November 28th 2025

28/11/2025

GWR HST's - the last day
13th December 2025

After many weeks of rumours and speculation, the plans for the final day of GWR 'Castle Class' HST operations now appear to be in the public domain. With timings now available, the below information seems solid enough for us to now circulate in good faith.

On Saturday 13th, the standard 3 Saturday diagrams will operate as normal, along with an additional Plymouth - Penzance round trip (special ticket holders only) departing from both Plymouth and Penzance shortly after the last regular timetabled HST departures (2C53 & 2P30).

A line up of 3 'Castle Class' HST sets will be displayed at Plymouth for aprox. 20 minutes following the arrival of both 2P30 and 1Z25, before the sets head back to Laira one-by-one.

The diagrams for the day are:

Set 1:
3E42 0400 Laira - Exeter St Davids
2C42 0800 Exeter St Davids - Penzance
2P18 1150 Penzance - Plymouth
2C53 1443 Plymouth - Penzance
2P30 1715 Penzance - Plymouth
5P30 1937 Plymouth - Laira

Set 2:
5C05 0450 Laira - Plymouth
2C05 0515 Plymouth - Penzance
2P10 0740 Penzance - Plymouth
2C16 1015 Plymouth - Penzance
2P90 1315 Penzance - Plymouth
5P90 1520 Plymouth - Laira

Set 3:
5C49 1228 Laira - Plymouth
2C49 1241 Plymouth - Penzance
2P24 1515 Penzance - Plymouth
5Z24 1937 Plymouth - Laira

Set 4/Additional workings (special ticket holders only):
3Z76 1430 Laira - Plymouth
1Z76 1516 Plymouth - Penzance
1Z25 1732 Penzance - Plymouth
5Z25 2006 Plymouth - Laira

Moretonhampstead line
Andrew & Diane Jones

Dear Keith, Jon and Roger,

Firstly a big thank you to CRS contributors, the photography continues to be incredible with some amazing efforts to cover the remaining weeks of the HST.

The professionalism is remarkable considering the amount of time it takes to capture the images on a daily basis.

I am staying at Manaton this week and have encouraged my son in law to photograph some parts of the Wray Trail on the Moretonhampstead line.

The attached photographs are at Knowle, a very picturesque part of the railway.

We are very lucky that Devon Council has invested considerable amounts of money on railway conversion to trails, something in these days of austerity they would have difficulty, to justify.

Knowle on the Moretonhampstead line. 27.11.2025, copyright Andrew & Diane Jones.

An O/S map of the area.

Many thanks both for your kind words and photographs, Andrew & Diane.

St. Ives - Forty years ago
Clive Smith

A visit to St Ives in mid November to visit a new brewery taproom that had opened near the station got me digging out an old photo.

Pressed Steel Class 121 'bubble' P125 (W55025) seen here with the 16.03 St Ives - St Erth on the 11th January 1986. P125 was a local legend being allocated to Laira from 1974 to 1986 as well as a year or so between 1965 and 1966 and a few months between 1971 and 1972. It went into departmental use in 1993 until 2004. It was preserved by the North Somerset Railway in 2016 which doesn't have a site and so is stored at Long Marston. Some internal modifications have been made but it looks in a sorry state and not much has been heard of it since 2022. Copyright Clive Smith.

150248 is about to depart with the 12.36 St Ives to St Erth on the 15th November 2025. Copyright Clive Smith.

This is painting by artist Darcy Flint is on the wall of the new Mine Brewery Taproom in St Ives. I love it. This is the original. A copy is at Carbis Bay station and it is the winner of a GWR/Network Rail competition for artwork depicting the line. The painting highlights monuments which have been key to St Ives’ and Carbis Bay’s economy and social landscape such as the mining and hospitality industries. The painting also pays homage to sculptor Barbara Hepworth as well as local artists . The artist says the exaggerated scale of the buildings, coupled with the boldness of forms and colour are an attempt to create an image which can be appreciated both on the platform and from the train. Copyright Clive Smith.

Many thanks Clive, hopefully W55025 will have a future.