided stations with one long platform to serve trains in both directions. This article is a follow-up to Part 43 to show more photos taken on the same day when I had made a half day trip to Exeter from Plymouth i.e 28 July 1962.
4-4-0 No. 16 “Brunel”
In Part 42 I outlined how a driver from Wolverhampton was expected to take 18 coaches out of Paddington on a night train to Birmingham and Liverpool on Christmas Eve 1906. The engine he was given for this mammoth load was no. 16 “Brunel” a 4-4-0 with half the tractive effort of the later Castle-class. In its 110-year history the GWR named three of its engines after its first engineer. The first two were just called Brunel while the third was named out in full Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The first was a broad gauge 2-4-0 which lasted from 1863 to 1879. The third was Castle-class 5069 which lasted from 1938 to 1962. This article is mainly about the second of the three engines, although it was not named at first. Number 16 was a 2-4-0 built in 1888 as a broad-guage “convertible” engine. When the broad-gauge was dispensed with in 1892 the engine was laid aside in one of the many sidings at Swindon holding redundant broad-gauge stock. In 1894 the engine was rebuilt to the narrow-gauge as a rather handsome 4-4-0 and only then given the name Brunel. It retained its 7 feet driving wheels; the cylinders were kept as 2 by 20 inches diameter, but the piston stroke was increased from 24 to 26 inches. Curiously (in my view) the boiler pressure was reduced from 180 to 160 psi resulting in a tractive effort slightly less than in its broad-gauge guise at 16,540. For comparison the tractive effort of 5069 was 31,625. Twenty eight years later in the GWR Magazine for January 1934 the Company wrote this: Summer service and holiday trains in 1933 were particularly heavy, especially at weekends, and loads of fifteen to seventeen coaches were frequentluy conveyed on the West of England trains by engines of the “King” and “Castle” classes. Comparing routes the 1933 trains would have had the long 17-mile climb from Newbury to Savernake Summit but might have shed some coaches before the later climb to Whiteball. Meanwhile the 1906 train to Liverpool would have had to contend with the shorter but steeper climb of Hatton Bank. I think no. 16 had a far harder task but may have been given assistance to surmount Hatton Bank.
In the attached table readers can see an interesting comparison of all three engines named after Brunel and also in the table are the three engines named Gooch i.e after Sir Daniel Gooch the first locomotive engineer of the GWR.
MLR / 24 September 2023
Exeter St. Davids is the main railway station serving the city of Exeter – population 133,000 – now 173 miles from Paddington via Westbury. However when the station opened in 1844 it was the western terminus of the Bristol & Exeter Railway and all trains to and from London ran via Bristol giving a distance of 194 miles to the capital. The station remained a terminus until the line was extended to Teignmouth in 1846 by the South Devon Railway. The B&ER, the SDR and the Cornwall Railway amalgamated with Great Western Railway in 1876; and the GWR carried out many improvements to St. Davids over the years between 1876 and 1947. The railways of Britain were nationalised on 1 January 1948. Latest figures for usage of the station are 2,200,000 plus 900,000 changing trains. As built the station was one of Brunel's infamous single-sided stations with one long platform to serve trains in both directions. This article is a follow-up to Part 43 to show more photos taken on the same day when I had made a half day trip to Exeter from Plymouth i.e 28 July 1962.
4-4-0 No. 16 “Brunel”
In Part 42 I outlined how a driver from Wolverhampton was expected to take 18 coaches out of Paddington on a night train to Birmingham and Liverpool on Christmas Eve 1906. The engine he was given for this mammoth load was no. 16 “Brunel” a 4-4-0 with half the tractive effort of the later Castle-class. In its 110-year history the GWR named three of its engines after its first engineer. The first two were just called Brunel while the third was named out in full Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The first was a broad gauge 2-4-0 which lasted from 1863 to 1879. The third was Castle-class 5069 which lasted from 1938 to 1962. This article is mainly about the second of the three engines, although it was not named at first. Number 16 was a 2-4-0 built in 1888 as a broad-guage “convertible” engine. When the broad-gauge was dispensed with in 1892 the engine was laid aside in one of the many sidings at Swindon holding redundant broad-gauge stock. In 1894 the engine was rebuilt to the narrow-gauge as a rather handsome 4-4-0 and only then given the name Brunel. It retained its 7 feet driving wheels; the cylinders were kept as 2 by 20 inches diameter, but the piston stroke was increased from 24 to 26 inches. Curiously (in my view) the boiler pressure was reduced from 180 to 160 psi resulting in a tractive effort slightly less than in its broad-gauge guise at 16,540. For comparison the tractive effort of 5069 was 31,625. Twenty eight years later in the GWR Magazine for January 1934 the Company wrote this: Summer service and holiday trains in 1933 were particularly heavy, especially at weekends, and loads of fifteen to seventeen coaches were frequentluy conveyed on the West of England trains by engines of the “King” and “Castle” classes. Comparing routes the 1933 trains would have had the long 17-mile climb from Newbury to Savernake Summit but might have shed some coaches before the later climb to Whiteball. Meanwhile the 1906 train to Liverpool would have had to contend with the shorter but steeper climb of Hatton Bank. I think no. 16 had a far harder task but may have been given assistance to surmount Hatton Bank.
In the attached table readers can see an interesting comparison of all three engines named after Brunel and also in the table are the three engines named Gooch i.e after Sir Daniel Gooch the first locomotive engineer of the GWR.
MLR / 24 September 2023
7261 34081 “92 Squadron” sets out from platform 3 for Exeter Central with six coaches, unassisted. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7262 31853 and 34011 “Tavistock” set out from platform 3 for Central; super-power for a load of four coaches and one van. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7264 Another view of 3810 on the parcels train at Platform 1. The railways dealt with a great many parcels in those days because (it is believed) there were only two national carriers – the other being Royal Mail. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7467 Engine no. 16 when running as a narrow-gauge 4-4-0. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7437 Comparison of the main dimensions of the engines named after Brunel. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to part 45.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 45 Michael L. Roach
Follow Up to Part 44
As so often seems to be the case one finishes a piece of writing and sends it off to an editor or web master and within a day or two more information comes to light that would have been very useful to have included in the article. Such was the case with Part 44 about Exeter St. Davids and the broad gauge engine no. 16 being laid aside with the end of the broad gauge in 1892.
Exeter St. Davids was designed by Brunel and was one of his single-sided stations, with one long platform, which he used where most of the town being served was on one side of the line. There were similar stations at Gloucester, Reading, Slough and Taunton. All these stations were on double lines, and as traffic and the number of trains increased, the conflict between trains arriving and departing from opposite directions became intolerable and a second platform was added, with more added later. It is believed that the last station serving a major town or city to remain with just one long single through platform was Cambridge which did not get a second through platform until 2011 although there are still a very few stations on double track railways with only a single platform used by trains in both directions. However the only one that comes to mind is Maryport on the Cumbrian Coast which we visited in 2012 travelling there by train via London, Newcastle and Carlisle all to avoid being tilted on the WCML. We were at Maryport to research family history because one of my great grandfathers was born there in 1842. There is another type of long single platform serving trains in both directions where the station also acts as a crossing point on a single line. This relatively rare layout obviates the need for a second platform and a footbridge. One of the best examples of this layout is Penryn on the Falmouth Branch created in 2009 when the single platform was extended to a length of 238 metres. Wikipedia explains the modus operandi at Penryn in detail. There is more about Brunel's one-sided stations in the attached short article.
In Part 44 I related how the 2-4-0 engine no. 16 was laid aside with the end of the broad gauge. In anticipation of the end the Great Western Railway built three fans of temporary sidings at Swindon to receive the redundant rolling stock – one each for engines, passenger coaches and goods wagons. The first narrow gauge train had entered Paddington Station in 1861 and from then on the writing was on the wall for the broad gauge. Many broad gauge lines had been converted to narrow gauge over the previous twenty years leaving just the line from Paddington to Penzance operating broad gauge trains by the start of 1892. Even here there was mixed gauge track in places leaving 171 miles of purely broad gauge running line and branch line to be converted over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 21/22 May 1892. Of the 171 miles 42 miles were double track making a single mileage of 213. There is no doubt that that weekend in 1892 was one of the major landmarks in the history of the Great Western Railway and of railways serving the West of England. The only other major landmark that might compete (certainly for us here in Cornwall) was the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge and the Cornwall Railway main line to Truro in May 1859. The second image shows the large numbers of broad gauge engines dumped at Swindon in 1892.
The last through broad gauge train to Penzance departed Paddington at 10.15am on Friday 20 May 1892 to much fanfare. The Directors and officials of the GWR turned out in force to witness this momentous occasion which was captured for posterity by the official photographer. The train carried the name “The Cornishman” because this was twelve years before the name “Cornish Riviera Express” was adopted. However the 10.15am was not the last broad gauge train to leave Paddington as that honour fell to the 5.00pm to Plymouth on 20 May. The last broad gauge train arrived at Paddington at 5.30am the next day, Saturday 21 May. There is much more to read on this subject, and on the history of the Great Western Railway generally, in the GWR Magazine for September 1935, which was a special “Centenary Number.” There are several copies for sale on Ebay at the moment at prices from £2.00 upwards plus postage; good value for 104 pages and highly recommended.
CAPTIONS
7489 The last through broad gauge train ready to leave Paddington for Penzance at 10.15am on Friday 20 May 1892
7490 The temporary dump at Swindon for broad gauge engines. Some were convertibles and would be rebuilt as a narrow gauge engine but many would be scrapped.
7491 This is what the GWR Magazine for September 1935 had to say about Brunel's one-sided stations
MLR / 2 October 2023
As so often seems to be the case one finishes a piece of writing and sends it off to an editor or web master and within a day or two more information comes to light that would have been very useful to have included in the article. Such was the case with Part 44 about Exeter St. Davids and the broad gauge engine no. 16 being laid aside with the end of the broad gauge in 1892.
Exeter St. Davids was designed by Brunel and was one of his single-sided stations, with one long platform, which he used where most of the town being served was on one side of the line. There were similar stations at Gloucester, Reading, Slough and Taunton. All these stations were on double lines, and as traffic and the number of trains increased, the conflict between trains arriving and departing from opposite directions became intolerable and a second platform was added, with more added later. It is believed that the last station serving a major town or city to remain with just one long single through platform was Cambridge which did not get a second through platform until 2011 although there are still a very few stations on double track railways with only a single platform used by trains in both directions. However the only one that comes to mind is Maryport on the Cumbrian Coast which we visited in 2012 travelling there by train via London, Newcastle and Carlisle all to avoid being tilted on the WCML. We were at Maryport to research family history because one of my great grandfathers was born there in 1842. There is another type of long single platform serving trains in both directions where the station also acts as a crossing point on a single line. This relatively rare layout obviates the need for a second platform and a footbridge. One of the best examples of this layout is Penryn on the Falmouth Branch created in 2009 when the single platform was extended to a length of 238 metres. Wikipedia explains the modus operandi at Penryn in detail. There is more about Brunel's one-sided stations in the attached short article.
In Part 44 I related how the 2-4-0 engine no. 16 was laid aside with the end of the broad gauge. In anticipation of the end the Great Western Railway built three fans of temporary sidings at Swindon to receive the redundant rolling stock – one each for engines, passenger coaches and goods wagons. The first narrow gauge train had entered Paddington Station in 1861 and from then on the writing was on the wall for the broad gauge. Many broad gauge lines had been converted to narrow gauge over the previous twenty years leaving just the line from Paddington to Penzance operating broad gauge trains by the start of 1892. Even here there was mixed gauge track in places leaving 171 miles of purely broad gauge running line and branch line to be converted over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 21/22 May 1892. Of the 171 miles 42 miles were double track making a single mileage of 213. There is no doubt that that weekend in 1892 was one of the major landmarks in the history of the Great Western Railway and of railways serving the West of England. The only other major landmark that might compete (certainly for us here in Cornwall) was the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge and the Cornwall Railway main line to Truro in May 1859. The second image shows the large numbers of broad gauge engines dumped at Swindon in 1892.
The last through broad gauge train to Penzance departed Paddington at 10.15am on Friday 20 May 1892 to much fanfare. The Directors and officials of the GWR turned out in force to witness this momentous occasion which was captured for posterity by the official photographer. The train carried the name “The Cornishman” because this was twelve years before the name “Cornish Riviera Express” was adopted. However the 10.15am was not the last broad gauge train to leave Paddington as that honour fell to the 5.00pm to Plymouth on 20 May. The last broad gauge train arrived at Paddington at 5.30am the next day, Saturday 21 May. There is much more to read on this subject, and on the history of the Great Western Railway generally, in the GWR Magazine for September 1935, which was a special “Centenary Number.” There are several copies for sale on Ebay at the moment at prices from £2.00 upwards plus postage; good value for 104 pages and highly recommended.
CAPTIONS
7489 The last through broad gauge train ready to leave Paddington for Penzance at 10.15am on Friday 20 May 1892
7490 The temporary dump at Swindon for broad gauge engines. Some were convertibles and would be rebuilt as a narrow gauge engine but many would be scrapped.
7491 This is what the GWR Magazine for September 1935 had to say about Brunel's one-sided stations
MLR / 2 October 2023
7489 The last through broad gauge train ready to leave Paddington for Penzance at 10.15am on Friday 20 May 1892.
7490 The temporary dump at Swindon for broad gauge engines. Some were convertibles and would be rebuilt as a narrow gauge engine but many would be scrapped.
7491 This is what the GWR Magazine for September 1935 had to say about Brunel's one-sided stations
Many thanks Michael to Asyou for sending in your article and copies from your collection. As you say having 'closed down. there are often occasions when an aftertought comes to ones mind and thank heavens they do - may you have many more and generate many more article - thank you for your time and trouble.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 46 Michael L. Roach
Newport Station
There were once four rail routes radiating from the small garrison town of Brecon in Mid Wales all passing through thinly populated countryside. Starting from due north clockwise the routes went to Moat Lane Junction; to Hereford; to Newport; and to Neath. A planned route to Abergavenny did not materialise. There was a sparse train service on all four routes – a good average was three passenger trains and one freight train Monday to Saturday; plus a couple of Saturday Only passenger trains. With certain conditions the TUCC approved (in August 1962) the closure of all four routes and by the end of that year all four had lost their passenger service. In September 1962 I travelled to Wales by car for a week of travelling on the lines and photographing the trains and the stations. I was already acquainted with three of the four routes and knew that they passed through wonderful countryside and had a lot of character. Apart from riding on each line at least once the principal objective was to travel from Newport to Moat Lane photographing every station en route – there were 45 in the 99 miles – with or without a train in the photograph. I only missed a couple of mostly minor halts where it was necessary to move on to photograph a train at a more important station, but I also managed to cover some of the stations on the line to Neath.
Of all the stations photographed the only one in the territory of this website is Newport, formerly Newport High Street. The line and the station were opened by the South Wales Railway on 18 June 1850 as a broad gauge line engineered by Brunel. The Severn Rail Tunnel did not open until 1886 so for the first 36 years the route from Paddington was via Stroud and Gloucester. Newport Station was enlarged and improved in 1880, 1929 and 2010. On 6 September 1962 I arrived at Newport at 4.26pm on the 2.05pm from Brecon, which was the third and last passenger train of the day in that direction. I made a side trip to Cardiff General along the South Wales Main Line which had been dieselised that summer using Hymeks initially. I left Newport again on the 7.07pm to Brecon the last train in that direction. Both the 2.05pm and the 7.07pm consisted of two corridor coaches hauled by Collet goods 0-6-0 number 3201 of Ebbw Junction Shed, Newport.
MLR / 29 September 2023
There were once four rail routes radiating from the small garrison town of Brecon in Mid Wales all passing through thinly populated countryside. Starting from due north clockwise the routes went to Moat Lane Junction; to Hereford; to Newport; and to Neath. A planned route to Abergavenny did not materialise. There was a sparse train service on all four routes – a good average was three passenger trains and one freight train Monday to Saturday; plus a couple of Saturday Only passenger trains. With certain conditions the TUCC approved (in August 1962) the closure of all four routes and by the end of that year all four had lost their passenger service. In September 1962 I travelled to Wales by car for a week of travelling on the lines and photographing the trains and the stations. I was already acquainted with three of the four routes and knew that they passed through wonderful countryside and had a lot of character. Apart from riding on each line at least once the principal objective was to travel from Newport to Moat Lane photographing every station en route – there were 45 in the 99 miles – with or without a train in the photograph. I only missed a couple of mostly minor halts where it was necessary to move on to photograph a train at a more important station, but I also managed to cover some of the stations on the line to Neath.
Of all the stations photographed the only one in the territory of this website is Newport, formerly Newport High Street. The line and the station were opened by the South Wales Railway on 18 June 1850 as a broad gauge line engineered by Brunel. The Severn Rail Tunnel did not open until 1886 so for the first 36 years the route from Paddington was via Stroud and Gloucester. Newport Station was enlarged and improved in 1880, 1929 and 2010. On 6 September 1962 I arrived at Newport at 4.26pm on the 2.05pm from Brecon, which was the third and last passenger train of the day in that direction. I made a side trip to Cardiff General along the South Wales Main Line which had been dieselised that summer using Hymeks initially. I left Newport again on the 7.07pm to Brecon the last train in that direction. Both the 2.05pm and the 7.07pm consisted of two corridor coaches hauled by Collet goods 0-6-0 number 3201 of Ebbw Junction Shed, Newport.
MLR / 29 September 2023
1313 3201 has arrived at Newport with the 2.05pm from Brecon – the last train of the day to travel the full length of the line in that direction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1317 Pannier tank 3661 is seen on the 5.15pm to New Tredegar which was located just off the main line to Brecon. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1320 3201 has been turned and now is about to return to Brecon on the 7.07pm off Newport. 3201 would go onto Brecon Shed for the night – one of the last engines of the day to do so. Copyright Michael L Roach.
7482 The facade of the main station building after the improvements completed between 1923 and 1929. Copyright Michael L Roach.
7483 The 1929 track layout.
- Many thanks Michael - we're looking forward to Part 47.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 47 Michael L. Roach
More Photos at Newport Station
Attached are some more photographs of trains at Newport Station on the South Wales main line taken around teatime on Thursday 6 September 1962 during which I was lucky enough to catch two of the huge 7200-class 2-8-2 tanks pass through the station on freight trains; plus a picture taken three years later of Modified Hall 7914 which we also saw earlier in the series at Laira Shed in Part 10. There were very few steam workings left in South Wales in Summer 1965 as the remaining steam sheds were closing almost weekly or becoming completely dieselised. I nearly missed 7914 as it passed through Newport on an empty stock train.
The facade of the large building in the second image was seen in the last part of this series. The building was constructed by the GWR in the 1920s soon after the grouping to house the staff of the Newport Division. The tentacles of the division spread up several of the South Wales Valleys; eastwards to Chepstow and Monmouth; and northwards to Hereford and then westwards to Brecon. In the 1920s the GWR was a very large organisation employing around 125,000 staff which is around half the number of people presently employed in the UK rail industry. It is instructive to realise that the GWR employed that huge number of people; bought or constructed and maintained large numbers of engines, coaches, wagons, motor vehicles, ships, buses, horses and even aeroplanes; track, buildings, utility services etc and was profitable most years throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
7200 – Class
The 4200-class 2-8-0 tanks were introduced in 1910 and were basically a tank version of the 2800-class 2-8-0 tender engines intoduced in 1903; at least that is what I thought until I started looking in detail and finding some differences. The 4200s boiler pressure was lower resulting in 11 percent less tractive effort. The class were built to haul coal trains from the valleys of South Wales to the ports along the Bristol Channel from Llanelly to Newport. When the numbering reached 4299 it resumed at 5200 to 5204. From 5205 onwards the cylinder diameter was increased by half an inch (12.7mm) giving a higher tractive effort midway between the 2800s and the 4200s tractive effort. Coal exports from South Wales peaked in 1913 and then commenced a long decline. The stock market crash of 1929 and the depression that followed meant that a batch of 20 of the 5205 class built in 1930 were not really needed for their intended purpose. By this time Churchward had retired and the CME was C.B.Collet and he decided to rebuild that batch of 2-8-0 tanks for a different purpose. The rear end was totally altered by extending the frames by four feet (1.22 metres); adding a radial truck; and extending the coal bunker substantially to hold 6 tons of coal. The purpose of this quite major rebuild was to allow the engines to haul long-distance main line freight trains rather than short-distance mineral trains. One of the places the engines worked to was Salisbury with heavy coal trains for the Southern Railway and later the Southern Region. The distance from the Rhondda to Salisbury is about 110 miles and the trip would have taken many hours because the average distance covered by a freight train in the 1930s was less than 10 miles in each working hour. The GWR quoted the following figures for 1929: 8.64 train miles per train hour for freight; and an average of 103.90 engine miles per day per engine in use. In the last image is a table from 1931 showing the average miles travelled per hour by freight trains in each Division of the GWR. It will be noted that the figures for the Newport, Cardiff and Swansea Divisions are only half that of the best Division, Chester. The possible reasons for this disparity are the sheer number of coal trains making their way down the Valleys; hopping from loop to loop to allow passenger trains to pass; and congestion and delays as the trains approached the docks.
The first of the new class appeared in August 1934 and by the end of that year all 20 had been rebuilt. The first of the class was numbered 7200 and went to Llanelly Shed where it would end its days at the same shed 29 years later in July 1963; but at the time of Nationalisation 7200 was based at Newton Abbot – 7220 was there as well. The class eventually numbered 54 examples and all were withdrawn between 1962 and 1965. British Railways rated the locos 8F and they must have been very useful during World War 2 when so many freight trains were heading for the ports along the south coast. The 7200s were big beasts weighing in at 92 tons and were unique as they were the only standard gauge 2-8-2 tanks ever built in Britain. Three examples of the class have been saved for preservation including 7200 itself. The 7200s were not the best looking of Great Western steam engines because the extended bunker gave them an ungainly appearance. On 6 September 1962 I was lucky enough to see two examples of the class pass through Newport Station in less than twenty minutes. At that time the whole class was intact but the first of the class was withdrawn two months later. As an aside the 2800-class 2-8-0 were capable of taking a mineral train of 100 loaded 4-wheel wagons from South Wales to London but whether the 7200s made the same journey is unknown.
MLR / 7 October 2023
Attached are some more photographs of trains at Newport Station on the South Wales main line taken around teatime on Thursday 6 September 1962 during which I was lucky enough to catch two of the huge 7200-class 2-8-2 tanks pass through the station on freight trains; plus a picture taken three years later of Modified Hall 7914 which we also saw earlier in the series at Laira Shed in Part 10. There were very few steam workings left in South Wales in Summer 1965 as the remaining steam sheds were closing almost weekly or becoming completely dieselised. I nearly missed 7914 as it passed through Newport on an empty stock train.
The facade of the large building in the second image was seen in the last part of this series. The building was constructed by the GWR in the 1920s soon after the grouping to house the staff of the Newport Division. The tentacles of the division spread up several of the South Wales Valleys; eastwards to Chepstow and Monmouth; and northwards to Hereford and then westwards to Brecon. In the 1920s the GWR was a very large organisation employing around 125,000 staff which is around half the number of people presently employed in the UK rail industry. It is instructive to realise that the GWR employed that huge number of people; bought or constructed and maintained large numbers of engines, coaches, wagons, motor vehicles, ships, buses, horses and even aeroplanes; track, buildings, utility services etc and was profitable most years throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
7200 – Class
The 4200-class 2-8-0 tanks were introduced in 1910 and were basically a tank version of the 2800-class 2-8-0 tender engines intoduced in 1903; at least that is what I thought until I started looking in detail and finding some differences. The 4200s boiler pressure was lower resulting in 11 percent less tractive effort. The class were built to haul coal trains from the valleys of South Wales to the ports along the Bristol Channel from Llanelly to Newport. When the numbering reached 4299 it resumed at 5200 to 5204. From 5205 onwards the cylinder diameter was increased by half an inch (12.7mm) giving a higher tractive effort midway between the 2800s and the 4200s tractive effort. Coal exports from South Wales peaked in 1913 and then commenced a long decline. The stock market crash of 1929 and the depression that followed meant that a batch of 20 of the 5205 class built in 1930 were not really needed for their intended purpose. By this time Churchward had retired and the CME was C.B.Collet and he decided to rebuild that batch of 2-8-0 tanks for a different purpose. The rear end was totally altered by extending the frames by four feet (1.22 metres); adding a radial truck; and extending the coal bunker substantially to hold 6 tons of coal. The purpose of this quite major rebuild was to allow the engines to haul long-distance main line freight trains rather than short-distance mineral trains. One of the places the engines worked to was Salisbury with heavy coal trains for the Southern Railway and later the Southern Region. The distance from the Rhondda to Salisbury is about 110 miles and the trip would have taken many hours because the average distance covered by a freight train in the 1930s was less than 10 miles in each working hour. The GWR quoted the following figures for 1929: 8.64 train miles per train hour for freight; and an average of 103.90 engine miles per day per engine in use. In the last image is a table from 1931 showing the average miles travelled per hour by freight trains in each Division of the GWR. It will be noted that the figures for the Newport, Cardiff and Swansea Divisions are only half that of the best Division, Chester. The possible reasons for this disparity are the sheer number of coal trains making their way down the Valleys; hopping from loop to loop to allow passenger trains to pass; and congestion and delays as the trains approached the docks.
The first of the new class appeared in August 1934 and by the end of that year all 20 had been rebuilt. The first of the class was numbered 7200 and went to Llanelly Shed where it would end its days at the same shed 29 years later in July 1963; but at the time of Nationalisation 7200 was based at Newton Abbot – 7220 was there as well. The class eventually numbered 54 examples and all were withdrawn between 1962 and 1965. British Railways rated the locos 8F and they must have been very useful during World War 2 when so many freight trains were heading for the ports along the south coast. The 7200s were big beasts weighing in at 92 tons and were unique as they were the only standard gauge 2-8-2 tanks ever built in Britain. Three examples of the class have been saved for preservation including 7200 itself. The 7200s were not the best looking of Great Western steam engines because the extended bunker gave them an ungainly appearance. On 6 September 1962 I was lucky enough to see two examples of the class pass through Newport Station in less than twenty minutes. At that time the whole class was intact but the first of the class was withdrawn two months later. As an aside the 2800-class 2-8-0 were capable of taking a mineral train of 100 loaded 4-wheel wagons from South Wales to London but whether the 7200s made the same journey is unknown.
MLR / 7 October 2023
1315 7232 passes through Newport with an iron ore train from Newport Docks to Llanwern Steelworks banked by 5250. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1316 7211 heads through Newport with a lengthy general freight train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7475 The GWR's official photograph of the first of the 7200 class taken at Swindon on 27 July 1934. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7503 7914 Lleweni Hall of Bristol Barrow Road Shed passes through Newport Station just after 5.35pm with an ECS train on 31 July 1965. The passengers could be waiting to catch the 16,20 Swansea High Street to Paddington (due 20.15) Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 48 Michael L. Roach
The GWR's 5400-class
The prototype of this 0-6-0 pannier tank class was numbered 5400, was built in August 1930 and sent to Cathays at Cardiff and withdrawn less than two years later in June 1932, because it was a rebuild, to be replaced by a brand new engine with the same number. The class would eventually number just 25 examples and were built between Nov 1931 and Dec 1935. The class was very similar to the 6400 class of which the first one appeared in Feb 1932. Both classes were fitted with the necessary gear for working auto trains. The principal difference between the two classes was in the size of the driving wheels. The 6400s had 4 feet 7½ driving wheels – the same as the 5700 pannier tanks while the 5400s had 5 feet 2 inch driving wheels giving a higher turn of speed. The 5400s went new to Frome, Westbury and Southall Sheds and then to sheds in an arc northwards and westwards to Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton. Fifteen of the 25 went new to Southall Shed to work the auto trains in the Thames Valley. The class was always rare in Devon and Cornwall. 5412 went new to Southall but was at Laira at nationalisation and then went to Taunton being withdrawn at Exeter in April 1962. 5411 was at Taunton from May 1951 to June 1958. I only ever recorded seeing two examples of the class 5410 and 5414. At any distance it was difficult to distinguish between the 5400 and 6400 class. The first 5400 was withdrawn in December 1956 and by the beginning of 1962 there were just five left: two at Westbury and one each at Exeter, Lydney and Oswestry. Three of the class went to Yeovil Town Shed in 1963 and two ended their days there later the same year.
MLR / 16 October 2023
The prototype of this 0-6-0 pannier tank class was numbered 5400, was built in August 1930 and sent to Cathays at Cardiff and withdrawn less than two years later in June 1932, because it was a rebuild, to be replaced by a brand new engine with the same number. The class would eventually number just 25 examples and were built between Nov 1931 and Dec 1935. The class was very similar to the 6400 class of which the first one appeared in Feb 1932. Both classes were fitted with the necessary gear for working auto trains. The principal difference between the two classes was in the size of the driving wheels. The 6400s had 4 feet 7½ driving wheels – the same as the 5700 pannier tanks while the 5400s had 5 feet 2 inch driving wheels giving a higher turn of speed. The 5400s went new to Frome, Westbury and Southall Sheds and then to sheds in an arc northwards and westwards to Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton. Fifteen of the 25 went new to Southall Shed to work the auto trains in the Thames Valley. The class was always rare in Devon and Cornwall. 5412 went new to Southall but was at Laira at nationalisation and then went to Taunton being withdrawn at Exeter in April 1962. 5411 was at Taunton from May 1951 to June 1958. I only ever recorded seeing two examples of the class 5410 and 5414. At any distance it was difficult to distinguish between the 5400 and 6400 class. The first 5400 was withdrawn in December 1956 and by the beginning of 1962 there were just five left: two at Westbury and one each at Exeter, Lydney and Oswestry. Three of the class went to Yeovil Town Shed in 1963 and two ended their days there later the same year.
MLR / 16 October 2023
7507 5414 is seen in the parcels bay at Exeter St. Davids on 8 July 1961. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7507 5414 is seen in the parcels bay at Exeter St. Davids on 8 July 1961. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7498 5410 at Yeovil Town on 10 September 1963 with two auto coaches working the shuttle to Yeovil Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7500 5410 arrives back at Town Station from the Junction. The engine was withdrawn the following month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7530 The original information about the class from the GWR Magazine for February 1932. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
With very many thanks Michael - your attention to every detail is much appreciated.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 49 Michael L. Roach
Centenary of the Castles (2)
The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the appearance of the first of the Great Western Railway's Castle Class 4-cylinder express steam locomotives, when 4073 “Caerphilly Castle” rolled out of Swindon Works in August 1923. 155 were built new and 16 were converted from earlier locomotives between August 1927 and August 1950. On 1 January 1962 Laira Shed had five Castles allocated to the shed, as follows:
4087 stored August1962
4095 to Reading September 1962
5029 stored March 1962
5069 withdrawn February 1962
7022 to Hereford November 1963
Thus at the end of 1962 there was just one Castle left at Laira – no. 7022 Hereford Castle which moved from Laira to Hereford. All the photos in this part were taken in 1962 at a time when most express trains to Plymouth were diesel hauled with just a very few steam rosters left. By the end of that year there would be almost no rosters for steam engines on express passenger trains from Newton Abbot and beyond. Of the 171 Castles built there were 151 in service at the start of 1962 and 97 at the end of the year, but many of those were stored.
Other writers are far better better qualified than me to comment on the star qualities of the Castle class. This is what Richard Foster wrote in the October 2023 copy of Steam World: “From 1902 until the late 1920s, the GWR led the way in locomotive development. George Jackson Churchward showed incredible foresight when he combined the latest thinking from France and the United States with his own radical ideas to create a superlative locomotive. What made his vision extra special was that he then used parts to create a standardised range of locomotives in order to cover all traffic requirements. Not only were the designs a success but they were built to a standard that other railways could only dream of.” Praise indeed.
NOTE: Centenary of the Castles (1) was published on this website on 27 February 2023 in 1962 – Part 7
MLR / 30 October 2023
The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the appearance of the first of the Great Western Railway's Castle Class 4-cylinder express steam locomotives, when 4073 “Caerphilly Castle” rolled out of Swindon Works in August 1923. 155 were built new and 16 were converted from earlier locomotives between August 1927 and August 1950. On 1 January 1962 Laira Shed had five Castles allocated to the shed, as follows:
4087 stored August1962
4095 to Reading September 1962
5029 stored March 1962
5069 withdrawn February 1962
7022 to Hereford November 1963
Thus at the end of 1962 there was just one Castle left at Laira – no. 7022 Hereford Castle which moved from Laira to Hereford. All the photos in this part were taken in 1962 at a time when most express trains to Plymouth were diesel hauled with just a very few steam rosters left. By the end of that year there would be almost no rosters for steam engines on express passenger trains from Newton Abbot and beyond. Of the 171 Castles built there were 151 in service at the start of 1962 and 97 at the end of the year, but many of those were stored.
Other writers are far better better qualified than me to comment on the star qualities of the Castle class. This is what Richard Foster wrote in the October 2023 copy of Steam World: “From 1902 until the late 1920s, the GWR led the way in locomotive development. George Jackson Churchward showed incredible foresight when he combined the latest thinking from France and the United States with his own radical ideas to create a superlative locomotive. What made his vision extra special was that he then used parts to create a standardised range of locomotives in order to cover all traffic requirements. Not only were the designs a success but they were built to a standard that other railways could only dream of.” Praise indeed.
NOTE: Centenary of the Castles (1) was published on this website on 27 February 2023 in 1962 – Part 7
MLR / 30 October 2023
7160 5094 Tretower Castle of Bristol SPM Shed approaches the top of Dainton Bank with 7C on an unidentified train on 16 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7253 5060 Earl of Berkeley of OOC shed is standing on the coaling line loop on 28 July 1962. Behind 5060 is 4949 Packwood Hall of Westbury Shed where it had moved from SPM just a couple of weeks earlier. Westbury engines were not common at Plymouth as they normally worked to Salisbury (and beyond), Weymouth, Bristol, Oxford and London. There is a good chance that 4949 had been called on to assist or replace an ailing diesel loco. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7536 With a D8xx diesel as train engine 5042 Winchester Castle of Newton Abbot Shed storms up the bank past Laira steam shed with 14C on 22 September 1962. For a couple of years it was possible to see regular double-headers of steam and diesel locos. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7539 5049 “Earl of Plymouth” of SPM stands outside the long shed at Laira on 20 October 1962. The long shed was built in 1931-32 using Government Grants and Loans to relieve unemployment. The Earls of Plymouth do not appear to have any connection with the town, and later city, of Plymouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to your half century of articles in this series of yours.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 50
Yeovil - An Interesting Luggage Label
In Part 48 the series arrived at Yeovil with a couple of photos of pannier tank 5410 at Yeovil Town Station. To celebrate reaching Part 50 readers will be given a conundrum to think about before the consensus is revealed one day perhaps. The arrival of the railways at Yeovil in Somerset was a complicated affair; and the routes that the trains operated on even more so in the early years. Although I had visited Yeovil several times by train in the nineteen sixties I had not realised just how convoluted the early years were perhaps made worse by the two main lines, which both remain in use, always being on the outskirts of the town. It was on 22 August 2023 that I spotted the attached Great Western luggage label on Ebay. I knew immediately that it was an interesting label because I could not work out why it should have both GWR and B&ER (Bristol and Exeter Railway) as owners of the origin/dispatch station. In addition only a very small proportion of GWR luggage labels had both an origin and a destination station on them – perhaps 2 to 3 percent; the reason for this is unknown but perhaps there was a very regular flow between the two stations in question. The label was “buy-it-now” so I did just that, buying it immediately and it was in perfect condition when it arrived two days later despite its great age. The luggage label was headed G.W.R. and read Yeovil (B. & E.) TO Morebath.
My first task was to make a table of opening dates (attached below) of the various railways arriving at, and serving, Yeovil in the 1850s and 1860s. There were three: the Bristol and Exeter from Durston on the Bristol to Taunton line; the Great Western (ex-Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth) from Frome; and the London & South Western from Salisbury. The last station to be built was the best and most convenient for the centre of the town and unfortunately the one to close leaving two stations on the outskirts: Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction. Yeovil Town Station was a joint enterprise between the B&ER and the L&SWR and opened on 1 June 1861. This was a year after the L&SWR had arrived at Yeovil Junction and started running its trains to Hendford Station on the B&ER's branch to Durston. Yeovil Town remained a joint station until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. The GWR and the B&ER were two of the four “Associated Companies” which amalgamated on 1 January 1876 under the name Great Western Railway. I have not discovered the date when the joint station was actually named Yeovil Town.
My thoughts are that the luggage label was printed between 1853 when the B&ER opened their branch from Durston to Hendford on the outskirts of Yeovil and 1875 because, in theory, the name Bristol and Exeter Railway disappeared on 1 January 1876; but which of Yeovil's four stations was the dispatch station ? I think two stations can be eliminated immediately, but that still leaves two possible candidates: Hendford and Yeovil Town. But why was it necessary to have both GWR and B&ER on the luggage label; and can we narrow down the date of printing even ! more. For comparison I enclose a scan of a pure B&ER luggage label at Axbridge.
My final thought as this piece was being completed was that I was looking at the wrong end of the trip from Yeovil to Morebath. Morebath is a small village on the edge of the Exmoor National Park and just over two miles north of Bampton which had a railway station on the Exe Valley line. Morebath's own railway station was most inconviently situated for the village and most villagers would later have used the much more conveniently situated Morebath Junction Halt provided by the GWR in 1928. Morebath Station was on the Taunton to Barnstaple line which was built by the Devon and Somerset Railway but operated by the Bristol & Exeter Railway. Therefore the whole journey from Yeovil to Morebath was on the trains of the Bristol and Exeter Railway up until amalgamation on 1 January 1876. In which case why was it necessary to have GWR in the heading of the luggage label; perhaps it was at the insistence of the GWR who may even have printed the label for the Bristol and Exeter as the styles are very similar.
Passenger Route
Operator
B & E R First Length – Bristol to Bridgwater. 14.06.1841
B&ER worked by the GWR 1841 – 1849
B & E R Durston to Hendford 01.10.1853
Hendford was a temporary terminus.
G W R Frome to Pen Mill. 01.09.1856
WS&W taken over 1850
B & E R Hendford to Pen Mill Mill 02.02.1857
B&ER used GWR's Pen Mill Station.
L & S W R Salisbury to Yeovil Junction 01.06. 1860
L & S W R Yeovil Junction to Henford. 01.06.1860
L&SWR used B&ER's Hendford Station
L & S W R Yeovil Junction – Yeovil Town. 01.06.1861
B&E / L&SWR Yeovil (Town) Joint syation. 01.06.1861
When did it become Yeovil Town?
B & E R Amalgamated with GWR 01.01.1876
Amalgamation of the 4 “Associated Companies”
In Part 48 the series arrived at Yeovil with a couple of photos of pannier tank 5410 at Yeovil Town Station. To celebrate reaching Part 50 readers will be given a conundrum to think about before the consensus is revealed one day perhaps. The arrival of the railways at Yeovil in Somerset was a complicated affair; and the routes that the trains operated on even more so in the early years. Although I had visited Yeovil several times by train in the nineteen sixties I had not realised just how convoluted the early years were perhaps made worse by the two main lines, which both remain in use, always being on the outskirts of the town. It was on 22 August 2023 that I spotted the attached Great Western luggage label on Ebay. I knew immediately that it was an interesting label because I could not work out why it should have both GWR and B&ER (Bristol and Exeter Railway) as owners of the origin/dispatch station. In addition only a very small proportion of GWR luggage labels had both an origin and a destination station on them – perhaps 2 to 3 percent; the reason for this is unknown but perhaps there was a very regular flow between the two stations in question. The label was “buy-it-now” so I did just that, buying it immediately and it was in perfect condition when it arrived two days later despite its great age. The luggage label was headed G.W.R. and read Yeovil (B. & E.) TO Morebath.
My first task was to make a table of opening dates (attached below) of the various railways arriving at, and serving, Yeovil in the 1850s and 1860s. There were three: the Bristol and Exeter from Durston on the Bristol to Taunton line; the Great Western (ex-Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth) from Frome; and the London & South Western from Salisbury. The last station to be built was the best and most convenient for the centre of the town and unfortunately the one to close leaving two stations on the outskirts: Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction. Yeovil Town Station was a joint enterprise between the B&ER and the L&SWR and opened on 1 June 1861. This was a year after the L&SWR had arrived at Yeovil Junction and started running its trains to Hendford Station on the B&ER's branch to Durston. Yeovil Town remained a joint station until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. The GWR and the B&ER were two of the four “Associated Companies” which amalgamated on 1 January 1876 under the name Great Western Railway. I have not discovered the date when the joint station was actually named Yeovil Town.
My thoughts are that the luggage label was printed between 1853 when the B&ER opened their branch from Durston to Hendford on the outskirts of Yeovil and 1875 because, in theory, the name Bristol and Exeter Railway disappeared on 1 January 1876; but which of Yeovil's four stations was the dispatch station ? I think two stations can be eliminated immediately, but that still leaves two possible candidates: Hendford and Yeovil Town. But why was it necessary to have both GWR and B&ER on the luggage label; and can we narrow down the date of printing even ! more. For comparison I enclose a scan of a pure B&ER luggage label at Axbridge.
My final thought as this piece was being completed was that I was looking at the wrong end of the trip from Yeovil to Morebath. Morebath is a small village on the edge of the Exmoor National Park and just over two miles north of Bampton which had a railway station on the Exe Valley line. Morebath's own railway station was most inconviently situated for the village and most villagers would later have used the much more conveniently situated Morebath Junction Halt provided by the GWR in 1928. Morebath Station was on the Taunton to Barnstaple line which was built by the Devon and Somerset Railway but operated by the Bristol & Exeter Railway. Therefore the whole journey from Yeovil to Morebath was on the trains of the Bristol and Exeter Railway up until amalgamation on 1 January 1876. In which case why was it necessary to have GWR in the heading of the luggage label; perhaps it was at the insistence of the GWR who may even have printed the label for the Bristol and Exeter as the styles are very similar.
Passenger Route
Operator
B & E R First Length – Bristol to Bridgwater. 14.06.1841
B&ER worked by the GWR 1841 – 1849
B & E R Durston to Hendford 01.10.1853
Hendford was a temporary terminus.
G W R Frome to Pen Mill. 01.09.1856
WS&W taken over 1850
B & E R Hendford to Pen Mill Mill 02.02.1857
B&ER used GWR's Pen Mill Station.
L & S W R Salisbury to Yeovil Junction 01.06. 1860
L & S W R Yeovil Junction to Henford. 01.06.1860
L&SWR used B&ER's Hendford Station
L & S W R Yeovil Junction – Yeovil Town. 01.06.1861
B&E / L&SWR Yeovil (Town) Joint syation. 01.06.1861
When did it become Yeovil Town?
B & E R Amalgamated with GWR 01.01.1876
Amalgamation of the 4 “Associated Companies”
7391 The interesting luggage label which prompted this article. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4013 Typical B&ER luggage label “Axbridge” Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7504 Small prairie 4593 is seen at Yeovil Town Station on the 4.00pm Pen Mill to Taunton train on 13 June 1964 which was the last day of passenger services. It was one of the last routes partially operated by the small prairies. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7505 Large prairie 4131 has arrived at Yeovil Town with the 5.55pm Taunton to Pen Mill, the penultimate train in that direction. 4131 would work the last train to Taunton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks indeed - a lot of painstaking research has gone into your article - much appreciated.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 51
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Devonport Kings Road Station (1)
The Royal Navy as we know it today was founded by King Henry VIII in 1546, although it was his immediate predecessor as King of Henry VII who founded the first dockyard at Portsmouth in 1496 to build large ships to export goods to the rest of the world. The Devonport Royal Dockyard was constructed in the 1690s on a virgin site on the east bank of the River Tamar just to the north of where the river entered Plymouth Sound. With several later extensions it would become the largest naval dockyard and naval base in Western Europe. The town which grew around the dockyard was called Plymouth Dock until being renamed Devonport in 1824. The three individual towns of Devonport, East Stonehouse and Plymouth amalgamated under the name of Plymouth in 1914. Although Devonport once had several railway stations the two main ones were Devonport GW (later Albert Road 1948 - 1968) on the line from Plymouth to Cornwall; and Devonport LSWR (later Kings Road) on the line from Exeter via Okehampton to Plymouth Friary. However when Kings Road opened on 17 May 1876 the LSWR trains arrived from the east, courtesy of running over the GWR for many miles, and the station was a terminus. It remained a terminus for 14 years until 1 June 1890 when trains started arriving from the north over the rails of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway from Lydford. There is a very good history of Devonport Kings Road Station on the Old Devonport website; and the station is comprehensively covered in the book “The Okehampton Line.” The station closed to passengers on and from 7 September 1964 when the trains from Plymouth to Exeter via Okehampton were diverted away on to the ex-GWR line as far as St. Budeaux,
RECOMMENDED READING: The Okehampton Line by Irwell Press. ISBN: 978-1-911262-03-9
Heavy Trains (2)
I have written before about the lengthy and heavy trains hauled out of Paddington by quite small engines in the early years of the twentieth century in the days before every long distance express was hauled by a 4-6-0 steam engine. However I was still surprised when I read the following example. The second trip to be looked at in detail comes from Saturday 18 May 1907, which was Whitsuntide and the following Monday was the Spring Bank Holiday; and is some ways the trip is even more interesting than last time. The trip involved the 1.45pm to Stourbridge Junction with fourteen 8-wheel coaches where the first stop was at Oxford reached at an average speed of 50 mph. The driver was one William Soden and he was given engine 3219 of 1889 which was one of 20 engines in the 3206 or “Barnum” class. These were the last engines built at Swindon with sandwich frames and were William Dean's most successful 2-4-0 class – yes , nothing bigger than a 2-4-0 to haul 14 bogie coaches along the main line to the north at the time. The Bicester Cut-off from Ashendon Junction to Aynho Junction opened to passengers three years later on 1 July 1910 and shortened the main route to Birmingham considerably, which the GWR took immediate advantage of by introducing the 2-hour Birmingham express. The GWR produced a diagrammatic map illustrating the best times to stations along the route – reproduced here as the last image.
As an enthusiast in the nineteen fifties I associate 2-4-0s with seeing them in photographs in Trains Illustrated eking out their last days on two coach trains on rural lines in East Anglia and not with hauling heavy express trains along the main line. Although Soden did well on this trip to average 50 mph to Oxford he was not such a reliable driver as Tallis who we met in Part 42. With relatively unusual surnames both drivers were easy to find in general and railway records. Tallis's railway records were blemish free, while Soden's contained a long list of incidents and misdemeanours. More about these two drivers one day perhaps.
MLR / 15 November 2023
The Royal Navy as we know it today was founded by King Henry VIII in 1546, although it was his immediate predecessor as King of Henry VII who founded the first dockyard at Portsmouth in 1496 to build large ships to export goods to the rest of the world. The Devonport Royal Dockyard was constructed in the 1690s on a virgin site on the east bank of the River Tamar just to the north of where the river entered Plymouth Sound. With several later extensions it would become the largest naval dockyard and naval base in Western Europe. The town which grew around the dockyard was called Plymouth Dock until being renamed Devonport in 1824. The three individual towns of Devonport, East Stonehouse and Plymouth amalgamated under the name of Plymouth in 1914. Although Devonport once had several railway stations the two main ones were Devonport GW (later Albert Road 1948 - 1968) on the line from Plymouth to Cornwall; and Devonport LSWR (later Kings Road) on the line from Exeter via Okehampton to Plymouth Friary. However when Kings Road opened on 17 May 1876 the LSWR trains arrived from the east, courtesy of running over the GWR for many miles, and the station was a terminus. It remained a terminus for 14 years until 1 June 1890 when trains started arriving from the north over the rails of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway from Lydford. There is a very good history of Devonport Kings Road Station on the Old Devonport website; and the station is comprehensively covered in the book “The Okehampton Line.” The station closed to passengers on and from 7 September 1964 when the trains from Plymouth to Exeter via Okehampton were diverted away on to the ex-GWR line as far as St. Budeaux,
RECOMMENDED READING: The Okehampton Line by Irwell Press. ISBN: 978-1-911262-03-9
Heavy Trains (2)
I have written before about the lengthy and heavy trains hauled out of Paddington by quite small engines in the early years of the twentieth century in the days before every long distance express was hauled by a 4-6-0 steam engine. However I was still surprised when I read the following example. The second trip to be looked at in detail comes from Saturday 18 May 1907, which was Whitsuntide and the following Monday was the Spring Bank Holiday; and is some ways the trip is even more interesting than last time. The trip involved the 1.45pm to Stourbridge Junction with fourteen 8-wheel coaches where the first stop was at Oxford reached at an average speed of 50 mph. The driver was one William Soden and he was given engine 3219 of 1889 which was one of 20 engines in the 3206 or “Barnum” class. These were the last engines built at Swindon with sandwich frames and were William Dean's most successful 2-4-0 class – yes , nothing bigger than a 2-4-0 to haul 14 bogie coaches along the main line to the north at the time. The Bicester Cut-off from Ashendon Junction to Aynho Junction opened to passengers three years later on 1 July 1910 and shortened the main route to Birmingham considerably, which the GWR took immediate advantage of by introducing the 2-hour Birmingham express. The GWR produced a diagrammatic map illustrating the best times to stations along the route – reproduced here as the last image.
As an enthusiast in the nineteen fifties I associate 2-4-0s with seeing them in photographs in Trains Illustrated eking out their last days on two coach trains on rural lines in East Anglia and not with hauling heavy express trains along the main line. Although Soden did well on this trip to average 50 mph to Oxford he was not such a reliable driver as Tallis who we met in Part 42. With relatively unusual surnames both drivers were easy to find in general and railway records. Tallis's railway records were blemish free, while Soden's contained a long list of incidents and misdemeanours. More about these two drivers one day perhaps.
MLR / 15 November 2023
7231 Unrebuilt Bulleid light pacific no. 34023 Blackmore Vale (PRESERVED) on the up Atlantic Coast Express approaches Devonport Kings Road Station on Saturday 21 July 1962 with nine coaches in tow. 34023 was a long-term resident of Exmouth Junction Shed – more than 13 years. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7233 Light pacific 34076 “264 Squadron” slows to a halt at Kings Road with 8C on the Plymouth to Brighton train 70 minutes after the up ACE called in the previous photo. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7234 34076 departs Kings Road at 11.16am around the sharp curve into the tunnel under Devonport Park. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7542 T9 no. 30120 (PRESERVED) waits to depart Devonport Kings Road with the up ACE on 6 May 1961. It can be seen that it was necessary to leave around a sharp check-railed curve to change from heading west to north and the line went into tunnel almost immediately. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
3607 Possibly the only picture I have ever taken of a 2-4-0 steam engine. This is the LNWR's Precedent no. 790 “Hardwicke” of a class built 1874 and 1882 seen at the parade of steam at Shildon in 1975 to celebrate S&D 150. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7559 The diagrammatic map produced by the GWR to illustrate the best times along the route to the north after the opening of the Bicester Cut-off in 1910.
Many thanks indeed Michael - what memories - amazing photographs.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 52
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Final Months of Small Prairie 4567
Small prairie 4567 was completed in October 1924 one of a batch of nine 4500s that month numbered 4561 to 4569. Two of that batch of nine have been preserved – 4561 and 4566. Twenty examples of the class were built in 1924 bringing the total to 75 numbered 4500-4574. 4567 was one of three, out of the nine, to go to Newton Abbot as its first shed in October 1924. At nationalisation it was at Cheltenham and it was condemned at Laira in 1962. After migrating around the West Midlands and Bristol District small prairie 4567 returned to the West Country at Truro Shed in January 1962. At the time steam was in its final complete year on former Great Western lines in Cornwall as lines were closed and trains dieselised. 4567 was either not needed at Truro or not a good example of the class as it was moved on again after just a few weeks at Truro, this time to Laira Shed at Plymouth.
In 1962 the Launceston Branch was one hundred percent steam-worked and needed seven locos in steam daily to run the freight and passenger service. Laira had had nine small prairies allocated to the shed for several decades and because of this the shed had become a dumping ground for 4500s and 5500s surplus to requirements elsewhere towards the end of steam. Several of the class arrived at Laira in 1961 and 1962. The good ones were kept and used but the rest saw little use and were withdrawn from service.
I first encountered 4567 on 31 March 1962 when it hauled the 2.20pm SO freight train from Launceston SR to Tavistock Junction (Up Yard) where it was due at 4.55pm. In that 32-mile trip it would have crossed one passenger train in the other direction at Tavistock South; the 3.05pm from Plymouth to Launceston. I had stationed myself at the south end of Walkham Viaduct to photograph the Launceston Goods coming off the viaduct with seven wagons including the usual couple loaded at the Ambrosia Creamery alongside Lifton Station. 4567 was formally transferred to Laira Shed three weeks later on 21 April 1962 and withdrawn from service on 21 September 1962. I photographed 4567 again at Laira Shed on Saturday 28 July 1962, but I never saw it in use after that date. The fact that 4567 was on the coaling line soon after noon suggests that it had worked the 5.15am Tavistock Junction to Tavistock South freight on 28 July and the return working due off Tavistock South at 10.15am but which often ran very early with its four hour stint of shunting at Tavistock completed early.
CAPTIONS
6973 4567 comes off the south end of Walkham Viaduct on 31 March 1962 with the daily freight from Launceston. The time is 4.15pm and the train is running a few minutes late.
7254 4574 in unlined green is seen on the coaling line at Laira on 28 July 1962. Ahead of 4574 is 4567 which had arrived before 4574.
Car Parking Charges Introduced 90 Years Ago
Ninety years ago the GWR introduced car parking charges at 115 of its larger stations where there was suitable car parking accommodation available “for the convenience of passengers who use their private cars for journeying to and from the station.” There were no parking machines in those days and drivers would have queued at the booking office window to purchase their car parking ticket which was a standard Edmondson card with the car's registration hand written on the ticket. The same system lasted until the 1970s. The charges were first reported in July 1933 and were as follows:
Daily one shilling
Weekly two shillings and six pence
Monthly seven shillings and six pence
Three months one pound
Twelve months three pounds
NB There were 20 shillings in the pound
6973 4567 comes off the south end of Walkham Viaduct on 31 March 1962 with the daily freight from Launceston. The time is 4.15pm and the train is running a few minutes late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7254 4574 in unlined green is seen on the coaling line at Laira on 28 July 1962. Ahead of 4574 is 4567 which had arrived before 4574. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - we look forward to part 53
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 53
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Devonport Kings Road Station (2)
Kings Road was converted to a through station on 12 May 1890 when trains started to arrive at the west end of the station over the double track of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway from Lydford. The trains were operated by the London and South Western Railway as part of a route from Waterloo to Plymouth Friary, via Okehampton and Lydford. There were two main platforms with a short east-facing bay on the south side which was unlikely to have seen much passenger use after it became a through station as all trains from Friary were travelling as least as far as St. Budeaux.
The main station buildings were constructed on the north side of the line, parallel to but at lower level to Paradise Road which is one of the main routes from Plymouth to Devonport, both then and now. There were sloping station approach roads from Paradise Road to the main entrance from the east and the west. The layout at Friary Station was very similar, but the station buildings were more impressive at Kings Road. In a way it was quite strange that British Railways should choose to call the station Kings Road in 1949 because Kings Road was on the south side of the station with only a secondary entrance to the station.
For the last few years Devonport Kings Road was only open for freight and final closure came on 7 March 1971 when the station, the line to Stonehouse Pool and the line from Kings Road to Devonport Junction were closed and later lifted. The whole area was redeveloped but the two station approach roads remain in use, are now public roads, and may be viewed on streetview.
One almost unique feature of the track layout at Kings Road was that the 76 chain Stonehouse Pool Branch to Ocean Quay on the River Tamar started from a junction in the middle of the goods yard and then descended steeply into a tunnel which started at the centre of the goods shed. Plymouth Friary station had a very similar layout for the start of the LSWR's Sutton Harbour Branch. The line opened to passengers on 9 April 1904 but the service was only for boat trains carrying passengers disembarking from ocean liners in Plymouth Sound in competition with the similar service offered by the GWR. To the best of my knowledge there was never a scheduled passenger service over the branch. The service only lasted until 28 May 1910. The rail disaster at Salisbury on 1 July 1906 when a boat train from Plymouth left the rails and 28 died, severely knocked confudence in the LSWR service for ocean passengers. A later agreement with the GWR saw the LSWR give up running boat trains but goods trains continued running to Ocean Quay for another 60 years. Again there is a very good history of the branch on the Old Devonport website.
One of the classes of steam engine passing through Devonport Kings Road regularly for many decades was the T9 class which we will look at in the next part of the series.
MLR / 25 November 2023
Kings Road was converted to a through station on 12 May 1890 when trains started to arrive at the west end of the station over the double track of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway from Lydford. The trains were operated by the London and South Western Railway as part of a route from Waterloo to Plymouth Friary, via Okehampton and Lydford. There were two main platforms with a short east-facing bay on the south side which was unlikely to have seen much passenger use after it became a through station as all trains from Friary were travelling as least as far as St. Budeaux.
The main station buildings were constructed on the north side of the line, parallel to but at lower level to Paradise Road which is one of the main routes from Plymouth to Devonport, both then and now. There were sloping station approach roads from Paradise Road to the main entrance from the east and the west. The layout at Friary Station was very similar, but the station buildings were more impressive at Kings Road. In a way it was quite strange that British Railways should choose to call the station Kings Road in 1949 because Kings Road was on the south side of the station with only a secondary entrance to the station.
For the last few years Devonport Kings Road was only open for freight and final closure came on 7 March 1971 when the station, the line to Stonehouse Pool and the line from Kings Road to Devonport Junction were closed and later lifted. The whole area was redeveloped but the two station approach roads remain in use, are now public roads, and may be viewed on streetview.
One almost unique feature of the track layout at Kings Road was that the 76 chain Stonehouse Pool Branch to Ocean Quay on the River Tamar started from a junction in the middle of the goods yard and then descended steeply into a tunnel which started at the centre of the goods shed. Plymouth Friary station had a very similar layout for the start of the LSWR's Sutton Harbour Branch. The line opened to passengers on 9 April 1904 but the service was only for boat trains carrying passengers disembarking from ocean liners in Plymouth Sound in competition with the similar service offered by the GWR. To the best of my knowledge there was never a scheduled passenger service over the branch. The service only lasted until 28 May 1910. The rail disaster at Salisbury on 1 July 1906 when a boat train from Plymouth left the rails and 28 died, severely knocked confudence in the LSWR service for ocean passengers. A later agreement with the GWR saw the LSWR give up running boat trains but goods trains continued running to Ocean Quay for another 60 years. Again there is a very good history of the branch on the Old Devonport website.
One of the classes of steam engine passing through Devonport Kings Road regularly for many decades was the T9 class which we will look at in the next part of the series.
MLR / 25 November 2023
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 54
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
LSWR Class of 4-4-0s known as “The Greyhounds”
The London and South Western Railway built 66 of the T9 class between 1899 and 1901, some at their Nine Elms Works in London. The remainder were built by Dubs and Co. of Glasgow. The LSWR works at Eastleigh did not start building engines until 1910. The T9s had a reputation of being fast and reliable and the last of the class was not withdrawn until 1963, a testimony to their usefulness but latterly relegated to lighter secondary work. The class was designed by Dugald Drummond who died in 1912 and his successor Robert Urie carried out several improvements to the class to enhance the performance. The class remained intact at nationalisation in 1948 with the first one being withdrawn in 1951. The tractive effort of 17,670 may be compared to that of the GWR 4-4-0 no. 16 Brunel described in Part 44 of this series.
Four of the T9 class appear in the photographs that follow from July 1959 which was the start of a great summer for weather: 30702/11/17/26. 30711 and 30726 were withdrawn the following month and 30702 in October 1959 leaving just 30717 to soldier on for a further two years until July 1961. A total of ten of the class were withdrawn in 1959 triggered by an influx of Bulleid Light Pacifics to the “Withered Arm” displaced from Kent as a result of the completion of the first phase of the Kent Coast Electrification Project.
Only one member of the class was to be preserved and that was 30120 one of the first batch of ten built in 1899 at the LSWR's own works at Nine Elms, London.
MLR / 25 November 2023
The London and South Western Railway built 66 of the T9 class between 1899 and 1901, some at their Nine Elms Works in London. The remainder were built by Dubs and Co. of Glasgow. The LSWR works at Eastleigh did not start building engines until 1910. The T9s had a reputation of being fast and reliable and the last of the class was not withdrawn until 1963, a testimony to their usefulness but latterly relegated to lighter secondary work. The class was designed by Dugald Drummond who died in 1912 and his successor Robert Urie carried out several improvements to the class to enhance the performance. The class remained intact at nationalisation in 1948 with the first one being withdrawn in 1951. The tractive effort of 17,670 may be compared to that of the GWR 4-4-0 no. 16 Brunel described in Part 44 of this series.
Four of the T9 class appear in the photographs that follow from July 1959 which was the start of a great summer for weather: 30702/11/17/26. 30711 and 30726 were withdrawn the following month and 30702 in October 1959 leaving just 30717 to soldier on for a further two years until July 1961. A total of ten of the class were withdrawn in 1959 triggered by an influx of Bulleid Light Pacifics to the “Withered Arm” displaced from Kent as a result of the completion of the first phase of the Kent Coast Electrification Project.
Only one member of the class was to be preserved and that was 30120 one of the first batch of ten built in 1899 at the LSWR's own works at Nine Elms, London.
MLR / 25 November 2023
2903 30711 is seen outside Okehampton Shed on 4 July 1959. This engine was based at Exmouth Junction Shed right through the 1950s and was condemned there in September 1959. Earlier it had been based at Friary Shed at nationalisation on 1 January 1948. 30711 was built in 1899 by Dubs & Co. and was withdrawn just two months after the photo was taken. It had probably arrived at Okehampton that day on the Plymouth portion of the up ACE. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
2931 30717 stands in the sun outside the shed at Wadebridge on 18 July 1959. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
2934 A panoramic view of Padstow's single platform and sidings looking south towards Wadebridge with two T9s in view on same date as the previous photo. Nearest is 30702 and furthest is 30726. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
2935 30726 waits to leave Padstow with the 3.13pm to Exeter Central on 18 July 1959. This was an 88-mile trip taking three hours. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 55
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Life of Small Prairie 5521
Small prairie 5521 was completed in December 1927 one of a hundred built between February 1927 and February 1929, numbered 4575-4599 and 5500-5574. The 4575 class was a development of the 4500 class with larger water tanks being the principal visual difference. Like 4567 in Part 52 5521 went to Newton Abbot on leaving Swindon Works and like 4567 it ended its days at Laira Shed. 5521 was dispatched north to Oswestry and Machynlleth Sheds in May 1951 but returned to the West of England in November 1951. Apart from that 6-month stint in Wales 5521 spent the whole of its 35 year working life at sheds no further north or east than Taunton. It spent four spells at Taunton Shed and for some of that time was fitted with token changing apparatus for working the 24-mile Minehead Branch and the 45-mile Barnstaple Branch. With runs of that magnitude 5521 was one of only a handful of the 4575 class to travel more than one million miles in GWR and BR service.
5521 arrived at Laira, from Taunton, in November 1961 and was immediately put to work on the branch to Tavistock South and Launceston. I was lucky enough to photograph it on 2 December 1961 the very day it was formally allocated to Laira Shed. I only photographed the engine working on one other occasion on 10 March 1962 when it was just 4 weeks away from being condemned on 5 April 1962. It was dispatched to Woodhams at Barry three months later and was lucky enough to escape the cutter's torch. It became the 72nd engine to leave Barry for preservation in September 1975 going first to the West Somerset Railway before being sold on to the Dean Forest Railway. 5521 is believed to be at the Epping Ongar Railway, one of three ex-GWR engines at the heritage railway in Essex.
5521 has one of the more interesting stories to tell since preservation as it has worked on several heritage lines in Britain and in 2007 travelled across the North Sea for a two year long working holiday in Europe. Much more on the internet; e.g preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com
Between the dates of the photographs attached; i.e 2 December to 10 March there were 13 Saturdays and I was out travelling on or photographing trains on the Launceston Branch on ten of those Saturdays plus a few weekdays and making several rail trips to Tavistock as well but I never once saw 5521 working on any of those days out.
MLR / 26 November 2023
Small prairie 5521 was completed in December 1927 one of a hundred built between February 1927 and February 1929, numbered 4575-4599 and 5500-5574. The 4575 class was a development of the 4500 class with larger water tanks being the principal visual difference. Like 4567 in Part 52 5521 went to Newton Abbot on leaving Swindon Works and like 4567 it ended its days at Laira Shed. 5521 was dispatched north to Oswestry and Machynlleth Sheds in May 1951 but returned to the West of England in November 1951. Apart from that 6-month stint in Wales 5521 spent the whole of its 35 year working life at sheds no further north or east than Taunton. It spent four spells at Taunton Shed and for some of that time was fitted with token changing apparatus for working the 24-mile Minehead Branch and the 45-mile Barnstaple Branch. With runs of that magnitude 5521 was one of only a handful of the 4575 class to travel more than one million miles in GWR and BR service.
5521 arrived at Laira, from Taunton, in November 1961 and was immediately put to work on the branch to Tavistock South and Launceston. I was lucky enough to photograph it on 2 December 1961 the very day it was formally allocated to Laira Shed. I only photographed the engine working on one other occasion on 10 March 1962 when it was just 4 weeks away from being condemned on 5 April 1962. It was dispatched to Woodhams at Barry three months later and was lucky enough to escape the cutter's torch. It became the 72nd engine to leave Barry for preservation in September 1975 going first to the West Somerset Railway before being sold on to the Dean Forest Railway. 5521 is believed to be at the Epping Ongar Railway, one of three ex-GWR engines at the heritage railway in Essex.
5521 has one of the more interesting stories to tell since preservation as it has worked on several heritage lines in Britain and in 2007 travelled across the North Sea for a two year long working holiday in Europe. Much more on the internet; e.g preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com
Between the dates of the photographs attached; i.e 2 December to 10 March there were 13 Saturdays and I was out travelling on or photographing trains on the Launceston Branch on ten of those Saturdays plus a few weekdays and making several rail trips to Tavistock as well but I never once saw 5521 working on any of those days out.
MLR / 26 November 2023
7573 5521 is seen at Shaugh Bridge Platform on 2 December 1961 while working the 3.05pm from Plymouth to Launceston train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7574 5521 sets out from Shaugh Bridge Platform. The train was scheduled to take another 68 minutes to complete the 27 miles to Launceston. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6944 5521 sets out from Plym Bridge Platform with the 3.05pm again on 10 March 1962. Steam emanating from lots of places it should not have done perhaps. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 56
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Devonport Kings Road Station (3)
Regular readers will know that it is sometimes necessary to show photographs taken in years other than 1962 to complete a story. Such is the case here where the photos of Devonport Kings Road Station were taken in 1970, which was the year of the “Mayflower 350” celebrations in Plymouth. The two photos were taken on Saturday 7 March 1970 because the station buildings were “soon to be demolished” as my notebook records. Both views were taken looking east towards Plymouth Station and the platforms are trackless after the rails from St. Budeaux had been lifted. Although the passenger service had been withdrawn on and from Monday 7 September 1964 in fact on 7 March 1970 the station was still open for freight which continued for another 12 months to 7 March 1971 when it was withdawn and the station closed completely. Why didn't I walk to the other (east) end of the station and look over the wall to photograph that end of the station – I don't think I ever did which is quite strange in view of what I am about to write. At the east end the line passed under Paradise Road with the road carried over the line on a low multi-arched viaduct constructed of Plymouth limestone, as were the station buildings. I passed over that viaduct hundreds of times on my way to school in the nineteen fifties.
My secondary school was located immediately to the east of Devonport Kings Road railway station and is called Devonport High School for Boys, known to all as DHS; and I studied there from 1953 to 1959. The school was founded in Devonport in 1896 and during World War Two was evacuated to Penzance. When the school returned to Devonport in 1945 it was not to its pre-war buildings but to the historic buildings still in use to this day. There are five main blocks in a straight line linked on the south side by a colonnade with a walkway on the top for when the weather is dry and to keep pedestrians dry underneath when it rains. The four original blocks were built in 1797 as a military hospital and would have dealt with casualties returning from wars such as the Napoleonic and the First Crimean War of 1853 to 1856. In their first term new boys were regaled with gory stories of the amputations of limbs that had taken place in the hospital in the days before anaesthetics. At the time I lived some 1½ miles away to the east but for the first three years I arrived by bus from the west as it described a horsehoe shaped route around Plymouth. Morning and afternoon I passed along Paradise Road and over the railway at the east end of Kings Road station. However occasionally I would walk home to save the bus fare and even less frequently catch the 4.19pm train from Kings Road station to North Road station which took me about half way home..
In September 1956 my parents bought me a bicycle for my birthday and for the next three years I cycled to school each day. The bicycle allowed me to explore the railway infrastructure of Plymouth, and one of my particular interests was sketching track layouts of stations and yards in addition to taking photos. The bicycle also allowed me to go further afield to places like Wadebridge and St. Blazey. One of my regular rides, done dozens of times between 1956 and 1959, was to Sparkwell Bridge, which crosses the main line at the top of Hemerdon Bank. It was a marvellous place to see steam engines working hard to surmount the two miles of 1 in 42, and I felt lucky to live a mere 7 miles away from that wonderful location. It took me about 35 minutes to cycle from home to Sparkwell Bridge.
DHS now has about 1150 pupils but in my day the number was around half that at 600 pupils from a much smaller catchment area because there was a second boys grammar school in Plymouth which has since closed. As I passed through the school there were several railway enthusiasts in every class, and it was natural that most of my friends were enthusiasts too. I found watching trains far more interesting than chasing a ball around a field. Directly opposite the main school entrance was the fifteenth century Stoke Damerel Church which originally was the parish church for the whole of Devonport. In Plymouth the L&SWR and the Southern Railway were seen by many enthusiasts as the other railway, and the poor relation to the Western, and treated as such which is quite sad. I should have visited and photographed the Southern infrastructure a lot more than I did.
RECOMMENDED READING: The Okehampton Line by Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-911262-03-9
MLR / 03 December 2023
Regular readers will know that it is sometimes necessary to show photographs taken in years other than 1962 to complete a story. Such is the case here where the photos of Devonport Kings Road Station were taken in 1970, which was the year of the “Mayflower 350” celebrations in Plymouth. The two photos were taken on Saturday 7 March 1970 because the station buildings were “soon to be demolished” as my notebook records. Both views were taken looking east towards Plymouth Station and the platforms are trackless after the rails from St. Budeaux had been lifted. Although the passenger service had been withdrawn on and from Monday 7 September 1964 in fact on 7 March 1970 the station was still open for freight which continued for another 12 months to 7 March 1971 when it was withdawn and the station closed completely. Why didn't I walk to the other (east) end of the station and look over the wall to photograph that end of the station – I don't think I ever did which is quite strange in view of what I am about to write. At the east end the line passed under Paradise Road with the road carried over the line on a low multi-arched viaduct constructed of Plymouth limestone, as were the station buildings. I passed over that viaduct hundreds of times on my way to school in the nineteen fifties.
My secondary school was located immediately to the east of Devonport Kings Road railway station and is called Devonport High School for Boys, known to all as DHS; and I studied there from 1953 to 1959. The school was founded in Devonport in 1896 and during World War Two was evacuated to Penzance. When the school returned to Devonport in 1945 it was not to its pre-war buildings but to the historic buildings still in use to this day. There are five main blocks in a straight line linked on the south side by a colonnade with a walkway on the top for when the weather is dry and to keep pedestrians dry underneath when it rains. The four original blocks were built in 1797 as a military hospital and would have dealt with casualties returning from wars such as the Napoleonic and the First Crimean War of 1853 to 1856. In their first term new boys were regaled with gory stories of the amputations of limbs that had taken place in the hospital in the days before anaesthetics. At the time I lived some 1½ miles away to the east but for the first three years I arrived by bus from the west as it described a horsehoe shaped route around Plymouth. Morning and afternoon I passed along Paradise Road and over the railway at the east end of Kings Road station. However occasionally I would walk home to save the bus fare and even less frequently catch the 4.19pm train from Kings Road station to North Road station which took me about half way home..
In September 1956 my parents bought me a bicycle for my birthday and for the next three years I cycled to school each day. The bicycle allowed me to explore the railway infrastructure of Plymouth, and one of my particular interests was sketching track layouts of stations and yards in addition to taking photos. The bicycle also allowed me to go further afield to places like Wadebridge and St. Blazey. One of my regular rides, done dozens of times between 1956 and 1959, was to Sparkwell Bridge, which crosses the main line at the top of Hemerdon Bank. It was a marvellous place to see steam engines working hard to surmount the two miles of 1 in 42, and I felt lucky to live a mere 7 miles away from that wonderful location. It took me about 35 minutes to cycle from home to Sparkwell Bridge.
DHS now has about 1150 pupils but in my day the number was around half that at 600 pupils from a much smaller catchment area because there was a second boys grammar school in Plymouth which has since closed. As I passed through the school there were several railway enthusiasts in every class, and it was natural that most of my friends were enthusiasts too. I found watching trains far more interesting than chasing a ball around a field. Directly opposite the main school entrance was the fifteenth century Stoke Damerel Church which originally was the parish church for the whole of Devonport. In Plymouth the L&SWR and the Southern Railway were seen by many enthusiasts as the other railway, and the poor relation to the Western, and treated as such which is quite sad. I should have visited and photographed the Southern infrastructure a lot more than I did.
RECOMMENDED READING: The Okehampton Line by Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-911262-03-9
MLR / 03 December 2023
7575 View of a trackless Kings Road looking east towards Plymouth Station at teatime on 7 March 1970. Kings Road is on the right. Michael L. Roach.
7576 The pleasing architectural style and detailing of the main station frontage looking east. Paradise Road is at a higher level on the left. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Mike - you knocked up quite a few miles on your bicycle. Well done.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 57
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Life of Small Prairie 5572
5572 was one of a batch of five small prairies completed in February 1929. They were the last prairies of the 4575-class to be built, and the last small prairies. However the larger prairies of the 5101 class went on being built for another twenty years until 1949; i.e the last ones were built after nationalisation. 5572 went new to Exeter Shed; was at Bristol Bath Road at Nationalisation and ended its days at Laira, being condemned on 3 April 1962. It had been at Laira for 12 months after arriving from St. Blazey on 22 April 1961. I photographed it in use many times during its stay at Laira, all between Plymouth Station and Launceston apart from one occasion on the approach spans of the Royal Albert Bridge just after leaving Saltash Station – the photo can be found on the website in the relevant section.
5572 was one of a number of the class fitted with the necessary equipment in 1953 for working rail motors in South Wales. 5572 was at Treherbert and Cathays Sheds for more than four years from October 1953 to February 1958 working auto trains up and down some of the Valleys until displaced by the first generation of diesel multiple units. On 22 Feb 1958 it was reallocated to Laira for the first time (before going to St. Blazey on 8 October 1960), along with some of the other auto fitted examples; and they did indeed work auto trains between Plymouth and Tavistock South when one of the 6400-class was not available. Eleven members of the 4575 class have survived into preservation but 5572 is the only example fitted with autogear. It is currently out of use at Didcot awaiting an overhaul.
In the last three months of its working life, Jan/Feb/March 1962, I photographed 5572 many times, but mostly on Saturdays. It worked the same trains almost every Saturday from 13 January onwards: i.e
2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock South and 4.30pm Tavistock South to Plymouth which were both rail motors
There were just two occasions when 5572 worked the trains below instead:
10.53am Plymouth Millbay to Tavistock South SO ECS and 12.40pm Tavistock South to Plymouth rail motor
There was also another SO empty rail motor in the opposite direction at 2.00pm from Tavistock South to Millbay. These empty rail motors were a result of the fifteen percent cuts to passenger services in June 1958 which left the Tavistock to Launceston section with three passenger trains Monday to Friday but five on Saturdays only with the 10.25am Plymouth to Tavistock South extended to Launceston SO and therefore unable to return from Tavistock at 12.40pm. Rail motors were normally hauled from Plymouth to Tavistock South and then propelled back to Plymouth but for a short period in February 1962 it was the other way round using 5572. I have seen no explanation for this but think it may have been something to do with releasing the engine at the end of the working day after parking the auto coaches in a different siding at Millbay perhaps.
MLR / 8 December 2023
5572 was one of a batch of five small prairies completed in February 1929. They were the last prairies of the 4575-class to be built, and the last small prairies. However the larger prairies of the 5101 class went on being built for another twenty years until 1949; i.e the last ones were built after nationalisation. 5572 went new to Exeter Shed; was at Bristol Bath Road at Nationalisation and ended its days at Laira, being condemned on 3 April 1962. It had been at Laira for 12 months after arriving from St. Blazey on 22 April 1961. I photographed it in use many times during its stay at Laira, all between Plymouth Station and Launceston apart from one occasion on the approach spans of the Royal Albert Bridge just after leaving Saltash Station – the photo can be found on the website in the relevant section.
5572 was one of a number of the class fitted with the necessary equipment in 1953 for working rail motors in South Wales. 5572 was at Treherbert and Cathays Sheds for more than four years from October 1953 to February 1958 working auto trains up and down some of the Valleys until displaced by the first generation of diesel multiple units. On 22 Feb 1958 it was reallocated to Laira for the first time (before going to St. Blazey on 8 October 1960), along with some of the other auto fitted examples; and they did indeed work auto trains between Plymouth and Tavistock South when one of the 6400-class was not available. Eleven members of the 4575 class have survived into preservation but 5572 is the only example fitted with autogear. It is currently out of use at Didcot awaiting an overhaul.
In the last three months of its working life, Jan/Feb/March 1962, I photographed 5572 many times, but mostly on Saturdays. It worked the same trains almost every Saturday from 13 January onwards: i.e
2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock South and 4.30pm Tavistock South to Plymouth which were both rail motors
There were just two occasions when 5572 worked the trains below instead:
10.53am Plymouth Millbay to Tavistock South SO ECS and 12.40pm Tavistock South to Plymouth rail motor
There was also another SO empty rail motor in the opposite direction at 2.00pm from Tavistock South to Millbay. These empty rail motors were a result of the fifteen percent cuts to passenger services in June 1958 which left the Tavistock to Launceston section with three passenger trains Monday to Friday but five on Saturdays only with the 10.25am Plymouth to Tavistock South extended to Launceston SO and therefore unable to return from Tavistock at 12.40pm. Rail motors were normally hauled from Plymouth to Tavistock South and then propelled back to Plymouth but for a short period in February 1962 it was the other way round using 5572. I have seen no explanation for this but think it may have been something to do with releasing the engine at the end of the working day after parking the auto coaches in a different siding at Millbay perhaps.
MLR / 8 December 2023
5937 5572 leaves Plymouth Station with the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock on 18 January 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5993 5572 propels its auto coaches out of Tavistock South Station before returning to the other platform. on 28 February 1962. The engine is at the opposite end to normal. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5995 5572 is seen ready to leave Tavistock South Station . It had arrived on the 2.10pm from Plymouth and would depart on the 4.30pm back to Plymouth, but I travelled home from Tavistock North for a change. Copyright MIchael L. Roach.
5905 5572 approaches Shaugh Bridge Platform with the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock on 3 March 1962 . Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6946 5572 crosses Cann Viaduct with the 4.30pm Tavistock South to Plymouth auto on 10 March 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael - keep up the good work, please.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 58
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 58 Michael L. Roach
More Photos of Small Prairie 5572
In the last part of this series (Part 57) were five photographs of small prairie 5572, then based at Laira Shed, Plymouth, and all taken between 18 January and 10 March 1962. The engine was condemned at Laira on 3 April 1962. In Part 57 most of the five photos were taken with the engine nearest the camera, but in this part we will mostly see the engine propelling its one coach load towards the camera with the engine driver sat in the driving cab of the rail motor or auto train, and the driver nominally controlling the regulator. The attached photos were again all taken during the first three months of 1962, and include the last time I saw 5572 working.
MLR / 10 December 2023
More Photos of Small Prairie 5572
In the last part of this series (Part 57) were five photographs of small prairie 5572, then based at Laira Shed, Plymouth, and all taken between 18 January and 10 March 1962. The engine was condemned at Laira on 3 April 1962. In Part 57 most of the five photos were taken with the engine nearest the camera, but in this part we will mostly see the engine propelling its one coach load towards the camera with the engine driver sat in the driving cab of the rail motor or auto train, and the driver nominally controlling the regulator. The attached photos were again all taken during the first three months of 1962, and include the last time I saw 5572 working.
MLR / 10 December 2023
5929 A single autocoach propelled by 5572 hurtles through Clearbrook at 2.17pm non-stop on 13 January 1962 in driving rain. The train is the 2.00pm ECS from Tavistock South to Plymouth Millbay. I was standing in the waiting shelter. Copyright Michal L. Roach.
5934 5572 leaves Plymouth Station under Houndiscombe Road Bridge (see News Item 19 September 2023) with the 2.10pm to Tavistock on 17 January 1962. Copyright Michael L.Roach.
5939 A single empty autocoach is propelled back to Plymouth by 5572 on 27 January 1962 seen between Lee Moor Crossing and Marsh Mills. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5996 5572 is seen resting between trains at Tavistock South Station. It was scheduled to arrive at 2.57 and depart at 4.30pm; and sometimes rested on the centre track because the 2.20pm SO goods from Launceston was due to stop here from 3.45 to 3.56pm. The 3.05pm from Plymouth to Launceston was due to call from 3.54 to 4.00pm, meaning three trains at Tavistock South. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6948 A single autocoach again ECS is seen just south of Clearbrook on 17 March 1962 with 5572 propelling its train. This was the last time I saw 5572 working as it was condemned on 3 April 1962. The coach was a conversion from a third/brake suburban coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 59
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
The Life of Small Prairie 5532
Small prairie 5532 was completed in June 1928 one of a hundred of the class of 2-6-2s built between February 1927 and February 1929. 5532 was one of the lucky ones as it escaped the cutters torch and entered the preservation world after a spell in Barry Scrapyard. 5532 went new to Stourbridge Shed, was at Pontypool Road at Nationalisation and ended its days at Laira where it was shedded from December 1959 until withdrawn from service on 10 July 1962 and sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry on on 4 September 1962. The recorded mileage was 705,111 which was a lot less than 5521 seen in Part 55. The last time I saw 5532 working was on 3 March 1962 when it was hauling the return Launceston goods through Shaugh Bridge Halt.
5532 left the scrapyard at Barry in 1981 after more than 18 years there and went to the Dean Forest Railway to be a source of spares for other small prairies there, but later went to the Llangollen Railway where restoration is still proceeding 40 years after leaving Barry. Although much has been done to overhaul 5532, the engine has yet to run under its own power. The engine's own website, 5532.co.uk, indicates that restoration will take at least another three years to accomplish.
The engine came to prominence when it was one of the engines rostered to work between Bristol and Frome on the last day of passenger services which was Saturday 31 October 1959. It was then no longer needed at Westbury Shed where it had been based for the previous six months and was sent west to Laira Shed in November 1959 where it worked passenger and freight trains on the Tavistock and Launceston Branch and other local trains. 5532 may not have got a lot of use during its last few months at Laira as I only saw it working four times in the 12 months between
MLR / 14 December 2023
Small prairie 5532 was completed in June 1928 one of a hundred of the class of 2-6-2s built between February 1927 and February 1929. 5532 was one of the lucky ones as it escaped the cutters torch and entered the preservation world after a spell in Barry Scrapyard. 5532 went new to Stourbridge Shed, was at Pontypool Road at Nationalisation and ended its days at Laira where it was shedded from December 1959 until withdrawn from service on 10 July 1962 and sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry on on 4 September 1962. The recorded mileage was 705,111 which was a lot less than 5521 seen in Part 55. The last time I saw 5532 working was on 3 March 1962 when it was hauling the return Launceston goods through Shaugh Bridge Halt.
5532 left the scrapyard at Barry in 1981 after more than 18 years there and went to the Dean Forest Railway to be a source of spares for other small prairies there, but later went to the Llangollen Railway where restoration is still proceeding 40 years after leaving Barry. Although much has been done to overhaul 5532, the engine has yet to run under its own power. The engine's own website, 5532.co.uk, indicates that restoration will take at least another three years to accomplish.
The engine came to prominence when it was one of the engines rostered to work between Bristol and Frome on the last day of passenger services which was Saturday 31 October 1959. It was then no longer needed at Westbury Shed where it had been based for the previous six months and was sent west to Laira Shed in November 1959 where it worked passenger and freight trains on the Tavistock and Launceston Branch and other local trains. 5532 may not have got a lot of use during its last few months at Laira as I only saw it working four times in the 12 months between
MLR / 14 December 2023
7588 5532 heads out of Plymouth with the 2.10pm to Tavistock South on 26 April 1961 past the disused East Box. It will be noted that the train cannot be propelled back from Tavistock because the auto coaches are the wrong way round. Copyrght Michael L. Roach.
5941 5532 hurtles through Shaugh Bridge Platform with nine wagons on the 2.20pm Launceston to Tavistock Junction freight on 3 March 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5724 On Saturday 22 September 1962 we see a line of withdrawn engines at Laira awaiting their fate which turned out to be surprisingly good. Three of the four engines were saved for preservation. The engines are – front to back 1363 (P); 4658; 5532 (P) and 4588 (P) . Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Many many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 60
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
Centenary of the Castles (2)
In July 2023 I was reading a magazine from August 1906 with a contemporary short news item and photo of a new four cylinder express passenger engine built to the design of Gorge Jackson Churchward (1857-1933) who had then been Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway for some four years. The engine had been given the number 40 and quite surprisingly the engine was of the 4-4-2 wheel arrangement because, although the GWR had many 4-4-0s, it had very few 4-4-2s. Because the article was contemporary with the first appearance of the engine the writer could not have known that the loco would be converted to a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement just 3 years later in 1909 and renumbered 4000. The reason for building no. 40 as a 4-4-2 was to compare it with the three De Glehn 4-4-2 Compounds purchased from France. Number 40 was the first 4-cylinder engine built by the GWR but it was not the first 4-6-0 after rebuilding as that honour fell to no. 100 which appeared in February 1902 just a couple of months before the retirement of Willam Dean (1840-1905), when Churchward was Dean's Chief Assistant. No. 100 was an express passenger design with 2 outside cylinders, the first GWR design with outside cylinders, and therefore the forerunner of the Saints, Halls, Granges and Manor classes. No. 4000 was the forerunner of the Stars and was converted to a Star in 1909 and given the name of “North Star”. The 4-cylinder 4-6-0s of the Star class were the forerunners of the Castle class and the King class. No. 4000 was converted to a Castle in 1929 and lasted until 1957.
The first part of this commemoration of the Castle class appeared on 27 February 2023. In this Part we will look briefly at what one very well-known enthusiast and professional railwayman thought of the Castle Class. Kenneth H Leech (1892 – 1994) worked for Westinghouse at their signal works at Chippenham, Wiltshire and was so well-known that he could obtain a footplate ride along the Great Western main line between Paddington and Bristol any time he wanted to. All that bouncing around on the footplate of a steam engine did not do him any harm as he lived to the great age of 102 years. He was also a very active photographer and time recorder.
In September 1963 The Journal of the Stephenson Locomotive Society carried a Supplement to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the introduction of the Castle class. The SLS turned to Kenneth Leech to write the article that accompanied the photographs and the result was a delightful little booklet. There is no doubt that Kenneth Leech knew his subject after making dozens if not hundreds of footplate trips. The first two paragraphs of the booklet are reproduced here as a tribute to Kenneth Leech and the Castle Class. This is what he wrote for the Supplement.
“The Castle Class of the Great Western Railway is one of the most celebrated classes of locomotives in the world. The fine reputation of these engines has been gained by their performance, not only in sustained high-speed running, but in the hauling of heavy trains at express speed and in exceptional economy in coal consumption. Never has any other class of express locomotive been built, with only the smallest change in details, over such a long period as 28 years and never has any other class of locomotives remained as the standard express type for anything like as long as 38 years. Yet with all their proud history, the class were originally a compromise design, carrying a smaller boiler than had been intended – a boiler which in service always limited the maximum continuous power output of the engines below the maximum which the cylinders could produce.” Fascinating stuff.
MLR / 18 October 2023
In July 2023 I was reading a magazine from August 1906 with a contemporary short news item and photo of a new four cylinder express passenger engine built to the design of Gorge Jackson Churchward (1857-1933) who had then been Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway for some four years. The engine had been given the number 40 and quite surprisingly the engine was of the 4-4-2 wheel arrangement because, although the GWR had many 4-4-0s, it had very few 4-4-2s. Because the article was contemporary with the first appearance of the engine the writer could not have known that the loco would be converted to a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement just 3 years later in 1909 and renumbered 4000. The reason for building no. 40 as a 4-4-2 was to compare it with the three De Glehn 4-4-2 Compounds purchased from France. Number 40 was the first 4-cylinder engine built by the GWR but it was not the first 4-6-0 after rebuilding as that honour fell to no. 100 which appeared in February 1902 just a couple of months before the retirement of Willam Dean (1840-1905), when Churchward was Dean's Chief Assistant. No. 100 was an express passenger design with 2 outside cylinders, the first GWR design with outside cylinders, and therefore the forerunner of the Saints, Halls, Granges and Manor classes. No. 4000 was the forerunner of the Stars and was converted to a Star in 1909 and given the name of “North Star”. The 4-cylinder 4-6-0s of the Star class were the forerunners of the Castle class and the King class. No. 4000 was converted to a Castle in 1929 and lasted until 1957.
The first part of this commemoration of the Castle class appeared on 27 February 2023. In this Part we will look briefly at what one very well-known enthusiast and professional railwayman thought of the Castle Class. Kenneth H Leech (1892 – 1994) worked for Westinghouse at their signal works at Chippenham, Wiltshire and was so well-known that he could obtain a footplate ride along the Great Western main line between Paddington and Bristol any time he wanted to. All that bouncing around on the footplate of a steam engine did not do him any harm as he lived to the great age of 102 years. He was also a very active photographer and time recorder.
In September 1963 The Journal of the Stephenson Locomotive Society carried a Supplement to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the introduction of the Castle class. The SLS turned to Kenneth Leech to write the article that accompanied the photographs and the result was a delightful little booklet. There is no doubt that Kenneth Leech knew his subject after making dozens if not hundreds of footplate trips. The first two paragraphs of the booklet are reproduced here as a tribute to Kenneth Leech and the Castle Class. This is what he wrote for the Supplement.
“The Castle Class of the Great Western Railway is one of the most celebrated classes of locomotives in the world. The fine reputation of these engines has been gained by their performance, not only in sustained high-speed running, but in the hauling of heavy trains at express speed and in exceptional economy in coal consumption. Never has any other class of express locomotive been built, with only the smallest change in details, over such a long period as 28 years and never has any other class of locomotives remained as the standard express type for anything like as long as 38 years. Yet with all their proud history, the class were originally a compromise design, carrying a smaller boiler than had been intended – a boiler which in service always limited the maximum continuous power output of the engines below the maximum which the cylinders could produce.” Fascinating stuff.
MLR / 18 October 2023
997 The cover of the 1963 Supplement to the September SLS Journal.
7094 6938 and 5098 Clifford Castle double-head the 9.10am Liverpool to Plymouth past Venton Farm at the eastern end of Hemerdon Sidings on 19 May 1962. 5098 would move to Carmarthen July 1962.
7136 5093 Upton Castle has just passed Tigley Box on 26 May 1962 with 9C on the Liverpool to Plymouth train. I am standing on a bridge three miles from Totnes Station and heard 5093 making a laboured climb of Rattery Bank the whole way taking ten minutes for the three miles from Totnes Station. The gradient eased slightly at Tigley Box and when I was on the same train three weeks earlier 5055 covered the last quarter mile before the box at 14 mph. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
.7160 5094 Tretower Castle of Bristol SPM Shed approaches the top of Dainton with 7C on an unidentified train on 16 June 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7242 5036 Lyonshall Castle of Old Oak Common Shed approaches Newton Abbot with 14 coaches on the 12.30 Paddington to Plymouth and Kingsbridge on 21 July 1962. 5036 would have needed assistance up Dainton Bank as the limit for a Castle was 315 tons or nine coaches. Five or six coaches would have come off the train at Brent to go to Kingsbridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7320 5066 Sir Felix Pole is seen in the long shed at Laira on 25 August 1962. The shed was built in 1931-32 using Government Grants and Loans to relieve unemployment. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7334 5001 Llandovery Castle passes Tigley Box assisted by a North British Type 2 in the D63xx series on 25 August 1962 with 14C on the 12.30pm Paddington to Kingsbridge and Plymouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach,
Many thanks Michael.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 61 Michael L. Roach
Railway Air Routes (1)
In the second half of the nineteen fifties I would occasionally cycle out to Plymouth Airport with a friend to watch the planes landing and taking off. The airport was situated at Roborough on the northern outskirts of the City with Dartmoor a short distance away as a backdrop. There were few scheduled flights but plenty of private aviation and if my memory serves me right trainee pilots from the Royal Navy Air Service were trained there for a number of years.
It was 90 years ago in 1933 that the first railway-operated air route was started by the enterprising Great Western Railway. The route was from Cardiff to Plymouth and return, twice a day, stopping at Haldon Aerodrome en-route for Exeter and Torquay. The aeroplane used was a 3-engine 6-seater Westland Wessex made at Yeovil and operated by Imperial Airways on behalf of the GWR. The first day was on Tuesday 11 April 1933 with public services starting next day. Much more about Imperial Airways on the internet. The attached article from the GWR Magazine for May 1933 explains all.
In a strange twist of fate none of the three airports used in the 1930s is still used as a functioning airport. Cardiff Municipal Airport was two miles south-east of the city centre on the coast and became RAF Pengam Moors for World War Two; it closed in 1954 when all services were transferred to the present Cardiff International Airport which is some miles west of the city. Haldon became a Royal Navy Air Station during World War Two but closed after the war. Meanwhile Plymouth Airport lies unused waiting for a white knight to save it from the ignominy of having housing built on it.
Plymouth Airport closed and ceased all operations 12 years ago on 23 December 2011. Since that time all the infrastucture has been mothballed at a reputed cost of £500,000 per annum. Most of the 113-acre site is owned by the City of Plymouth but it is let on a long lease to a local firm who wish to redevelop the site against the wishes of others who wish to see it reopened as an airport. One would hope that there is room for compromise with perhaps a smaller airport using helicopters to provide a link from Plymouth to the airports at Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff to feed passengers into the many long distance routes available at those three airports.
SCANS
5660
5661
5662
5663
5665
5666
MLR / 11 December 2023
Railway Air Routes (1)
In the second half of the nineteen fifties I would occasionally cycle out to Plymouth Airport with a friend to watch the planes landing and taking off. The airport was situated at Roborough on the northern outskirts of the City with Dartmoor a short distance away as a backdrop. There were few scheduled flights but plenty of private aviation and if my memory serves me right trainee pilots from the Royal Navy Air Service were trained there for a number of years.
It was 90 years ago in 1933 that the first railway-operated air route was started by the enterprising Great Western Railway. The route was from Cardiff to Plymouth and return, twice a day, stopping at Haldon Aerodrome en-route for Exeter and Torquay. The aeroplane used was a 3-engine 6-seater Westland Wessex made at Yeovil and operated by Imperial Airways on behalf of the GWR. The first day was on Tuesday 11 April 1933 with public services starting next day. Much more about Imperial Airways on the internet. The attached article from the GWR Magazine for May 1933 explains all.
In a strange twist of fate none of the three airports used in the 1930s is still used as a functioning airport. Cardiff Municipal Airport was two miles south-east of the city centre on the coast and became RAF Pengam Moors for World War Two; it closed in 1954 when all services were transferred to the present Cardiff International Airport which is some miles west of the city. Haldon became a Royal Navy Air Station during World War Two but closed after the war. Meanwhile Plymouth Airport lies unused waiting for a white knight to save it from the ignominy of having housing built on it.
Plymouth Airport closed and ceased all operations 12 years ago on 23 December 2011. Since that time all the infrastucture has been mothballed at a reputed cost of £500,000 per annum. Most of the 113-acre site is owned by the City of Plymouth but it is let on a long lease to a local firm who wish to redevelop the site against the wishes of others who wish to see it reopened as an airport. One would hope that there is room for compromise with perhaps a smaller airport using helicopters to provide a link from Plymouth to the airports at Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff to feed passengers into the many long distance routes available at those three airports.
SCANS
5660
5661
5662
5663
5665
5666
MLR / 11 December 2023
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO –
PART 62
Michael L. Roach
The Blizzard of December 1962
It is 175 years since the South Devon Railway opened its railway line into Plymouth from the east. To the best of my knowledge, in all that time there have only been two occasions when the railway lines approaching Plymouth around the edge of Dartmoor have been struck by blizzards so severe that the resulting snow drifts were deep enough to stop all train movements and trap trains for several days. However if you know of any other occasions please write in to the web master. The first occasion was in March 1891 and on that occasion there were drifts and problems right across Southern England. The details of that event as it affected Devon and Cornwall may appear in a subsequent part of this series. In this part the blizzard of 29 December 1962 will be recalled through my photographs. This blizzard also seriously affected Exmoor and resulted in the decision to use helicopters for the first time to drop food, water and other essentials to isolated properties on Dartmoor and Exmoor and not just for humans but also for farm animals. There have been numerous other snow events in other parts of Britain, including Dartmoor in 1947, but what marked out the December 1962 event were the gale-force easterly winds and the resulting depths of the snow drifts which were up to 20 feet (6 metres) deep on Dartmoor and Exmoor. The cold spell of winter 1962-63 lasted some twelve weeks.
The blizzard of 29 December 1962 coincided with the last day of passenger services on the Plymouth – Tavistock South – Launceston ex-GWR branchline, and the complete closure of much of the route. I was there on the branch that day, all day for some 14 hours. Because of what I chose to do that day, the date became a landmark date in my life. If I had chosen instead to make a couple of return trips on the branch and stay home after tea due to the apalling weather conditions I might have felt differently about the date. The full story of what I did on 29 December 1962 has been recounted once before twelve months ago and the words that follow will be a repeat of that story with different photographs from the same day.
On the 28 December1962 there had been a dusting of snow in many places after a week of intensely cold weather. On the following day we woke to some 3 inches (75mm) of snow in Plymouth. It was a sad day for someone who had come to love this line in the preceeding three years and who would miss the atmosphere of a line that was in many ways still as it was pre-nationalisation in 1947 or even pre-war in 1938. It was still worked by the same classes of engines (the 4500s and the 6400s) that had worked the line in the nineteen thirties. I had taken hundreds of photos of the Launceston Branch trains and made many trips along the line and knew that with the crowds expected for a “last day” that I had little chance of getting my favourite position on the train which was the first window in the first coach. So instead I opted to travel out to one of my favourite stations, Yelverton, and spend several daylight hours there watching the last trains calling at the station. Later I planned to make an evening return trip to Launceston and back. I travelled out to Yelverton on the 10.40am off Plymouth which was a very popular choice for enthusiasts. The train was strengthened from the normal two coaches to four coaches hauled by Laira's small priarie 5564 which had arrived there earlier in the year. At the start of the day the snow was just a bonus and few of us travelling out on the 10.40am train could have realised the severity of the weather that was approaching the area. (to be continued)
PART 62
Michael L. Roach
The Blizzard of December 1962
It is 175 years since the South Devon Railway opened its railway line into Plymouth from the east. To the best of my knowledge, in all that time there have only been two occasions when the railway lines approaching Plymouth around the edge of Dartmoor have been struck by blizzards so severe that the resulting snow drifts were deep enough to stop all train movements and trap trains for several days. However if you know of any other occasions please write in to the web master. The first occasion was in March 1891 and on that occasion there were drifts and problems right across Southern England. The details of that event as it affected Devon and Cornwall may appear in a subsequent part of this series. In this part the blizzard of 29 December 1962 will be recalled through my photographs. This blizzard also seriously affected Exmoor and resulted in the decision to use helicopters for the first time to drop food, water and other essentials to isolated properties on Dartmoor and Exmoor and not just for humans but also for farm animals. There have been numerous other snow events in other parts of Britain, including Dartmoor in 1947, but what marked out the December 1962 event were the gale-force easterly winds and the resulting depths of the snow drifts which were up to 20 feet (6 metres) deep on Dartmoor and Exmoor. The cold spell of winter 1962-63 lasted some twelve weeks.
The blizzard of 29 December 1962 coincided with the last day of passenger services on the Plymouth – Tavistock South – Launceston ex-GWR branchline, and the complete closure of much of the route. I was there on the branch that day, all day for some 14 hours. Because of what I chose to do that day, the date became a landmark date in my life. If I had chosen instead to make a couple of return trips on the branch and stay home after tea due to the apalling weather conditions I might have felt differently about the date. The full story of what I did on 29 December 1962 has been recounted once before twelve months ago and the words that follow will be a repeat of that story with different photographs from the same day.
On the 28 December1962 there had been a dusting of snow in many places after a week of intensely cold weather. On the following day we woke to some 3 inches (75mm) of snow in Plymouth. It was a sad day for someone who had come to love this line in the preceeding three years and who would miss the atmosphere of a line that was in many ways still as it was pre-nationalisation in 1947 or even pre-war in 1938. It was still worked by the same classes of engines (the 4500s and the 6400s) that had worked the line in the nineteen thirties. I had taken hundreds of photos of the Launceston Branch trains and made many trips along the line and knew that with the crowds expected for a “last day” that I had little chance of getting my favourite position on the train which was the first window in the first coach. So instead I opted to travel out to one of my favourite stations, Yelverton, and spend several daylight hours there watching the last trains calling at the station. Later I planned to make an evening return trip to Launceston and back. I travelled out to Yelverton on the 10.40am off Plymouth which was a very popular choice for enthusiasts. The train was strengthened from the normal two coaches to four coaches hauled by Laira's small priarie 5564 which had arrived there earlier in the year. At the start of the day the snow was just a bonus and few of us travelling out on the 10.40am train could have realised the severity of the weather that was approaching the area. (to be continued)
5564 has arrived at Yelverton with the very last 10.40am Plymouth to Launceston where the overnight snow was a little deeper than it was in Plymouth Copyright Michael L Roach
A handful of passengers wait to board the 10.15am Launceston to Plymouth at Yelverton on 29.01.1962 as the train arrives behind 5569. The small booking office in the building shown closed at 2.00pm.. Copyright Michael L Roach
The 12.40pm Tavistock to Plymouth stops at Yelverton viewed from the trackbed of the Princetown Branch, which at this point was rising on a 1 in 40 gradient check-railed curve. Copyright Michael L Roach
6430 leaves Yelverton with the 12.40pm Tavistock to Plymouth consisting of 4 auto coaches (nos. 255, 230, 228, 234). Copyright Michael L Roach
6430 leaves Yelverton with the 12.40pm Tavistock to Plymouth consisting of 4 auto coaches (nos. 255, 230, 228, 234). Copyright Michael L Roach
I have walked nearly half way to Clearbrook Halt to capture 6400 on the 12.45pm SO Plymouth to Tavistock. Copyright Michael LRoach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO
PART 63
Michael L. Roach
The Blizzard of December 1962 (Continued)
continued from Part 62
The last photograph shown yesterday was 5564 on the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth and was taken at 2.12pm with the train running 24 minutes late. It had started to snow at Yelverton around 12.00 noon on 29 December 1962, light at first but gradually increasing in intensity. and the snow was now starting to cover the rails in places. As I was writing this on the evening of 19 December 2022 I was also watching Winter Walks on BBC 4 through the Yorkshire Dales and the presenter stopped to recite a very famous poem titled “Leisure” by the Welsh Poet W.H. Davies (1871 – 1940) which made me think. The poem starts like this - “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?”
I had plenty of time to stand and stare on the afternoon of 29 December 1962. Ignoring the train that had brought me to Yelverton I saw 9 trains pass through the station in 277 minutes equalling one every half hour. Between trains I had plenty of time to strand and stare at the infrastructure of the station. The track was disappearing under the blanket of snow and only one track was in use. The Princetown track had long gone so there were two disused platforms. All the buildings remained although only the small downside booking office was in use for part of the day. The distinguishing feature of Yelverton Station was the octagonal station building on the island platfom which was made of timber and dated from 1885. It was closed when the loop was taken out of use but remained intact. It contained a large central booking hall; a booking office at the north (small) end with toilets at the other end for ladies and gentlemen. The building had an awning on the longest sides and luckily for me on a day of such extreme weather the footbridge also had a roof. There were plenty of places for me to shelter while waiting for the next train.
With no signals to guide me and the trains getting later and later I had to select my next spot to take a photo and shelter close by and soak up the last views of a functioning station before going out into the snow at the last minute.
The wind was not too bad when I arrived at Yelverton at 11.23am but was now increasing rapidly and by 3.00pm I was able to record that a full-scale easterly blizzard was raging. Hearing the train approaching I went out into the snow to stand on the steps of the signal box to record the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock arriving at Yelverton at 3.04pm, some 21L. Although I was wearing a duffle coat with a hood the cold was so intense and the wind so strong it felt as though the icy blast was cutting straight through me; and I was glad to return to the shelter of the station awnings again. The station was now unstaffed as the porter had ended his single shift at 2.00pm, it is believed. By a strange coincidence the booking office at my local station a 5 minute walk away is, 60 years later, staffed on a single shift from 6.45am to 2.00pm.
The resulting photograph of 6430 entering the station shows the snow blowing from only just above the horizontal. I am looking almost due south and the wind is coming from the east, all the way from Siberia according to some experts at the time. It certainly felt like it.
I now had more than 65 minutes to stand, stare and shiver until the next train which was the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston which eventually appeared 31L. I stood on the footbridge to watch 4591 run in with four coaches, and then walked along beside the loop to photograph 4591 stopped and moving off in a cloud of steam.
I had planned to travel home on the 4.30pm from Tavistock to Plymouth due off Yelverton at 4.46pm, but soon after seeing 4591 pass very late I realised that if the 4.30pm train was late I would not be getting home in time for any tea before returning to the station to catch the 6.20pm to Launceston. There was nothing for it but to drag myself up the long steep station access road to the village in the hope that the buses were still running in the blizzard conditions. They were and I did not have to wait long for a red Plymouth Corporation Leyland double-decker to appear on its return journey from Dousland, which up until 1956 was also served by a railway station on the Princetown branch.
The bus driver somehow managed to keep the bus on the road in the newly fallen snow, and with a much shorter walk from the bus stop than the railway station, I could have a good tea before heading off to Plymouth Station for a last return trip over the branch.
(to be continued)
The last photograph shown yesterday was 5564 on the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth and was taken at 2.12pm with the train running 24 minutes late. It had started to snow at Yelverton around 12.00 noon on 29 December 1962, light at first but gradually increasing in intensity. and the snow was now starting to cover the rails in places. As I was writing this on the evening of 19 December 2022 I was also watching Winter Walks on BBC 4 through the Yorkshire Dales and the presenter stopped to recite a very famous poem titled “Leisure” by the Welsh Poet W.H. Davies (1871 – 1940) which made me think. The poem starts like this - “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?”
I had plenty of time to stand and stare on the afternoon of 29 December 1962. Ignoring the train that had brought me to Yelverton I saw 9 trains pass through the station in 277 minutes equalling one every half hour. Between trains I had plenty of time to strand and stare at the infrastructure of the station. The track was disappearing under the blanket of snow and only one track was in use. The Princetown track had long gone so there were two disused platforms. All the buildings remained although only the small downside booking office was in use for part of the day. The distinguishing feature of Yelverton Station was the octagonal station building on the island platfom which was made of timber and dated from 1885. It was closed when the loop was taken out of use but remained intact. It contained a large central booking hall; a booking office at the north (small) end with toilets at the other end for ladies and gentlemen. The building had an awning on the longest sides and luckily for me on a day of such extreme weather the footbridge also had a roof. There were plenty of places for me to shelter while waiting for the next train.
With no signals to guide me and the trains getting later and later I had to select my next spot to take a photo and shelter close by and soak up the last views of a functioning station before going out into the snow at the last minute.
The wind was not too bad when I arrived at Yelverton at 11.23am but was now increasing rapidly and by 3.00pm I was able to record that a full-scale easterly blizzard was raging. Hearing the train approaching I went out into the snow to stand on the steps of the signal box to record the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock arriving at Yelverton at 3.04pm, some 21L. Although I was wearing a duffle coat with a hood the cold was so intense and the wind so strong it felt as though the icy blast was cutting straight through me; and I was glad to return to the shelter of the station awnings again. The station was now unstaffed as the porter had ended his single shift at 2.00pm, it is believed. By a strange coincidence the booking office at my local station a 5 minute walk away is, 60 years later, staffed on a single shift from 6.45am to 2.00pm.
The resulting photograph of 6430 entering the station shows the snow blowing from only just above the horizontal. I am looking almost due south and the wind is coming from the east, all the way from Siberia according to some experts at the time. It certainly felt like it.
I now had more than 65 minutes to stand, stare and shiver until the next train which was the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston which eventually appeared 31L. I stood on the footbridge to watch 4591 run in with four coaches, and then walked along beside the loop to photograph 4591 stopped and moving off in a cloud of steam.
I had planned to travel home on the 4.30pm from Tavistock to Plymouth due off Yelverton at 4.46pm, but soon after seeing 4591 pass very late I realised that if the 4.30pm train was late I would not be getting home in time for any tea before returning to the station to catch the 6.20pm to Launceston. There was nothing for it but to drag myself up the long steep station access road to the village in the hope that the buses were still running in the blizzard conditions. They were and I did not have to wait long for a red Plymouth Corporation Leyland double-decker to appear on its return journey from Dousland, which up until 1956 was also served by a railway station on the Princetown branch.
The bus driver somehow managed to keep the bus on the road in the newly fallen snow, and with a much shorter walk from the bus stop than the railway station, I could have a good tea before heading off to Plymouth Station for a last return trip over the branch.
(to be continued)
A view of Yelverton Station from the private accomodation bridge which was provided because the construction of the railway cut a land holding in two. Indeed there was no railway station here for the first 26 years of the line's existence. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6430 on the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock approaches Yelverton Station at the height of the blizzarrd. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6430 on the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock approaches Yelverton Station at the height of the blizzarrd. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
View of Yelverton looking north in a snow storm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
View of Yelverton looking south. I spent a lot of time on the seat under the awning because it gave some
protection from the biting easterly wind which was travelling left to right across the picture. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
It was necessary to retain the footbridge after the closure of the signal box and the upside track and
platform for passengers arriving on foot from a footpath adjacent to the Princetown Branch embankment. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 waits to leave Yelverton with the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston, which was the last train to
complete the journey in that direction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Copyright Michael L Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 64
Michael L Roach
The Last Trip on the Launceston Branch
(continued from Part 63)
The evening trip had been planned for the 6.20pm off Plymouth returning on the 8.35pm SO off Launceston due Plymouth at 10.10pm, but the weather gods had other ideas. When the Launceston and South Devon Railway opened officially on the 1 June 1865 the opening ceremony and festivities were dogged by continuous rain all day to the extent, allegedly, that such a day became known as “railway weather” in Launceston. It was not rain that dogged the last day of passenger services to Launceston via Tavistock, it was wind and snow. The wind and snow increased from lunchtime onwards until by mid-afternoon it was snowing heavily and blowing with gale force winds up to 90mph in other places in the West Country; i.e a full-scale blizzard. This continued well into the evening of 29 December 1962 but then declined as quickly as it had started as we shall see later. The last Saturday of December 2023 was in some ways similar to that of 1962 in some parts of Britain; particularly in Northern England and Scotland where there was snow, high winds and travel disruption. Here in Cornwall there were high winds peaking at 55mph mid-afternoon. There was also precipitation in Cornwall starting as light drizzle soon after 12.00 noon and turning heavy mid-afternoon and continuing through the evening
I had spent much of the daylight hours of Saturday 29 December 1962 at Yelverton Station watching the trains pass through the snow-bound station. Because the trains were getting later and later I had travelled home from Yelverton to Plymouth by bus for my tea and to warm up. Then it was a 15 minute trudge through the deep snow to Plymouth Station arriving in good time to buy my cheap day return to Launceston for 7/9d (39p). At the time trains terminating and starting at Plymouth had their coaches cleaned inside and out and the tanks replenished with water at Millbay, the former terminus of the South Devon Railway on the west side of the City Centre and a former passenger station up until 1941 when it was closed after being bombed. It was just three quarters of a mile from Millbay to Plymouth North Road and there was a steep gradient between the two which would tax the small prairies when they had 10 or 12 bogies in tow as they did at times. The 6.20pm was scheduled to leave Millbay at 6.05pm and take 5 mins to North Road. If required the train would also convey vehicles on the rear for the 3.40pm Penzance to Paddington perishable train due at Plymouth 7.32 to 7.50pm.
That evening there were problems with operating points in many places with snow and ice collecting between the switch blade and the stock rail and preventing the full movement. The offending snow and ice had to brushed out manually byn the railwaymen working in the appalling conditions. They deserved a medal for their dedication to duty. There were such problems at the west end of Plymouth Station, Tavistock Junction, Marsh Mills and Bickleigh. The 6.20pm took 70 ? minutes to make that short journey from Millbay to North Road, eventually arriving in the station some 65 minutes late. As the train stopped in platform 6 (itself unusual) I noted that it was 5568 with four corridor coaches, and I made my way to my favoured position in the cross corridor at the front of the first coach immediately behind the loco's bunker. I was not alone as there were other enthusiasts with the same idea. We took turns at the window which remained firmly up much of the time because of the cold, the wind and the snow blowing in. At times it was kept down a short way for the enthusiast with the tape recorder. Occasionally the window went down for a few seconds and the news was conveyed to the rest of us as to what was happening outside as the stalwart railwaymen battled to get us past the next obstacle which was mostly to do with the frozen pointwork. The train departed Plymouth Station at 7.32pm (72L) and took it very easy with stops at Laira Junction home (4 mins); Laira Junction starter (15 mins); Tavistock Junction outer home (57 mins); and Tavistock Junction middle home (68 mins); finally arriving at Marsh Mills Station at 10.14 pm (228L). Here we saw the returning Launceston goods abandoned in the up platform. The 5.40pm from Launceston had travelled through the wrong platform with the attendant delays of altering the points at both ends of the loop which led to our long wait at Tavistock Junction. It eventually cleared the area and arrived at Plymouth Station 170L. Our train left Marsh Mills 231L and we proceeded gently up the Plym Valley because the driver simply did not know what was lying in wait for the train in the cuttings which could have been full of snow.
A quarter mile north of Cann Viaduct we came to a halt because the brakes had come on; but after an eleven minute delay the problem was solved and we were on our way again. It was hard to believe that just 30 hours earlier I had been in almost the same spot taking photos in the then dusting of snow, but now it would be dangerous to be out in such conditions and although we did not realise it yet the wind and snow were finally starting to abate. That did not help the railwayman at Bickleigh Station battling to change the points for our train. The 7.10pm from Tavistock, consisting of 6400 with three auto coaches had been here for well over three hours waiting for the section to Marsh Mills to be cleared by the previous train and the engine was now frozen to the rails and immoveable. Our train spent 23 minutes at the home signal before it lowered and we travelled the few yards into the platform. Six minutes were spent here at Bickleigh before leaving at 11.26pm 290 minutes late. Travel was now a bit more normal with no more major delays but the driver taking it easy because of possible snow drifts. 5568 took water at Horrabridge for which it must have been very grateful and we left the water crane by milepost 9 at 12.12am no less than 312 L. After a brief stop at Whitchurch Down we finally arrived at Tavistock South Station at 12.23.26 Note all my times were recorded to the second but have been rounded for the purposes of this article. I have only once since witnessed a train running more than 320L when I was at Truro Station about 30 years later and the orange display box told passengers that the last down Cross Country train of the previous day from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Penzance was about to appear more than 700 minutes late. The train had been the scene of a murder somewhere on the WCML in the Cumbrian Fells and had been impounded by police until all passengers had been interviewed when it was allowed to proceed on its way.
No photographs were taken on this trip because at that time I did not take flash photographs and had left my camera at home. The train was terminated at Tavistock South and the news was conveyed to the passengers on the train about ten minutes after arrival. As well as passengers making a return trip from the Plymouth end there were also enthusiasts on the train from Lifton and Launceston returning home, some of whom would no doubt have also travelled on the 8.35pm as far as Tavistock South where they would have crossed platforms to catch the 8.40pm SO Plymouth to Launceston; thereby catching the very last train in both directions. It did not work out like that.
We remained on the train in Tavistock South station until the word came through that the train was being terminated because there was no communication between Tavistock and Lydford signal boxes. I am sure that no-one was at all surprised. Today's risk-averse management would have cancelled the train before it set out from Millbay in the prevailing circumstances that day. I believe that the passengers split into three groups. Some opted to stay on the train and sleep on the cushions while others stayed in the waiting room of Tavistock South Station. My group applied some lateral thinking that the 7.00pm from Waterloo could just be running a bit late and might take us back to Plymouth from Tavistock North that night. So we made our way across Bedford Square and up the hill to Tavistock's other station. That walk was magical. The snow had stopped and the wind had miraculously dropped almost to nothing. The scene reminded me of the words appearing in two different well-known Christmas Carols: “snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow” and “deep and crisp and even”
There had been so much snow; and it had been so long since there had been any traffic, either motorised or pedestrian, that there was nothing to mar the surface of the snow. It was clinging to one side of all lamp columns, and to every branch of every tree. It was a truly magical scene and all it needed was a stagecoach to round the corner from the Okehampton direction into Bedford Square to complete a real live Christmas card scene. We could not stop to admire the scene as we hurried up the hill to Tavistock North Station. We arrived to discover that the 7.00pm from Waterloo had not passed through and would not be calling as it too had also been terminated because the line was blocked by snowdrifts north of Lydford. The line was closed for several days and reopened on the followoing Wednesday. In a later snowfall the line was blocked for a week.
There was nothing for it but to pass the night in the waiting room at Tavistock North Station as best we could. Come morning the station staff told us that a rescue train was going to be sent out from Plymouth to convey us back to Plymouth via Bere Alston. However they could give no indication of timing. The rescue train would be no help to the contingent from the Launceston area so they set out to walk the 13 miles home, but some got friends and family to drive out to pick them up part way. I had spent the previous evening on the train with MB an enthusiast from Falmouth. He and I together decided that we were not going to wait for the rescue train and also decided to walk to Plymouth, which was 14 miles for me and 15 for MB. Breakfast was provided by British Railways in a cafe on the east side of Duke Street, Tavistock which is still there trading under a different name. We set out for Plymouth on foot along the A386. It was a beautiful day with no clouds or wind just continuous sunshine which enhanced the walk considerably. After some two hours and 6 miles we reached Roborough Down south of Yelverton Village and the highest pont on the route. From here there were long distance views to the east to Burrator Dam and the tors of Dartmoor. That view was quite magical in the cool, silent and still air. The silence was then broken by the noise of an approaching motor vehichle – the first we had seen on the move that morning. It was a Land Rover and the driver stopped to see if he could offer us a lift which he did for about 5 miles to a point alongside Plymouth Airport from where I walked the remaining 3 miles home.
The series titled The End of 1962 covered that period in 22 parts and is still available on this website. The series covered the travelling of a Plymouth railway enthusiast during the most inhospitable weather of his lifetime. The Launceston Branch may have closed but life went on in 1963 and so did the cold spell. I resumed travelling on Saturday 5 January 1963 with my friend Charles Fennamore on a day trip from Plymouth to Hemyock via Okehampton, Exeter and Tiverton Junction. Where Charles spent 29 December is not known but he was due to meet me on the train for the last trip out to Launceston on the 6.20pm off Plymouth. That last summer we had made a couple of similar return trips on a Saturday evening but parking our cars at Marsh Mills Station for a change, and that is what Charles did on the 29 December. At the time Charles lived in the village of Brixton five miles south-east of Plymouth Station and Marsh Mills Station was a little closer to his home. At Marsh Mills he would have witnessed the freight train abandoned in the up platform and the struggles to get the 5.40pm from Launceston past the obstruction and then to change the points for my train which arrived in the station at 10.14pm. After a couple of hours enduring the blizzard Charles gave up and drove home while it was still possible – a very wise decision in the circumstances
MLR / 31 December 2023
Michael L Roach
The Last Trip on the Launceston Branch
(continued from Part 63)
The evening trip had been planned for the 6.20pm off Plymouth returning on the 8.35pm SO off Launceston due Plymouth at 10.10pm, but the weather gods had other ideas. When the Launceston and South Devon Railway opened officially on the 1 June 1865 the opening ceremony and festivities were dogged by continuous rain all day to the extent, allegedly, that such a day became known as “railway weather” in Launceston. It was not rain that dogged the last day of passenger services to Launceston via Tavistock, it was wind and snow. The wind and snow increased from lunchtime onwards until by mid-afternoon it was snowing heavily and blowing with gale force winds up to 90mph in other places in the West Country; i.e a full-scale blizzard. This continued well into the evening of 29 December 1962 but then declined as quickly as it had started as we shall see later. The last Saturday of December 2023 was in some ways similar to that of 1962 in some parts of Britain; particularly in Northern England and Scotland where there was snow, high winds and travel disruption. Here in Cornwall there were high winds peaking at 55mph mid-afternoon. There was also precipitation in Cornwall starting as light drizzle soon after 12.00 noon and turning heavy mid-afternoon and continuing through the evening
I had spent much of the daylight hours of Saturday 29 December 1962 at Yelverton Station watching the trains pass through the snow-bound station. Because the trains were getting later and later I had travelled home from Yelverton to Plymouth by bus for my tea and to warm up. Then it was a 15 minute trudge through the deep snow to Plymouth Station arriving in good time to buy my cheap day return to Launceston for 7/9d (39p). At the time trains terminating and starting at Plymouth had their coaches cleaned inside and out and the tanks replenished with water at Millbay, the former terminus of the South Devon Railway on the west side of the City Centre and a former passenger station up until 1941 when it was closed after being bombed. It was just three quarters of a mile from Millbay to Plymouth North Road and there was a steep gradient between the two which would tax the small prairies when they had 10 or 12 bogies in tow as they did at times. The 6.20pm was scheduled to leave Millbay at 6.05pm and take 5 mins to North Road. If required the train would also convey vehicles on the rear for the 3.40pm Penzance to Paddington perishable train due at Plymouth 7.32 to 7.50pm.
That evening there were problems with operating points in many places with snow and ice collecting between the switch blade and the stock rail and preventing the full movement. The offending snow and ice had to brushed out manually byn the railwaymen working in the appalling conditions. They deserved a medal for their dedication to duty. There were such problems at the west end of Plymouth Station, Tavistock Junction, Marsh Mills and Bickleigh. The 6.20pm took 70 ? minutes to make that short journey from Millbay to North Road, eventually arriving in the station some 65 minutes late. As the train stopped in platform 6 (itself unusual) I noted that it was 5568 with four corridor coaches, and I made my way to my favoured position in the cross corridor at the front of the first coach immediately behind the loco's bunker. I was not alone as there were other enthusiasts with the same idea. We took turns at the window which remained firmly up much of the time because of the cold, the wind and the snow blowing in. At times it was kept down a short way for the enthusiast with the tape recorder. Occasionally the window went down for a few seconds and the news was conveyed to the rest of us as to what was happening outside as the stalwart railwaymen battled to get us past the next obstacle which was mostly to do with the frozen pointwork. The train departed Plymouth Station at 7.32pm (72L) and took it very easy with stops at Laira Junction home (4 mins); Laira Junction starter (15 mins); Tavistock Junction outer home (57 mins); and Tavistock Junction middle home (68 mins); finally arriving at Marsh Mills Station at 10.14 pm (228L). Here we saw the returning Launceston goods abandoned in the up platform. The 5.40pm from Launceston had travelled through the wrong platform with the attendant delays of altering the points at both ends of the loop which led to our long wait at Tavistock Junction. It eventually cleared the area and arrived at Plymouth Station 170L. Our train left Marsh Mills 231L and we proceeded gently up the Plym Valley because the driver simply did not know what was lying in wait for the train in the cuttings which could have been full of snow.
A quarter mile north of Cann Viaduct we came to a halt because the brakes had come on; but after an eleven minute delay the problem was solved and we were on our way again. It was hard to believe that just 30 hours earlier I had been in almost the same spot taking photos in the then dusting of snow, but now it would be dangerous to be out in such conditions and although we did not realise it yet the wind and snow were finally starting to abate. That did not help the railwayman at Bickleigh Station battling to change the points for our train. The 7.10pm from Tavistock, consisting of 6400 with three auto coaches had been here for well over three hours waiting for the section to Marsh Mills to be cleared by the previous train and the engine was now frozen to the rails and immoveable. Our train spent 23 minutes at the home signal before it lowered and we travelled the few yards into the platform. Six minutes were spent here at Bickleigh before leaving at 11.26pm 290 minutes late. Travel was now a bit more normal with no more major delays but the driver taking it easy because of possible snow drifts. 5568 took water at Horrabridge for which it must have been very grateful and we left the water crane by milepost 9 at 12.12am no less than 312 L. After a brief stop at Whitchurch Down we finally arrived at Tavistock South Station at 12.23.26 Note all my times were recorded to the second but have been rounded for the purposes of this article. I have only once since witnessed a train running more than 320L when I was at Truro Station about 30 years later and the orange display box told passengers that the last down Cross Country train of the previous day from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Penzance was about to appear more than 700 minutes late. The train had been the scene of a murder somewhere on the WCML in the Cumbrian Fells and had been impounded by police until all passengers had been interviewed when it was allowed to proceed on its way.
No photographs were taken on this trip because at that time I did not take flash photographs and had left my camera at home. The train was terminated at Tavistock South and the news was conveyed to the passengers on the train about ten minutes after arrival. As well as passengers making a return trip from the Plymouth end there were also enthusiasts on the train from Lifton and Launceston returning home, some of whom would no doubt have also travelled on the 8.35pm as far as Tavistock South where they would have crossed platforms to catch the 8.40pm SO Plymouth to Launceston; thereby catching the very last train in both directions. It did not work out like that.
We remained on the train in Tavistock South station until the word came through that the train was being terminated because there was no communication between Tavistock and Lydford signal boxes. I am sure that no-one was at all surprised. Today's risk-averse management would have cancelled the train before it set out from Millbay in the prevailing circumstances that day. I believe that the passengers split into three groups. Some opted to stay on the train and sleep on the cushions while others stayed in the waiting room of Tavistock South Station. My group applied some lateral thinking that the 7.00pm from Waterloo could just be running a bit late and might take us back to Plymouth from Tavistock North that night. So we made our way across Bedford Square and up the hill to Tavistock's other station. That walk was magical. The snow had stopped and the wind had miraculously dropped almost to nothing. The scene reminded me of the words appearing in two different well-known Christmas Carols: “snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow” and “deep and crisp and even”
There had been so much snow; and it had been so long since there had been any traffic, either motorised or pedestrian, that there was nothing to mar the surface of the snow. It was clinging to one side of all lamp columns, and to every branch of every tree. It was a truly magical scene and all it needed was a stagecoach to round the corner from the Okehampton direction into Bedford Square to complete a real live Christmas card scene. We could not stop to admire the scene as we hurried up the hill to Tavistock North Station. We arrived to discover that the 7.00pm from Waterloo had not passed through and would not be calling as it too had also been terminated because the line was blocked by snowdrifts north of Lydford. The line was closed for several days and reopened on the followoing Wednesday. In a later snowfall the line was blocked for a week.
There was nothing for it but to pass the night in the waiting room at Tavistock North Station as best we could. Come morning the station staff told us that a rescue train was going to be sent out from Plymouth to convey us back to Plymouth via Bere Alston. However they could give no indication of timing. The rescue train would be no help to the contingent from the Launceston area so they set out to walk the 13 miles home, but some got friends and family to drive out to pick them up part way. I had spent the previous evening on the train with MB an enthusiast from Falmouth. He and I together decided that we were not going to wait for the rescue train and also decided to walk to Plymouth, which was 14 miles for me and 15 for MB. Breakfast was provided by British Railways in a cafe on the east side of Duke Street, Tavistock which is still there trading under a different name. We set out for Plymouth on foot along the A386. It was a beautiful day with no clouds or wind just continuous sunshine which enhanced the walk considerably. After some two hours and 6 miles we reached Roborough Down south of Yelverton Village and the highest pont on the route. From here there were long distance views to the east to Burrator Dam and the tors of Dartmoor. That view was quite magical in the cool, silent and still air. The silence was then broken by the noise of an approaching motor vehichle – the first we had seen on the move that morning. It was a Land Rover and the driver stopped to see if he could offer us a lift which he did for about 5 miles to a point alongside Plymouth Airport from where I walked the remaining 3 miles home.
The series titled The End of 1962 covered that period in 22 parts and is still available on this website. The series covered the travelling of a Plymouth railway enthusiast during the most inhospitable weather of his lifetime. The Launceston Branch may have closed but life went on in 1963 and so did the cold spell. I resumed travelling on Saturday 5 January 1963 with my friend Charles Fennamore on a day trip from Plymouth to Hemyock via Okehampton, Exeter and Tiverton Junction. Where Charles spent 29 December is not known but he was due to meet me on the train for the last trip out to Launceston on the 6.20pm off Plymouth. That last summer we had made a couple of similar return trips on a Saturday evening but parking our cars at Marsh Mills Station for a change, and that is what Charles did on the 29 December. At the time Charles lived in the village of Brixton five miles south-east of Plymouth Station and Marsh Mills Station was a little closer to his home. At Marsh Mills he would have witnessed the freight train abandoned in the up platform and the struggles to get the 5.40pm from Launceston past the obstruction and then to change the points for my train which arrived in the station at 10.14pm. After a couple of hours enduring the blizzard Charles gave up and drove home while it was still possible – a very wise decision in the circumstances
MLR / 31 December 2023
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 65
Lord Mildmay of Flete and Great Western Housing
Michael L Roach
Francis Bingham Mildmay (1861-1947) was a Liberal and later Conservative Politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1922. He was brought up at Shoreham Court, near Sevenoaks, and educated at Eton and Cambridge and became a Partner in Baring Brothers the Merchant Bank. He was elected MP for Totnes in 1885 and held the seat for 37 years. He served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. He retired from the Commons in May 1922 and was created Baron Mildmay of Flete in November 1922. Mildmay lived at Flete House a country estate in South Devon dating back to Saxon times. The entrance lodge to the estate is on the A379 midway between Yealmpton and Modbury close to where the road passes over the River Erme which rises on Dartmoor and flows south into Bigbury Bay. The A379 at this point was built by the Modbury Turnpike Trust (created 1759) and originally went via Brixton and Plympton to Plymouth but in 1827 the road was altered to go straight to Plymouth over the new Laira Bridge. The turnpike road cut through the carriage drive to Flete House shortening it considerably.
What is remarkable about much of the A379 in this area is how little changed it is since it was built more than 200 years ago. For those who do not know the area, if you travel east from the entrance to Flete House by streetview along the A379 to Modbury you will see a typical English turnpike road. The entrance is one mile due south of Ermington village and three miles east of the site of Yealmpton railway station (closed 1930, reopened 1941 and closed again 1947). The GWR established an early bus route from Brixton Road Station, through Yealmpton to Modbury in May 1904. Lord Mildmay was active in many other fields including cattle breeding, horse racing, magistrate and the pre-NHS health service. He and his wife had two children, a son Anthony, and a daughter.
When the Second World War started in 1939 Lord Mildmay offered part of his country house as a maternity home so that it could be moved out of Plymouth due to the risk of bombing and releasing capacity for injuries due to the war and bombing. It was there at Flete House that I was born along with many of my school friends and just one of 9,000 babies born there. Lord Mildmay was a Director of the Great Western Railway from 1915 to 1945. I doubt whether Lord Mildmay used Yealmpton Station much at all. On his frequent trips to London to attend the House of Commons and later the House of Lords he would have found it much quicker and more convenient to use Ivybridge Station on the main line four miles north of Flete House. Being a director of the Company would have enabled him to have a London express stop especially for him. The River Erme also passed though Ivybridge and beneath Ivybridge railway viaduct and the ancient Ivy Bridge, which became well-known after it was painted by the famous artist JMW Turner in 1814-15, and which gave the town its name.
The GWR not only built and maintained engines, coaches, wagons, road vehicles, ships and aeroplanes; but also many different types of buildings including houses for key staff in many places. A few examples of where the GWR built staff houses: Penzance, Truro, Plymouth, Severn Tunnel Junction, Barry, Caerphilly and Swansea. In 1933-34 the GWR built an estate of 30 house at Exwick, Exeter. The report in the GWR Magazine extolled the three bedrooms and how the houses were “fitted throughout with electricity.” The weekly rent was ten shillings (50p) plus three shillings for rates. The formal opening ceremony took place on 8 May 1934 and was performed by Lord Mildmay of Flete. His Lordship spoke highly of the GWR's “excellent example in helping their staff to meet the difficulties caused by shortage of housing accomodation which had been experienced throughout the country since the war” i.e the First World War. Ninety years later those words still ring remarkably true. The cul-de-sac of 30 houses is located off Exwick Road and at the opening ceremony the road was named “Mildmay Close.” There is another Mildmay Close in Swindon and my grandparents lived two streets away from Mildmay Street in Plymouth which I passed many times as a young boy. There are also public houses named after the Mildmay family.
My friend Gareth Jones lived at Barry until a few months ago and was kind enough to visit GWR housing in various towns in South Wales for a possible future article. Gareth now lives in Exeter and recently visited Mildmay Close to take the photos of the GWR houses there which are shown in the attached images. Gareth recorded that all the houses were in good condition; had been externally renovated, and may be still in one ownership. My thanks go to Gareth for his help with this article.
When the First Lord Mildmay died in 1947 the title passed to his only son Anthony Bingham Mildmay who was then aged 37 years and a bachelor – in fact he never married. Anthony Mildmay was a keen amateur jockey and even rode in the Grand National. Two miles south of Flete House the River Erme empties into Bigbury Bay and alongside is a beach known as Mothecombe Beach. I used to visit the beach occasionally with my cousin and her parents because my family did not have a motor car, around the late 1940s. Before leaving home my mother would lay down the law that I was not to venture far into the water because of the known currents at that location. When the Second Lord Mildmay was in residence at Flete House he was in the habit of taking an early morning dip at Motheconbe Beach alone. One day in May 1950 Anthony Mildmay went for his dip as usual but failed to return home afterwards. His body was washed up in the same area a few days later. A sad ending for a jockey with a promising career; however his name lives on in horse races named after him at Aintree, Cheltenham, Newton Abbot and Sandown Park. Since the Second Lord Mildmay had no heirs the title became extinct. The Flete Estate still exists and has its own website.
What did I learn from researching this article ? The first Lord Mildmay and his family, and his father before him, spent so much time in London that they obviously needed a base in the capital. The Mildmay home was in Berkeley Square and in 1911 the house had 17 servants who were all single and all between the ages of 18 and 39. Meanwhile the Mildmay home in South Devon had an even greater number of servants and again all single and all between the ages of 18 and 39 – it looks as though there was a glass ceiling at the age of 40 years. At Flete there would also been additional estate workers living in lodges, cottages and tied houses on the estate. I have had a subscription to ancestry.com for more than ten years but this was the first time that I had looked at members of the aristocracy and it was certainly an eye-opener to see how the aristocracy lived in those days.
The opening ceremony of Mildmay Close in 1934. Copyright Michael L Roach.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones.
Modern-day shots of Mildmay Close. Copyright Gareth Jones..
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 66
The Truro and Newquay Railway
Michael L. Roach
The years around 1904 were very fruitful for the Great Western Railway. George Jackson Churchward had been appointed CME two years before and the first of his new standard designs were being built at Swindon Works. New lines were being built to shorten the routes to the west and to the north. In May 1904 a Great Western engine was the first man-made machine in the world to attain 100mph, and in July a new “Limited Express” started running from Paddington to Penzance (via Bristol) which was non-stop to Plymouth, possibly the longest regular non-stop run in the country at the time. That same year a new branchline was nearing completion between two existing railway stations in Cornwall. Chacewater was on the Cornish mainline and had opened in 1852; while Newquay was at the end of a branchline from St. Blazey and had opened in 1876. The new route was called the Truro and Newquay Railway but was only new between Blackwater East Junction just west of Chacewater to Trenance Junction just south of Newquay. The first section as far as Perranporth opened on 6 July 1903 while the remaining section from Perranporth to Newquay opened on 2 January 1905. The attached contemporary report on the new route appeared in the GWR Magazine for January 1904.
The route closed completely on and from Monday 4 February 1963 and has now been closed longer than it was open for business. The two largest centres of population on the former route are St. Agnes (3,250) and Perranporth (3,000). I wonder if the residents of Perranporth in particular regret not having a railway station to bring in some of the hundreds, or is it thousands, of beach goers that descend on the town on a fine summer day. From Perranporth it is just 7½ miles to the mainline at Blackwater and 13 miles by rail to Truro. If the route was rebuilt from Blackwater to a terminus at Perranporth it should be possible to reach Truro in around 20-22 minutes with one intermediate stop at St. Agnes. This compares favourably with a journey time of 20 minutes by road when traffic is flowing freely, but much much longer during the rush hour. Within the scheme a park-and-ride station could be provided on the main line at Blackwater right alongside the A30 trunk road. I cannot help but thinking that this possible scheme might be a better way of spending the £57M that is planned to be spent on the proposed Mid-Cornwall Metro.
The route closed completely on and from Monday 4 February 1963 and has now been closed longer than it was open for business. The two largest centres of population on the former route are St. Agnes (3,250) and Perranporth (3,000). I wonder if the residents of Perranporth in particular regret not having a railway station to bring in some of the hundreds, or is it thousands, of beach goers that descend on the town on a fine summer day. From Perranporth it is just 7½ miles to the mainline at Blackwater and 13 miles by rail to Truro. If the route was rebuilt from Blackwater to a terminus at Perranporth it should be possible to reach Truro in around 20-22 minutes with one intermediate stop at St. Agnes. This compares favourably with a journey time of 20 minutes by road when traffic is flowing freely, but much much longer during the rush hour. Within the scheme a park-and-ride station could be provided on the main line at Blackwater right alongside the A30 trunk road. I cannot help but thinking that this possible scheme might be a better way of spending the £57M that is planned to be spent on the proposed Mid-Cornwall Metro.
Article on the Truro and Newquay Railway from the GWR Magazine for January 1904. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Article on the Truro and Newquay Railway from the GWR Magazine for January 1904. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 67
More Photos of Small Prairie 5572
Michael L. Roach
This series looked at small prairie 5572 in Parts 57 and 58 on 10 and 12 December 2023. It will be recalled that 5572 was one of a number of the class fitted with the necessary auto-gear equipment for working rail motors in South Wales. Being based at Treherbert and Cathays Sheds for more than four years from October 1953 to February 1958 working auto trains up and down some of the Valleys until displaced by the first generation of diesel multiple units. The engine left South Wales in February 1958 and went to Laira, then St. Blazey and then back to Laira which was is last shed in BR service. It was at Laira from April 1961 until withdrawal 12 months later in April 1962 and sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry three months later. 5572 was purchsed by the Great Western Society in August 1971, going first to its depot at Taunton and later to Didcot in 1977; where it was returned to steam in 1985. 5572 is the youngest of the preserved small 2-6-2 prairie tanks from the final batch of five (numbered 5570-5574) built in February 1929; and is the only one of the eleven preserved 4575-class prairies fitted with auto gear.
I am obliged to Trevor Tremethick for providing a photo of 5572 in preservation at Didcot.
I am obliged to Trevor Tremethick for providing a photo of 5572 in preservation at Didcot.
5572 is seen at Launceston on 19 August 1961 after bringing in the 3.05pm from Plymouth and is about to set back to the east of the station before coming back into the other platform and running around. Note the auto gear. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5572 takes water at Tavistock South while working the 5.40pm Launceston to Plymouth. Also in the station was 6400 with 2 auto coaches. 19 August 1961, Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5572 with 2 auto coaches on the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock South sets out under Houndiscombe Road bridge on 12 October 1961, Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5572 is seen a quarter mile north of Shaugh Bridge Platform on 14 October 1961 with the 2.10pm auto again and will shortly enter Shaugh Tunnel, Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5572 in light steam at Didcot on 28 May 1990. Note the disparity in the height of the buffers on the engine and coach. Copyright Trevor Tremethick
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 68
The Life of Small Prairie 5568
Michael L. Roach
In Part 67 we looked at the life of 5572 for the third and last time. Sister engine 5568 was completed just one month earlier in January 1929 and was sent to Stratford-on-Avon, a sub-shed of Tyseley, Birmingham as its first shed. After moving to Kidderminster the same year it moved to Whitland in June 1932 where it spent more than 21 years working trains to Cardigan and Pembroke Dock, Like 5572, 5568 was fitted with auto gear in 1953 and sent to South Wales where it was based at Cathays, Barry and Aberbeeg. When no longer needed for operating auto trains there it was dispatched to Laira five years after arriving in South Wales. The formal date was 5 November 1960. After the closure of the Tavistock and Launceston Branch the engine was withdrawn on 14 January 1963, sold to Cashmore's nine months later and scrapped at their yard in Newport (Mon). 5568 regularly worked passenger trains to Launceston but was also called upon to work auto trains to Tavistock South, just like 5572, but not quite so often. There were two other 5500s that were auto-fitted and moved from South Wales to Laira. 5511 was at Laira from 1.11.1958 until withdrawn 5.12.1961; and 5560 from 8.10.1960 to 7.10.1961. During the time that I was riding on and photographing trains regularly on the Launceston Branch (April 1961 to December 1962) I only saw 5511 working once and 5560 working twice; and of those three sightings only one was on an auto train. It was only 5572 and 5568 that were normally called upon to work auto-trains when the regular 6400-class pannier was unavailable. Of course both engines worked non-auto trains as well; and 5568 was a regular throughout the 20 months I was photographing; with gaps when it was presumably being overhauled or under repair at Laira.
The ECS train from Tavistock to Plymouth is seen leaving the cutting just north of Ham Green Viaduct between Bickleigh and Shaugh Bridge; one auto coach propelled by 5568 on 3 March 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5568 heads north hauling the 2.10pm Plymouth to Tavistock on 31 March 1962 past the hamlet of Goodameavy with Dartmoor on the horizon. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5568 returns the same day (31 March 1962) propelling the 4.30pm Tavistock to Plymouth at Yelverton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Laira's 5568 is standing on the south side of the coaling stage showing the later extension allowing engines to be coaled on both sides. Photo taken on the morning of Saturday 12 May 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1962 - Part 69
Michael L. Roach
Railway Air Routes (2)
The Great Western Railway started its first air route in April 1933 from Cardiff to Plymouth as described in Part 61 of this series posted on 23 December 2023. Just one month later in May 1933 the GWR carried out improvements to the service by extending the route to Birmingham and reducing some of the fares. The details can be read in the first scan (5677) from the GWR Magazine for June 1933. The service was actually operated for the GWR by Imperial Airways. More changes took place in March 1934 when Railway Air Services was formed jointly by the Big Four Railway Companies and Imperial Airways. The second scan (7551) shows all the internal air services in the British Isles at June 1936 including those operated by RAS; but there are still some major gaps waiting to be filled: e.g. Newcastle-upon-Tyne does not figure at all and there is no direct service from London to Edinburgh which one would have thought would have been an early route.
News Item from 1952
I recently came across this item from 1952 which was new to me involving the Royal Albert Bridge. The Railway Observer for January 1953 reported, as follows: “On 12 December 1952 an unusual cause of delay to trains was a Jersey cow on the Royal Albert Bridge ! The animal, which was being unloaded at Saltash Station broke away and dashed across the bridge, finally being caught some two hours after it had first escaped, having reached St. Budeaux Station. The 11.00am Penzance to Paddington was delayed as were several local trains.” The distance from Saltash to St. Budeaux is well over a mile.
The Great Western Railway started its first air route in April 1933 from Cardiff to Plymouth as described in Part 61 of this series posted on 23 December 2023. Just one month later in May 1933 the GWR carried out improvements to the service by extending the route to Birmingham and reducing some of the fares. The details can be read in the first scan (5677) from the GWR Magazine for June 1933. The service was actually operated for the GWR by Imperial Airways. More changes took place in March 1934 when Railway Air Services was formed jointly by the Big Four Railway Companies and Imperial Airways. The second scan (7551) shows all the internal air services in the British Isles at June 1936 including those operated by RAS; but there are still some major gaps waiting to be filled: e.g. Newcastle-upon-Tyne does not figure at all and there is no direct service from London to Edinburgh which one would have thought would have been an early route.
News Item from 1952
I recently came across this item from 1952 which was new to me involving the Royal Albert Bridge. The Railway Observer for January 1953 reported, as follows: “On 12 December 1952 an unusual cause of delay to trains was a Jersey cow on the Royal Albert Bridge ! The animal, which was being unloaded at Saltash Station broke away and dashed across the bridge, finally being caught some two hours after it had first escaped, having reached St. Budeaux Station. The 11.00am Penzance to Paddington was delayed as were several local trains.” The distance from Saltash to St. Budeaux is well over a mile.
Latest news from the Magazine for June 1933. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Diagram of railway air services in 1936 which appeared in the GWR Magazine for March 1937. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 70
Milk Trains
Michael L. Roach
I always had a particular fascination with milk trains, but never managed to photograph many even though there were two in each direction through Plymouth every day. The two westbound trains comprised empty tanks returning to Cornwall and passed through in the middle of the night. The loaded trains started from Penzance at 11.20am and 6.00pm; the second one was at Plymouth Station from 9.06pm to 10.00pm which therefore left me with just one milk train to photograph in daylight hours – 3A31 the 11.20am Penzance to Kensington which ran every day but later on Sundays at 2.38pm off Penzance. The main stopping places on weekdays, mostly to attach loaded milk tanks, were St. Erth (12.30-12.45); Dolcoath Siding, Camborne (1.02-1.18); Truro (1.40-1.45); Lostwithiel (2.25-2.40); Saltash (3.26-3.36); Plymouth (3.46-4.15); Totnes (4.56-5.33); Newton Abbot (5.49-5.53). At two of the towns in Cornwall the creamery was remote from the railway and the liquid milk was brought across the town by road tanker to be loaded into the rail tank wagons. Those towns were Camborne and Saltash. It is believed that liquid milk is still sent from Cornwall to London by road from transit depots at St. Erth and Lostwithiel.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about waiting by the lineside to see 3A31 pass was what would be hauling the train that day as it could be almost any tender engine then in use on the Paddington to Penzance main line, including freight engines of the 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 classes and almost any former Great Western 4-6-0 class. The train times quoted above come from the WTT dated September 1962 to June 1963.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about waiting by the lineside to see 3A31 pass was what would be hauling the train that day as it could be almost any tender engine then in use on the Paddington to Penzance main line, including freight engines of the 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 classes and almost any former Great Western 4-6-0 class. The train times quoted above come from the WTT dated September 1962 to June 1963.
92208 arrives at Exeter St. Davids with the up milk. The time is 6.20pm on Saturday 4 July 1959 and the 9F is proudly wearing its 83D shedplate, having arrived at Laira just a couple of weeks earlier. The engine was one of 15 9Fs built at Swindon in 1959. Swindon would build a further three 9Fs the following year including the very last one 92220 Evening Star. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7031 “Cromwell's Castle” on a lengthy milk train of 12 tanks is approaching Trerulefoot at 3.12pm on Tuesday 15 September 1959. 7031 was then at Laira but moved to Swindon Shed the same month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4916 “Crumlin Hall” of Pontypool Road Shed is heading east soon after leaving Newton Abbot right on time at 5.56pm. It was quite appropriate for this engine to be at Pontypool because Crumlin was just 6 miles away down the Vale of Neath line; the date is 25 June 1961. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
2-8-0 no. 4702 of Old Oak Common Shed is coasting downhill at Dorseley, west of Totnes, at 5.06pm on 15 July 1961 more than ten minutes late. The engine was withdrawn 11 months later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5008 “Raglan Castle” of OOC Shed hurries downhill approaching Tigley Box at 5.03pm on 25 August 1962, about 15 late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO - PART 71
'Interesting Diesels'
Michael L. Roach
When this series about 1962 eventually ends, it is hoped to switch the attention to a different year in the early 1960s and use some of the trips and photos from that new year.
Meanwhile, regular readers will know that it is sometimes necessary to stray from 1962 and this is a case in point prompted by the imminent demise of the semaphores and signal box at Truro.
I have recently been scanning a small proportion of my slides taken after 1968, because it was in that year with the end of steam, that I switched from taking black and white negative film to colour slide film. mostly using Kodachrome for several years. A few of the more interesting scans will be slipped into the series occasionally, as here with some diesels taken in Cornwall in the 1970s.
The first slide shows a pair of Class 25 type 2 diesels arriving at Truro with the up Cornishman in 1972. There have been many schemes to replace the semaphore signalling in Cornwall going back 30 years, but who could possibly have foreseen or guessed in 1972 that Truro's semaphores would last more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, regular readers will know that it is sometimes necessary to stray from 1962 and this is a case in point prompted by the imminent demise of the semaphores and signal box at Truro.
I have recently been scanning a small proportion of my slides taken after 1968, because it was in that year with the end of steam, that I switched from taking black and white negative film to colour slide film. mostly using Kodachrome for several years. A few of the more interesting scans will be slipped into the series occasionally, as here with some diesels taken in Cornwall in the 1970s.
The first slide shows a pair of Class 25 type 2 diesels arriving at Truro with the up Cornishman in 1972. There have been many schemes to replace the semaphore signalling in Cornwall going back 30 years, but who could possibly have foreseen or guessed in 1972 that Truro's semaphores would last more than 50 years.
Class 25 nos. 7575 and 7573 with 10C on the up Cornishman run into Truro Station on 1 July 1972 at 11.14am. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Class 31 5823 passes through Saltash at 2.36pm on 19 December 1972. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7657 heads through Gwinear Road Station more than 8 years after closure with six parcel vans 28.07.1973. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 72
Two Photos from the 1970s
Michael L. Roach
The demise of Truro Box prompted the choice of the first photograph which shows the former mechanical box at Carn Brea, some distance east of the former station (closed to passengers on and from 2 January 1961) and to the north of the hamlet of Tregajorran. The sign tells us that level crossing and the signal box (?) were closed on and from Wednesday 26 May 1973 in this view looking north east. The photograph was taken on 28 July 1973.
Carn Brea signal box and level crossing seen some two months after closure. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In the 1920s there were hundreds of examples of the four main line railways selling off the bodies of their redundant passenger coaches and wagons for further use as homes, holiday homes and storage on farms. I think it probably continued through the 1930s despite the 1932 Town and Country Planning Act possibly making the use of redundant coach bodies more difficult, especially in prominent areas of pleasant countryside.
In West Wales there was a whole colony of coach bodies on the cliffs above Aberporth; many of which have since been removed for preservation.
In the County of Cornwall, coach bodies were never common - has any reader attempted to make a list of current and former sites? The second image from 24 May 1975 shows a much modified 4-compartment coach located next to the coast path at Lesceave Cliff between Rinsey Head and Praa Sands some seven miles by road from the nearest railway at Marazion Station. It could not have been easy to deliver the coach body as the nearest road is some distance away.
The coach disappeared many years ago, believed demolished on site rather than saved for preservation.
In West Wales there was a whole colony of coach bodies on the cliffs above Aberporth; many of which have since been removed for preservation.
In the County of Cornwall, coach bodies were never common - has any reader attempted to make a list of current and former sites? The second image from 24 May 1975 shows a much modified 4-compartment coach located next to the coast path at Lesceave Cliff between Rinsey Head and Praa Sands some seven miles by road from the nearest railway at Marazion Station. It could not have been easy to deliver the coach body as the nearest road is some distance away.
The coach disappeared many years ago, believed demolished on site rather than saved for preservation.
Coach body in use as a holiday home at Lesceave Cliff, Rinsey, Ashton, HELSTON TR13 9TU. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 73
Lostwithiel Goods Shed
Michael L. Roach
With many great pictures of the interesting station at Lostwithiel appearing recently, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the goods shed at Lostwithiel Station which was demolished many years ago. Luckily Roger Winnen was there to record the demolition – the photos can be found in the relevant section of the Cornish main line (Click here).
The wooden shed was demolished carefully to be preserved later by a Cornish enthusiast whose name escapes me. The many pieces of timber were taken to Lanteague Farm, Scotland Road, Zelah TR4 9JG. The site is close to the former Truro – Newquay railway line south west of Shepherds Station and east of Goonhavern Village.
Unfortunately the enthusiast could not find a museum or heritage railway interested in receiving and reconstructing the goods shed. After years in storage the timber was later burnt which was a great shame. I know nothing of the origins of the Lostwithiel goods shed, but perhaps someone does.
The wooden shed was demolished carefully to be preserved later by a Cornish enthusiast whose name escapes me. The many pieces of timber were taken to Lanteague Farm, Scotland Road, Zelah TR4 9JG. The site is close to the former Truro – Newquay railway line south west of Shepherds Station and east of Goonhavern Village.
Unfortunately the enthusiast could not find a museum or heritage railway interested in receiving and reconstructing the goods shed. After years in storage the timber was later burnt which was a great shame. I know nothing of the origins of the Lostwithiel goods shed, but perhaps someone does.
A general view of the Lostwithiel goods shed looking north on 28 March 1976. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking through the rail side of the goods shed towards the station on the same date. The shed was then at least 75 years old but was substantially built as can be seen from the size of the timbers. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 78
Emergency Communication
Michael L. Roach
Most passengers travelling by train will know how to stop the train in case of real emergency, and if they don't there will be another passenger close by who will know what to do. In steam days there was a chain running the full length of every passenger coach which when pulled would partially activate the brakes throughout the train alerting the driver and guard to the fact that there was an emergency somewhere. Once alerted the engine driver would bring the train to a halt in a safe place and the guard could then set out to find where the cord had been pulled and the nature of the emergency. The first corridor coaches dated from 1882; and the first complete train of corridor coaches was run by the GWR in 1892. Ladies travelling alone would have been very grateful for both the advent of the communication cord and the corridor train.
The attached article from the GWR Magazine explains how the system works.
The attached article from the GWR Magazine explains how the system works.
The article which appeared in the GWR Magazine for October 1906 as part of a larger article in many
parts about railway appliances. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The end wall of a non-corridor coach showing the operating mechanism activated by pulling the communction cord. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 75
The Life of Small Prairie 5568 (2)
Michael L. Roach
In Part 68 on 5 February we looked at the life of Laira's small prairie 5568 which was fitted with auto-gear so that the engine could push-and-pull trains to save running around its train at each end of every journey, and it could stay permanently coupled to the coach or coaches for the whole of the working day. The engine was at Laira from 7 October 1961 until withdrawn on 14 January 1963 two weeks after the Plymouth to Tavistock South and Launceston Branch had closed. The engine was sold to Cashmores at Newport nine months later and cut up.
BR built autocoach W230 is propelled into Bickleigh by 5568 on the ECS train from Tavistock South to Plymouth Millbay on 15 September 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth coasts into Yelverton behind 5568 on 24 November 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
ditto leaves. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The 10.15am Launceston to Plymouth on 22 December 1962 behind 5568. The train is passing the rubble of the demolished Cann Cottages just north of Marsh Mills Station and a long way from Cann Viaduct and Cann Quarry. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5568 rests inside a smokey Laira roundhouse on Boxing Day 1962. 5568 is on the right next to the tender engine. The other tank engines visible are 6430, 5569 and 6400 all used on trains to Tavistock South. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 76
Anniversary of the Beeching Report - Part 1
Michael L. Roach
In a few days time, it will be the 61st anniversary of the Beeching Report being published recommending mass closures of railway routes, including branch lines, secondary lines, duplicate routes and individual stations on lines to be retained. There was a lot of hostility towards the man and his Report, but even enthusiasts would have agreed that some pruning was necessary, but did it go too far? There have been a lot of changes since the report was published with much more road traffic and traffic jams, greater population and many more houses in some towns that lost their railway station. Fortunately all political parties seem to be agreed on the benefits of providing a rail passenger service as an alternative to road travel, because in most cases it is the only real alternative unless you happen to have a tram route or a private helicopter.
In 1952 the well-known South Devon railway enthusiast R.P. Walford suggested to the management committee of the RCTS that the Society should collate and print a list of passenger routes closed each year. The first list appeared in the Railway Observer for March 1953 exactly 10 years before the Beeching Report was published. The list covered the period 1 January to 31 December 1952. Rail closures had started 100 years earlier but gathered speed in the 1920s due to the advent of the motor bus with closures such as St. Blazey to Fowey in July 1929 and Plymstock to Yealmpton in July 1930. Even so I was quite surprised by the number of lines closed to passengers in 1952 including some in the West Country, such as the Abbotsbury Branch, the Bridgwater North Branch, and Weymouth to Easton on Portland Bill. The full list of closures is shown in the first scan from which it can be seen, that in most cases, the route was closed to passengers only and goods trains continued to run at first.
In 1952 a long list of steam engine classes became extinct as the last examples were withdrawn. This list appeared in the RO the following month, April and appears as the second scan. Here it will be observed that there is not a single example of a Great Western class of engine becoming extinct in 1952. With thanks to the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society for permission to use these lists.
In 1952 the well-known South Devon railway enthusiast R.P. Walford suggested to the management committee of the RCTS that the Society should collate and print a list of passenger routes closed each year. The first list appeared in the Railway Observer for March 1953 exactly 10 years before the Beeching Report was published. The list covered the period 1 January to 31 December 1952. Rail closures had started 100 years earlier but gathered speed in the 1920s due to the advent of the motor bus with closures such as St. Blazey to Fowey in July 1929 and Plymstock to Yealmpton in July 1930. Even so I was quite surprised by the number of lines closed to passengers in 1952 including some in the West Country, such as the Abbotsbury Branch, the Bridgwater North Branch, and Weymouth to Easton on Portland Bill. The full list of closures is shown in the first scan from which it can be seen, that in most cases, the route was closed to passengers only and goods trains continued to run at first.
In 1952 a long list of steam engine classes became extinct as the last examples were withdrawn. This list appeared in the RO the following month, April and appears as the second scan. Here it will be observed that there is not a single example of a Great Western class of engine becoming extinct in 1952. With thanks to the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society for permission to use these lists.
List of Lines Closed in 1952. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
List of steam engine classes which became extinct in 1952. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 77
Anniversary of the Beeching Report Part 2
Michael L. Roach
It was 61 years ago today on Wednesday 27 March 1963 that the Beeching Report was published recommending mass closures of railway routes, In Devon, Cornwall and Somerset the Report recommended the closure of the following (passenger) routes:
Tiverton Junction – Tiverton
Taunton – Barnstaple Junction
Liskeard – Looe
Lostwithiel – Fowey
St. Erth – St. Ives (Cornwall)
Okehampton – Plymouth
Barnstaple Junction – Ilfracombe
Axminster – Lyme Regis
Seaton Junction – Seaton (Devon)
Sidmouth Junction - Sidmouth
Tipton St. Johns – Exmouth
Exeter Central – Exmouth
Bere Alston – Callington
Halwill – Torrington
Bodmin Road / Bodmin North – Wadebridge – Padstow
Passenger Services to be Modified:
Bristol Temple Meads – Taunton
Taunton – Exeter St. Davids
Exeter St. Davids – Kingswear
Plymouth – Penzance
Par – Newquay
Salisbury – Exeter Central
Exeter Central – Okehampton
Exeter Central – Barnstaple
In 2013 Harper Collins printed a facsimile version of the original Beeching Report – the full title was “The Reshaping of British Railways.” ISBN: 9780007511969. Several copies are currently advertised on Ebay. For the benefit of those readers who want to see the complete picture of passenger services to be withdrawn (Section 1) and and passenger services to be modified (Section 2) scans of those pages from the Report are enclosed below. Section 3 – passenger stations and halts to be closed is not included because it extends over many pages.
Tiverton Junction – Tiverton
Taunton – Barnstaple Junction
Liskeard – Looe
Lostwithiel – Fowey
St. Erth – St. Ives (Cornwall)
Okehampton – Plymouth
Barnstaple Junction – Ilfracombe
Axminster – Lyme Regis
Seaton Junction – Seaton (Devon)
Sidmouth Junction - Sidmouth
Tipton St. Johns – Exmouth
Exeter Central – Exmouth
Bere Alston – Callington
Halwill – Torrington
Bodmin Road / Bodmin North – Wadebridge – Padstow
Passenger Services to be Modified:
Bristol Temple Meads – Taunton
Taunton – Exeter St. Davids
Exeter St. Davids – Kingswear
Plymouth – Penzance
Par – Newquay
Salisbury – Exeter Central
Exeter Central – Okehampton
Exeter Central – Barnstaple
In 2013 Harper Collins printed a facsimile version of the original Beeching Report – the full title was “The Reshaping of British Railways.” ISBN: 9780007511969. Several copies are currently advertised on Ebay. For the benefit of those readers who want to see the complete picture of passenger services to be withdrawn (Section 1) and and passenger services to be modified (Section 2) scans of those pages from the Report are enclosed below. Section 3 – passenger stations and halts to be closed is not included because it extends over many pages.
Cover of the facsimile version of the Beeching Report – Parts 1 and 2. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pages 102 to 109 from the Report. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pages 102 to 109 from the Report. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pages 102 to 109 from the Report. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pages 102 to 109 from the Report. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 78
Anniversary of the Beeching Report - Part 3
The Closure of a Station that would not be missed
Michael L. Roach
It was 61 years ago that the Beeching Report was published recommending mass closures of railway routes, and individual stations on lines that would survive. This is the story of the closure of a single station ten years before the Beeching Report was published because it was already probably little-used, unloved and past its use-by-date. The closure illustrates a number of points about passenger station closures and has been chosen because the last day of trains stopping at the station was well recorded in the Railway Observer – monthly magazine of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society to whom we must be grateful for so well recording the contemporary scene over the years. The last trains called on Saturday 4 April 1953 almost exactly ten years before the Beeching Report was published and of course in those ten years there would have been an increase in private car ownership and a decline in passenger numbers using the trains. The station was called Clifton Mill and served the village of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore about 1½ miles east of Rugby town centre, and was just one mile from Rugby Station on the WCML. Clifton Mill was located on the former LNWR / LMS line to Market Harborough, Seaton and Peterborough East; with branch trains operating from Seaton to Stamford. In 1966 trains took 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 35 minutes for the 51 miles from Rugby to Peterborough East. Seaton to Stamford was a self-contained shuttle, steam operated up until Saturday 2 October 1965, and famous as the very last steam rail motor / auto-train operated service in the whole of Britain. Both routes closed the following year but the last few miles to Peterborough survive as the Nene Valley Railway. The site of Seaton Station is worth visiting for the views obtained nearby of the magnificent Harringworth Viaduct a short distance to the east which carries a former Midland Railway line across the Welland Valley.
The present bus service takes 15 minutes to take passengers from the centre of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore to the centre of Rugby. The trains took two minutes from Rugby to Clifton Mill but involved a considerable walk at each end of the journey. Unless the passenger was heading east from Clifton Mill Station (to Market Harborough, Stamford etc) passengers would have found it much more convenient to catch the bus into town. To the east of Rugby are both the M1 and A5 roads but to the east of the motorway the line passes through very rural countryside, which I have passed through just twice and both times by narrowboat on the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union Canal.
In the first scan from the Summer 1949 LMR timetable Clifton Mill Station is still extant but not all trains call there; in fact 5 out of 9 called at Clifton Mill in each direction. However the timetable was not at all conducive to travelling eastwards for a day trip to Stamford or Peterborough because there was only one train before noon at 7.22am; and it was not much better coming back with only one suitable train at 4.07pm off Peterborough East. Half-day trips were little better with only one suitable train off Clifton Mill. One wonders if BR were up to their tactics of making the timetable inconvenient to justify closure. The second scan shows Table 56 from the LMR timetable for the period 18 April 1966 to 5 March 1967 after Clifton Mill had closed, but the passenger service was withdrawn less than two months after the starting date of the timetable on and from Monday 6 June 1966. Clifton Mill Station is well outside our normal CRS territory but hopefully it will be published as one of the Society's webmasters was based just outside Stamford and lived in the town for a spell and I hope it will bring back memories for him. If you know the Rugby and Clifton-upon-Dunsmore areas you are invited to respond to this article with your thoughts.
This is what the Railway Observer said about the last day of passenger trains calling at Clifton Mill Station on page 129 of the May 1953 edition:
“The last up train to call at Clifton, the 2.16pm on Saturday 4/4/1953, was hauled by 41162. Three passengers boarded for Rugby. The last down train was the 6.57pm. At 6.55pm, in the gathering dusk, the porter-cum-signalman-cum stationmaster lit the three oil lamps on the down platform. At 7.03pm the last train to call at Clifton arrived behind 42941. No passengers got on or off and within ten seconds the train left. The three oil lamps were extinguished for the last time . . . The complete lack of co-operation between the station-closing and station-painting departments of British Railways was again in evidence, as the station was painted a few months ago.
In 1950, Clifton Mill Station was awarded fourth prize in the Best Kept Station Competition; in 1951 – third prize; in 1952 – second prize. In 1953 the station will be no more. What a cruel stroke of fate closed the station when the first prize seemed within its grasp.”
Authors note; Although it seems perverse to paint a station just months or a year before it closed BR would not have known how long it would take to close the station and infrastructure has to be maintained up to the very last day of services. In addition, what is often forgotten, is that station buildings were sometimes sold off and would be easier to sell, and achieve a better price, if in good condition and appearance at the time of sale. 41162 was a Fowler Compound 4-4-0 based at Rugby Shed until withdrawn in June 1960 working the 12.25 from Peterborough East to Rugby; and 42941 was a Hughes/Fowler Crab 2-6-0 based at Speke Junction Shed believed to be on a Rugby to Market Harborough train. It would have been interesting to learn if any villagers went to Clifton Mill Station to see the very last passenger train call – my guess would be possibly no-one except the RO correspondent. The fact that no-one alighted from the last train means that none of the villagers made a last round trip into Rugby and return – the villagers of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore had already given up on their station because it was just too far from the village to be convenient. This was a common problem for many rural stations after World War Two which would not have been a problem when the line was opened in 1850 and there was no competition from other forms of transport. When travelling on last trains in the late 1950s and 1960s it was quite common when stopping at intermediate stations on longer lines to find that only a handful of people had turned out to see the last passenger train call at their station. This did not apply to branch line termini where often crowds turned out to witness the last train. Many wayside stations had simply outlived their usefulness by the time the Beeching Report was published. The wheel has now come full circle with larger towns wanting their railway station to be restored, if it was closed, and smaller towns and villages seeing a railway station as a great asset to the area on a par with a church, public house, convenience store, post office and primary school etc.
In Part 1 I posed the question did the closures proposed and carried out as a result of the Beeching Report go too far. I think that with the benefit of hindsight it can now be said the closures did go too far particularly in cutting off medium to large towns and closing alternative and diversionary routes. The many railway stations that have been reopened or been rebuilt in a new location tend to prove the point.
The present bus service takes 15 minutes to take passengers from the centre of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore to the centre of Rugby. The trains took two minutes from Rugby to Clifton Mill but involved a considerable walk at each end of the journey. Unless the passenger was heading east from Clifton Mill Station (to Market Harborough, Stamford etc) passengers would have found it much more convenient to catch the bus into town. To the east of Rugby are both the M1 and A5 roads but to the east of the motorway the line passes through very rural countryside, which I have passed through just twice and both times by narrowboat on the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union Canal.
In the first scan from the Summer 1949 LMR timetable Clifton Mill Station is still extant but not all trains call there; in fact 5 out of 9 called at Clifton Mill in each direction. However the timetable was not at all conducive to travelling eastwards for a day trip to Stamford or Peterborough because there was only one train before noon at 7.22am; and it was not much better coming back with only one suitable train at 4.07pm off Peterborough East. Half-day trips were little better with only one suitable train off Clifton Mill. One wonders if BR were up to their tactics of making the timetable inconvenient to justify closure. The second scan shows Table 56 from the LMR timetable for the period 18 April 1966 to 5 March 1967 after Clifton Mill had closed, but the passenger service was withdrawn less than two months after the starting date of the timetable on and from Monday 6 June 1966. Clifton Mill Station is well outside our normal CRS territory but hopefully it will be published as one of the Society's webmasters was based just outside Stamford and lived in the town for a spell and I hope it will bring back memories for him. If you know the Rugby and Clifton-upon-Dunsmore areas you are invited to respond to this article with your thoughts.
This is what the Railway Observer said about the last day of passenger trains calling at Clifton Mill Station on page 129 of the May 1953 edition:
“The last up train to call at Clifton, the 2.16pm on Saturday 4/4/1953, was hauled by 41162. Three passengers boarded for Rugby. The last down train was the 6.57pm. At 6.55pm, in the gathering dusk, the porter-cum-signalman-cum stationmaster lit the three oil lamps on the down platform. At 7.03pm the last train to call at Clifton arrived behind 42941. No passengers got on or off and within ten seconds the train left. The three oil lamps were extinguished for the last time . . . The complete lack of co-operation between the station-closing and station-painting departments of British Railways was again in evidence, as the station was painted a few months ago.
In 1950, Clifton Mill Station was awarded fourth prize in the Best Kept Station Competition; in 1951 – third prize; in 1952 – second prize. In 1953 the station will be no more. What a cruel stroke of fate closed the station when the first prize seemed within its grasp.”
Authors note; Although it seems perverse to paint a station just months or a year before it closed BR would not have known how long it would take to close the station and infrastructure has to be maintained up to the very last day of services. In addition, what is often forgotten, is that station buildings were sometimes sold off and would be easier to sell, and achieve a better price, if in good condition and appearance at the time of sale. 41162 was a Fowler Compound 4-4-0 based at Rugby Shed until withdrawn in June 1960 working the 12.25 from Peterborough East to Rugby; and 42941 was a Hughes/Fowler Crab 2-6-0 based at Speke Junction Shed believed to be on a Rugby to Market Harborough train. It would have been interesting to learn if any villagers went to Clifton Mill Station to see the very last passenger train call – my guess would be possibly no-one except the RO correspondent. The fact that no-one alighted from the last train means that none of the villagers made a last round trip into Rugby and return – the villagers of Clifton-upon-Dunsmore had already given up on their station because it was just too far from the village to be convenient. This was a common problem for many rural stations after World War Two which would not have been a problem when the line was opened in 1850 and there was no competition from other forms of transport. When travelling on last trains in the late 1950s and 1960s it was quite common when stopping at intermediate stations on longer lines to find that only a handful of people had turned out to see the last passenger train call at their station. This did not apply to branch line termini where often crowds turned out to witness the last train. Many wayside stations had simply outlived their usefulness by the time the Beeching Report was published. The wheel has now come full circle with larger towns wanting their railway station to be restored, if it was closed, and smaller towns and villages seeing a railway station as a great asset to the area on a par with a church, public house, convenience store, post office and primary school etc.
In Part 1 I posed the question did the closures proposed and carried out as a result of the Beeching Report go too far. I think that with the benefit of hindsight it can now be said the closures did go too far particularly in cutting off medium to large towns and closing alternative and diversionary routes. The many railway stations that have been reopened or been rebuilt in a new location tend to prove the point.
The Summer 1949 timetable. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Summer 1949 timetable. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The 1966 – 1967 timetable. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 79
Harringworth Viaduct and Seaton Junction Station
Michael L. Roach
In Part 78 mention was made of Harringworth Viaduct and Seaton Junction Station in East Northamptonshire. Although well outside the normal territory of this website it might be mentioned that a line of the Western Region, and the Great Western Railway before it, passed through the other end of the County and the company named one of its 1000-class 4-6-0s County of Northamptonshire. The line had three stations in Northants at Fritwell & Somerton, Aynho and Kings Sutton. Harringworth Viaduct spans the broad valley of the River Welland where good views can be obtained of the topography and the viaduct from many directions. The area is well worth visiting, and all the photos attached to this article were taken from public roads and can be replicated on streetview. Little has changed in the 15 years since the photos were taken.
Harringworth Viaduct carries the Kettering to Oakham line of the former Midland Railway across the valley, orientated north-south, just west of the village of Harringworth and about six miles north of Corby. It is a magnificent structure 1,275 yards (1,166 metres) long consisting of 82 arches and is the longest brick-built viaduct in Britain and was completed in 1880. The 20 million bricks were made locally. At the south end of the viaduct was Harringworth Station, closed in 1948. A quarter mile west of the north end of the viaduct was Seaton Station on a different railway line. When opened in 1850 it wss on the Rugby to Stamford line, but it became a junction in 1873 when a second line arrived from Peterborough, and Seaton to Stamford became a branchline. In 1894 Seaton also became the junction for the 4-mile Uppingham Branch, closed in 1960. Towards the end of steam in the mid-1960s the Seaton to Stamford shuttle trains became famous as the very last location in Britain to see and travel on steam-operated push-and-pull trains.
Seaton Station is remarkably intact and is now the depot for Seaton Salvage and Recycling with a very tidy entrance for a scrapyard, at the junction of the B672 road and a minor road to Seaton village. All photographs were taken on the evening of Wednesday 27 May 2009.
Harringworth Viaduct carries the Kettering to Oakham line of the former Midland Railway across the valley, orientated north-south, just west of the village of Harringworth and about six miles north of Corby. It is a magnificent structure 1,275 yards (1,166 metres) long consisting of 82 arches and is the longest brick-built viaduct in Britain and was completed in 1880. The 20 million bricks were made locally. At the south end of the viaduct was Harringworth Station, closed in 1948. A quarter mile west of the north end of the viaduct was Seaton Station on a different railway line. When opened in 1850 it wss on the Rugby to Stamford line, but it became a junction in 1873 when a second line arrived from Peterborough, and Seaton to Stamford became a branchline. In 1894 Seaton also became the junction for the 4-mile Uppingham Branch, closed in 1960. Towards the end of steam in the mid-1960s the Seaton to Stamford shuttle trains became famous as the very last location in Britain to see and travel on steam-operated push-and-pull trains.
Seaton Station is remarkably intact and is now the depot for Seaton Salvage and Recycling with a very tidy entrance for a scrapyard, at the junction of the B672 road and a minor road to Seaton village. All photographs were taken on the evening of Wednesday 27 May 2009.
View of the viaduct looking south showing repairs under way in 2009. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Some of the bricks used in the arch rings showed signs of spalling in 2009. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
It was necessary to stand a long way away to photograph the full length of the viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In this view Harrington village can be seen just beyond the north end of the viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
This finger post stands at the crossroads just east of Seaton Village. The minor road from here north-east to Morcott provided the two previous views of the viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Seaton Station was signposted in 2009 some 43 years after closure, and still is in 2024. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking south-east down the road from the village we see the remaining buildings of Seaton Station. The railway crossed the road here on the level. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The pedestrian bridge survives. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The platform awning also survives. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 80
Signalling Contractors
Michael L. Roach
With the recent completion of the Mid-Cornwall resignalling scheme (click here), I thought it might be a good idea to look at some of Britain's signalling contractors both past and present. In Victorian times the railways of Britain were served by a number of signalling contractors, but the larger companies like the Great Western tended to start making much (but not all) of their signalling in-house. One of the oldest pieces of equipment that I have seen was a small ground frame at Lakeside Station on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway made by the firm of Evans O'Donnell who were the contractors to the Furness Railway. The firm built a factory beside the railway at Chippenham and later merged with other well-known signalling contractors called Saxby & Farmer, McKenzie & Holland and Dutton. Later the firm would become the very well-known Westinghouse Brake & Signal and the Chippenham factory expanded considerably eventually reaching 35 acres. From 1979 onwards the Company and factory passed through a number of hands until being taken over by Siemens in 2013. The history of Siemens in Britain started when Carl Wilhelm Siemens emigrated from his native Germany to Britain in 1843 and the rest, as they say, is history. The firm now manufacture a complete range of railway equipment but still own that factory beside the GWML at Chippenham for the moment. Siemens were the contractors for the Mid-Cornwall Resignalling but while the final stages of the scheme were being completed the firm announced on 4 March 2024 that the historic Chippenham signalling works was to be replaced by a new £100M facility on the outskirts of Chippenham. Siemens current workload includes the digitisation of signalling and control sustems on the ECML. The new facility at Chippenham will open in 2026 with a gradual transfer of 800 employees from the old to the new.
I said earlier that the GWR did a lot of its own signalling but it also engaged contractors for resignalling some of the largest stations and some of the schemes seem remarkably advanced for the time. I have attached a photograph of a Dutton & Co. signal box – the firm were signalling contractors to many small-to-medium railway companies like the Cambrian and their signals were so distinctive they were instantly recognisable. Although the Dutton signals and signal boxes dated back to the early years of mechanical signalling, on many lines, like the Mid-Wales, those early boxes and signals remained in use until the line closed. The remainder of the images are scans of news reports and adverts from the early years of the last century, courtesy of the GWR Magazine.
I said earlier that the GWR did a lot of its own signalling but it also engaged contractors for resignalling some of the largest stations and some of the schemes seem remarkably advanced for the time. I have attached a photograph of a Dutton & Co. signal box – the firm were signalling contractors to many small-to-medium railway companies like the Cambrian and their signals were so distinctive they were instantly recognisable. Although the Dutton signals and signal boxes dated back to the early years of mechanical signalling, on many lines, like the Mid-Wales, those early boxes and signals remained in use until the line closed. The remainder of the images are scans of news reports and adverts from the early years of the last century, courtesy of the GWR Magazine.
The Dutton & Co. signal box on the northbound platform at Pantydwr on the Mid-Wales Line. The box held a 13-lever frame, dated from 1891 and had been extended at both ends; seen on 5 September 1962. A short distance to the right was the summit of the whole line and the highest point on the Cambrian system. Travelling on took passengers to Llanidlboes and Moat Lane Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The southbound starting signal at Rhayader some seven miles south of Pantydwr. A typical Cambrian Railway signal there were similar signals all over the former Cambrian system in 1962. In this direction the passenger trains ran to Builth Wells, Three Cocks Junction, Talyllyn Junction and Brecon. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Siemens advert from December 1906 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Siemens advert from August 1910 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
McKenzie, Holland and Westinghouse advert from August 1910 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Siemens advert from July 1911 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
News report of electric signalling at Carmarthen Bridge in July Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Siemens advert from August 1913 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
News report of electro-pneumatic power signalling at Slough in August 1913 Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 82
Railtour of 28 June 1953
Michael L. Roach
Part 54 of this series was devoted to the T9 class of the LSWR. Chatting to my wife's nephew recently about the main line through Basingstoke which was planned by the London and Southampton Railway I learnt that the Company changed its name to the London and South Western Railway in June 1839 even before the line was opened to Southampton on 11 May 1840. The first picture in Part 54 showed T9 4-4-0 30711 of Exmouth Junction Shed at Okehampton on 4 July 1959; the class was introduced by the LSWR in 1899 and had a good reputation, but by the 1950s were getting a bit long-in-the-tooth. The Kent Coast electrification sealed the fate of the T9 class, with many Bulleid light pacifics becoming available to move to the rail lines at the other end of the Southern Region.
The Railway Corrspondence and Travel Society was formed in 1928 to bring together those interested in all aspects of railways at a time when little information was available about engines, their allocations and regular duties. A monthly magazine – The Railway Observer – commenced in 1929. The Society started running railtours in the 1930s but the first one to be recorded in detail was that of 11 September 1938 and it became an immediate legend. The route was Kings Cross to Peterborough and return but it was the engine at the head of the seven coaches that caused crowds at the lineside for much of the way because it was the Stirling class A2 4-2-2 “Single” of 1870; the loco had been withdrawn more than 30 years earlier. In 1953 the RCTS chose to commemorate the Society's twentyfifth anniversary by running a railtour from Waterloo to Exeter and return. The route chosen was out via Salisbury, the former Southern Railway route, returning by the ex-GWR route through Taunton and Westbury which includes the long climb to Whiteball summit. The engines chosen were: a D15 4-4-0 to Salisbury; a T9 on to Exeter Central; and a GWR Star 4-6-0 from Exeter to Paddington. In fact the last leg was diverted via Bristol due to engineering work. The D15 was number 30464 and the Star was 4056 “Princess Margaret.”
In June 1953 Exmouth Junction Shed had seven of the T9 class on its books and Salisbury had 5 of the class but it was Exmouth Junction's 30711 that was chosen to haul the RCTS 25th Anniversary Special from Salisbury to Exeter Central a distance of 88 miles with a 160 minute layover at Axminster while the railtour participants travelled down the branch to Lyme Regis and return. The fact that 30711 was worked up to Salisbury to work the special suggests that it was a good one. A pws near Dinton marred the start but after that 30711 went like the wind passing Gillingham at 78½ mph and Sherborne at 86 mph with mile after mile at 75 mph; this for a loco then 54 years old – a truly magnificent achievement. The full log of the special from Salisbury to Exeter is attached. The return journey behind 4056 produced a good climb to Whiteball Summit but a top speed no higher than 75 mph on the descent to Taunton.
The log of the special from Salisbury to Exeter is reproduced by kind permission of the RCTS.
The Railway Corrspondence and Travel Society was formed in 1928 to bring together those interested in all aspects of railways at a time when little information was available about engines, their allocations and regular duties. A monthly magazine – The Railway Observer – commenced in 1929. The Society started running railtours in the 1930s but the first one to be recorded in detail was that of 11 September 1938 and it became an immediate legend. The route was Kings Cross to Peterborough and return but it was the engine at the head of the seven coaches that caused crowds at the lineside for much of the way because it was the Stirling class A2 4-2-2 “Single” of 1870; the loco had been withdrawn more than 30 years earlier. In 1953 the RCTS chose to commemorate the Society's twentyfifth anniversary by running a railtour from Waterloo to Exeter and return. The route chosen was out via Salisbury, the former Southern Railway route, returning by the ex-GWR route through Taunton and Westbury which includes the long climb to Whiteball summit. The engines chosen were: a D15 4-4-0 to Salisbury; a T9 on to Exeter Central; and a GWR Star 4-6-0 from Exeter to Paddington. In fact the last leg was diverted via Bristol due to engineering work. The D15 was number 30464 and the Star was 4056 “Princess Margaret.”
In June 1953 Exmouth Junction Shed had seven of the T9 class on its books and Salisbury had 5 of the class but it was Exmouth Junction's 30711 that was chosen to haul the RCTS 25th Anniversary Special from Salisbury to Exeter Central a distance of 88 miles with a 160 minute layover at Axminster while the railtour participants travelled down the branch to Lyme Regis and return. The fact that 30711 was worked up to Salisbury to work the special suggests that it was a good one. A pws near Dinton marred the start but after that 30711 went like the wind passing Gillingham at 78½ mph and Sherborne at 86 mph with mile after mile at 75 mph; this for a loco then 54 years old – a truly magnificent achievement. The full log of the special from Salisbury to Exeter is attached. The return journey behind 4056 produced a good climb to Whiteball Summit but a top speed no higher than 75 mph on the descent to Taunton.
The log of the special from Salisbury to Exeter is reproduced by kind permission of the RCTS.
The log of T9 30711 between Salisbury and Exeter on 28 June 1953. Copyright Michael L. Roach/RCTS.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 83
Dutton & Co Signal Boxes on the Cambrian
Michael L. Roach
In Part 80 the series visited Pantydwr on the Mid-Wales Line to see a Dutton & Co. signal box dating back to 1891. It originally measured just 10 feet by 8 feet, but when the extensions were added in 1921 it became 16 ft 6 ins long. The extensions were necessary to house the single-line block instruments (previously kept in the station building) and moved to the box as result of the horrific head-on crash at Abermule earlier that year. Pantydwr had a crossing loop but, to the best of my knowledge, in the last few years it was only used to cross trains once a day before closure at the end of 1962 a few months after my visit. It would have been very different during the two world wars when some coal trains from South Wales to the North of England and Scotland were diverted this way to avoid congestion on other routes. Some of those heavy trains would have been banked for about ten miles from Doldowlod, through Rhayader, to the summit of the line half a mile north of Pantydwr. The Mid-Wales was single line throughout and the loop at Pantydwr would have been essential as the only crossing loop in the 14 miles from Llanidloes to Rhayader.
The next station to the south was St. Harmons, which was fully signalled because of the level crossing beside the station, but the station had only one platform, no crossing loop and was not a block post. The simple crossing box was also by Dutton & Co. and dated from 1892 with nine levers. There was one short siding. The box was reduced to a ground frame in 1927 staffed by a crossing keeper. The floor level of this box was just above platform level and the box had not been extended. The third box to be shown in scan 1264 is the similar box at Boughrood & Llyswen Station which had 15 levers and was adjacent to a level crossing, with this box extended at one end only. Boughrood & Llyswen Station was some 24 miles south of Rhayader and just 2¾ miles from the wonderfully named Three Cocks Junction where the former Midland route from Hereford joined the Mid-Wales en-route to Brecon. Boughrood & Llyswen Station had a crossing loop and two platforms.
For many decades I thought that those three signal boxes had been provided by McKenzie & Holland because there was signalling equipment there so marked. For many years up to 1890 McK&H were indeed the signalling contractors to the Cambrian which worked the Mid-Wales Railway from 1 January 1888. The works manager of McK&H was one Samuel Telford Dutton but in 1888 he left the company and set up his own signalling company taking some of his patented designs, and some of McK&H's customers with him. Dutton & Co. got into financial difficulties in 1899 with the assets sold to the Pease family who had been instrumental in forming the Stockton & Darlington Railway. However the Pease family withdrew from signalling in 1901 and sold the assets to McK&H. The wheel had come full circle, but the buyers were a logical choice because Dutton and McK&H operated from adjacent factories in Worcester. Many other Welsh railways used McK&H and Dutton signalling equipment. The fourth and last Dutton box to be shown here was at Llwyngwril on the Cambrian Coast line between Towyn and Barmouth Junction. It is believed to have been one of the very last of the small Dutton boxes in use, closing on 5 November 1972. A Dutton box, complete with lever frame, survives at Caersws on the main line between Shrewsbury and Aberystwuth, although no longer in use.
At the Grouping in 1923 when the Cambrian Railways fell into the Great Western camp the railway operated 300 route miles of three different gauges; but in 2024 just 46 percent of the route mileage remains in passenger use. 288 route miles of the Cambrian was single line; and of the 100 stations and halts no less than 73 had a crossing loop where trains could pass each other, needing a lot of signalling equipment and signalmen. In 1921 the Cambrian had 2,300 employees with 2,000,000 passengers starting their journey at a Cambrian station. The company was profitable at the time of the Grouping.
The next station to the south was St. Harmons, which was fully signalled because of the level crossing beside the station, but the station had only one platform, no crossing loop and was not a block post. The simple crossing box was also by Dutton & Co. and dated from 1892 with nine levers. There was one short siding. The box was reduced to a ground frame in 1927 staffed by a crossing keeper. The floor level of this box was just above platform level and the box had not been extended. The third box to be shown in scan 1264 is the similar box at Boughrood & Llyswen Station which had 15 levers and was adjacent to a level crossing, with this box extended at one end only. Boughrood & Llyswen Station was some 24 miles south of Rhayader and just 2¾ miles from the wonderfully named Three Cocks Junction where the former Midland route from Hereford joined the Mid-Wales en-route to Brecon. Boughrood & Llyswen Station had a crossing loop and two platforms.
For many decades I thought that those three signal boxes had been provided by McKenzie & Holland because there was signalling equipment there so marked. For many years up to 1890 McK&H were indeed the signalling contractors to the Cambrian which worked the Mid-Wales Railway from 1 January 1888. The works manager of McK&H was one Samuel Telford Dutton but in 1888 he left the company and set up his own signalling company taking some of his patented designs, and some of McK&H's customers with him. Dutton & Co. got into financial difficulties in 1899 with the assets sold to the Pease family who had been instrumental in forming the Stockton & Darlington Railway. However the Pease family withdrew from signalling in 1901 and sold the assets to McK&H. The wheel had come full circle, but the buyers were a logical choice because Dutton and McK&H operated from adjacent factories in Worcester. Many other Welsh railways used McK&H and Dutton signalling equipment. The fourth and last Dutton box to be shown here was at Llwyngwril on the Cambrian Coast line between Towyn and Barmouth Junction. It is believed to have been one of the very last of the small Dutton boxes in use, closing on 5 November 1972. A Dutton box, complete with lever frame, survives at Caersws on the main line between Shrewsbury and Aberystwuth, although no longer in use.
At the Grouping in 1923 when the Cambrian Railways fell into the Great Western camp the railway operated 300 route miles of three different gauges; but in 2024 just 46 percent of the route mileage remains in passenger use. 288 route miles of the Cambrian was single line; and of the 100 stations and halts no less than 73 had a crossing loop where trains could pass each other, needing a lot of signalling equipment and signalmen. In 1921 the Cambrian had 2,300 employees with 2,000,000 passengers starting their journey at a Cambrian station. The company was profitable at the time of the Grouping.
The up (northbound) platform at Pantydwr. Before 1921 the block instruments were housed in the main station buildings on the down platform. It was this strange arrangement, and slack operating procedures, that led to the Abermule disaster of 26 January 1921 when 17 persons died in a head-on collision. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
St. Harmons single platform looking east. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
St. Harmons Crossing Box looking south. The signal box nameboard was original and consisted of cast iron letters on a wooden board. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A wonderful array of street furniture guarding the approach to the level crossing at St. Harmons including a Cambrian Railways Notice. The B-road across the level crossing bent through 90 degrees and followed the hedge above the fence. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Dutton Box at Boughrood and Llyswen Station looking south. This box had a Great Western cast iron nameboard. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Boughrood & Llyswen looking north. The Cambrian signal had a wheel at the bottom of the post marked Dutton, but much of the signalling equipment in the station was marked McKenzie & Holland. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Llwyngwril Station looking north towards Barmouth Junction on 25 July 1976 with the 13-lever closed Dutton box on the left, and all trains using the opposite platform which was nearest to the village, a quarter mile away. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 84
Portishead Junction Box Pet
Michael L. Roach
It’s not often I get to Bristol in these articles so it is nice to go there with a short story from 1909, especially as it is finally looking more certain that the town of Portishead will get its rail link to Bristol. A planning application for the proposed passenger station at Portishead was made in March 2024, and the details can be found on the Portishead Rail Group's own website.
The station cat is still alive and well in 2024 with some becoming famous on the internet; but how about the signal box cat, does it still exist? However, this short piece is not about a cat, but a common rat which became the pet of a signalman (until the said signalman decided that the rat's life should be ended by him rather than someone else).
The attached scan comes from the Great Western Railway Magazine for December 1909. When the new box mentioned in the accompanying article was finished it was given a new name as well, becoming Parson Street Junction Box. The box was about 10 chains (one eighth of a mile) west of the centre of Parson Street Station.
The station cat is still alive and well in 2024 with some becoming famous on the internet; but how about the signal box cat, does it still exist? However, this short piece is not about a cat, but a common rat which became the pet of a signalman (until the said signalman decided that the rat's life should be ended by him rather than someone else).
The attached scan comes from the Great Western Railway Magazine for December 1909. When the new box mentioned in the accompanying article was finished it was given a new name as well, becoming Parson Street Junction Box. The box was about 10 chains (one eighth of a mile) west of the centre of Parson Street Station.
Scan from the December 1909 GWR Magazine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 85
The Life and Times of Prairie 4591
Michael L. Roach
4591 was completed at Swindon in March 1927, one of nine of the 4575-class 2-6-2s completed that month. It was sent new to Taunton, where it stayed five years.
It had two spells at Swindon (1933-1935) and less than a month in 1964, where it was withdrawn from service on 10 August 1964. Apart from that it spent the whole of its working life in Somerset, Devon or Cornwall.
4591 had two spells at Laira Shed, Plymouth in 1932-33 returning in March 1941 to spend 22 continuous years at the shed until being transferred to Yeovil Town on 1 June 1963. During its long spell at Plymouth it would have spent much of its time working the 34-mile route to Launceston GW on passenger and freight trains.
It achieved well over one million miles in its 37-year life. Eleven members of the 100 4575-class built have been preserved but 4591 was not one of them and it was scrapped.
I photographed 4591 ten times in the last 14 months of the Launceston Branch on both passenger and goods train. The engine was easily recognisable to some, who kept abreast of such things, because it ran without its smokebox number plate for some months as shown in the accompanying photographs mostly from 1962. There was also a distinctive welding repair on the right-hand side tank.
It had two spells at Swindon (1933-1935) and less than a month in 1964, where it was withdrawn from service on 10 August 1964. Apart from that it spent the whole of its working life in Somerset, Devon or Cornwall.
4591 had two spells at Laira Shed, Plymouth in 1932-33 returning in March 1941 to spend 22 continuous years at the shed until being transferred to Yeovil Town on 1 June 1963. During its long spell at Plymouth it would have spent much of its time working the 34-mile route to Launceston GW on passenger and freight trains.
It achieved well over one million miles in its 37-year life. Eleven members of the 100 4575-class built have been preserved but 4591 was not one of them and it was scrapped.
I photographed 4591 ten times in the last 14 months of the Launceston Branch on both passenger and goods train. The engine was easily recognisable to some, who kept abreast of such things, because it ran without its smokebox number plate for some months as shown in the accompanying photographs mostly from 1962. There was also a distinctive welding repair on the right-hand side tank.
4591 pounds up the bank past MP 2, a quarter mile south of Cann Viaduct on 18 Nov 1961 on the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston. Cann Viaduct was originally called River Plym Viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 is seen leaving Bickleigh Viaduct with the 12.40 Launceston to Plymouth on 25 November 1961. The village near the skyline is Shaugh Prior, which was served by the station at Shaugh Bridge Platform. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 on the 2.20pm Launceston to Tavistock Junction goods heads south across Riverford Viaduct on 10 March 1962 ontime at 4.38pm SO. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 enters Lydford Station with the 10.15am Launceston to Plymouth on Saturday 14 April 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 passes Goodameavy (between Clearbrook and Shaugh Bridge) with the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston on 13 October 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 enters platform 8 at Plymouth Station with an ECS train of six coaches on 20 October 1962. The engine and first two coaches will form the 3.05pm to Launceston, and four coaches will be left in the platform to form another train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 slows to a stop at Horrabridge Station with the 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston on 24 November 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 hurries up the Plym Valley at Riverford LE on 28 December 1962 the day before passenger services ended. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4591 enters Yelverton Station in a blizzard with the very last 3.05pm Plymouth to Launceston on 29 December 1962, strengthened to 4C, at 4.12pm (31L). Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 86
Return to Pantydwr
Michael L. Roach
In Part 80 about signalling a visit was made to Pantydwr Station in Mid-Wales to see a Dutton signal box dating from 1891 which was in use until the line closed at the end of 1962. The village of Pantydwr is strung out along the B4518 road between Rhayader and Llanidloes and the Mid-Wales Railway ran parallel to the road. Pantydwr is the largest village between the two towns which were 14 miles apart by rail but the whole parish has a population of just 280 persons. There is very little traffic on the B4518 because of the sparse population and because there is an alternative road – the A470 trunk road. The railway was conceived as a route mainly for long distance traffic. There was something very alluring about a steam-operated single line passing through isolated and remote hill country with magnificent views but few trains. In 1962 the station at Pantydwr saw just four passenger trains and one freight train in the hours between 6.24am and 7.04pm, Monday to Saturday only. However some lengths of the 60-mile route had more trains over short parts of the route.
A manned station like Pantydwr was not just there for passengers to catch trains – it was much more. It was where farmers could have their agricultural supplies and new equipment delivered; where the local coal merchant had his coal depot to heat people's homes; where you could collect and send your parcels, particularly larger ones. It was the passenger train that brought the mail, the newspapers and sometimes the milk. Further down the line the day before 0n 4 September 1962, while travelling on the 2.50pm Moat Lane to Brecon train, I had seen 16 crates of freshly bottled milk being taken off the train at Builth Road Low Level to be transferred to the High Level Station to travel two stations down the Central Wales line to Garth Station. However this was an era that was, in 1962, rapidly coming to an end with the closure of many small stations. The small country passenger stations that did survive had few facilities – often just a shelter and half a dozen car parking spaces.
I was there in Mid-Wales for a complete week centred on Brecon attempting to photograph every station and halt in the 100 miles between Newport (Mon) and Moat Lane Junction. Most days I had a train ride, but on this particular day, Wednesday 5 September 1962, there was no train ride and I visited 20 locations in 10 hours. Of necesssity many stations were photographed with not a train in sight because I had to move on. I was at Pantydwr for just 10 minutes as recorded between the time of the first and last photograph at two locations. As I left the village heading south along the B4518 I stopped at a bridge over the line to take the last two photos in this group.
When the railway was being designed road and rail clashed at this point at the same level. The road was diverted parallel to the railway, raised up on an embankment, and dog-legged over the railway on a bridge from which the last two images were taken. Amazingly, in my view, since the railway closed the highway authority has found the money for so little traffic to remove the bridge and its approach embankments and restore the road to its original pre-railway line and level for a B-road which carries one percent of the traffic carried by some of the B-roads in Cornwall which desperately need money spent on them. The last image shows the single track railway photographed from that bridge and crossing the River Marteg on an iron bridge. The railway fits neatly into the landscape and soon disappears in a series of reverse curves. In my humble opinion the railway enhanced the landscape and fitted in well; especially when you think of the near 100 years of benefits it brought to this remote area. This photograph (scan 1210) is my favourite landscape photo of the whole holiday.
For those interested in single-track rural railways, in the days of steam, when there was a full complement of railway infrastructure the Mid Wales was one of the most interesting and I feel privileged to have known it. The photographs in Derek Lowe's A4-size book of the line are quite outstanding and brilliantly capture the atmosphere of the line with several showing trains in the landscape printed full-page. If you decide to buy the book the money will be well spent and the book will not disappoint. Also worth having is the second book recommended which covers a much larger geographical area. The third book is for those seeking more words and more about the history and construction of the line.
RECOMMENDED READING:
The Mid Wales Line by Derek J. Lowe. ISBN: 978 1 909625 79 2
Steam in Mid Wales by Michael Hale. ISBN: 0 9527267 5 0
The Mid-Wales Railway by R.W.Kidner. ISBN: 0 85361 406 7
A manned station like Pantydwr was not just there for passengers to catch trains – it was much more. It was where farmers could have their agricultural supplies and new equipment delivered; where the local coal merchant had his coal depot to heat people's homes; where you could collect and send your parcels, particularly larger ones. It was the passenger train that brought the mail, the newspapers and sometimes the milk. Further down the line the day before 0n 4 September 1962, while travelling on the 2.50pm Moat Lane to Brecon train, I had seen 16 crates of freshly bottled milk being taken off the train at Builth Road Low Level to be transferred to the High Level Station to travel two stations down the Central Wales line to Garth Station. However this was an era that was, in 1962, rapidly coming to an end with the closure of many small stations. The small country passenger stations that did survive had few facilities – often just a shelter and half a dozen car parking spaces.
I was there in Mid-Wales for a complete week centred on Brecon attempting to photograph every station and halt in the 100 miles between Newport (Mon) and Moat Lane Junction. Most days I had a train ride, but on this particular day, Wednesday 5 September 1962, there was no train ride and I visited 20 locations in 10 hours. Of necesssity many stations were photographed with not a train in sight because I had to move on. I was at Pantydwr for just 10 minutes as recorded between the time of the first and last photograph at two locations. As I left the village heading south along the B4518 I stopped at a bridge over the line to take the last two photos in this group.
When the railway was being designed road and rail clashed at this point at the same level. The road was diverted parallel to the railway, raised up on an embankment, and dog-legged over the railway on a bridge from which the last two images were taken. Amazingly, in my view, since the railway closed the highway authority has found the money for so little traffic to remove the bridge and its approach embankments and restore the road to its original pre-railway line and level for a B-road which carries one percent of the traffic carried by some of the B-roads in Cornwall which desperately need money spent on them. The last image shows the single track railway photographed from that bridge and crossing the River Marteg on an iron bridge. The railway fits neatly into the landscape and soon disappears in a series of reverse curves. In my humble opinion the railway enhanced the landscape and fitted in well; especially when you think of the near 100 years of benefits it brought to this remote area. This photograph (scan 1210) is my favourite landscape photo of the whole holiday.
For those interested in single-track rural railways, in the days of steam, when there was a full complement of railway infrastructure the Mid Wales was one of the most interesting and I feel privileged to have known it. The photographs in Derek Lowe's A4-size book of the line are quite outstanding and brilliantly capture the atmosphere of the line with several showing trains in the landscape printed full-page. If you decide to buy the book the money will be well spent and the book will not disappoint. Also worth having is the second book recommended which covers a much larger geographical area. The third book is for those seeking more words and more about the history and construction of the line.
RECOMMENDED READING:
The Mid Wales Line by Derek J. Lowe. ISBN: 978 1 909625 79 2
Steam in Mid Wales by Michael Hale. ISBN: 0 9527267 5 0
The Mid-Wales Railway by R.W.Kidner. ISBN: 0 85361 406 7
View of Pantydwr Station looking north on Wednesday 5 September 1962. There was a small goods yard at the far end of the station on the right. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pantydwr Station looking north from the road bridge which carried the B4518 over the railway at the south end of the village. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking south east from the same bridge showing how the railway fitted into the landscape. The rail bridge carried the line over the Afon Marteg; a tributary of the River Wye. At the end of the left hand curve seen in the photo the line curved to the right for a considerable distance to reach the next station at St. Harmons. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 87
An Evening Trip from Brecon to Hereford
Michael L. Roach
I travelled to Hereford for the first time on Friday 7 September 1962 and it was by train from Brecon. The former Midland Railway route had already been agreed for closure which would be effected on 29 December 1962. The train was the 4.10pm Brecon to Hereford with four coaches hauled by pannier tank 3706 of Ebbw Junction Shed, Newport. The engine had been based at Ebbw Junction or Brecon Shed ever since nationalisation on 1 January 1948 and it would be condemned at Ebbw Junction the following year. At four coaches this was the longest passenger train of the day on any of the four lines radiating from Brecon which would all be closed by the end of 1962. The reason for the longer than normal train was that this was a school train taking pupils as far as the now famous book-town of Hay-on-Wye, 17¼ miles from Brecon. I counted 210 school pupils on the train. Much earlier in the day a train had worked out ECS from Brecon to form the inbound school train at 07.55am from Hay arriving Brecon at 8.40am. Late afternoon was a busy time for this very rural area as my train passed three trains travelling in the opposite direction in just 30 minutes on the single line at the crossing points at Talgarth, Three Cocks and Hay-on-Wye all hauled by Ivatt 2MTs 2-6-0s numbers 46515/24/19.
Despite being 3½ minutes late at one stage (Llangorse Lake Halt) the 4.10pm reached Hereford just before 5.52pm more than 7 minutes early, and despite a signal check at Brecon Curve. The same engine and set of coaches took me back to Brecon at 7.35pm which was the last train of the day Monday to Friday. 3706 ran bunker-first on the return trip and reached Brecon at 9.11pm. I never left the platform at Hereford other than to have a cup of tea in the refreshment room; 6d from memory, or 2½p in decimal. The 7.35pm left Hereford with 20 passengers aboard in the four coaches. Two passengers alighted at Kinnersley, the first stop, and two boarded. After that nobody boarded the train and passengers alighted at most stations to Talgarth but from there for the last 9 miles there were just two of us left on the train to alight at Brecon.
During my travels I would pass through, board, leave and change trains at Hereford several times in the next five years before the end of steam. The accompanying photographs show the interesting steam engines to be seen along the Welsh Marches line at the time. The former LMS locos were regular sights at Hereford heading south as far as Pontypool Road, Cardiff or Bristol depending what type of train they were hauling. Loco-hauled trains are still a regular sight at Hereford on freight trains carrying such commodities as cement, logs, steel and stone along the Welsh Marches line, past mechanical boxes and signalling – including two of the most historic boxes on the network which will celebrate their 150th birthday next year in 2025.
Despite being 3½ minutes late at one stage (Llangorse Lake Halt) the 4.10pm reached Hereford just before 5.52pm more than 7 minutes early, and despite a signal check at Brecon Curve. The same engine and set of coaches took me back to Brecon at 7.35pm which was the last train of the day Monday to Friday. 3706 ran bunker-first on the return trip and reached Brecon at 9.11pm. I never left the platform at Hereford other than to have a cup of tea in the refreshment room; 6d from memory, or 2½p in decimal. The 7.35pm left Hereford with 20 passengers aboard in the four coaches. Two passengers alighted at Kinnersley, the first stop, and two boarded. After that nobody boarded the train and passengers alighted at most stations to Talgarth but from there for the last 9 miles there were just two of us left on the train to alight at Brecon.
During my travels I would pass through, board, leave and change trains at Hereford several times in the next five years before the end of steam. The accompanying photographs show the interesting steam engines to be seen along the Welsh Marches line at the time. The former LMS locos were regular sights at Hereford heading south as far as Pontypool Road, Cardiff or Bristol depending what type of train they were hauling. Loco-hauled trains are still a regular sight at Hereford on freight trains carrying such commodities as cement, logs, steel and stone along the Welsh Marches line, past mechanical boxes and signalling – including two of the most historic boxes on the network which will celebrate their 150th birthday next year in 2025.
Large prairie 4135 is seen running past 46140 “The Kings Royal Rifle Corps” at 5.55pm when my train should have been still approaching Hereford Station. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Royal Scot 46140 of Newton Heath Shed is seen during shunting operations. The loco was hauling a parcels train. Copyright Michael L. Roach
4135 is seen at the south end of Hereford Station just before departing with the 6.02pm to Gloucester. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Castle 7031 is being prepared to leave with the 6.05pm express to Paddington. Copyright Michael L. Roach
7031 “Cromwells Castle” of Worcester Shed leaves Hereford for Paddington. Copyright Michael L. Roach
All of the above photos were taken in just 11 minutes!
Collet 0-6-0 no. 2232 of Gloucester Shed sets out with 6T on the 7.35pm goods to Gloucester, due there at 11.15pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 88
The Life and Times of Prairie Tanks 5508 and 5511
Michael L. Roach
In Part 88 of the Series I am going to look at two prairie tanks because both were only photographed on the Launceston Branch just once. Both engines were constructed at Swindon in October / November 1927 being sent to Kidderminster (5508) and Bristol Bath Road (5511) Sheds respectively. Starting with 5511 this engine spent 26 years in the Bristol District before being fitted with auto-gear and sent to South Wales in Autumn 1953 to work their newly introduced regular interval auto-train service. The engine left South Wales and was posted to Laira on 1.11.1958. 5511 was withdrawn three years later and cut up. I photographed it just once on 20 May 1961 at Lifton looking just as it would have done pre-1939. I doubt that it did much work in its last six months at Laira or I would have seen and photographed it more.
The second engine has a more interesting history as it roamed all over the extremities of the GWR and BRWR system from Kidderminster, to Whitland, to Penzance and finally Southall. 5508 was at Penzance a maximum of 10 months arriving on 2 December 1961 before leaving for Whitland in September 1962. On the long journey from Penzance to Whitland it stopped off at Laira and got used on the Launceston Branch. I saw it on the 15 September 1962 working the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth. In official records 5508 was at Whitland from 6 October 1962. Just over a year later it moved to the London Division, but not to Old Oak Common Shed which was being rebuilt as a diesel depot at the time, but to Southall Shed which had taken over some of OOC's duties, including moving ECS trains in and out of Paddington Station. The 4500/4575 class of small prairies had been around for 57 years but this was a task that they had never done before to the best of my knowledge, and of course the class proved adept at shifting twelve empty coaches out of Paddington to the carriage sidings at Old Oak. Several other members of the 4575 class made the same move to Southall Shed around the same time for the same purpose.
At the beginning of February 1964 I travelled to London to stay with a friend for the weekend; up on Friday afternoon from Plymouth to Paddington behind a Warship, returning on Sunday afternoon from Waterloo behind Merchant Navy 35022 with 9C as far as Exeter Central. Highlights were a sustained 80mph all the way from Whitchurch to Andover (7 miles) and a maximum of 90mph after Grateley. This was the last summer that the Merchant Navies would reign supreme on the line before the Warships took over. On the Saturday my friend and I did a tour of the Thames Valley Branch Lines to Marlow and High Wycombe; to Windsor & Eton Central; and to Staines West. On the way out from Paddington to Maidenhead we passed prairie 5569 (ex Laira on 30.11.1963); and 5531 on Southall Shed (ex Laira also on 30.11.1963). Bubble car W55029 took us from Maidenhead to Marlow and back to Bourne End where branch trains now reverse but in 1964 was a three platform junction station with a bay for Marlow trains and two through platforms on the Maidenhead to High Wycombe line. Bubble car W55028 took us onto High Wycombe where we had just under an hour. We had only been there five minutes when prairie 5508 arrived from the north with a pick-up freight and did a spot of shunting. It too was based at Southall Shed (ex Whitland Shed 30.11.1963). The other prairies which had arrived at Southall in the autumn of 1963 (in addition to 5531 / 5569) were 5564, 5570, 5571 and 5573. All these engines would be withdrawn by the end of 1964 and all would be scrapped; none of the small prairies would survive in BR service into 1965. The only other steam engine seen at High Wycombe was 2-8-0 no. 3850 heading home LE to Banbury Shed at noon. This ex-GWR engine shed at Banbury was then coded 2D.
W55028 returned us from High Wycombe to Maidenhead, but, quite surprisingly our train was delayed at Furze Platt some eight minutes by a large load negotiating the level crossing. Dmus took us from Maidenhead to West Drayton & Yiewsley via Windsor & Eton Central. Waiting for us at West Drayton was W55022 our third bubble car of the day for the six mile trip to Staines West and return. The line was closed to passengers on and from 29 March 1965 but survives in part to serve a stone terminal. The Class 121 single-car double-ended diesel units were built by Pressed Steel in 1960-61 and numbered W55020 to 55035. Of the 16 built 13 survive on heritage railways from Cornwall to Lancashire. In view of the classes’ wide appeal and wide geographical spread some views of the bubble cars seen in the Thames Valley that day in 1964 are attached to this article.
The second engine has a more interesting history as it roamed all over the extremities of the GWR and BRWR system from Kidderminster, to Whitland, to Penzance and finally Southall. 5508 was at Penzance a maximum of 10 months arriving on 2 December 1961 before leaving for Whitland in September 1962. On the long journey from Penzance to Whitland it stopped off at Laira and got used on the Launceston Branch. I saw it on the 15 September 1962 working the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth. In official records 5508 was at Whitland from 6 October 1962. Just over a year later it moved to the London Division, but not to Old Oak Common Shed which was being rebuilt as a diesel depot at the time, but to Southall Shed which had taken over some of OOC's duties, including moving ECS trains in and out of Paddington Station. The 4500/4575 class of small prairies had been around for 57 years but this was a task that they had never done before to the best of my knowledge, and of course the class proved adept at shifting twelve empty coaches out of Paddington to the carriage sidings at Old Oak. Several other members of the 4575 class made the same move to Southall Shed around the same time for the same purpose.
At the beginning of February 1964 I travelled to London to stay with a friend for the weekend; up on Friday afternoon from Plymouth to Paddington behind a Warship, returning on Sunday afternoon from Waterloo behind Merchant Navy 35022 with 9C as far as Exeter Central. Highlights were a sustained 80mph all the way from Whitchurch to Andover (7 miles) and a maximum of 90mph after Grateley. This was the last summer that the Merchant Navies would reign supreme on the line before the Warships took over. On the Saturday my friend and I did a tour of the Thames Valley Branch Lines to Marlow and High Wycombe; to Windsor & Eton Central; and to Staines West. On the way out from Paddington to Maidenhead we passed prairie 5569 (ex Laira on 30.11.1963); and 5531 on Southall Shed (ex Laira also on 30.11.1963). Bubble car W55029 took us from Maidenhead to Marlow and back to Bourne End where branch trains now reverse but in 1964 was a three platform junction station with a bay for Marlow trains and two through platforms on the Maidenhead to High Wycombe line. Bubble car W55028 took us onto High Wycombe where we had just under an hour. We had only been there five minutes when prairie 5508 arrived from the north with a pick-up freight and did a spot of shunting. It too was based at Southall Shed (ex Whitland Shed 30.11.1963). The other prairies which had arrived at Southall in the autumn of 1963 (in addition to 5531 / 5569) were 5564, 5570, 5571 and 5573. All these engines would be withdrawn by the end of 1964 and all would be scrapped; none of the small prairies would survive in BR service into 1965. The only other steam engine seen at High Wycombe was 2-8-0 no. 3850 heading home LE to Banbury Shed at noon. This ex-GWR engine shed at Banbury was then coded 2D.
W55028 returned us from High Wycombe to Maidenhead, but, quite surprisingly our train was delayed at Furze Platt some eight minutes by a large load negotiating the level crossing. Dmus took us from Maidenhead to West Drayton & Yiewsley via Windsor & Eton Central. Waiting for us at West Drayton was W55022 our third bubble car of the day for the six mile trip to Staines West and return. The line was closed to passengers on and from 29 March 1965 but survives in part to serve a stone terminal. The Class 121 single-car double-ended diesel units were built by Pressed Steel in 1960-61 and numbered W55020 to 55035. Of the 16 built 13 survive on heritage railways from Cornwall to Lancashire. In view of the classes’ wide appeal and wide geographical spread some views of the bubble cars seen in the Thames Valley that day in 1964 are attached to this article.
5508 is leaving Bickleigh on 15 September 1962 with the 12.40pm SO Launceston to Plymouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach
5511 is seen hauling the 6.20pm Plymouth to Launceston just west of Lifton on 20 May 1961. Copyright Michael L. Roach
5508 is seen during shunting operations at High Wycombe on 1 February 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach
3850 speeds through High Wycombe at noon on its way home to Banbury Shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Railcar W55029 is seen at Marlow on 01.02.1964 after arriving from Maidenhead. Copyright Michael L. Roach
In this view at Bourne End, looking towards High Wycombe, W55029 is in the Marlow bay platform. Copyright Michael L. Roach
W55022 waits in the branch platform at West Drayton in this view looking towards Paddington. Copyright Michael L. Roach
W55022 is at Staines West looking south towards the buffer stops on 01.02.1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 89
The Life and Times of Prairie 4540
Michael L. Roach
4540 was the first of a batch of 15 of the 4500-class Prairie 2-6-2 tanks built at Swindon over the winter of 1914 – 15. They were numbered 4540 to 4554, and on completion of the batch no more would be built for more than nine years until the appearance of 4555 (reviewed in Part 41 of the series) in the autumn of 1924. No less than 10 of the 15 engines went straight to Newton Abbot engine shed; with the remaining five going to Laira (2) and one each to Bristol, Newport and St. Blazey. 4540 left Newton Abbot after a little over two years to move to Laira. Apart from six months at Taunton Shed 4540 spent the whole of its working life of 45 years at sheds in Devon and Cornwall including Exeter, Truro, St. Blazey and possibly Penzance. 4540 was withdrawn on 3 March 1959 with a mileage of 1.121 million. One of my books says that 4540 spent its last 20 years 1939 to 1959 at St. Blazey Shed; while another says that all the time after nationalisation on 1 January 1948 4540 was at Penzance Shed being at times out based at Helston or St. Ives Shed. This seems to be confirmed by a photograph in the Middleton Press book of the line showing 4540 leaving Helston Station with 3C in the mid-1950s. 4540 was sold to the Hayes scrapyard at Bridgend and cut up.
The attached scan of 4540 soon after being completed at Swindon was taken from a photograph published in the bound volume of the GWR Magazine for 1915. It was given prime position as page 1 and recorded as being a “supplement.” It was printed by specialist printers rather than the printers of the rest of the volume, making it special. The printers were Andrew Reid & Co. Ltd of 50 Grey Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne who were specialist lithographers, printers and publishers for more than one hundred years. The firm occupied a beautiful building in a prime position, and the building is still there in Grey Street, although the firm is no more.
One of the best-known of the batch of 15 engines was 4549 because it spent the first 22 years at sheds in Devon and Cornwall; then 23 years on the Cambrian system (mostly on the Cambrian Coast); finally returning to its roots in February 1960 just in time to work the last brake van railtour to Yealmpton on 27 February 1960. It was also one of the few of the class to retain inside steam pipes right up until withdrawal.
The attached scan of 4540 soon after being completed at Swindon was taken from a photograph published in the bound volume of the GWR Magazine for 1915. It was given prime position as page 1 and recorded as being a “supplement.” It was printed by specialist printers rather than the printers of the rest of the volume, making it special. The printers were Andrew Reid & Co. Ltd of 50 Grey Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne who were specialist lithographers, printers and publishers for more than one hundred years. The firm occupied a beautiful building in a prime position, and the building is still there in Grey Street, although the firm is no more.
One of the best-known of the batch of 15 engines was 4549 because it spent the first 22 years at sheds in Devon and Cornwall; then 23 years on the Cambrian system (mostly on the Cambrian Coast); finally returning to its roots in February 1960 just in time to work the last brake van railtour to Yealmpton on 27 February 1960. It was also one of the few of the class to retain inside steam pipes right up until withdrawal.
Photo of 4540 at Swindon in photographic or works grey. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 90
The Cornish Riviera Express
Michael L. Roach
In a few days time it will be 120 years since the original Great Western Railway started running a new “Limited Express” from Paddington to Plymouth and Penzance; with an equivalent train in the opposite direction starting at Penzance. The train ran via Bristol and was non-stop to Plymouth (245 miles) a fact which was only possible by the then recent installation of more water troughs. Although at first the train was summer only it soon became all-year round, basically the train has run continuously ever since apart from the war years making it one of the oldest named trains in the world. Today it is numbered 1C76 and leaves Paddington at 10.03am and 1A83 leaving Penzance at 10.20am. The new train first ran on 1 July 1904 and was an instant success. Unlike today when there are hourly (or more frequent) trains for much of the day on many long-distance routes in those far off days there were only a handful of trains each day. The 1902 GWR timetable showed just five trains per day from Paddington to Penzance leaving London at 05.30; 10.40; 11.45; 22.00 and 24.00 – this last train conveyed sleeping cars for first class passengers only who paid five shillings (25p) for a berth in addition to the first class fare. The last daytime train off Paddington was the 11.45am which reached Penzance at 21.23 In addition to the five trains to Penzance there were four terminating at Plymouth and one going to Falmouth. The latter was an interesting train because it left Paddington at 13.10 and was the last daytime train from London to enter Cornwall, reaching Truro at 22.19 and Falmouth at 22.55 This last train of the day to Cornwall was obviously very popular at holiday times because on Maundy Thursday (28 March) 1907 it ran at 15.30 to Falmouth. At the head of the train was year-old 4-6-0 Saint-class no. 2903 “Lady of Lyons” and it would have needed every ounce of its tractive effort to move its huge load of 18 coaches, of which just one was a 6-wheeler and 17 were 8-wheel bogie coaches. Despite this huge load the train, which was non-stop to Exeter, passed Westbury at an average of 57mph from Paddington. It is believed that the train would have slipped a coach (or coaches) at Westbury for Weymouth and Taunton to reduce the load before 2903 had to face the gradients of Whiteball Bank.
The GWR announced a competition, with a prize of three guineas, to find a name for the new limited express from which the name Cornish Riviera Express evolved, but by a strange twist of fate the GWR had earlier that same year 1904 published a guidebook to Cornwall as a winter resort called “The Cornish Riviera.” The book was printed on heavy art paper with many beautiful illustrations and got first-class reviews from the press. However it was left to members of the public, and railwaymen, to suggest the name for the train. Just two years later on 21 July 1906 (scan 7878 gives details) the CRE was able to start running on the new shorter route to the West Country via Castle Cary saving about 20 miles and bringing Plymouth down to 225 miles from London. The diagram shows a total of 548 seats in the 10 coaches; i.e. 340 in the Cornish portion plus 104 each in the slip portions for Exeter and Weymouth (slipped at Westbury).
The first CRE via the new route was hauled by brand-new four-cylinder Atlantic 4-4-2 No. 40. The second image (7876) shows the savings in journey time to various towns in the west country as a result of the opening of the new shorter route. No. 40 was later rebuilt as a 4-6-0 Star-class engine, and later still as a 4-6-0 Castle-class engine. It is well-known that on Summer Saturdays in the 1950s the CRE often ran in more than one part, but the same thing was happening forty years earlier. The GWR Magazine for September 1915 reported that despite the First World War and the suspension of excursion and cheap bookings August Bank Holiday traffic was heavy and the 10.30am Limited Express was run in three parts on three consecutive days; and on the last of those days 2,137 passengers were carried out of Paddington on those three parts of the CRE. This would suggest that each part would need another three coaches to seat all the extra passengers.
With the onset of the Covid Pandemic in March 2020 the twice-yearly pocket timetables ceased production with the frequent changes/reductions in train times as the public were asked to stay at home, and publication has not resumed except in a few isolated cases. The change from HST to Hitachi IETs resulted in the cessation of destination labels stuck on coach windows. These two changes caused me to wonder if I would be able to find the magic words “Cornish Riviera Express” written anywhere – indeed did the named train still exist? Neither RealTrain Times or OpenTrainTimes ascribe a name to 1C76 the 10.03 Paddington to Penzance. I eventually found the named trains listed on the last page of each of the GWR's online PDF timetables, with a two-letter code at the head of the column for each named train. Named trains are not annotated on the electronic version of the National Rail Timetable (eNRT). It will be interesting to see what celebrations take place on 1 July 2024 to mark this 120th birthday.
A final word about the Cornish Riviera Express from the Great Western Railway itself. This is what the company wrote in 1915 in the middle of a war to introduce a photo of the Cornish Riviera Limited Express hauled by a Star-class engine with at least a dozen coaches in tow. “We reproduce an interesting photograph of the famous G.W.R. Cornish Riviera Limited express restaurant car train. This train, which is one of the best equipped trains in the kingdom, is unique in so far as it performs the longest regular non-stop run in the world, running seven days a week, the journey from London to Plymouth – a distance of 225 miles – occupying 4 hours 7 minutes. Restaurant cars are run on the up and down journeys, and lady attendants are on the train to be of assistance to ladies travelling either alone or with children.”
The GWR announced a competition, with a prize of three guineas, to find a name for the new limited express from which the name Cornish Riviera Express evolved, but by a strange twist of fate the GWR had earlier that same year 1904 published a guidebook to Cornwall as a winter resort called “The Cornish Riviera.” The book was printed on heavy art paper with many beautiful illustrations and got first-class reviews from the press. However it was left to members of the public, and railwaymen, to suggest the name for the train. Just two years later on 21 July 1906 (scan 7878 gives details) the CRE was able to start running on the new shorter route to the West Country via Castle Cary saving about 20 miles and bringing Plymouth down to 225 miles from London. The diagram shows a total of 548 seats in the 10 coaches; i.e. 340 in the Cornish portion plus 104 each in the slip portions for Exeter and Weymouth (slipped at Westbury).
The first CRE via the new route was hauled by brand-new four-cylinder Atlantic 4-4-2 No. 40. The second image (7876) shows the savings in journey time to various towns in the west country as a result of the opening of the new shorter route. No. 40 was later rebuilt as a 4-6-0 Star-class engine, and later still as a 4-6-0 Castle-class engine. It is well-known that on Summer Saturdays in the 1950s the CRE often ran in more than one part, but the same thing was happening forty years earlier. The GWR Magazine for September 1915 reported that despite the First World War and the suspension of excursion and cheap bookings August Bank Holiday traffic was heavy and the 10.30am Limited Express was run in three parts on three consecutive days; and on the last of those days 2,137 passengers were carried out of Paddington on those three parts of the CRE. This would suggest that each part would need another three coaches to seat all the extra passengers.
With the onset of the Covid Pandemic in March 2020 the twice-yearly pocket timetables ceased production with the frequent changes/reductions in train times as the public were asked to stay at home, and publication has not resumed except in a few isolated cases. The change from HST to Hitachi IETs resulted in the cessation of destination labels stuck on coach windows. These two changes caused me to wonder if I would be able to find the magic words “Cornish Riviera Express” written anywhere – indeed did the named train still exist? Neither RealTrain Times or OpenTrainTimes ascribe a name to 1C76 the 10.03 Paddington to Penzance. I eventually found the named trains listed on the last page of each of the GWR's online PDF timetables, with a two-letter code at the head of the column for each named train. Named trains are not annotated on the electronic version of the National Rail Timetable (eNRT). It will be interesting to see what celebrations take place on 1 July 2024 to mark this 120th birthday.
A final word about the Cornish Riviera Express from the Great Western Railway itself. This is what the company wrote in 1915 in the middle of a war to introduce a photo of the Cornish Riviera Limited Express hauled by a Star-class engine with at least a dozen coaches in tow. “We reproduce an interesting photograph of the famous G.W.R. Cornish Riviera Limited express restaurant car train. This train, which is one of the best equipped trains in the kingdom, is unique in so far as it performs the longest regular non-stop run in the world, running seven days a week, the journey from London to Plymouth – a distance of 225 miles – occupying 4 hours 7 minutes. Restaurant cars are run on the up and down journeys, and lady attendants are on the train to be of assistance to ladies travelling either alone or with children.”
An article from the GWR Magazine of August 1906 about the Cornish Riviera on the occasion of the first run via Castle Cary. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Two months earlier than the last scan the GWR Magazine published this table outlining the savings in time of the fastest trains to various towns due to the new shorter route. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A table of notable runs on Thursday 28 March 1907 which includes the 3.30pm to Falmouth. It will be noted that many trains were still being hauled by 4-4-0s at this time, while one train had nothing larger than a 4-2-2 single driving wheeler. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
50035 “Ark Royal” (PRESERVED) approaches Lostwithiel with 10C on the down Riviera on the occasion of its 75th birthday on 1st July 1979. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 91
Par and Lostwithiel 1979
Michael L. Roach
Part 90 showed a photo of 50035 Ark Royal heading the down Cornish Riviera Express approaching Lostwithiel on 1 July 1979, which date was the train's 75th birthday. Within weeks the train changed from loco haulage to 125 High Speed Train.
I spent some seven hours photographing at Lostwithiel, Par and Fowey and attach here a selection of the other railway photos taken that day. It may be noted that every one of the diesels shown is of a different class. All photographs were taken on 1 July 1979.
I spent some seven hours photographing at Lostwithiel, Par and Fowey and attach here a selection of the other railway photos taken that day. It may be noted that every one of the diesels shown is of a different class. All photographs were taken on 1 July 1979.
46043 is seen leaving Par at 11.44am with a down train of 7C. Copyright Michael L. Roach
25155 at St. Blazey Bridge Crossing, but things are not what they might appear as the loco is actually propelling six china clay wagons from St. Blazey to Ponts Mill at 12.04pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
A 3-car dmu crosses the river at Ponts Mill at 1.22pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
37267 leaves Lostwithiel with 40 empties at 2.08pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
47252 heads down the branch to Carne Point at 2.50pm with no less than 61 loaded china clay wagons. It had arrived from St. Blazey with 28T and added another 33T from Lostwithiel Yard. Copyright Michael L. Roach
A HST passes the Unigate milk factory at 3.57pm heading for Plymouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach
50033 Glorious (PRESERVED) slows to a stop at Lostwithiel at 4.49pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Lostwithiel signal box photographed at 4.55pm. The numbers on the end of the box suggested that it was last painted 4/56. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 92
Fowey Docks 1979
Michael L. Roach
In Parts 90 and 91 I showed photos taken at Par and Lostwithiel on 1 July 1979. I had taken a day off work to photograph the Cornish Riviera Express on the occasion of its 75th birthday, and was there for the day watching the comings and goings mostly at Lostwithiel. However I had one further aim which was to visit Fowey Docks later on. In those far-off days there was no internet; no marinetraffic.com; and no way of knowing in advance whether there would be any ships to photograph at Fowey. The sun had shone most of the day and continued to shine as I arrived at Fowey around 6.00pm. I parked the car in the car park and walked up the steps and into the docks past the large GWR sign, and followed the quays around to where the ships were moored. There were four of them – I had hit the jackpot. On the evening I started to write this piece there were no ships tied up at Fowey. I got my photos and returned to the car unchallenged – the perfect end to a perfect day. So what has happened to shipments of china clay in the intervening 45 years. Both Charlestown and Par Harbours have ceased to ship china clay, and the ships coming to Fowey have got bigger and therefore fewer.
I paid another visit to Fowey 8 weeks later on 27 August 1979, but not far into the docks – just far enough to take the attached photograph of a diesel road roller. This was quite a rare beast as it was a Wallis & Steevens Advance dating from 1975 and first registered on 1 November that year. It has not been taxed since 31 October 1995, but may still exist somewhere. The firm was taken over and wound up in 1981. Also present was the coaster Valfragoso of Vigo in north-east Spain near the Portuguese border. On the way home to West Cornwall I stopped at Treesmill to photograph the up motorail train, a train I did not see often living where I did.
Fortyfive years later I was able to watch the ships at Fowey from the comfort of my own home as Monday 1 July approached. On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were no large ships in the Port of Fowey. Soon after 01.00 on Monday 1 July a ship sailed into the port and moored up. It was the MV Vitality, a UK-flagged British general cargo ship of 3 – 4,000 tonnes, which was nice to see, as most ships are foreign. The fleet of ships named ….....ity have been a feature of British shipping for many decades and sixty years ago were a common site in small ports and harbours across Devon and Cornwall from Penzance to Teignmouth. Vitality measures 90 metres by 15.4 metres.
It took two working days to load Vitality which then appeared to wait for the rising tide before sailing at about 20.30 on Tuesday 2 July 2024, taking a half hour to reach the open sea. The ship had set out on a 14-day journey to Egypt.a
I paid another visit to Fowey 8 weeks later on 27 August 1979, but not far into the docks – just far enough to take the attached photograph of a diesel road roller. This was quite a rare beast as it was a Wallis & Steevens Advance dating from 1975 and first registered on 1 November that year. It has not been taxed since 31 October 1995, but may still exist somewhere. The firm was taken over and wound up in 1981. Also present was the coaster Valfragoso of Vigo in north-east Spain near the Portuguese border. On the way home to West Cornwall I stopped at Treesmill to photograph the up motorail train, a train I did not see often living where I did.
Fortyfive years later I was able to watch the ships at Fowey from the comfort of my own home as Monday 1 July approached. On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were no large ships in the Port of Fowey. Soon after 01.00 on Monday 1 July a ship sailed into the port and moored up. It was the MV Vitality, a UK-flagged British general cargo ship of 3 – 4,000 tonnes, which was nice to see, as most ships are foreign. The fleet of ships named ….....ity have been a feature of British shipping for many decades and sixty years ago were a common site in small ports and harbours across Devon and Cornwall from Penzance to Teignmouth. Vitality measures 90 metres by 15.4 metres.
It took two working days to load Vitality which then appeared to wait for the rising tide before sailing at about 20.30 on Tuesday 2 July 2024, taking a half hour to reach the open sea. The ship had set out on a 14-day journey to Egypt.a
A typical GWR notice of screwed-on cast iron letters at the pedestrian entrance to Fowey Docks seen on 27.08.1979. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Castor of Helsingfors (Helsinki). Copyright Michael L. Roach
Marion Schulte of Bremen, Germany. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Inger and Nina Bres. The Bresline ships were regular visitors to Fowey at the time. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Wallis & Steevens diesel roller of 1975. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Valfrogoso of Vigo. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The up Motorail passes Treesmill, Par at 4.32pm consisting of 50008 Thunderer (PRESERVED) hauling 8C and 9 carflats on 27.08.1979. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The M.V. Vitality a few hours before her departure on 02.07.2024. Copyright Jon Hird
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 93
Evening Visit to Friary and Laira 24.07.1962
Michael L. Roach
Having spent recent parts transgressing to 1979 it is time to return to some photographs from 1962 before this series ends next month.
The date is Tuesday 24 July 1962, and I made an evening circular trip to the two steam sheds in Plymouth starting with the ex-Southern Railway one at Friary and finishing at the ex-Great Western Railway one at Laira. Looking at the time taken to travel from the first to the second I could well have been riding my bicycle rather than travelling by car.
Friary would close completely the following May with its locos transferred to Laira which was already running down with the final steam engines arriving for servicing the first weekend of September 1964. At Friary Shed that evening were three un-rebuilt Bulleid Pacific’s, two Ivatt 2-6-2 tanks, one “N” class mogul and two 204HP diesels - a total of 8 engines.
The date is Tuesday 24 July 1962, and I made an evening circular trip to the two steam sheds in Plymouth starting with the ex-Southern Railway one at Friary and finishing at the ex-Great Western Railway one at Laira. Looking at the time taken to travel from the first to the second I could well have been riding my bicycle rather than travelling by car.
Friary would close completely the following May with its locos transferred to Laira which was already running down with the final steam engines arriving for servicing the first weekend of September 1964. At Friary Shed that evening were three un-rebuilt Bulleid Pacific’s, two Ivatt 2-6-2 tanks, one “N” class mogul and two 204HP diesels - a total of 8 engines.
Un-rebuilt BB no. 34063 229 Squadron is seen at the coaling stage at Friary Shed at the east end of the site on the evening of 24 July 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Six minutes later and 34063 has moved to the west end of the 3-road shed, dating from 1908. Copyright Michael L. Roach
One minute later and 34066 Spitfire is roughly in the same position during a bit of shunting engines around. 34066 was the engine involved in the Lewisham rail crash of December 1957. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Pannier tank 6430 has received a top-up of coal for its bunker. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 94
Afternoon Visit to North Cornwall 04.08.1962
Michael L. Roach
On the afternoon of Saturday 4 August 1962 I made a circular car trip from Plymouth to Bodmin; then following the North Cornwall line as far as Otterham; before turning for home. A journey of about 75 miles lasting 6 hours. I saw just four trains hauled by three different classes of engine. Stops were made at Dunmere, Port Isaac Road and near Otterham, with just five photographs taken. The engine seen at Dunmere Halt is worthy of note because it was the 7000th engine built at Crewe Works; one of the 130 Ivatt 2-6-2 prairie tanks constructed 1946-52. The last of the class were withdrawn in 1967 but despite lasting almost to the end of steam only four of the class survive in preservation, but not 41272. There are two views of “N” class moguls which were very common on the North Cornwall Line on both passenger and freight trains. Both engines were long-term residents of Exmouth Junction Shed. The last photo taken that day has been shown twice with the second version colourised by Richard Hoskin of Plymouth. There are more of Richard's expertly coloured images appearing on a Facebook page called The Withered Arm, which is well-worth joining.
The single Bulleid Pacific seen that day was 34066 Spitfire – the engine involved in the Lewisham rail crash of December 1957 when 90 people died. The engine was also seen in Part 93 resting on Friary Shed 11 days earlier.
The single Bulleid Pacific seen that day was 34066 Spitfire – the engine involved in the Lewisham rail crash of December 1957 when 90 people died. The engine was also seen in Part 93 resting on Friary Shed 11 days earlier.
Ivatt 2-6-2T 41272 pulls into Dunmere Halt with 2.00pm from Bodmin North to Wadebridge at 2.03pm on 04.08.1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
41272 pulls away from Dunmere Halt one minute later. 41272 was built at Crewe Works in 1950 and was the 7000th engine built there which was commemorated by a small plaque on the engine. Copyright Michael L. Roach
31844 approaches Port Isaac Road Station with the 3.13pm off Padstow at 3.48pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Bulleid 34066 Spitfire with 5C leaves Port Isaac Road with the down ACE at 4.27pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
31835 with 5C on the 2.46pm from Exeter Central to Padstow is seen racing downhill from Otterham to Camelford at 5.30pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The same photograph colourised by Richard Hoskin. Copyright Michael L. Roach/Richard Hoskin.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 95
Didcot Open Day 2 May 1970
Michael L. Roach
On 2 December 1967 I travelled on the special train which transferred the Great Western Society's stock from Totnes to its new base at the former Didcot steam shed. Our journey ended at Didcot Station from which we found our own way home.
t would be another two and a half years before I got to a Didcot Open Day, on Saturday 2 May 1970 on my way home to Plymouth from London. I had travelled up to London by train on Thursday 30 April to undertake a professional interview on the Friday. Some weeks later I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had passed, despite thinking that I had not done particularly well.
The events of the Friday and Saturday made for a memorable weekend. The Great Western Society held its first open day at Didcot in 1969 and in 1970 the site was still in its infancy, but in the intervening 54 years has gone from strength to strength.
t would be another two and a half years before I got to a Didcot Open Day, on Saturday 2 May 1970 on my way home to Plymouth from London. I had travelled up to London by train on Thursday 30 April to undertake a professional interview on the Friday. Some weeks later I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had passed, despite thinking that I had not done particularly well.
The events of the Friday and Saturday made for a memorable weekend. The Great Western Society held its first open day at Didcot in 1969 and in 1970 the site was still in its infancy, but in the intervening 54 years has gone from strength to strength.
0-4-2T 1466 outside the shed; this was the first engine purchased by the Great Western Society. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Long wheelbase van W112843; a Mink G dating from 1934. Copyright Michael L. Roach
“Shannon” an 0-4-0 well tank built by George England in 1857. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Large prairie 6106 on the demonstration train. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Two views of the undercarriage of 4079's tender showing the immaculate condition. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Two views of the undercarriage of 4079's tender showing the immaculate condition. Copyright Michael L. Roach
A general view of the shed from the coaling stage. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Fruit D W2265 in immaculate condition. Some of the stock at Didcot is privately owned and this wagon is not currently listed as being at Didcot, and I am unaware what has happened to it. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 96
Defiance Platform, Saltash
Michael L. Roach
It was good to see Roger Winnen's record of the CRS boat trip down the River Tamar from Calstock which took place thirty years ago. The Southern Belle also made a side trip off the Tamar that day up the River Lynher to St. Germans Viaduct, Here the boat was travelling parallel to the Cornish main line, where the line could be seen crossing the 1908 viaducts at Forder, Notter and St. Germans. Before 1908, and doubling of the line from Saltash to St. Germans, the line was single and was located further south between the 1908 line and the bank of the River Lynher, with steeper gradients and more viaducts. There was little habitation along this length of railway and yet for some 25 years a halt or platform was provided above Wearde Quay, and one of the photos attached shows that it was well-used at certain times of the day.
HMS Defiance of 1861 (there have been several with that name) was the last wooden line-of-battle ship built for the Royal Navy. The ship was built at the Royal Navy Dockyard at Pembroke Dock between 1858 and 1862, and displaced 5,700 tons. It lasted until 1930, and the following year was sold for scrap and broken up in Millbay Docks, Plymouth. The ship never saw active service and in 1884 it became a school ship for naval trainees at Devonport. Shortly afterwards it was moored in the River Lynher at its confluence with the River Tamar. As well as classroom lessons the trainees would have learnt practical seamanship in small boats safely clear of the main shipping lanes. The nearest and easiest road access was on the south side of the river at Antony Passage. Above the north bank of the river passed the Great Western Railway's line from Paddington to Penzance, single line and still broad gauge in 1884.
In 1905 a single platform was built on the single line which had been converted to standard gauge in 1892. The location was approximately three quarters of a mile west of Saltash Station adjacent to a road overbridge; and the 150 feet long platform was built by the Royal Navy for the use of its officers and men. The public were also permitted to use the station accessing it by steps from the adjacent road bridge. The station opened on 1 March 1905 and was initially called Defiance Halte. Within a year or two the line from Saltash to St. Germans was being doubled but on a new alignment to the north of the existing alignment and this time the GWR provided two platforms 350 feet long, later lengthened to 400 feet. Further improvements were carried out over the years, including the provision of toilets, and facilities for dealing with parcels. Fourteen months after opening the station was renamed Defiance Platform – the significance of this change being that a booking office and clerk would have been provided for part of the day. The station closed on 27 October 1930.
The attached photos from the GWR Magazine for 1907 show just how busy the station could be at certain times. Most of the naval personnel would have been travelling east to Devonport or Plymouth and it is significant that on that eastbound platform there were no less than three pagoda waiting shelters. I doubt that any other platforms or halts could match that. The book Great Western Railway Halts Volume One includes a wonderful photo showing the proximity of the ship to the railway.
HMS Defiance of 1861 (there have been several with that name) was the last wooden line-of-battle ship built for the Royal Navy. The ship was built at the Royal Navy Dockyard at Pembroke Dock between 1858 and 1862, and displaced 5,700 tons. It lasted until 1930, and the following year was sold for scrap and broken up in Millbay Docks, Plymouth. The ship never saw active service and in 1884 it became a school ship for naval trainees at Devonport. Shortly afterwards it was moored in the River Lynher at its confluence with the River Tamar. As well as classroom lessons the trainees would have learnt practical seamanship in small boats safely clear of the main shipping lanes. The nearest and easiest road access was on the south side of the river at Antony Passage. Above the north bank of the river passed the Great Western Railway's line from Paddington to Penzance, single line and still broad gauge in 1884.
In 1905 a single platform was built on the single line which had been converted to standard gauge in 1892. The location was approximately three quarters of a mile west of Saltash Station adjacent to a road overbridge; and the 150 feet long platform was built by the Royal Navy for the use of its officers and men. The public were also permitted to use the station accessing it by steps from the adjacent road bridge. The station opened on 1 March 1905 and was initially called Defiance Halte. Within a year or two the line from Saltash to St. Germans was being doubled but on a new alignment to the north of the existing alignment and this time the GWR provided two platforms 350 feet long, later lengthened to 400 feet. Further improvements were carried out over the years, including the provision of toilets, and facilities for dealing with parcels. Fourteen months after opening the station was renamed Defiance Platform – the significance of this change being that a booking office and clerk would have been provided for part of the day. The station closed on 27 October 1930.
The attached photos from the GWR Magazine for 1907 show just how busy the station could be at certain times. Most of the naval personnel would have been travelling east to Devonport or Plymouth and it is significant that on that eastbound platform there were no less than three pagoda waiting shelters. I doubt that any other platforms or halts could match that. The book Great Western Railway Halts Volume One includes a wonderful photo showing the proximity of the ship to the railway.
The GWR report of Defiance Halt being moved to the new double line in April 1907
Sailors in abundance in October 1907
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 97
Evening Trips August 1962
Michael L. Roach
This is the story of two trips on consecutive evenings in the summer of 1962. The first was on Monday 20 August to Tamerton Foliot Halt on the ex-Southern route from Okehampton and Tavistock North to Plymouth Friary. The village of Tamerton Foliot was four miles north of the City Centre (as the crow flies), and in 1962 outside the city boundary but after boundary extensions in 1967 just within the City boundary. Three miles to the east of Tamerton Foliot is the valley of the River Plym; and two miles to the west the River Tamar and the boundary between Cornwall and Devon running down the middle. More than a mile to the west of the village lies the railway at the end of a long cul-de-sac. Tamerton Foliot station opened seven years after the line in 1897 and closed completely on and from 10 September 1962, which was why I was there on the evening of 20 August. The residents of Tamerton Foliot village would have found the regular bus service to Plymouth City Centre much more convenient than the train service resulting in the station always being lightly used but the station remained staffed until 5 January 1959. In 1936 the Southern Railway declared it to be the least-used station west of Salisbury with just 424 tickets issued in the 12 months. The two platforms were connected by an occupation bridge which gave access to the fields beyond.
The next evening, I visited the valley of the River Plym mentioned above for a walk up the valley from the Plym Bridge itself. Before starting the walk, I photographed the 5.40pm from Launceston to Plymouth arriving at Plym Bridge Platform – this was the last train of the day to stop here. There was another train half hour later which passed through non-stop; this was the 7.10pm auto from Tavistock South to Plymouth. However, I did not photograph it because being a Tuesday I probably had a young lady with me and she had to take precedence most of the time. This was a wonderful length of railway through the Plym Valley which has been featured many times in this series, and where I took dozens of railway photographs. When the line closed at the end of that year, I missed the trains and the opportunity to photograph steam in wonderful scenery. However, you can still enjoy the scenery because the line was converted into a cycling and walking trail.
The next evening, I visited the valley of the River Plym mentioned above for a walk up the valley from the Plym Bridge itself. Before starting the walk, I photographed the 5.40pm from Launceston to Plymouth arriving at Plym Bridge Platform – this was the last train of the day to stop here. There was another train half hour later which passed through non-stop; this was the 7.10pm auto from Tavistock South to Plymouth. However, I did not photograph it because being a Tuesday I probably had a young lady with me and she had to take precedence most of the time. This was a wonderful length of railway through the Plym Valley which has been featured many times in this series, and where I took dozens of railway photographs. When the line closed at the end of that year, I missed the trains and the opportunity to photograph steam in wonderful scenery. However, you can still enjoy the scenery because the line was converted into a cycling and walking trail.
Ivatt 2-6-2T no. 41216 has stopped at Tamerton Foliot at 7.10pm on 20 August 1962 hauling the 6.48pm Tavistock North to Plymouth train. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Here we see the station house looking north towards Bere Alston and Tavistock. The station had been last painted 4/53. It is now a private 3-bed house and last changed hands in November 2022 for £750,000. Copyright Michael L. Roach
N-class 31837 approaches the halt with the 7.18pm Plymouth to Exeter Central. In front of the engine, and on the other side of the creek, is the post-war Ernesettle Estate. Copyright Michael L. Roach
A cropped scan from the same original negative. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Prairie tank 5569 arrives at Plym Bridge Platform with the 5.40pm Launceston to Plymouth on 21 August 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach
A cropped scan from the same original negative. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 98
MV Southern Belle
Michael L. Roach
When the Cornwall Railway Society made a rail trip to Gunnislake on 23 July 1994 the return leg from Calstock to Plymouth was made by river boat from Calstock Quay to Phoenix Wharf near the historic Barbican in Plymouth. The trip was recorded here in photographs by Roger Winnen over five instalments ending on 21 July 2024. The boat provided for the trip was the MV Southern Belle, originally called Shuttlecock dating from 1925 and then operated by Plymouth Boat Cruises. Southern Belle is believed to still exist and is one of more than 2000 ships on the National Register of Historic Ships. Shuttlecock was ordered by the Estate of the Edgcumbe Family of Mount Edgcumbe who ran the Cremyll Ferry from Stonehouse in Plymouth to Cremyll in East Cornwall for many years. This pedestrian/foot ferry has existed for about a thousand years and is still a very useful public transport link across the River Tamar with buses connecting with the ferries at Cremyll on the Cornwall side. Cremyll is located on a relatively isolated peninsula, and this part of Cornwall is sometimes known as the forgotten corner of the County. When the Edgcumbe Estate gave up the ferry service it passed to the well-known Millbrook Steamboat and Trading Company who also ran river excursions and bus services on the Cornwall side. Shuttlecock was built by the Rogers Boatyard a short distance from Cremyll on the Cornwall side specifically to operate the ferry service. Twelve years later the yard passed to Mashfords, who still operate it and who have made an enviable reputation for quality.
Shuttlecock was built wholly of timber and was driven by a steam engine; but this was removed in 1946 and replaced by a Gardner diesel engine during a rebuild at Mashfords Boatyard when it acquired the name Southern Belle. Gardners were another firm with an enviable reputation, but the firm ceased making new engines more than 30 years ago. Their engines were also popular for use in buses. The boat is still driven by a Gardner diesel but I do not know if it is the original or a replacement. Southern Belle was followed by Northern Belle (1926), Western Belle (1935) and Eastern Belle (1946). The boats, the ferry routes and excursion trips passed through a number of hands in the last years of the twentieth century and are now operated by Plymouth Boat Trips who appear to have more routes than have been operated for many years. The peak of passenger numbers probably occurred in the 1930s before the advent of large scale car ownership, but excursions were still very popular right through the 1950s and into the 1960s. Certainly my parents used the river boats from Phoenix Wharf to Bovisand regularly in the 1930s as an easy way of getting to a beach. A run of good summers helped as well. In the 1930s the Millbrook S&T Company would have had competition on some routes from the Great Western Railway using their fleet of tenders which were used to meet the Atlantic liners. Although the GWR tended to do the longer routes like Looe, they would have abstracted some passengers.
At the end of the 1990s Southern Belle also passed through a number of hands before finally finding a home in Norfolk in 2005 where it was given a £150,000 overhaul. When not in use it could be found tied up on the River Yare in Great Yarmouth moored above the Haven Bridge which carries the A1243 into town which is where I photographed it in 2008. Southern Belle operated trips to places like Reedham but had some difficulties with Network Rail over the opening of swing bridges to allow the vessel to pass. There were also problems with the harbour authority, and the last report I can find, from August 2015, said that the vessel was languishing out of use at Great Yarmouth. Does anyone know the current situation regarding Southern Belle please.
The fate of the four Belle's named after points of the compass has been decidedly mixed since leaving the River Tamar. The worst possible outcome befell Northern Belle which was broken up in 2022 after a failed preservation attempt by the Northern Belle Trust. Southern Belle appears to be waiting for a white knight to save it; while Eastern Belle was last heard of working the coast of the Isle of Man. The vessel with the best outcome and seemingly an assured future is the Western Belle dating from 1935 and for many years the flagship of the Millbrook fleet. In 2007 it headed north and was refurbished over the winter of 2010-11 to be launched on Ullswater in the Lake District in July 2011 where it plies up and down the lake regularly. Western Belle is one of a fleet of five boats offering cruises on the eight mile long lake of which four are heritage boats. The oldest boat dates back nearly 150 years. Read more about the fleet at ullswater-steamers.co.uk.
Shuttlecock was built wholly of timber and was driven by a steam engine; but this was removed in 1946 and replaced by a Gardner diesel engine during a rebuild at Mashfords Boatyard when it acquired the name Southern Belle. Gardners were another firm with an enviable reputation, but the firm ceased making new engines more than 30 years ago. Their engines were also popular for use in buses. The boat is still driven by a Gardner diesel but I do not know if it is the original or a replacement. Southern Belle was followed by Northern Belle (1926), Western Belle (1935) and Eastern Belle (1946). The boats, the ferry routes and excursion trips passed through a number of hands in the last years of the twentieth century and are now operated by Plymouth Boat Trips who appear to have more routes than have been operated for many years. The peak of passenger numbers probably occurred in the 1930s before the advent of large scale car ownership, but excursions were still very popular right through the 1950s and into the 1960s. Certainly my parents used the river boats from Phoenix Wharf to Bovisand regularly in the 1930s as an easy way of getting to a beach. A run of good summers helped as well. In the 1930s the Millbrook S&T Company would have had competition on some routes from the Great Western Railway using their fleet of tenders which were used to meet the Atlantic liners. Although the GWR tended to do the longer routes like Looe, they would have abstracted some passengers.
At the end of the 1990s Southern Belle also passed through a number of hands before finally finding a home in Norfolk in 2005 where it was given a £150,000 overhaul. When not in use it could be found tied up on the River Yare in Great Yarmouth moored above the Haven Bridge which carries the A1243 into town which is where I photographed it in 2008. Southern Belle operated trips to places like Reedham but had some difficulties with Network Rail over the opening of swing bridges to allow the vessel to pass. There were also problems with the harbour authority, and the last report I can find, from August 2015, said that the vessel was languishing out of use at Great Yarmouth. Does anyone know the current situation regarding Southern Belle please.
The fate of the four Belle's named after points of the compass has been decidedly mixed since leaving the River Tamar. The worst possible outcome befell Northern Belle which was broken up in 2022 after a failed preservation attempt by the Northern Belle Trust. Southern Belle appears to be waiting for a white knight to save it; while Eastern Belle was last heard of working the coast of the Isle of Man. The vessel with the best outcome and seemingly an assured future is the Western Belle dating from 1935 and for many years the flagship of the Millbrook fleet. In 2007 it headed north and was refurbished over the winter of 2010-11 to be launched on Ullswater in the Lake District in July 2011 where it plies up and down the lake regularly. Western Belle is one of a fleet of five boats offering cruises on the eight mile long lake of which four are heritage boats. The oldest boat dates back nearly 150 years. Read more about the fleet at ullswater-steamers.co.uk.
The 2008 sign inviting you to take a boat trip from Great Yarmouth two days later. Reedham was about nine miles away across Breydon Water and up the River Yare where the boat would probably have moored up at Riverside, just beyond the swingbridge carrying the Reedham Junction to Lowestoft railway line. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Southern Belle moored up at North Quay, Great Yarmouth just north of the Haven Bridge on Sunday 7 September 2008. Copyright Michael L. Roach
In this view looking north from the Haven Bridge Great Yarmouth's one remaining railway station is about 500 metres further north. It was originally called Yarmouth Vauxhall. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Southern Belle is seen leaving Phoenix Wharf, Plymouth and heading for home after dropping off the CRS party on 23 July 1994. Copyright Roger Winnen
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 99
Public Executions at Bodmin
Michael L. Roach
When the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway opened in 1834 it was one of the earliest railways in Great Britain. Indeed the B&W predated the Cornish main line by some 25 years. According to Wikipedia the first privately chartered excursion train advertised to the public was on 5 July 1841 from Leicester to Loughborough, organised by one Thomas Cook. However the Bodmin and Wadebridge had been running their own excursion trains from as early as 1836. On 14 June 1836 the B&W organised a trip from both Bodmin and Wadebridge to Wenford Bridge at a fare of one shilling (5p) a head. Among the other trips that the B&W organised were trips to Bodmin to witness public executions at the same fare of one shilling.
Just a quarter mile from its terminus at Bodmin (later Bodmin North in British Railways days) the railway passed Bodmin Jail. Between 1802 and 1909 some 32 men and women were executed at the jail. Up until 1868 these were public executions done outside the main entrance of the jail which was then in Berrycoombe Road. In the years after the opening of the railway such public executions averaged about one every five years, and they became a spectacle that many people wanted to see. The impecunious but enterprising Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway saw an opportunity to make a quick buck by running excursions to Bodmin on the day appointed for an execution, even (allegedly) to the extent of stopping the excursion train directly opposite the jail so that the passengers could get a grandstand view of the event. The first such execution when the B&W might have run a special train was on Monday 30 March 1835. John HENWOOD had been found guilty at Launceston after a trial lasting one day on Saturday 28 March 1835. Justice was swift and he was executed at Bodmin two days later on the Monday at 12.00 noon. However the Royal Cornwall Gazette reported that there were no large crowds for the execution.
The next execution at Bodmin took place on 13 April 1840 when there was a double execution of two brothers side-by-side. They had been convicted of the brutal murder of Mr. Neville NORWAY, a Wadebridge merchant, who often had goods delivered by the railway. James (23) and William LIGHTFOOT (36) were found guilty after what the Royal Cornwall Gazette called a “long course of wickedness.” The RCG also reported that the town became densely crowded with people from all parts of the County, some of them walking 20 or 30 miles through the night to be there. Some had even brought their own sustenance in the form of pasties. The field opposite the main gate of the prison, where the gallows had been erected, were full with a crowd estimated at 20,000 persons filling the valley. Interestingly both the Royal Cornwall Gazette and the West Briton carried sketches of the two defendants in court, something that still happens today.
The next hanging was four years later and again huge crowds descended on Bodmin for the public execution. The Royal Cornwall Gazette reported people coming from as far away as Penzance and an equal distance in the other direction. This time the RCG was much more restrained in its reporting of execution day, without so much of the detailed and emotive language it had used in 1840. On Monday 12 August 1844 a 22-year old farm labourer called Matthew WEEKS was executed for the murder of a 19-year old dairy-maid called Charlotte DYMOND. They had both worked at the same farm on the edge of Bodmin Moor outside Camelford. The murder had taken place on the Moor, within sight of Rough Tor on 14 April 1844. A monument to Charlotte was erected by public subscription and marks the spot where her body was found not far from the end of the public road. It is a magnificent monument more than three metres high located at grid reference SX 138 818 and only a short walk from the car park at the end of the public road. Charlotte was buried in the Churchyard of Davidstow Parish Church on 25 April 1844.
The Shire Hall Visitor Centre at Bodmin formerly contained an interactive exhibition of the trial of Matthew WEEKS in the courtroom where the original trial was held in 1844; called “The Courtroom Experience,” Unfortunately it is now closed. Due to the monument on Bodmin Moor; the location and circumstances of the murder; the circumstantial evidence against Matthew WEEKS; and continuing interest and articles, the murder of Charlotte DYMOND has become one of the best known and enduring murder stories to take place in Cornwall. The entry for Matthew WEEKS can be found in the Criminal Registers for Cornwall and it shows he was tried at the County Assizes on 31 July 1844, found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed 180 years ago today and his body was buried within the grounds of Bodmin Jail.
Bodmin Jail was built in 1779 and operated as a prison until 1927. Most of the buildings survive to this day and it now operates as a tourist attraction with guided tours; and as an hotel and bistro. Ten years ago the restaurant advertised itself with the slogan “serving our guests since 1779.” Today one does not have to be locked in to eat or stay there. So do I think that the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway stopped its excursion trains directly opposite the gallows. They may have done once perhaps, and that would have shown up the difficulties:- getting some passengers off the train who wanted to be further away from the gallows; blocking the view of the 20,000 people on the hillside opposite; holding the train on the steep gradient in the absence of continuous brakes; and the oblique view that many of the passengers would have had of the scaffold. For railway enthusiasts there is an interesting aside to the public execution in 1844. In the very same issue of the Royal Cornwall Gazette that the execution of Matthew Weeks was reported on Friday 16 August 1844, right alongside in the next column is a short report that the construction of the South Devon Railway from Exeter to Newton had commenced.
AUTHOR'S NOTE. This article is a revised version of one that was first published on the website of the Cornwall Railway Society on 12 August 2014 to mark the 170th anniversary of the public execution at Bodmin that day.
Just a quarter mile from its terminus at Bodmin (later Bodmin North in British Railways days) the railway passed Bodmin Jail. Between 1802 and 1909 some 32 men and women were executed at the jail. Up until 1868 these were public executions done outside the main entrance of the jail which was then in Berrycoombe Road. In the years after the opening of the railway such public executions averaged about one every five years, and they became a spectacle that many people wanted to see. The impecunious but enterprising Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway saw an opportunity to make a quick buck by running excursions to Bodmin on the day appointed for an execution, even (allegedly) to the extent of stopping the excursion train directly opposite the jail so that the passengers could get a grandstand view of the event. The first such execution when the B&W might have run a special train was on Monday 30 March 1835. John HENWOOD had been found guilty at Launceston after a trial lasting one day on Saturday 28 March 1835. Justice was swift and he was executed at Bodmin two days later on the Monday at 12.00 noon. However the Royal Cornwall Gazette reported that there were no large crowds for the execution.
The next execution at Bodmin took place on 13 April 1840 when there was a double execution of two brothers side-by-side. They had been convicted of the brutal murder of Mr. Neville NORWAY, a Wadebridge merchant, who often had goods delivered by the railway. James (23) and William LIGHTFOOT (36) were found guilty after what the Royal Cornwall Gazette called a “long course of wickedness.” The RCG also reported that the town became densely crowded with people from all parts of the County, some of them walking 20 or 30 miles through the night to be there. Some had even brought their own sustenance in the form of pasties. The field opposite the main gate of the prison, where the gallows had been erected, were full with a crowd estimated at 20,000 persons filling the valley. Interestingly both the Royal Cornwall Gazette and the West Briton carried sketches of the two defendants in court, something that still happens today.
The next hanging was four years later and again huge crowds descended on Bodmin for the public execution. The Royal Cornwall Gazette reported people coming from as far away as Penzance and an equal distance in the other direction. This time the RCG was much more restrained in its reporting of execution day, without so much of the detailed and emotive language it had used in 1840. On Monday 12 August 1844 a 22-year old farm labourer called Matthew WEEKS was executed for the murder of a 19-year old dairy-maid called Charlotte DYMOND. They had both worked at the same farm on the edge of Bodmin Moor outside Camelford. The murder had taken place on the Moor, within sight of Rough Tor on 14 April 1844. A monument to Charlotte was erected by public subscription and marks the spot where her body was found not far from the end of the public road. It is a magnificent monument more than three metres high located at grid reference SX 138 818 and only a short walk from the car park at the end of the public road. Charlotte was buried in the Churchyard of Davidstow Parish Church on 25 April 1844.
The Shire Hall Visitor Centre at Bodmin formerly contained an interactive exhibition of the trial of Matthew WEEKS in the courtroom where the original trial was held in 1844; called “The Courtroom Experience,” Unfortunately it is now closed. Due to the monument on Bodmin Moor; the location and circumstances of the murder; the circumstantial evidence against Matthew WEEKS; and continuing interest and articles, the murder of Charlotte DYMOND has become one of the best known and enduring murder stories to take place in Cornwall. The entry for Matthew WEEKS can be found in the Criminal Registers for Cornwall and it shows he was tried at the County Assizes on 31 July 1844, found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed 180 years ago today and his body was buried within the grounds of Bodmin Jail.
Bodmin Jail was built in 1779 and operated as a prison until 1927. Most of the buildings survive to this day and it now operates as a tourist attraction with guided tours; and as an hotel and bistro. Ten years ago the restaurant advertised itself with the slogan “serving our guests since 1779.” Today one does not have to be locked in to eat or stay there. So do I think that the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway stopped its excursion trains directly opposite the gallows. They may have done once perhaps, and that would have shown up the difficulties:- getting some passengers off the train who wanted to be further away from the gallows; blocking the view of the 20,000 people on the hillside opposite; holding the train on the steep gradient in the absence of continuous brakes; and the oblique view that many of the passengers would have had of the scaffold. For railway enthusiasts there is an interesting aside to the public execution in 1844. In the very same issue of the Royal Cornwall Gazette that the execution of Matthew Weeks was reported on Friday 16 August 1844, right alongside in the next column is a short report that the construction of the South Devon Railway from Exeter to Newton had commenced.
AUTHOR'S NOTE. This article is a revised version of one that was first published on the website of the Cornwall Railway Society on 12 August 2014 to mark the 170th anniversary of the public execution at Bodmin that day.
The monument to Charlotte Dymond is located behind the tree in the middle of the photograph. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The monument with Rough Tor in the background. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The top of the monument. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The original entrance to Bodmin Jail. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Part of the jail lost its roof many years ago. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
This is where the scaffold (or drop as it was then known) would be erected. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The railway line formerly ran along the left hand side of the road, looking east towards Bodmin North. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In this drone view looking east the prison is on the left with the original entrance (where the scaffold was erected) at the start of the bend in the road, which was very narrow. The later improved road was built on the line of the railway which went straight on to Bodmin North Station. Copyright Jon Hird.
NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 100
Welsh Holiday September 1962
Michael L. Roach
When I was much younger I made several longer distance trips chasing and photographing trains when I stayed away for a few nights in bed and breakfast; however I only took three such holidays which lasted a complete week. The third holiday was to the north-east of England in September 1975 for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and I returned home an enthusiast for all things north-east and North Eastern Railway. The second holiday was to Mid and North Wales in the summer of 1969 to visit all the narrow-gauge railways. The first complete week's holiday was to Wales and the four lines out of Brecon in September 1962. This was after the TUCC Hearing which had recommended closure of all four lines and it was just a matter of weeks or a couple of months at the most before the closures would be implemented. In a way it was a very sad and melancholy time knowing that this would be the last time that I would see these fascinating lines, trains and stations set in beautiful countryside because this would be my last visit before closure; and that hundreds of railwaymen would lose their jobs with the withdrawal of passenger and freight trains and lifting of most of the track. The passenger routes to be closed were:
Route Mileage
Brecon – Three Cocks Junction – Moat Lane Junction 60
Brecon - Three Cocks Junction – Hereford 38½
Brecon – Newport 47
Brecon – Neath 33¼
TOTAL route mileage 178¾
The date chosen for the holiday was the first week in September 1962 which was quite fortuitous as the children had returned to school for the autumn term and some would be seen using the train to and from secondary school in Brecon. I invited my friend Charles Fennamore to accompany me but work and study commitments prevented him doing so. It was a bit difficult to decide whether to press on alone with the holiday but I decided that this was really my last chance to do the four lines in a comprehensive fashion so alone it would have to be. The intention behind the holiday was to go by car to take photos in the countryside but to make at least one return journey by train on each route out of Brecon. The plan was to start at Newport Station and head north by car stopping at every station and halt along the line through to Brecon and then on to Moat Lane Junction on the line from Whitchurch to Aberystwyth. That was over 100 miles and 45 stations, and if there was time I would also go west from Brecon down the line to Neath and east from Three Cocks Junction to Hereford as far as possible. I knew from the outset that it was a tall order and so it proved; I got as far west as Cray on the line to Neath but did none of the stations on the former LMS route to Hereford.
I journeyed up from my home in Plymouth to Newport on Saturday 1 September 1962 and the trip was horrendous with traffic jams and slow moving traffic in many places. In the late 1950s and 1960s summer Saturdays were notorious for traffic jams and journeys taking more than twice as long as usual. There were almost no dual carriageways and few bypasses on the A38 with the road passing through many towns and villages. This was the last Saturday of the school holidays and the last Saturday of the peak season. I left home in Plymouth at 09.25 and ran into the first jams at Haldon, before Exeter, then at Exeter, near Tiverton, Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater and Highbridge. I arrived at the Aust ferry queue north of Bristol at 16.30 It was always a conundrum travelling in this direction whether to go to Aust and see the length of the queue waiting for the ferry across the River Severn because it was a long way off the A38 direct route if going around Gloucester which itself added many miles to the journey. The main road went right through the centre of Gloucester which could add more traffic jams to the trip. Travelling in the opposite direction from Wales to the West Country was easier because the ferry was only two miles off the A48 from Chepstow to Gloucester. After gradually moving up the queue and waiting well over two hours to get on the boat I finally drove off the ferry and up the slipway at Beachley at 19.15 and through Chepstow. The ferry fare for a small car and driver was 7 shillings and 6 pence (37½p). At the time petrol was 5 shillings (25p) a gallon and the car only did about 30 miles to the gallon so there was not much difference in the cost of going round the long way and the ferry fare. The advantage of taking the ferry was that it gave the single driver a break and it was a real experience to cross the River Severn by boat which would cease with the opening of the Severn Bridge in 1966. Needless to say the ferry did not run in the dark or in rough seas.
I stopped twice in Chepstow in different places to photograph Brunel's famous bridge across the River Wye which was being rebuilt at the time. My arrival in Newport was at 20.40 and I found bed and breakfast at 39 Corporation Road, Newport NP19 0AY. It had taken 11¼ hours to cover 172 miles from Plymouth to Newport. Luckily the car had not overheated (a common problem in those days) and I always took plenty of reading matter with me to read while waiting for trains. The car was a maroon 1939 Morris 8 Series E registration FKB 972 and not very reliable, but I only had one incident in the whole holiday that has stayed in the memory when I had to brake heavily on a narrow road. I had been watching “Bangers and Cash” on Yesterday TV Channel for a couple of years when during the writing of this article I saw the first Series E Morris 8 go through the Mathewsons auction in Thornton-le-Dale. It had the registration FAF 785 which means the car was first registered in Cornwall in 1939. The car had been resprayed in non-standard colours, looked immaculate, and fetched an amazing £4,300.
Before setting out on the holiday I had decided that everything that could be recorded about the holiday and the railways seen would be recorded, including engine numbers, coach numbers, train logs, expenditure, times of arrival/departure, photos taken and a couple of lines about each station visited; and sometimes a sketch of the station and track layout. The first expenditure even before leaving was a new notebook (cost 9d) to do the recording. It was wire-bound with a page size of 6 inches by 4 inches to fit in the pocket. On returning to the guest house each evening completed pages were torn out of the notebook and left in my luggage to ensure that even if the notebook was dropped or lost not all the information noted would be lost. In the autumn of 1962 the loose pages were put in a distinctive second-hand cardboard box for safe keeping and they are still there 60 years later and the notes do make it much easier to write articles about this 1962 holiday.
There were many interesting railway stations on the rail routes out of Brecon but four of the best were on the former Brecon & Merthyr line heading south over the Brecon Beacons. Just in the first 17 miles were Talylllyn Junction, Pentir Rhiw, Torpantau and Pontsticill Junction. We are lucky in Cornwall that, more than 60 years later, we still have two rural stations that bear comparison for interest and they are the junction stations at Liskeard and St. Erth which in 2024 retain a mechanical signal box, semaphore signals and a range of older buildings. A few of the photos taken on that 1962 holiday have appeared in this series already in Parts 83, 86 and 87. Those seven days in Wales in September 1962 were almost certainly the best, most memorable, and most productive (in terms of photos and memories) of any railway holiday I ever had. This may be the last you will see or read about it. Accompanying this article are the photos taken on the evening of Saturday 1 September 1962 of the rebuilding of Brunel's famous bridge across the River Wye at Chepstow.
Authors Note: This is the last in a series of 100 articles, mostly about 1962, posted over the last 18 months. My thanks go to the CRS webmasters past and present for publishing the articles including some on quite esoteric subjects only vaguely related to railways. A new series of articles will commence soon.
Route Mileage
Brecon – Three Cocks Junction – Moat Lane Junction 60
Brecon - Three Cocks Junction – Hereford 38½
Brecon – Newport 47
Brecon – Neath 33¼
TOTAL route mileage 178¾
The date chosen for the holiday was the first week in September 1962 which was quite fortuitous as the children had returned to school for the autumn term and some would be seen using the train to and from secondary school in Brecon. I invited my friend Charles Fennamore to accompany me but work and study commitments prevented him doing so. It was a bit difficult to decide whether to press on alone with the holiday but I decided that this was really my last chance to do the four lines in a comprehensive fashion so alone it would have to be. The intention behind the holiday was to go by car to take photos in the countryside but to make at least one return journey by train on each route out of Brecon. The plan was to start at Newport Station and head north by car stopping at every station and halt along the line through to Brecon and then on to Moat Lane Junction on the line from Whitchurch to Aberystwyth. That was over 100 miles and 45 stations, and if there was time I would also go west from Brecon down the line to Neath and east from Three Cocks Junction to Hereford as far as possible. I knew from the outset that it was a tall order and so it proved; I got as far west as Cray on the line to Neath but did none of the stations on the former LMS route to Hereford.
I journeyed up from my home in Plymouth to Newport on Saturday 1 September 1962 and the trip was horrendous with traffic jams and slow moving traffic in many places. In the late 1950s and 1960s summer Saturdays were notorious for traffic jams and journeys taking more than twice as long as usual. There were almost no dual carriageways and few bypasses on the A38 with the road passing through many towns and villages. This was the last Saturday of the school holidays and the last Saturday of the peak season. I left home in Plymouth at 09.25 and ran into the first jams at Haldon, before Exeter, then at Exeter, near Tiverton, Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater and Highbridge. I arrived at the Aust ferry queue north of Bristol at 16.30 It was always a conundrum travelling in this direction whether to go to Aust and see the length of the queue waiting for the ferry across the River Severn because it was a long way off the A38 direct route if going around Gloucester which itself added many miles to the journey. The main road went right through the centre of Gloucester which could add more traffic jams to the trip. Travelling in the opposite direction from Wales to the West Country was easier because the ferry was only two miles off the A48 from Chepstow to Gloucester. After gradually moving up the queue and waiting well over two hours to get on the boat I finally drove off the ferry and up the slipway at Beachley at 19.15 and through Chepstow. The ferry fare for a small car and driver was 7 shillings and 6 pence (37½p). At the time petrol was 5 shillings (25p) a gallon and the car only did about 30 miles to the gallon so there was not much difference in the cost of going round the long way and the ferry fare. The advantage of taking the ferry was that it gave the single driver a break and it was a real experience to cross the River Severn by boat which would cease with the opening of the Severn Bridge in 1966. Needless to say the ferry did not run in the dark or in rough seas.
I stopped twice in Chepstow in different places to photograph Brunel's famous bridge across the River Wye which was being rebuilt at the time. My arrival in Newport was at 20.40 and I found bed and breakfast at 39 Corporation Road, Newport NP19 0AY. It had taken 11¼ hours to cover 172 miles from Plymouth to Newport. Luckily the car had not overheated (a common problem in those days) and I always took plenty of reading matter with me to read while waiting for trains. The car was a maroon 1939 Morris 8 Series E registration FKB 972 and not very reliable, but I only had one incident in the whole holiday that has stayed in the memory when I had to brake heavily on a narrow road. I had been watching “Bangers and Cash” on Yesterday TV Channel for a couple of years when during the writing of this article I saw the first Series E Morris 8 go through the Mathewsons auction in Thornton-le-Dale. It had the registration FAF 785 which means the car was first registered in Cornwall in 1939. The car had been resprayed in non-standard colours, looked immaculate, and fetched an amazing £4,300.
Before setting out on the holiday I had decided that everything that could be recorded about the holiday and the railways seen would be recorded, including engine numbers, coach numbers, train logs, expenditure, times of arrival/departure, photos taken and a couple of lines about each station visited; and sometimes a sketch of the station and track layout. The first expenditure even before leaving was a new notebook (cost 9d) to do the recording. It was wire-bound with a page size of 6 inches by 4 inches to fit in the pocket. On returning to the guest house each evening completed pages were torn out of the notebook and left in my luggage to ensure that even if the notebook was dropped or lost not all the information noted would be lost. In the autumn of 1962 the loose pages were put in a distinctive second-hand cardboard box for safe keeping and they are still there 60 years later and the notes do make it much easier to write articles about this 1962 holiday.
There were many interesting railway stations on the rail routes out of Brecon but four of the best were on the former Brecon & Merthyr line heading south over the Brecon Beacons. Just in the first 17 miles were Talylllyn Junction, Pentir Rhiw, Torpantau and Pontsticill Junction. We are lucky in Cornwall that, more than 60 years later, we still have two rural stations that bear comparison for interest and they are the junction stations at Liskeard and St. Erth which in 2024 retain a mechanical signal box, semaphore signals and a range of older buildings. A few of the photos taken on that 1962 holiday have appeared in this series already in Parts 83, 86 and 87. Those seven days in Wales in September 1962 were almost certainly the best, most memorable, and most productive (in terms of photos and memories) of any railway holiday I ever had. This may be the last you will see or read about it. Accompanying this article are the photos taken on the evening of Saturday 1 September 1962 of the rebuilding of Brunel's famous bridge across the River Wye at Chepstow.
Authors Note: This is the last in a series of 100 articles, mostly about 1962, posted over the last 18 months. My thanks go to the CRS webmasters past and present for publishing the articles including some on quite esoteric subjects only vaguely related to railways. A new series of articles will commence soon.
In this view I am looking west from the bridge carrying Beachley Road, Chepstow over the railway line on the evening of 1 September 1962. The down line is in use by trains in both directions while the bridge carrying the up line has been replaced but not yet brought into use because parts of Brunel's bridge were still being removed. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Ten minutes later I am looking at the old and new railway bridges from beside the River Wye in the middle of Chepstow. This view of the railway bridge has now been blocked out by the road bridge carrying the A48 road over the river. The nearest car is a very desirable Wolseley 1500 (although the Riley 1500 was very similar) while the far one is the ubiquitous minivan. Copyright Michael L. Roach.