4th August 1993
Cherry Tree Catering / Regional Railways Swindon
The Paradise Flyer
Loco Used37191
Stock Used5322+5419+5376+9428+5293+5378Route :
12.45 Weymouth Quay - Yeovil Pen Mill
14.30 Yeovil Pen Mill - Weymouth TownNotes :
This train was booked to run each Wednesday (utilising the loco and stock off the morning 2O87 09.00 Bristol Temple Meads - Weymouth Town before it returned as 2V87 at 16.30) between 14th July and 1st September 1993. In the event a loco failure on the last day (1st September) meant the train did not run that day.
The train was advertised by Regional Railways at Swindon as a joint venture with CTC under the name "Special Train Through the Streets of Weymouth".
                                           Courtesy Six Bells Junction 

Hi Keith,
 
What a fascinating article sent in by Laurence Hansford on the end of St Ives signalling – there’s no substitute for being there and witnessing such events first hand (that’s how I know Warship 805 Benbow visited Wadebridge 45 years ago, although sadly unlike Laurence I didn’t have a camera to hand so you’ll have to take my word for it!) They certainly didn’t waste any time on the dismantling. I was particularly interested to see the photos of the inspection saloon which was one of three (DB999506/8/9 – ‘507 was a departmental railbus) built at Swindon Works to the BR Mark I design on a 57’ underframe around 1960. What makes this so interesting is that until now I had never seen a photo of one of these in original lined maroon, and the lining wrapping around the ends in similar fashion to ex-GWR autocoaches is especially eyecatching! No yellow warning panels either.
 
Since I have no knowledge of the other two getting anywhere near the West Country I am sure that this would have been the now-famous DB999508, as this vehicle was the South West area inspection saloon well into the 1970s as far as I know – it was certainly around in the early ‘70s, as the attached photos will testify (these are scans of prints not taken by myself but a school friend, William Heggie) and show a by-then blue/grey DB999508 accompanied by a battered, snowplough-fitted and very nearly life-expired D6322 at Truro in I believe March 1971. Just like at St Ives, its presence at Truro turned out to be a harbinger for serious rationalisation!
 
Why famous? In 1987 this vehicle was modified into a track recording coach and in more recent years was seen all over the country sandwiched between Network Rail locos. I have just learned that it was retired in 2012 and now resides in (well-earned) preservation on the West Somerset Railway.
 
Regards,
Neil Phillips                                                     Many thanks Neil

My good friend Roger Geach has been waiting 'in the wings' for several days so let's have the first of his 'gems'  Many thanks Roger

​Hi Keith

Visited our favourite Cornish branch today. I can understand why St Ives attracts  "artists' as the light in that area is just very special.
B Regards

Ron                                                        Many thanks Ron 

Morning Keith

A full day at Penzance yesterday in the gloom! One highlight was the class 08 08410 scuttling in to collect the overnight sleeper stock. It contrasts with more modern traction waiting to set off.

The sight of the these 350HP beauties shunting around stations across the UK are sadly missed. Largely ignored by enthusiasts, they provided a vital service when perishables were sorted and coaches needed shunting. We are fortunate in the South West that the 08s come in from Laira occasionally to shunt HST power cars.

Cheers Craig   Very nostalgic - many thanks Craig

I am afraid I am going to have to contradict some of what has been written about through trains to/from St Ives.  I was born there in 1944 and lived in the town until the autumn of 1963 and was an avid watcher of everything that occurred on “my” railway and can remember seeing locos in drab GWR livery (if you could call it that).  What I am about to recall, I saw with my own eyes.
 
Yes, the Cornish Riviera Express DID work in and out of St Ives, usually with the proper stock complete with “Cornish Riviera” boards slotted in place on the Carriages and it was always referred to with reverence as the Cornish Riviera Express.  Indeed, when the Chocolate & Cream sets consisting of 8 brand new BR Mk1 coaches plus a pair of pre-war GWR Restaurant Cars were introduced in the mid-fifties, they promptly appeared at St Ives.  Even the underframes were still shiny black.  I remember the surprise and pride I felt when this happened although I thought it a pity that nothing had been done to smarten up the engines (yet).  Regrettably Chocolate & Cream only lasted for a few years after which all carriages were gradually painted in boring old maroon.
 
Through the fifties, loads were 10 coaches at the beginning and end of the season (2nd week of June – end of 1st week of September) rising to 11 or even 12 at peak season.  Invariably three 45XXs would be involved.  One would be waiting, ready to go, usually on the run-round loop but sometimes elsewhere.  As the train drawn by a pair of engines approached along the cliffs from the stop signal at Porthminster Point it would come to a halt again just under the road bridge by the engine shed where the leading engine would be detached and run up to the shed for water.  As soon as the points were clear the train engine would then take the train into the station and smoothly come to a halt hard up against the wall at the end of the platform.  Meanwhile the engine which had been quietly simmering on the loop would make its way up onto the viaduct before backing onto the train, followed by the engine which had been taking on water. The pair would then sit patiently with steam pouring from their safety valves waiting for the “OFF” which would be delivered with much whistling and flag waving.  The whole operation took about 20 minutes supervised, in the fifties, by the Station Master.
 
The above procedure applied to both the morning UP train and the evening DOWN train except that in the morning the fireman of the engine sandwiched between the train and the buffers would usually take the opportunity to have a breakfast fry-up.  I have smelt the bacon and watched bacon, eggs tomatoes and even chips being cooked in a shiny shovel wiped spotless with a bit of cotton waste!
 
As for the suggestion that the train was pushed back to allow the train engine to escape over the crossover, this would not have been possible, certainly in the morning, as the whole platform from end to end would be filled by a seething mass of humanity with their suitcases, push-chairs and children clutching their buckets and spades.  The instant the train stopped (if not before) the doors would be flung open and the throng would surge forward to get the best seats.  There would be people getting on and off the train right up until the blowing of the whistle.  In any case, quite often the crossover was unusable because of the number of carriages parked in the sea siding and it was usual for there to be an engine in the station the whole day until the evening train; as each branch train arrived the waiting engine would back onto it and take it back to St Erth leaving the other engine free to go and get water and then admire the view.
 
In the late fifties as post-war conditions improved and more people took holidays but before the era of universal car ownership and cheap flights to foreign parts, some Saturdays would see every spare space taken up with assorted through carriages from the North – old pre-war LMS and LNER specimens and even some from the Scottish Region.  Sometimes some would be gathered up and used as the next Branch train to St Erth simply to give a bit of space to move.
 
Towards the end of through trains when the Rivera was reduced to a meagre 8 carriages and D63XXs ruled the roost, there were one or two occasions when only 2 engines were used for the down train and the empty stock pushed back to let the train engine escape but these were very, very, much the exception.  There was even one solitary occasion (the 7th September 1963, the last day of the Summer Timetable and the final day of through Paddington trains) when the morning train was brought down the Branch by THREE D63XXs, the first 2 (D6321 & D6316) being detached leaving the third to draw the train into the station.  At the other end of the scale, in the days of steam there were times when there were four 45XXs in the station because of the density of traffic.
 
Although talk of closure had been in the air for a long time it was obvious that something was afoot when, early morning of Thursday 15th August 1963, I was surprised to see a polished D6340 sitting in the bay platform with an equally polished solitary coach which turned out to be the Engineer’s Inspection Saloon (from where – does anybody know?).  Odd bods with Trilby Hats were wandering about the station.  During the mid-morning lull D6340 propelled the saloon back to St Erth and was never seen again.
 
The end came ignominiously less than 4 weeks later on Sunday 8th September, the first day of the Winter Timetable; Sunday trains didn’t run during the winter.  A team of men arrived by motor lorry (not even by train!); out came the tablet apparatus from the Signal Box and the arms came off the signals.  Then came the much longer job of disabling all the interlocking between the signals and the points, at a stroke reducing the Signal Box to a ground-frame and the status of the Branch to one engine in steam.
 
In actual fact the job took a few days to complete as there was more to do than one might think.  A proper Blacksmith and his assistant, (complete with old fashioned portable forge and bellows) were part of the team which surprised me as I thought technology had made such things well and truly obsolete.  The pair were engaged in actually making or modifying linkages to connect with the bell-cranks etc. having removed the interlocking.  These were made from standard ends, typically a clevis on one end and a screw on the other, fire welded together in the white hot coke in the hearth and then adjusted to fit exactly.  I remember being very impressed by the skill of the Blacksmith using not much more than hot coke, hammers, chisels and the anvil, oh, and the brawn of his assistant to operate the bellows and wield a sledge hammer when required.  I did ask why they were using such an old-fashioned welding method when I would have expected them to be using oxy-acetylene or electric-arc and I was told that it was found to be far more reliable.
 
While inside the Signal Box I managed to “liberate” the freshly out-of- date Summer ’63 working timetable for the Plymouth Division, which I still have and I have scanned the relevant pages which show the UP and DOWN Saturday Cornish Riviera Expresses, both on the main line as well as on the Branch.  Examination will show that they did run through to St Ives right until the bitter end.
 
Take the morning train:  This started ECS from Ponsandane at 8:50, arriving St Erth 9:02, in time to form the 9:12 passenger train to St Ives where it miraculously became the 1A81 to Paddington leaving at 9:50.  Simultaneously the other part of the train left Penzance (also with the 1A81 headcode) for St Erth where the two parts were united, departing for Paddington at 10:17.  Unfortunately I was never able to get to St Erth at this time of day so I do not know how the trains were joined up.  The most obvious way would be for the Penzance section with tender loco (or locos) to drive straight into one of the sidings at the UP end of the station and then wait for the St Ives section to proceed into the UP MAIN platform.  The tender loco would then have to back its train onto the other section. But, would they have done this with passengers still in it?
 
The procedure for the evening Down Cornish Riviera Express, the 1C30, was completely different:  Page D36 shows that its first Cornish stop was Truro at 4:26, where the Penzance Portion was detached from the rear.  The front section was then sent forward, non-stop, to St Erth arriving at the Down Advance Starting signal at 5:08.  It then reversed, still with the 1C30 headcode, arriving at St Ives at 5:40.  Bear in mind that at that time there was still a Branch connection to both UP and DOWN lines at St Erth.  Meanwhile the other part departed from Truro at 4:45, but downgraded to the headcode 2C20, arriving Penzance at 5:35.
 
Regarding the headcodes, whilst the train crews may have been careful to show them correctly on the main line, the opposite applied on the Branch.  Seeing the correct headcode on a diesel engine (or, for that matter, a DMU) was a rarity; away from prying eyes they simply didn’t bother.  I think the blinds were prone to getting jammed and were easily damaged so fiddling with them was best avoided.  Western National buses also often appeared to have problems with their destination blinds, so I suppose it is not so surprising.
 
Actually, when I think about it, they weren’t too fussy back in steam days either – all that really seemed to matter was that they showed white to the front and red to the rear.  Indeed I seem to remember that sometimes the engines only possessed a single headlamp, anyway.
 
I left St Ives later that same autumn so never really saw what went on after that time although we know for certain that St Ives never again saw more than one engine, or train, at a time.
This extremely interesting article together with pictures and timetables is repeated in our St Ives branch section. Many thanks to Laurence

More views and time timetables in the St Ives branch section .

You will have heard of the saying 'Coals to Newcastle..  It therefore comes as some surprise to learn of deliveries of Coal to St Ives by DMU.

Roy Hart writes :-  ​I recall once, in about 1965, riding a DMU to St Ives which towed a wagon of coal. On arrival at St Ives, the DMU backed up as far as the engine shed, the wagon was uncoupled and braked. The DMU returned to the platform. The man in the ground frame (ex-box) moved the points to the back platform road and the wagon descended by gravity into the siding. Such a wagon is shown in one of Mr Hansford's pictures.

​Keith,

Interesting read:-

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/documents/s3752/GWR%20Exerail%20Update%20Presentation%20July%202016.pdf

Dave 
'When the donkeys are gone (143's) - a look into the future'.  Excellent reading pictures and analysis - well worth a click on the above.  Many thanks David for drawing our attention to this

Hi Keith,
Here are some photos taken today of the new bridge in Taunton.
The first shows the general view looking towards the station and showing the refurbished original side of the bridge. The next shows how the new bridge is resting on a new concrete abutment behind the original. It has been raised slightly and the new brickwork is on top of the original. The third shot shows how the original outside girders hide the new pre-stressed concrete girders that form the new bridge deck.
Cheers
Rob                                                     Many thanks Robert

​Hi Keith

After "Princess Elizabeth" its back to the staple fayre of Cornwall.
However some nice light lifts the shots a bit

B Rgds, Ron.                                              Many thanks Ron

Copyright John Cornelius  N.B, Plymouth friary had closed 15th September 1958 so all trains over the Southern Route, via Okehampton started at North Road. As a result of the closure of Friary in 1958 the term 'North Road' was dropped, however it is still to this day known by some as 'North Road'!  The train is standing at a one time through platform converted to being a terminal platform in 1974.

The majority of you will not know Ian Bunnett, I never met him, however he was a dedicated S & D fireman who wrote many stories which are featured on our website.  See the 'Tail End' of our section 'Bath Green Park to Evercreech' - you'll find these if you go the 'North and East of Taunton' and scroll down. We, the CRS, are most grateful to Ian for his memories. KJ

​Hiya again Keith, here are a few that I took whilst working the pilot at Laira when we were exchanging old for new engines off the lorry. The wagon we use holds 2 engines so the operator lifts the new engine off the lorry, then puts the old engine on the lorry then we shunt the wagon into 5 or 6 shed Road to place into the engine compartment of the power car. These were taken on 26/08/16