​The road crossing at Pugham, between Burlescombe and Sampford Peverell, was closed in 1974 and the cottage, signal hut and gates removed. It is now used infrequently by pedestrians.

It was never a block post, having only repeater bells, latterly from Whiteball and Tiverton Junction.

​From the road junction, the lane still leads as far as the crossing. A split second later and an Up H.S.T. would have shot across; blue can just be seen through the building.

The old B. & E., looking (briefly) towards Exeter. The lane continues on the east side of the line, in fact crossing the M5, seen at left converging with the railway on the approach to Sampford Peverell. Though it is a public road, the lane is only used for access to the land and must be one of the least used in Devon.    Many thanks Colin

Flickr site :-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/149822823@N04

On Tuesday I caught the late running 1520 Waterloo from Axminster. As the train crept along the loop waiting for the late running 1725 St. David's to clear the single line, I noticed what I think is a tank trap, which would have been installed in 1940 as part of the Taunton Stop Line stretching from Burnham to Seaton. It is only a concrete pillar with a slot for inserting a rail or beam across the track, which would have been done upon invasion of the enemy. They were placed where there was no way round them; in this case the defence is on an embankment.

Enter these coordinates into the Google Earth Searchbox
50Deg 40'13.5N 3Deg00'57"W
See picture below:- 
Moving south-east, a pillbox can be seen nearby.

Of course the two shapes seen could just be lineside cabinets opposite each other.

The stop lines were intended only to check light tanks and armoured cars, which would make as good progress along a railway as a road. In practice the defences were useless, and pointless anyway after 1941 when Germany invaded Russia. Had Panzer divisions been landed, with their air support and artillery, infantry and engineer's units, the stop lines would not have held for a moment.

It's amazing what you see - or think you see - from a carriage window if you're alert. Everyone else was engrossed in their little screens.

Cheers,
Colin

Newbury electrification works - timetable changes in July and August
The work to electrify the GWR route between Reading and Newbury requires closure of the Berks & Hants line for extended periods this summer.  Consequent diversions and timetable changes will have a wide-reaching impact on train services.
The work work starts on Monday 9 July and runs until Thursday 12 July.  The line will be open on Friday 13 July and for the weekend of 14 and 15 July.

It then closes on Monday 16 July and will not re-open until Sunday 5 August. This line closure includes weekends and weekdays.

More details including diversionary routes, bus times and alternative car park arrangements are on the GWR dedicated Newbury upgrade web page:

Please use this link

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/newbury2018

• ​              Many thanks for the advice Derek

​Good Morning Keith

Following on from the recent focus on the Bristol Temple Meads area by Guy Vincent and Craig, here are some night exposures I took in 1983. Always trial and error with film and the various nearby light sources or lack of them. Not to mention minor annoyances like moving people ! Rain and wet surroundings usually made for dismal day photos but following a good downpour and accumulation of puddles on the platform, some superb night exposures could be obtained.  

The small hours  of summer Saturdays would see a procession of overnight trains from the  north and the midlands to Newquay, Penzance and Paignton. On one night in August 1984 I noted eight inter-regionals heading west and two from London to Penzance. Temple Meads buffet was open all night to supply coffee to keep the sleep deprived enthusiasts awake and the station was a hive of activity with Royal Mail staff servicing the postal and parcel trains. The Royal Mail sorting office mentioned by Guy can be seen illuminated in two of the photos.

            Regards,  Clive Smith.        Many Thanks indeed Clive

​On a recent ride to join the Devon & Somerset at Morebath Junction, I took the secluded lane following the River Lowman from Uplowman to Huntsham and then skirted Bampton Down to reach the old stopping place on the Exe Valley line.

A useful link :-
http://www.tivertonmuseum.org.uk/fp.php?id=1697
Cheers,.  Colin

All please note, it is important for your camera clock to be set correctly, although in this case Dave advised us of the time in the captions it would be a great help if you all checked your cameras clocks. An example to follow.

           Tiverton Parkway             alias Sampford Peverell
Colin Burges 

​A couple of my recent rides have started and, or, finished at what today is called Tiverton Parkway.

  Kind Regards Colin.  Many thanks Colin for your pictures and comments

As predicted some months ago and with the 'high summer' period now upon us, new traction is now starting to appear at Westbury in normal passenger service. The late afternoon 1J91 1707 Paddington-Frome and return 5J91 1913 Frome-Padd'n EBi-MoMU (Empty Bi-Mode Multiple Unit, my acronym!) is booked for a new class 800 series unit and on the glorious evening of Monday 2nd this produced 9 car set 800305.  Here is the return 5J91 leaving Westbury for Paddington.   Incidentally, I have been reliably informed that major works are planned for the Christmas period this year at Westbury. These will include lengthening the platforms to accommodate a full 9 car IEP set and repositioning signals in the station area. Also due to be carried out is limited remodelling and realignment of the north end junction and for this work has already started in the triangle where the Newbury and Trowbridge lines separate.    For optimum operational flexibility a valuable benefit here would be the reinstatement of the disused platform 1 but I don't think this is included.
From Monday 2nd July two-car class 165 units began working in the Central region alongside their former Thames Valley 3-car class 166 cousins.   165132 leaving with the delayed 2E28 1838 Westbury-Cheltenham Spa (via Bristol TM), 800305 sitting in P3 with the 1J91 Padd'n-Frome described above. 

         With best regards, Guy Vincent    Many Thanks Guy   

​Evening Keith,
57602 'Restormel Castle' returned light engine this afternoon from Laira, running as 0Z79 16.46 Laira T&RSMD-Longrock TMD, however after capturing it on the single line section at Longrock, it ran straight to Penzance station, where I then caught up with it stabled on Oil 2 siding, where also 802001 was with 5Z54 for Laira TMD. 3 shots for CRS enclosed on a rare dull summer's day
All the Best
Andrew                      Many thanks  Andrew.

From our In Box :-  Could anyone tell me the last normal-service steam workings witnessed (rostered or otherwise) in Western Region Cornwall before the official last run in 1964 from Penzance, please? I know that most had ended by 1962ish, but what else might have lingered on with occasional workings, maybe from Laira?
Sincere thanks for any information you can give me.
       Best wishes,  Simon Talbot  Many thanks Simon for the question
This question was then put to Roy Hart, and if anyone knows he will, and from far away Burma comes the answer :-
Dear Keith,
The GW sheds in Cornwall all closed to steam in 1962: SBZ  and TR at Easter. PZ retained a steam allocation for standby duties, covering diesel failures and for working summer extras. In reality most of the engines sat at Long Rock, with about a third steamed each day. The PZ allocation in April - Aug 1962 was County (3) Grange (8) 55xx (4) 94xx (2) 57xx (1). All of these engines were condemned or transferred away in Aug/Sep 1962. Laira still had a good steam allocation after this date (steam there was scheduled to end in 1964). Throughout the spring and summer of 1963, Laira Halls (there were 3) appeared in Cornwall quite often -almost daily, I recall. The last Laira Castle (7022) also made regular appearances. I remember seeing it on the PZ-Kensington milk in August 63. 7022 was transferred away in 11/63.
By the summer of 1963, Laira was down to 8 or 9 steam locomotives, mostly covering failures, so by about October 63, steam had disappeared from Cornwall altogether. There was the odd exception up to about November, when the odd Castle or Hall worked through from Bristol (presumably covering a failure). I recall no steam on the Cornish main line after about Oct 63.
In spring 64, the PRC/RCTS wanted to run a commemorative train to PZ from Exeter (the Cornubian). BR had nothing available west of Bristol to pull it: they suggested a Bullied -of which Exmouth Junction still had several. All the Castles in fair to good condition were required for the Paddington to Worcester service and in that week, four of these were reserved for the famous May 9th commemoration of City of Truro's run. The special ran from Exeter with a 28xx 2-8-0 (from Taunton shed, which was the last shed west of Bristol to have a tender engine available!). At Plymouth the Bullied took over.
I recall hanging around Carn Brea station in the summer holidays of 1963 - steam was a pleasant surprise, not every day, but maybe 6 or 7 times a week. Usually the same engines: 7022, 4978, 6921, 7916. All had gone by the November.

Roy.

Many thanks indeed Roy for that very comprehensive reply I am sure that Simon, indeed, all of us very much appreciate your knowledge.

We had a day out at Lanhydrock today and whilst walking through the woodlands we arrived at Respryn bridge just in time to see first the 12.04 ex Penzance to Paddington quickly followed by the 09.03 ex Paddington to Newquay. 20 seconds later and I’d have managed both trains in the same shot. Regards Martin.
Many thanks Martin.
HST's still in the 'old' FGW livery, once a common sight but not for much longer. Respryn is a very attractive location.

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Petition Update

URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT: A One Time Opportunity To Save the Tramway Sorry about not posting much, the truth is nothing much has really happened. It has now been 3 years since I started this campaign, and lately, for about a year and a half, there has not been an opportunity to move things forward... until now. I have been working with Weyforward and others for the past month to create a planning proposal to go head to head with the councils plan to redevelop the...


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