26th June 2022

26/6/2022

Penzance mystery solved
Detective Roger Winnen

On the 19th June Matthew Bradley wrote :- I write with reference to a photograph (enclosed), which appeared on your website as part of a short feature ‘Penzance Then And Now’ by Chris Bellett 18/6/2022. The 1970 photograph in question showing a Class 52 ‘Western’ at Penzance Station Platform 3 buffer stops; also shows a mineral wagon with a person removing what looks like coal onto an adjacent trolley. Just wondered if any of your members remembered anything about this activity 52 years ago? Kind regards, Matthew Bradley.

Not to be beaten our local resident and 'detective' Roger Winnen made some inquiries.

I had a conversation with Leslie Richards a former senior guard who worked on the railway all his life until he reached retirement age.

This coal wagon was brought into Penzance Station Platform 1 for off loading the coal into the coal store located at the bottom of the stairs leading to the balcony and the former entrance to Penzance Station. Leslie tells me that Roy Welsh who died in 2019 age 93 from Mincarlo, Chapel Street Penzance and him were asked by the Station Master to off load this truck and place the coal in the room which was situated many feet below the pavement running outside the station. This was the coal store and when required coal could be distributed around the station for the office fires. He doesn't remember any fire places in that room. Possibly they were removed when the reconstruction inside the station was carried out in the late 1930s.

Once the truck was off loaded they were given the day off by the Station Master!

There remains one query still to be resolved - looking along the north side of the station building from the road a very large and impressive chimney ca be seen. This stands above the room into which Leslie Richards and Roy Welsh were unloading the coal - what purpose did it serve - was there once a central heating boiler here - does anybody know - perhaps time will tell ?

With many thanks to Roger for his hard work.

A great day on the
Bodmin & Wenford
Jon Hird

Hi guys,
Please find attached some pics from the BWR today, featuring resident class 50 no. 50042 and a few unexpected shots of the Pannier tank on a drivers experience course - I heard this coming up the bank from Boscarne whilst I was walking along to take a photo of the 50, it was very nice to be taken by surprise by something interesting - it doesn’t happen very often in the Railway world nowadays, as with the tech we all carry around it’s easy to know exactly what to expect to come along next!! (I’d forgotten that the BWR had 2 trains out today).

A great day out as always at Bodmin.

All the best, Jon Hird