The Newham branch
Credits, Many thanks to all contributors - please see a list on the home page.
In response to an appeal for pictures of something moving on the branch it was a delight on 31st May 2012 to receive a picture of a Class 22 on the branch at Calennick from Neil Phillips - this is an extremely rare shot. Now in May 2013 more pictures of the branch have come to our gallery courtesy of the late Sid Sponheimer.
Members and general visitors to the CRS site will be interested in visiting http://www.railmaponline.com From the opening page a full map of the UK can be accessed which can then be enlarged to show every railway line in the UK. Not just today's network but lines from the past have been overlaid. As you zoom in sidings and even tramways become visible.
A valuable tip from Guy Vincent.
A valuable tip from Guy Vincent.
Highly recommended - a video on the Newham Branch by Phil Hadley
Phil writes :- Please find below the link for the YouTube video on the Newham Branch Line. It is in two parts of about 35 minutes to make of ease of viewing. The CRS and Craig are credited at the end of the video for their assistance. Have a look and if you feel it is suitable to post a link on the CRS website, please feel free to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Hadley Posted without hesitation, many thanks indeed Phil - Excellent, a superb history.
Newham Branch Line Pt 1
The above very short message from Phil Hadley leads one to the results of a very detailed survey of this little branch line along with the connecting railways. It contains many pictures, contrasts between now and then, aerial views and much much more. Parts one and two bring you over an hour of fascination so don't miss a real treat. Incidentally this video also leads one to excellent coverage of the Tregantle Military Railway.
Phil writes :- Please find below the link for the YouTube video on the Newham Branch Line. It is in two parts of about 35 minutes to make of ease of viewing. The CRS and Craig are credited at the end of the video for their assistance. Have a look and if you feel it is suitable to post a link on the CRS website, please feel free to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Hadley Posted without hesitation, many thanks indeed Phil - Excellent, a superb history.
Newham Branch Line Pt 1
The above very short message from Phil Hadley leads one to the results of a very detailed survey of this little branch line along with the connecting railways. It contains many pictures, contrasts between now and then, aerial views and much much more. Parts one and two bring you over an hour of fascination so don't miss a real treat. Incidentally this video also leads one to excellent coverage of the Tregantle Military Railway.
D6322 at Calenick (Newham branch) 4 Jun 68 Copyright Neil Phillips
An article about the above crossing by Neil Phillips.
Phil Hadley’s recent video of a walk along the remains of the Newham branch is very interesting for somebody like myself who can remember it when it was operational. I nearly choked on my tea when my photo of D6322 at Calenick Level Crossing popped up – my first-ever photo of a diesel locomotive and taken 50 years ago on 4th June! I have walked the line a few times in the past myself while it was still in use, usually while pushing my bike towards Penwithers Junction from this level crossing as it was on my cycling route from home to Truro. I never saw a train while doing this, and I don’t recall ever expecting one! I was aware of the line’s existence at a young age as the primary school I attended was located up the hill on the opposite side of Calenick Creek (and still is, only much enlarged since then). My years there - 1958 to 1964 – neatly covered the transition from steam to diesel traction, but whereas the presence of steam trains was very obvious the diesels sneaked past unnoticed. These were not necessarily always Class 22s – while Truro had a Class 08 yard pilot this could also be employed on the branch, as confirmed by the sighting of D4009 crossing the Arch Hill bridge over the A390 on its way back to Truro one morning in 1967.
The 1971 Truro area remodelling involved a simplification of the signalling and during the dismantling of the signals at Penwithers Junction a lamp got away from the workmen and ended up at the foot of the embankment where the Newham branch joined the Falmouth line. I found it lying there and still have it. I also recovered a cast iron sign from a long-abandoned occupation crossing gate not far from Penwithers Junction – since there was no sign of such a crossing on the line itself and little trace of a matching gate on the opposite side I felt it was fair game! Carrying that back along the line to Calenick flattened the saddle bag on my bike, but I got it home and 46 years later I still have that too, showing signs of restoration started in 1978 but never completed. One day…… Shortly after commencing his return walk along the trackbed Phil pauses to look at a gate post with an empty hinge attached – could this be the remains of the gate my sign was attached to? Decades of uncontrolled vegetation make it difficult to be sure but it’s on the right side of the line at around the right location…..
Having already owned up to the unauthorised use of a ganger’s trolley for a last trip along the line just before the rails were torn up, I have one other embarrassing story connected with a now track-less Calenick Level Crossing a few months later. During a visit to Truro station in late June 1972 a typical Cornish drizzle set in. I must have been expecting it as I was wearing a coat (wet Junes are nothing new!) This concerned me a little because whilst there my bike’s rear brake cable failed, so I made a mental note on the return journey to stop short of the top of the hill leading down to the level crossing and walk down. Unfortunately I misjudged the Cornish drizzle’s effect on my remaining brake and sailed over the top too quickly to get off. Rapidly gaining speed down the hill panic got a grip as I realised that using only the front brake would end in disaster and the stone wall at a sharp right in Calenick beyond the level crossing was likely to prove even worse for my sense of wellbeing! There was only one course of action – having cleared the level crossing in a blur (and not in continuous contact with the road) I steered left into a patch of stinging nettles and prayed for sufficient retardation to avoid a wipe-out! Luckily this worked, after a fashion – I hit a hidden rock, bike and rider parted company in mid-air and I landed on my back in the nettles a few yards short of the stone wall! Partly thanks to wearing that coat I suffered only a few bruises and stings but my bike was not so fortunate with a collapsed front wheel and severely bent pedal. Thankfully there were no witnesses to this near-catastrophe and I’ve rarely mentioned it to anybody……….!!
Neil Phillips Thanks for the memory and we're so glad you survived. For Phil Hadley's video click here Newham Branch Line Pt 1
Phil Hadley’s recent video of a walk along the remains of the Newham branch is very interesting for somebody like myself who can remember it when it was operational. I nearly choked on my tea when my photo of D6322 at Calenick Level Crossing popped up – my first-ever photo of a diesel locomotive and taken 50 years ago on 4th June! I have walked the line a few times in the past myself while it was still in use, usually while pushing my bike towards Penwithers Junction from this level crossing as it was on my cycling route from home to Truro. I never saw a train while doing this, and I don’t recall ever expecting one! I was aware of the line’s existence at a young age as the primary school I attended was located up the hill on the opposite side of Calenick Creek (and still is, only much enlarged since then). My years there - 1958 to 1964 – neatly covered the transition from steam to diesel traction, but whereas the presence of steam trains was very obvious the diesels sneaked past unnoticed. These were not necessarily always Class 22s – while Truro had a Class 08 yard pilot this could also be employed on the branch, as confirmed by the sighting of D4009 crossing the Arch Hill bridge over the A390 on its way back to Truro one morning in 1967.
The 1971 Truro area remodelling involved a simplification of the signalling and during the dismantling of the signals at Penwithers Junction a lamp got away from the workmen and ended up at the foot of the embankment where the Newham branch joined the Falmouth line. I found it lying there and still have it. I also recovered a cast iron sign from a long-abandoned occupation crossing gate not far from Penwithers Junction – since there was no sign of such a crossing on the line itself and little trace of a matching gate on the opposite side I felt it was fair game! Carrying that back along the line to Calenick flattened the saddle bag on my bike, but I got it home and 46 years later I still have that too, showing signs of restoration started in 1978 but never completed. One day…… Shortly after commencing his return walk along the trackbed Phil pauses to look at a gate post with an empty hinge attached – could this be the remains of the gate my sign was attached to? Decades of uncontrolled vegetation make it difficult to be sure but it’s on the right side of the line at around the right location…..
Having already owned up to the unauthorised use of a ganger’s trolley for a last trip along the line just before the rails were torn up, I have one other embarrassing story connected with a now track-less Calenick Level Crossing a few months later. During a visit to Truro station in late June 1972 a typical Cornish drizzle set in. I must have been expecting it as I was wearing a coat (wet Junes are nothing new!) This concerned me a little because whilst there my bike’s rear brake cable failed, so I made a mental note on the return journey to stop short of the top of the hill leading down to the level crossing and walk down. Unfortunately I misjudged the Cornish drizzle’s effect on my remaining brake and sailed over the top too quickly to get off. Rapidly gaining speed down the hill panic got a grip as I realised that using only the front brake would end in disaster and the stone wall at a sharp right in Calenick beyond the level crossing was likely to prove even worse for my sense of wellbeing! There was only one course of action – having cleared the level crossing in a blur (and not in continuous contact with the road) I steered left into a patch of stinging nettles and prayed for sufficient retardation to avoid a wipe-out! Luckily this worked, after a fashion – I hit a hidden rock, bike and rider parted company in mid-air and I landed on my back in the nettles a few yards short of the stone wall! Partly thanks to wearing that coat I suffered only a few bruises and stings but my bike was not so fortunate with a collapsed front wheel and severely bent pedal. Thankfully there were no witnesses to this near-catastrophe and I’ve rarely mentioned it to anybody……….!!
Neil Phillips Thanks for the memory and we're so glad you survived. For Phil Hadley's video click here Newham Branch Line Pt 1
The recovered lamp and the sign, both from the Newham branch. Picture received 22nd May 2018. Copyright Neil Phillips.
Newham taken during a busy period. It is thought that the Class 22 caught in the 'sandwich' is D6310. The old station buildings are in evidence. An extremely interesting picture. Copyright Sid Sponheimer.
A class 22, probably D6310, works the siding serving the gas works at Newham - this siding came into use on the 3rd April 1955. The branch closed wef 7th November 1971. Copyright Sid Sponheimer
A lovely shot of a class 22 likely to be D6304, plus a substantial train nearing Penwithers junction. The metals look well polished and the line in good shape. Picture by Sid Sponheimer Copyright
A most interesting article written by Neil Phillips concerning the above three pictures which were take by Sid Sponheimer.
These are amazing pictures, well worth the long wait - many thanks to Sid for presenting them for us to wonder at!
I'm still trying to work out how the loco managed to end up in the middle of a shunt in a yard which I believe had no run-round and relied on gravity shunting off the gradient into the yard! Fantastic also to see a photo of a Class 22 shunting the gas works siding, a real gem. Classrooms 1 to 4 at Truro School overlooked this works across the river - the chimney used to erupt with clouds of steam at regular intervals, and if you caught it at just the right moment you'd see a heat haze come out of it just before it burst forth! The 16-ton mineral wagons were moved around the sidings on the hard standing by a tractor fitted with bufferbeams.
Assuming that the loco didn't push its train all the way down the branch (D6304 was seen doing this on one occasion as it was only propelling an open wagon sandwiched between two brake vans), in the absence of a loop in Newham Goods yard the usual procedure to effect a loco 'run-round', as I understand it, was to stop the train on the gradient short of the gas works spur, uncouple the loco and run it onto the spur, then allow the train to run past it under the control of the guard (hopefully!) I believe that a weighbridge at the entrance to the gas works site prevented locos from getting further than this. Presumably the spur had to remain in place after the gas works closed on Christmas Day 1970 (odd timing) to allow this manoeuvre to continue until the line closed on 7th November 1971.
The other train is returning from Newham and is seen approaching Penwithers Junction. I considered salvaging the fixed distant signal arm visible here at the time of my infamous 'last train' exploit on the ganger's trolley (See below), but it had already been badly damaged by people chucking lumps of ballast at it so it wasn't worth the effort.
By a process of elimination (and assisted by Roger Geach) I believe I can identify the locomotives. The Class 22 shunting Newham yard and the gas works is D6310, while the other one approaching Penwithers Junction I'm more than 95% certain is Pilot Scheme loco D6304 (but would like to see a 1967/8 photo of D6305 to be sure).
Dates are more difficult - judging from the condition of both locos, most likely 1967 since D6304 was withdrawn in May 1968 (as were the remaining Pilot Scheme locos D6300/2/3/5) and D6310 was sent to Newton Abbot around the same time I think as I didn't see this one in Cornwall from 1968 onwards - it was usually seen around Exeter after that. Overall therefore I believe this cannot be the period in 1971 when Truro Yard was being remodelled - the branch was really this busy in the 1960s!
Neil Phillips
These are amazing pictures, well worth the long wait - many thanks to Sid for presenting them for us to wonder at!
I'm still trying to work out how the loco managed to end up in the middle of a shunt in a yard which I believe had no run-round and relied on gravity shunting off the gradient into the yard! Fantastic also to see a photo of a Class 22 shunting the gas works siding, a real gem. Classrooms 1 to 4 at Truro School overlooked this works across the river - the chimney used to erupt with clouds of steam at regular intervals, and if you caught it at just the right moment you'd see a heat haze come out of it just before it burst forth! The 16-ton mineral wagons were moved around the sidings on the hard standing by a tractor fitted with bufferbeams.
Assuming that the loco didn't push its train all the way down the branch (D6304 was seen doing this on one occasion as it was only propelling an open wagon sandwiched between two brake vans), in the absence of a loop in Newham Goods yard the usual procedure to effect a loco 'run-round', as I understand it, was to stop the train on the gradient short of the gas works spur, uncouple the loco and run it onto the spur, then allow the train to run past it under the control of the guard (hopefully!) I believe that a weighbridge at the entrance to the gas works site prevented locos from getting further than this. Presumably the spur had to remain in place after the gas works closed on Christmas Day 1970 (odd timing) to allow this manoeuvre to continue until the line closed on 7th November 1971.
The other train is returning from Newham and is seen approaching Penwithers Junction. I considered salvaging the fixed distant signal arm visible here at the time of my infamous 'last train' exploit on the ganger's trolley (See below), but it had already been badly damaged by people chucking lumps of ballast at it so it wasn't worth the effort.
By a process of elimination (and assisted by Roger Geach) I believe I can identify the locomotives. The Class 22 shunting Newham yard and the gas works is D6310, while the other one approaching Penwithers Junction I'm more than 95% certain is Pilot Scheme loco D6304 (but would like to see a 1967/8 photo of D6305 to be sure).
Dates are more difficult - judging from the condition of both locos, most likely 1967 since D6304 was withdrawn in May 1968 (as were the remaining Pilot Scheme locos D6300/2/3/5) and D6310 was sent to Newton Abbot around the same time I think as I didn't see this one in Cornwall from 1968 onwards - it was usually seen around Exeter after that. Overall therefore I believe this cannot be the period in 1971 when Truro Yard was being remodelled - the branch was really this busy in the 1960s!
Neil Phillips
A goods from Newham is about to join the Falmouth branch at Penwithers Junction prior to running round and heading into Truro. In the foreground is a cutting, which if track were laid, would have provided direct access to the Newham branch. Copyright Sid Sponhiemer.
The Newham Branch from above
Photographs from the Peter Butt Collection
Photographs from the Peter Butt Collection
Goods wagons can bee seen at the Newham terminus. From the Peter Butt collection
Looking down on the Newham Branch at Truro which closed nearly 50 years ago. From the Peter Butt Collection
Plenty of activity can be seen yard. The overall roof is to the left of the photograph. From the Peter Butt collection.
The terminus of the Newham Branch. The date of these photographs are not known. From the Peter Butt collection
Many Thanks Peter
The tale of a moving shed - Many thanks to Julian Stephens.
You may be interested to learn that what I understand to be the building in the centre of your 1973 picture stills exists and continues to be put to commercial use.
Following the closure of the Newham branch and the subsequent clearance of the site, the shed was dismantled and moved to a reclamation yard near Chiverton Cross.
In 1981 the shed was purchased by the owner of Treweath Engineering in Redruth. It was transported to a site on the Cardrew Industrial Estate, opposite the Pall factory, where it was reassembled and remains in use to this day.
Best wishes, Julian Stephens. Many thanks for 'shedding light' on the history of the shed from Newham.
Following the closure of the Newham branch and the subsequent clearance of the site, the shed was dismantled and moved to a reclamation yard near Chiverton Cross.
In 1981 the shed was purchased by the owner of Treweath Engineering in Redruth. It was transported to a site on the Cardrew Industrial Estate, opposite the Pall factory, where it was reassembled and remains in use to this day.
Best wishes, Julian Stephens. Many thanks for 'shedding light' on the history of the shed from Newham.
An enlargement and improvement on the picture above. On the Newham branch very close to the terminus soon after lifting. The shed, the subject for discussion lies in the distance. Also in the distance Truro Cathedral can be seen. The two spectators who seem to have little interest in the shed are Kevin Jenkin who is examining the road passing under the bridge and Cherrie the dog who just seems to be surveying the scene. 30th June 1973. Copyright Keith Jenkin.
The shed in its current location on the Cardrew Industrial Estate, Redruth. 16th May 2019. Copyright Julian Stephens
Copyright Julian Stephens.
Newham station and steam on the Newham branch
Many thanks to Hugh Davies who has given us permission to publish some pictures from his collection of 'Photos from the Fifties'. This permission for the CRS was obtained by Alan Harris who had previously purchased the prints from Hugh Davies. Should you wish to order prints from the massive collection of Hugh Davies please contact him for a catalogue. [email protected] or phone 01453 416357, or write 32, Charterhouse Road, Godalming, Surrey. GU7 2AQ
Many thanks to Hugh Davies who has given us permission to publish some pictures from his collection of 'Photos from the Fifties'. This permission for the CRS was obtained by Alan Harris who had previously purchased the prints from Hugh Davies. Should you wish to order prints from the massive collection of Hugh Davies please contact him for a catalogue. [email protected] or phone 01453 416357, or write 32, Charterhouse Road, Godalming, Surrey. GU7 2AQ
Truro Newham station as seen in 1956. Hugh Davies Collection Number R0145 Copyright
Newham 14th August 1956 Hugh Davies No 78A - Copyright
Newham 5552 14th August 1956 Hugh Davies Collection No 535C Copyright
Newham 14th August 1956 5552 takes a rest. Hugh Davies Collection No 535B Copyright
5552 takes a break at Newham 14th August 1956 Hugh Davies Collection No 535A Copyright N.B. The tide is fairly well up.
Under the watchful eye of Truro Cathedral 5552 moves off. 14th August 1956 Hugh Davies Collection No 6588 - Copyright
7422 and three brake vans Hugh Davies Collection Number 77A Copyright
Newham station - Great Western Goods depot. A picture courtesy the Alan Harris Collection
An incident on the branch - a report from Kath Jones
My grandfather, Frederick George (known as Joe) Barron
worked at Newham until he retired in March 1963. I think his title was
Head Checker.
The station master was Ron Tonkin and Gramp's colleague was Joey Sweet.
The cats in charge of the grain and cattle food store were Sabrina and Liberace!!
It was a dark drizzly morning in, I think, November 1961 when Gramp fell in front of the train. The train pulled by a high fronted diesel engine had come down with a load of coal for the gasworks. As Gramp stepped forward to change the points, he slipped on a sleeper and fell in front of the
train. Luckily he kept his legs between the rails and somehow the
train stopped before it reached the points.
We lived in St Austell and the police came to tell my Mum that her Dad had had an accident. By the time we got to Truro, (they lived in Rosewin Row), Gramp was already home having been checked over at the Infirmary. He had no fractures or serious injuries!! He looked like liver he was so bruised
from head to toe. He recovered and returned to work to finish as expected when he was 65.
I am surprised that this incident doesn’t seem to appear on the accident lists available on-line.
Kath Jones, Roche Many thanks for your note and photographs Kath, now he’ll go down in history!
My grandfather, Frederick George (known as Joe) Barron
worked at Newham until he retired in March 1963. I think his title was
Head Checker.
The station master was Ron Tonkin and Gramp's colleague was Joey Sweet.
The cats in charge of the grain and cattle food store were Sabrina and Liberace!!
It was a dark drizzly morning in, I think, November 1961 when Gramp fell in front of the train. The train pulled by a high fronted diesel engine had come down with a load of coal for the gasworks. As Gramp stepped forward to change the points, he slipped on a sleeper and fell in front of the
train. Luckily he kept his legs between the rails and somehow the
train stopped before it reached the points.
We lived in St Austell and the police came to tell my Mum that her Dad had had an accident. By the time we got to Truro, (they lived in Rosewin Row), Gramp was already home having been checked over at the Infirmary. He had no fractures or serious injuries!! He looked like liver he was so bruised
from head to toe. He recovered and returned to work to finish as expected when he was 65.
I am surprised that this incident doesn’t seem to appear on the accident lists available on-line.
Kath Jones, Roche Many thanks for your note and photographs Kath, now he’ll go down in history!
George Barron later head checker at Newham - pictured in 1945 in his new uniform. From the Kath Jones collection
George Barrows on retirement 1961 Photo from Kath Jones
Western on the Newham branch by the late Michael Parsonage
Dear Keith,
I hope the attached pictures from my collection are of interest. They show a rare event: a visit by D1054 Western Governor to the Newham branch, and are thought to have been taken in March 1970. In the first picture the loco is being watched carefully by BR staff as it traverses to the end of one of the sidings, with tail light on. In the second, it is returning to Penwithers Junction, with a rather stark looking County Hall in the background. A further picture of this event appears in my recent book on the diesel hydraulics, and Neil Phillips tells me that a couple of other type 4s are rumoured to have visited the branch around the same time. It appears from the picture taken at Newham that the loco may be undertaking clearance tests. Perhaps the operating authorities were looking for greater flexibility in the motive power employed on the branch at the time.
I would be interested to hear if any members know more about this event. The pictures were apparently taken by a Michael Parsonage who lived in West Cornwall. Does any member know of him, or was he perhaps a Society member?
Best wishes
Andrew Vines. Many thanks Andrew.
I hope the attached pictures from my collection are of interest. They show a rare event: a visit by D1054 Western Governor to the Newham branch, and are thought to have been taken in March 1970. In the first picture the loco is being watched carefully by BR staff as it traverses to the end of one of the sidings, with tail light on. In the second, it is returning to Penwithers Junction, with a rather stark looking County Hall in the background. A further picture of this event appears in my recent book on the diesel hydraulics, and Neil Phillips tells me that a couple of other type 4s are rumoured to have visited the branch around the same time. It appears from the picture taken at Newham that the loco may be undertaking clearance tests. Perhaps the operating authorities were looking for greater flexibility in the motive power employed on the branch at the time.
I would be interested to hear if any members know more about this event. The pictures were apparently taken by a Michael Parsonage who lived in West Cornwall. Does any member know of him, or was he perhaps a Society member?
Best wishes
Andrew Vines. Many thanks Andrew.
Newham branch 1 D1054 Western Governer March 1970 Thought to have been taken by Mike Parsonage - supplied by Andrew Vines.
Newham branch 2 D1054 Western Governor leaves the Newham branch at Penwithers Junction - March 1970. This photograph thought to have been taken by Mike Parsonage.
Looking rather deserted but little is missing other than the track at Truro Newham seen here in July 1973. Copyright Roger Winnen
More on the Western on the branch Larry Ray
In regards to a western class on the Newham branch my father was a signal man at Penwithers junction and I spent a lot of my school holidays with Dad at the box (no health and safety in the 60s) and would ride home in the guards van to Calenick level crossing this was always a class 63 with around 21 coal trucks and maybe 4 or 5 Fife’s banana vans on closure of the gas works at Newham only the banana vans and a 08 shutter ran on the branch until closure other than when the new sewerage pipeline and pumping station was constructed at Calenick the pipe line ran from Threemilestone to Newham the section from calenick ran beside the railway line to Newham. The first delivery of 2ft round pipes where delivered by road but all were damaged in transit , so the second delivery was by rail. This is as far as I am aware the only time a class 52 was ever run on the branch.
l lived in sight and sound around line from 1965 up to closure
Thanks for your great website Larry Ray
In regards to a western class on the Newham branch my father was a signal man at Penwithers junction and I spent a lot of my school holidays with Dad at the box (no health and safety in the 60s) and would ride home in the guards van to Calenick level crossing this was always a class 63 with around 21 coal trucks and maybe 4 or 5 Fife’s banana vans on closure of the gas works at Newham only the banana vans and a 08 shutter ran on the branch until closure other than when the new sewerage pipeline and pumping station was constructed at Calenick the pipe line ran from Threemilestone to Newham the section from calenick ran beside the railway line to Newham. The first delivery of 2ft round pipes where delivered by road but all were damaged in transit , so the second delivery was by rail. This is as far as I am aware the only time a class 52 was ever run on the branch.
l lived in sight and sound around line from 1965 up to closure
Thanks for your great website Larry Ray
A Technical Viewpoint by John Roberts.
Keith, I was intrigued by Andrew Vine’s and Neil Phillips’ news reports on 15th and 16th December 2021 of a Western reaching Newham in March 1970, as it poses more questions than it answers.
There are three principal compatibility tests necessary before a vehicle can run on a piece of track: Route Availability, Minimum Curve and Load & Structure Gauge, and Westerns fail at least one of these tests.
1. Route Availability (RA) reflects the weight of vehicles spread over the number of axles versus the strength of the track and structures. The GWR divided its RA classes into Uncoloured (the lightest), Yellow, Blue and Red (initially the heaviest - Note 1). A Red Route could accommodate a 20T axle and a Western had a maximum axle of 18T. So far so good. However, the Working Timetable says that the Newham Branch could accept a maximum axle of 16T12CWT, ie a Yellow Route, which is why it was restricted to pannier tanks and small prairies, and later Baby Warships (Note 2). Unfortunately diesel shunters were just over the Yellow limit so were classed as Blue.
2. Minimum Curve is the sharpest curve a vehicle can negotiate and depends on the fixed wheelbase of the vehicle and hence the reason why bogies are fitted. Westerns have a long wheelbase and therefore a minimum curve of 4.5 Chains. I don't have the relevant curve diagrams, and the photo of a Western on the branch curve appears to be acceptable, although we don't know what condition the track was in after it had passed;
3. Load Gauge is the maximum width and height of a vehicle, while Structure Gauge is the minimum width and height of a structure, and clearly the largest vehicle must fit through the smallest bridge. Westerns were designed to fit the BR load gauge, and there were no overbridges on the branch, so this probably wasn't an constraint.
Life now gets more complicated as these interfaces can be mitigated by speed restriction. You have probably heard the term metal fatigue. If you warm a spoon you can bend it gently, but if you work it back and forth quickly it will break. If a bridge is designed for a Yellow loco, it might take a Red loco at a lower speed, and it might fail after a few passes or after many passes. It depends on the reserve strength which can be determined only by detailed analysis by the Chief Engineer at Paddington. Therefore there seem to be three scenarios:
1. The Chief Engineer did a proper analysis and gave formal permission for Red locos to trial Newham, probably with a severe speed restriction of 5mph, although the branch speed was already low at 15mph. The staff in the Newham photo appear to be checking clearances in one of the sidings;
2. A District Officer issued a Local Instruction, probably on a Stencil, a flimsy carbon paper long since lost. However, as the photos appear to show a formal test this is unlikely.
3. Someone at ground level took the risk. However, given the dire warnings in the Operating Publications which would be drummed into staff this is also unlikely, especially as you list other possible sightings which must have come to the attention of the District Officers.
In summary, Route Availability is a complex topic and this has been a bit of a ramble through some possible issues. On balance, it seems likely that clearance tests were conducted but not adopted.
There is an interesting fit with Neil’s aside. The A39 was widened in the mid-60s and I recall the corner at Kea Turn being filled, but 60 years later the road has never been realigned at this point. However, Arch Hill underbridge was renewed with a much longer span and would have formed the main constraint, so it would be useful to know for which locos it was designed.
But the big question is why did they consider running large locos to Newham in 1970? It must have been known at the time that Newham was to close soon. However, the NBL Type 2s were on their way out and maybe they were short of locos. There was also a cost-cutting exercise to eliminate shunting locos and let freight train locos do their own shunting. And having run the tests, why were they not used? Maybe more Type 2s became available until the branch closed.
Footnote 1: In the 1920s, Castles were the heaviest Red locos with a maximum axle of 19.5T. HQ was worried by the Lord Nelsons claiming to be the most powerful locos in Britain so demanded a yet more powerful loco to trump them. The GWR didn't like trailing pony trucks (why?) so the resulting design (which became the King) had an axle load of 22T. Clearly HQ thought that the cost of upgrading the infrastructure for the extra weight was cost effective, so the highest RA was born, called Double Red, with a permissible axle load of 22.5T. Maps of the time show the Double Red ending at Keyham Junction, so the limiting bridge may have been Weston Mill or the Royal Albert. However, in the mid-70s the china clay industry asked to use 25T axle wagons and the RAB was upgraded.
Footnote 2: D6306-6357 were classed as Yellow so could run over Yellow Routes at their maximum speed of 75mph where permitted. D6300-6305 were slightly heavier so classed as Blue, but could run over Yellow Routes at a maximum speed of 40mph.
There are three principal compatibility tests necessary before a vehicle can run on a piece of track: Route Availability, Minimum Curve and Load & Structure Gauge, and Westerns fail at least one of these tests.
1. Route Availability (RA) reflects the weight of vehicles spread over the number of axles versus the strength of the track and structures. The GWR divided its RA classes into Uncoloured (the lightest), Yellow, Blue and Red (initially the heaviest - Note 1). A Red Route could accommodate a 20T axle and a Western had a maximum axle of 18T. So far so good. However, the Working Timetable says that the Newham Branch could accept a maximum axle of 16T12CWT, ie a Yellow Route, which is why it was restricted to pannier tanks and small prairies, and later Baby Warships (Note 2). Unfortunately diesel shunters were just over the Yellow limit so were classed as Blue.
2. Minimum Curve is the sharpest curve a vehicle can negotiate and depends on the fixed wheelbase of the vehicle and hence the reason why bogies are fitted. Westerns have a long wheelbase and therefore a minimum curve of 4.5 Chains. I don't have the relevant curve diagrams, and the photo of a Western on the branch curve appears to be acceptable, although we don't know what condition the track was in after it had passed;
3. Load Gauge is the maximum width and height of a vehicle, while Structure Gauge is the minimum width and height of a structure, and clearly the largest vehicle must fit through the smallest bridge. Westerns were designed to fit the BR load gauge, and there were no overbridges on the branch, so this probably wasn't an constraint.
Life now gets more complicated as these interfaces can be mitigated by speed restriction. You have probably heard the term metal fatigue. If you warm a spoon you can bend it gently, but if you work it back and forth quickly it will break. If a bridge is designed for a Yellow loco, it might take a Red loco at a lower speed, and it might fail after a few passes or after many passes. It depends on the reserve strength which can be determined only by detailed analysis by the Chief Engineer at Paddington. Therefore there seem to be three scenarios:
1. The Chief Engineer did a proper analysis and gave formal permission for Red locos to trial Newham, probably with a severe speed restriction of 5mph, although the branch speed was already low at 15mph. The staff in the Newham photo appear to be checking clearances in one of the sidings;
2. A District Officer issued a Local Instruction, probably on a Stencil, a flimsy carbon paper long since lost. However, as the photos appear to show a formal test this is unlikely.
3. Someone at ground level took the risk. However, given the dire warnings in the Operating Publications which would be drummed into staff this is also unlikely, especially as you list other possible sightings which must have come to the attention of the District Officers.
In summary, Route Availability is a complex topic and this has been a bit of a ramble through some possible issues. On balance, it seems likely that clearance tests were conducted but not adopted.
There is an interesting fit with Neil’s aside. The A39 was widened in the mid-60s and I recall the corner at Kea Turn being filled, but 60 years later the road has never been realigned at this point. However, Arch Hill underbridge was renewed with a much longer span and would have formed the main constraint, so it would be useful to know for which locos it was designed.
But the big question is why did they consider running large locos to Newham in 1970? It must have been known at the time that Newham was to close soon. However, the NBL Type 2s were on their way out and maybe they were short of locos. There was also a cost-cutting exercise to eliminate shunting locos and let freight train locos do their own shunting. And having run the tests, why were they not used? Maybe more Type 2s became available until the branch closed.
Footnote 1: In the 1920s, Castles were the heaviest Red locos with a maximum axle of 19.5T. HQ was worried by the Lord Nelsons claiming to be the most powerful locos in Britain so demanded a yet more powerful loco to trump them. The GWR didn't like trailing pony trucks (why?) so the resulting design (which became the King) had an axle load of 22T. Clearly HQ thought that the cost of upgrading the infrastructure for the extra weight was cost effective, so the highest RA was born, called Double Red, with a permissible axle load of 22.5T. Maps of the time show the Double Red ending at Keyham Junction, so the limiting bridge may have been Weston Mill or the Royal Albert. However, in the mid-70s the china clay industry asked to use 25T axle wagons and the RAB was upgraded.
Footnote 2: D6306-6357 were classed as Yellow so could run over Yellow Routes at their maximum speed of 75mph where permitted. D6300-6305 were slightly heavier so classed as Blue, but could run over Yellow Routes at a maximum speed of 40mph.
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Hymeck on the Newham branch - the discussion continues. I saw Simon Howard’s comment regarding the possible trial of a Hymek on the Newham branch. Both of us are relying on ageing memories now, especially when events weren’t written into our notebooks, but some things do stick....
I saw the same Brush Type 4 and Hymek combination, both in green livery with full yellow ends as Simon says, running light engine across Truro’s viaducts, but in the opposite direction, presumably after their tasks had been completed - however the date was late May 1971. From mid-April until the end of May Class 47s D1929, D1596 (following display at the St Blazey Open Day 1st May 1971) and D1917 performed fortnightly stints shunting PW wagons around Truro Yard during the early stages of the track alterations (Roger Geach surmises the reason these were used in preference to the local hydraulics was the fitting of slow-speed control). It was on an unrecorded date during D1917’s two weeks at Truro that it turned up with Hymek D7014 in tow (which by coincidence had itself been a display loco at the previous year’s St Blazey Open Day). My assumption has always been that the Hymek had been supplied for clearance testing the new track layout – whether it went to Falmouth and/or Newham is open to debate, Falmouth is possible, Newham unlikely since the Truro remodelling was known to include closure of the branch within a few months – but who knows, maybe it did just to ‘tick all the boxes’ while it was in the area (there is a signalman’s claim that a Hymek was trialled on china clay branches around that time too.....) In the event the ‘new’ Truro yard was only ever to see one known Hymek visit – D7011 arrived overnight 11th August 1973 to drop off milk empties and immediately returned light engine.
Did a Class 25 ever reach Newham? It was D5179’s turn to clearance-test Truro yard in late August 1971 (wish I’d noted the date) and D7676 turned up on 21st October, but the branch was just 17 days from official closure by then.......
Best regards,
Neil Phillips
I saw the same Brush Type 4 and Hymek combination, both in green livery with full yellow ends as Simon says, running light engine across Truro’s viaducts, but in the opposite direction, presumably after their tasks had been completed - however the date was late May 1971. From mid-April until the end of May Class 47s D1929, D1596 (following display at the St Blazey Open Day 1st May 1971) and D1917 performed fortnightly stints shunting PW wagons around Truro Yard during the early stages of the track alterations (Roger Geach surmises the reason these were used in preference to the local hydraulics was the fitting of slow-speed control). It was on an unrecorded date during D1917’s two weeks at Truro that it turned up with Hymek D7014 in tow (which by coincidence had itself been a display loco at the previous year’s St Blazey Open Day). My assumption has always been that the Hymek had been supplied for clearance testing the new track layout – whether it went to Falmouth and/or Newham is open to debate, Falmouth is possible, Newham unlikely since the Truro remodelling was known to include closure of the branch within a few months – but who knows, maybe it did just to ‘tick all the boxes’ while it was in the area (there is a signalman’s claim that a Hymek was trialled on china clay branches around that time too.....) In the event the ‘new’ Truro yard was only ever to see one known Hymek visit – D7011 arrived overnight 11th August 1973 to drop off milk empties and immediately returned light engine.
Did a Class 25 ever reach Newham? It was D5179’s turn to clearance-test Truro yard in late August 1971 (wish I’d noted the date) and D7676 turned up on 21st October, but the branch was just 17 days from official closure by then.......
Best regards,
Neil Phillips
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Tailpiece - the very last passengers on the Newham branch. A true story by Neil Phillips
The ganger's trolley incident.... OK, here goes! Contractors soon got to work on lifting the track following closure in 1972 but not before four of us became the last “passengers” to travel the line as far as the former gasworks spur (there was no track beyond that) by means of the trolley which we found sitting on the track near Penwithers Junction one Sunday afternoon! Achieving this feat meant replacing some lengths of rail on the inside of the curve over the A39 Arch Hill bridge – removed by workmen to make access easier for their dumper truck – but we were considerate enough to return the trolley to where we’d found it, even though it meant pushing it nearly two miles mostly uphill! The workmen must have been baffled to find the rails on the bridge back in their chairs the following day though!! I still smile at the thought every time I drive under this bridge
The ganger's trolley incident.... OK, here goes! Contractors soon got to work on lifting the track following closure in 1972 but not before four of us became the last “passengers” to travel the line as far as the former gasworks spur (there was no track beyond that) by means of the trolley which we found sitting on the track near Penwithers Junction one Sunday afternoon! Achieving this feat meant replacing some lengths of rail on the inside of the curve over the A39 Arch Hill bridge – removed by workmen to make access easier for their dumper truck – but we were considerate enough to return the trolley to where we’d found it, even though it meant pushing it nearly two miles mostly uphill! The workmen must have been baffled to find the rails on the bridge back in their chairs the following day though!! I still smile at the thought every time I drive under this bridge
Do you want to see a picture of a passenger train on the Newham branch? There is one of a single car DMU which included the Newham branch? This is available from Transport Treasury, catalogue number B6327, at a very reasonable price. Other pictures of the train detailed below are at St Ives B6325, at Hayle Wharves B6326
Do you wish you were on this one? On 14 April 1963 a single car DMU provided a fascinating railtour from Penzance to Plymouth. The lines covered were - St Erth to St Ives, Hayle to Hayle Wharves, Camborne to Roskear Siding, Penwithers Junction to Newham, St Austell to Lansalson, Burngullow to Drinnick Mill and through to St Dennis Jct, Tolcarne Curve, Trevemper Siding, Bugle to Carbis Wharf, St Blazey, Fowey and Lostwithiel, Coombe Junction to Moorswater, and finally to Plymouth. What a day out - do you have any pictures taken on this railtour, we'd be delighted to show them with due credits.
Other Railtours included the Cornwall Minerals Railtour as recorded in the steam railtour section of this site. there was also a brake van tour hauled by, it is believed, an 08 loco shunter - this was arranged for a local school. Details would be appreciated, and pictures even more!!!!
Do you wish you were on this one? On 14 April 1963 a single car DMU provided a fascinating railtour from Penzance to Plymouth. The lines covered were - St Erth to St Ives, Hayle to Hayle Wharves, Camborne to Roskear Siding, Penwithers Junction to Newham, St Austell to Lansalson, Burngullow to Drinnick Mill and through to St Dennis Jct, Tolcarne Curve, Trevemper Siding, Bugle to Carbis Wharf, St Blazey, Fowey and Lostwithiel, Coombe Junction to Moorswater, and finally to Plymouth. What a day out - do you have any pictures taken on this railtour, we'd be delighted to show them with due credits.
Other Railtours included the Cornwall Minerals Railtour as recorded in the steam railtour section of this site. there was also a brake van tour hauled by, it is believed, an 08 loco shunter - this was arranged for a local school. Details would be appreciated, and pictures even more!!!!