Items added on the 6th August 2016 Those added most recently come first

Chacewater - Newquay line
Blackwater bridge

​Somewhere there's a photo of a train going over this bridge on the Chacewater-Newquay line, taken from the old A30 road. It's such an obvious picture to take. Many must have been taken. But I haven't found one. Do you know of any? Brian Jones 20 Masefield Crescent Abingdon OX14 5PH Tel: 01235 525295  Can anybody help please?

We only have pictures of the bridge referred to by Brian Jones being demolished. This one taken by Valerie Jenkin, shows that I was once young!! The very young man being shown by Dad what was going on is another contributor Kevin. Just to think that the bridge was demolished to improve the A30 alignment - and that wouldn't be necessary nowadays - the new A30 cuts through the Blackwater Triangle about 200 yards away.

A slip of the pen!!
Keith Jenkin

A note sent to me concerning an error in my caption to one of Sid Sponheimers historic photographs brought forward comment from Ross Griffiths and since publication of that two more times of post.  This post brought forward additional information which is much appreciated.  KJ

Dear Keith.
I just looked at the CRS website this morning and I noticed that a couple of images were bringing some attention.  One that caught my eye was the shot taken by Sid Sponheimer of a train passing the junction of the Bull Point branch, which one of your readers, Ross Griffiths, questioned is it a D63xx Hydraulic or a D600 Warship?  Well I have blown the image up and it is definitely a D600 Warship, as Ross pointed out the difference in the nose end and clincher is the loco has co-co bogie's as apposed to the D63xx bo-bo bogie's. Now which one is it?  Without a date my guess is the shot was taken in the late 1960's, towards the end of their service, so I think this 'likely' rules out D600 and D602 as they were in BR Blue quite early; so that leaves D603, 604 and 605.  Some more sleuthing work, the image seems to a have a light coloured blob on the nose corner (drivers side), which I believe to be a lamp.  I have seen another image of Warship at Plymouth station, D603 in BR Green and this loco is carrying a white lamp in the same position and on the same nose end as per the loco in Sid's shot. The use of lamps on first generation diesels wasn't uncommon especially when they were first introduced, but by the mid to late sixties it was a less common practise, but the D600's were notorious for a lot of niggling problems so perhaps a fault with the lights at that end of the loco hence the use of the lamp.  So my 'guess' using the above information collated, it is a D600 Warship and it could well be D603 'Conquest', unless Sid can provide further details?

Regards

Karl (Friends of Penmere).  Message received at 02.15 6th July 2016

                                Many thanks to you Karl for your time and trouble.

Afternoon Keith, If you have the time please advise Ross that he is of course correct in noticing the caption error. I expect like me as we predated the TOPS system you're probably also unfamiliar with the class numbers later allocated. It is of course a Class 41 Warship not Class 22 but unfortunately despite tracing other prints taken in the same area ( even on the same day) I seem to have misfiled that photo. I would suggest I didn't have the number to provide in the first place. As a matter of interest Ross might not have noticed that you also entered the same photo under the Cornwall Section covering the last bit into Plymouth. In that section and right next to the photo in question is another Class 41 at St. Budeaux travelling to Plymouth with a Hymek coming towards the station and in this case I have found the print that tells me the number of the Hymek but the Warship number was not noted !! ( It's what I always term an example of " sodding Sid's law"! )
All the best. Sid.
This letter received yesterday afternoon.  Many thanks to you Sid for both this letter and your irreplaceable pictures.

One letter leads to another!
Roy Hart

​Dear Keith,
I can give an approximate date for Sid's picture: The signal is St Budeaux down home with fixed distant for Royal Albert box. The lower arm reads across the wartime emergency connection to the Southern. The distant signal on the doll is for St Budeaux Victoria Road. The picture therefore pre-dates the closure of the SR line into Devonport (1964).
The D600 warships were notoriously unreliable and the decision was made (after many embarrassing failures) to confine them to west of Plymouth where, I suppose, it was thought they would do less harm.There was a rule in the early diesel years that failures could not simply be shunted into sidings ( for PR reasons, one supposes) and I recall seeing one of them shunted into Camborne goods shed after failing!
I remember seeing the whole class (I think) lined up for scrap at Laira..

Roy.  As usual a brilliant source of information - many thanks Roy.

A couple from Lostwithiel
Jamie Dyke

1A83 10:00 Penzance to London Paddington pass formed off 43012 and 43148 on the rear in 'Bristol 2015' vinyls. 5th August 2016 Copyright Jamie Dyke

150131 rolls into Lostwithiel with an up service 5th August 2016. Copyright Jamie Dyke.

Thornfalcon
John Cornelius

Thank heavens John had the forethought to stop and take this shot before the bulldozers removed it from the scene. Copyright John Cornelius

On the Chard branch, just three and a half miles, or six minutes from Taunton lay Thornfalcon.  The B&ER opened a station to serveThornfalcon village in 1871. Originally named 'Thorne Falcon', it was renamed 'Thorn' by the GWR in July 1890, but was renamed again to 'Thornfalcon' on 1 January 1902.

Mike Morant at
Exeter St Davids

S_BR_30726_slide180 Drummond T9 4-4-0 30726 at Exeter St. David's in August 1958.
[Slide taken by Mke Morant]

A delightful colour shot of a T9 at Exeter St Davids many thanks to Mike for this and other amazing views from his collection..