Michael L. Roach
The Nineteen Sixty Four Series
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART ONE
All Change on the Southern
Michael L. Roach
All Change on the Southern
Michael L. Roach
Sixty years ago in September 1964 it was all change on the railway lines around Exeter and on the Withered Arm to the west of Exeter with major changes to many aspects of railway operating. In no particular order: there would be almost no through trains beyond Exeter Central; all trains on the Withered Arm would be local trains; Waterloo to Exeter trains would be dieselised; final elimination of steam on the Exeter - Okehampton - Plymouth route; no steam west of Taunton on the Western Region (in theory); Callington Branch to be dieselised; Exmouth Junction's large fleet of N-class locos were mostly withdrawn with a few transferred elsewhere; and Plymouth's Laira Shed was to receive is last regular visiting steam engines.
That summer I spent more time than usual visiting and travelling on the ex-Southern lines west of Exeter, and the Taunton to Barnstaple line and recording the final weeks of steam on many lines. The resultant photographs will be shown in several parts in this new series mainly, but not exclusively, about the year 1964.
In this first Part I will start with a visit to Exeter Central Station around teatime on Saturday 22 August 1964, just two weeks before most of the changes kicked in.
That summer I spent more time than usual visiting and travelling on the ex-Southern lines west of Exeter, and the Taunton to Barnstaple line and recording the final weeks of steam on many lines. The resultant photographs will be shown in several parts in this new series mainly, but not exclusively, about the year 1964.
In this first Part I will start with a visit to Exeter Central Station around teatime on Saturday 22 August 1964, just two weeks before most of the changes kicked in.
Merchant Navy 35008 Orient Line stands at Central with 12 coaches on the 4.30pm to Waterloo. Copyright Michael L. Roach
34056 Croydon waits with the Okehampton to Surbiton car carrier train. Copyright Michael L. Roach
34056 departs four minutes later. Copyright Michael L. Roach
34032 Camelford runs light through the station heading for Exmouth Junction shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach
Pannier 4694 is seen during shunting operations. Copyright Michael L. Roach
There were two panniers on pilot duty that day – here is the second one 4610. Both panniers were shedded at Exmouth Junction, 4610 from August 1963 to October 1964; and 4694 from January 1963 to June 1965. The engine had previously been at Wadebridge for three years. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART TWO
Exeter Central on 22.08.1964
Michael L. Roach
In Part 1 of this new series, I showed some photos taken at Exeter Central on Saturday 22 August 1964 just before a large number of changes were initiated at Exeter and on The Withered Arm. The remainder of the photos taken that day are attached to this article.
I travelled from Plymouth to Exeter at 2.45pm and returned from St. Davids at 7.39pm which gave me 2 hours and 20 minutes at Exeter Central to watch the comings and goings. All four legs of the rail trip were diesel-hauled by consecutively a Western, D63xx, Hymek and Western. A total of ten steam engines were seen at Exeter Central of five different classes: one Ivatt 2-6-2 tank; one BR Standard Class 3 tank; two ex-GWR pannier tanks; two Merchant Navy Pacific’s and four Bulleid Light Pacific’s. All ten engines were withdrawn and scrapped within three years.
I saw two ex-GWR pannier tanks at Central that day and described them as pilot engines, but they were much more than that. When necessary one or both would go down to St. Davids Station to assist a heavy train up the steep incline to Central usually by banking at the rear of the train. The very heaviest of the ballast trains from Meldon Quarry would have two engines at the rear and a pilot engine in front of the train engine, making four steam engines in all.
The first panniers to arrive at Exmouth Junction Shed were in late 1959, when the then Southern Region acquired a number of 57XX locomotives from South Wales sheds. Some did not last long, some moved on to other sheds and the last examples at Exmouth Junction were withdrawn in June 1965 with the closure of the shed to steam. They were 4655, 4666 and 4694. The website shedbashuk.blogspot.com provides an insight into what was on shed on various dates. For example, on Sunday 2 August 1964 there were five panniers on shed.
I travelled from Plymouth to Exeter at 2.45pm and returned from St. Davids at 7.39pm which gave me 2 hours and 20 minutes at Exeter Central to watch the comings and goings. All four legs of the rail trip were diesel-hauled by consecutively a Western, D63xx, Hymek and Western. A total of ten steam engines were seen at Exeter Central of five different classes: one Ivatt 2-6-2 tank; one BR Standard Class 3 tank; two ex-GWR pannier tanks; two Merchant Navy Pacific’s and four Bulleid Light Pacific’s. All ten engines were withdrawn and scrapped within three years.
I saw two ex-GWR pannier tanks at Central that day and described them as pilot engines, but they were much more than that. When necessary one or both would go down to St. Davids Station to assist a heavy train up the steep incline to Central usually by banking at the rear of the train. The very heaviest of the ballast trains from Meldon Quarry would have two engines at the rear and a pilot engine in front of the train engine, making four steam engines in all.
The first panniers to arrive at Exmouth Junction Shed were in late 1959, when the then Southern Region acquired a number of 57XX locomotives from South Wales sheds. Some did not last long, some moved on to other sheds and the last examples at Exmouth Junction were withdrawn in June 1965 with the closure of the shed to steam. They were 4655, 4666 and 4694. The website shedbashuk.blogspot.com provides an insight into what was on shed on various dates. For example, on Sunday 2 August 1964 there were five panniers on shed.
34089 602 Squadron is on the 5.54pm to Waterloo with 7C. Note the 70E shedplate. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The fireman of 34089 watches out for the signal to depart at 5.57pm a couple of minutes late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-2 no. 82042 runs though the station LE. 82042 had ranged all over the
Western Region since construction in 1955. It had previously been at Taunton for three years and would end its days
at Gloucester one year later in August 1965. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
34107 Blandford Forum enters Central with a down stopping train past Ivatt 2-6-2T 41284. 34107 was
withdrawn the following month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
35013 Blue Funnel Line enters Central under the footbridge with 8C on the 3.00pm from Waterloo. The
time is 6.31pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Five minutes later 35013 runs back to Exmouth Junction shed. The engine moved to Bournemouth Shed
the same month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4694 is ready to remove the middle three coaches of the 3.00pm from Waterloo including the RC. The
Plymouth portion has already departed, while the Ilfracombe portion was at the rear. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 3
Laira's Last Weekend
Michael L. Roach
In Part 1 of this new series one of the turning points mentioned was the end of steam engines reaching Plymouth via Okehampton and travelling out to a deserted Laira steam shed for turning and servicing before taking up it's return working to Exeter, via Okehampton again. This occurred twice a day and brought rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacifics and BR Standard Class 5 4-6-0s to Laira. These regular visits ended on the weekend of 5/6 September 1964, or that that is what I thought for 60 years. But in 2024 I read, in two different places, that the very occasional large passenger steam engine still arrived at Plymouth Station, and Laira, via Okehampton usually on a special train into the Autumn of 1964. The source of that information was Arthur Westington who was a driver at Friary and Laira. He recorded the last week of steam as 21 to 26 of September 1964 with at least seven 4-6-0s or 4-6-2s that week. Even after that he recorded BR Standard 5 no. 73118 King Leodegrance of Eastleigh Shed on Tuesday 29 September 1964
Here it must be said that steam engines, in the shape of BR Standard 2-6-4 tanks continued to reach Plymouth Station for another four months on commuter trains from Okehampton to Plymouth Station. The engines did not need servicing and stayed at Plymouth Station for a short time until it was time to return to Okehampton. The first one of the day was at 9.50am and the second was at teatime. I only travelled on that train just once, and it was notable for reasons which I will describe in a forthcoming instalment. Steam haulage of these commuter trains ceased on the first weekend of January 1965.
On the afternoon of Saturday 29 August 1964 I visited Laira steam shed for the last time before I thought it closed for good the following weekend when I would be away chasing steam to be seen in the later part. There was just one steam engine standing beside the pumping station after taking water. It was one of Mr. Bulleid's magnificent light pacifics which had been rebuilt into fine looking engines. It was 34096 Trevone of Exmouth Junction Shed. The engine had been transferred to Exmouth Junction in December 1957 from its previous shed of Ramsgate as a result of the Kent Coast Electrification, and only had two sheds in whole of its 15-year working life. The engine was condemned the following month in September 1964 and scrapped. I moved on across Plymouth to St. Budeaux to the last overbridge before St. Budeaux Victoria Road Station alongside Carlton Terrace where there was a good view of the former Southern Railway route to Okehampton and Exeter Central. The train worked by 34096 was the 4.52pm from Plymouth to Eastleigh and eventually Waterloo arriving at the ungodly hour of 3.48am. The train would cease to run a week later and the line would close with trains diverted to the former Great Western route to St. Budeaux. The engine and its six coaches and two vans was perfectly lit by the lowering sun.
I am indebted to Richard Hoskin for making a colourised version of the photograph which I think is very realistic.
Here it must be said that steam engines, in the shape of BR Standard 2-6-4 tanks continued to reach Plymouth Station for another four months on commuter trains from Okehampton to Plymouth Station. The engines did not need servicing and stayed at Plymouth Station for a short time until it was time to return to Okehampton. The first one of the day was at 9.50am and the second was at teatime. I only travelled on that train just once, and it was notable for reasons which I will describe in a forthcoming instalment. Steam haulage of these commuter trains ceased on the first weekend of January 1965.
On the afternoon of Saturday 29 August 1964 I visited Laira steam shed for the last time before I thought it closed for good the following weekend when I would be away chasing steam to be seen in the later part. There was just one steam engine standing beside the pumping station after taking water. It was one of Mr. Bulleid's magnificent light pacifics which had been rebuilt into fine looking engines. It was 34096 Trevone of Exmouth Junction Shed. The engine had been transferred to Exmouth Junction in December 1957 from its previous shed of Ramsgate as a result of the Kent Coast Electrification, and only had two sheds in whole of its 15-year working life. The engine was condemned the following month in September 1964 and scrapped. I moved on across Plymouth to St. Budeaux to the last overbridge before St. Budeaux Victoria Road Station alongside Carlton Terrace where there was a good view of the former Southern Railway route to Okehampton and Exeter Central. The train worked by 34096 was the 4.52pm from Plymouth to Eastleigh and eventually Waterloo arriving at the ungodly hour of 3.48am. The train would cease to run a week later and the line would close with trains diverted to the former Great Western route to St. Budeaux. The engine and its six coaches and two vans was perfectly lit by the lowering sun.
I am indebted to Richard Hoskin for making a colourised version of the photograph which I think is very realistic.
Rebuilt Bulleid pacific 34096 Trevone is seen on Laira steam shed at 3.40pm on the fine afternoon of Saturday 29 August 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Another view of 34096. The fence surrounds a pumping station which was at the bottom of a hole in the ground. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
34096 is viewed across the pumping station. The brick wall on the right held up the embankment which supported the track through the coaling stage. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
34096 heads out of Plymouth past Carlton Terrace on the Southern route one week before the line closed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The same view of 34096 colourised by Richard Hoskin taken from a fuller (less cropped) version of the whole negative. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The going away shot of 34096. I am standing on a road bridge of which the parapet walls still survive. Note the rear of the signal box which is on the Western main line. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART FOUR
Ross-on-Wye - 05.09.1964 - Part 1
Michael L. Roach
The morning of Saturday 5 September 1964 found me at Ross-on-Wye for some two and a half hours between trains, both in the same direction. Not only did I want to photograph the station which had many similarities to Truro in architectural style, number of platforms, size of goods yard etc but also the trains passing through. The main difference was in the size of the engine shed with Ross's engine shed holding just two engines. Both were junction stations, and in terms of population Ross is half the size of Truro. However, while Truro Station is very much alive and well with over one million passenger uses per annum, Ross was demolished after the line closed. I also wanted to walk down to the River Wye to view a road bridge that had been completed a couple of years earlier. The M50 or Ross Spur motorway runs for 22 miles from Junction 8 of the M5 to a point just north of Ross. It was a very early motorway with most of its length being open for traffic in 1960. At its western end the road continues south westwards as a dual carriageway and a mile and a half from the end of the motorway the dual carriageway passes over the River Wye on a handsome bridge called Bridstow Bridge. The bridge has a 60-metre (203-feet) centre span and was opened in September 1960. The bridge was the recipient of design awards for its simple elegant design.
I arrived at Ross at 10.28am on the 9.48am from Gloucester Central consisting of 73025 with three coaches. I stayed at the station to watch a Manor go through in the opposite direction some 20 minutes later before walking the mile or so to Bridstow Bridge and back. My next train was the 12.56pm off Ross which arrived behind 4107 again with 3C, and this would take me on to Hereford, and later Worcester and other places to be described later. A total of 17 photos were taken at Ross Station and Bridstow Bridge because the line was due to close at the end of October 1964, and I could not be sure that I would return for the “last day.” In fact, I was able to attend, and it was a beautiful autumn day that has stuck in the memory bank ever since. The Gloucester to Hereford line remained steam-hauled until closure and was never dieselised.
Ross-on-Wye was a junction station just like Truro. Branch trains started from a bay at the eastern (Gloucester) end and immediately swung around in a long curve to head south-west towards the valley of the River Wye through the beauty spot that was, and is, Symonds Yat. It was here along the valley of the River Wye that British tourism commenced more than 200 years ago. The branch to Monmouth had closed more than five years earlier on the first weekend of 1959, as had the two other rail routes to Monmouth from Chepstow and Pontypool Road. This was a great pity as two of the routes traversed beautiful countryside and followed the Wye Valley or was close to the River Wye for 20 miles. The people of Ross have not forgotten their railway as there is a permanent reminder. On the way out of town to the north-east the B4234 passed beneath the railway and some bridge abutments have survived beside a small well-kept triangular public open space with a number of display boards giving the history of the lines and photographs of the station.
During the 1950s and early 1960s particularly the line through Ross came into its own. Although there was no Sunday service the line was opened specially on Sundays when the Severn Tunnel was closed for annual maintenance. The north to west expresses were diverted from Hereford via Ross and Gloucester bringing the site and sound of bigger engines and longer trains to the line. Few photographers were out to capture the diverted trains and photographs seem to be quite rare.
I arrived at Ross at 10.28am on the 9.48am from Gloucester Central consisting of 73025 with three coaches. I stayed at the station to watch a Manor go through in the opposite direction some 20 minutes later before walking the mile or so to Bridstow Bridge and back. My next train was the 12.56pm off Ross which arrived behind 4107 again with 3C, and this would take me on to Hereford, and later Worcester and other places to be described later. A total of 17 photos were taken at Ross Station and Bridstow Bridge because the line was due to close at the end of October 1964, and I could not be sure that I would return for the “last day.” In fact, I was able to attend, and it was a beautiful autumn day that has stuck in the memory bank ever since. The Gloucester to Hereford line remained steam-hauled until closure and was never dieselised.
Ross-on-Wye was a junction station just like Truro. Branch trains started from a bay at the eastern (Gloucester) end and immediately swung around in a long curve to head south-west towards the valley of the River Wye through the beauty spot that was, and is, Symonds Yat. It was here along the valley of the River Wye that British tourism commenced more than 200 years ago. The branch to Monmouth had closed more than five years earlier on the first weekend of 1959, as had the two other rail routes to Monmouth from Chepstow and Pontypool Road. This was a great pity as two of the routes traversed beautiful countryside and followed the Wye Valley or was close to the River Wye for 20 miles. The people of Ross have not forgotten their railway as there is a permanent reminder. On the way out of town to the north-east the B4234 passed beneath the railway and some bridge abutments have survived beside a small well-kept triangular public open space with a number of display boards giving the history of the lines and photographs of the station.
During the 1950s and early 1960s particularly the line through Ross came into its own. Although there was no Sunday service the line was opened specially on Sundays when the Severn Tunnel was closed for annual maintenance. The north to west expresses were diverted from Hereford via Ross and Gloucester bringing the site and sound of bigger engines and longer trains to the line. Few photographers were out to capture the diverted trains and photographs seem to be quite rare.
BR Standard Class 5 no. 73025 stands at Ross with the 9.48am Gloucester to Hereford. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
73025 leaves Ross for Hereford some 12 miles and 34 minutes away. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7815 Fritwell Manor runs into Ross with the 10.25am Hereford to Gloucester consisting of three coaches, three vans and one truck under a covered footbridge, like Truro. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7815 receives some checks while stopped at Ross before setting out for Gloucester Central 18 miles and 40 minutes away. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7815 sets out past the signal box. 7815 was withdrawn the following month. The engine had spent much of the mid-1950s at Laira and Newton Abbot Sheds piloting expresses over the South Devon banks. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Gloucester line can be seen curving to the left in the distance, while the line to Monmouth curved sharply to the right. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view looking towards Hereford showing the former Monmouth Bay platform on the left and the two main through platforms on the right. The signal box dated from 1938 and replaced two earlier signal boxes. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART FIVE
Ross-on-Wye 05.09.1964 – Part 2
Michael L. Roach
This instalment carries on with the remaining photographs taken at Ross-on-Wye between trains on the morning of Saturday 5 September 1964.
Ross-on-Wye looking west from behind the signal box towards Hereford on 5 September 1964 showing the Monmouth Bay and the through platforms. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A similar view from in front of the signal box looking west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Bridstow Bridge looking upriver. Note the amount of traffic coming off the M50 on a September morning in 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view looking west showing the elegant design of the bridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The underside of the bridge showing the individual prestressed beams supporting the bridge deck. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The forecourt of Ross Station with a BR delivery lorry parked up for the weekend. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4107 arrives at Ross with the train that would carry me on to Hereford. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART SIX
Kitty C and the Port of Fowey
Michael L. Roach
The Kitty C is a cargo ship flying under the flag of Portugal and registered in Madeira. The ship is a general cargo ship 106 metres long and 15.5 metres wide. Stanlow is a port on the Manchester Ship Canal a short distance east of where the Canal commences on the bank of the River Mersey. The port deals mainly with oil products as it is located on the opposite bank of the Canal to the Stanlow Oil Refinery. The Kitty C sailed from Stanlow to Fowey arriving about 14.30 hours on Saturday 7 September 2024. Ships the length of the Kitty C are required to swing in the lower harbour at Fowey, take on a compulsory pilot, and are then towed astern by a harbour tug to the loading berths a mile and a half up the River Fowey. Historically most of the harbour pilots come from Polruan on the opposite bank of the river to Fowey. My 4x great grandfather Philip Salt (1749 - 1814) was a master mariner who sailed around the world and survived – a feat in itself in those days. He was born and lived in Polruan and finished his working days as a Fowey Harbour pilot. He must have been well-known in Polruan because he is buried inside the Parish Church under the floor of the north aisle under an engraved slate slab. The Parish Church is Lanteglos-by-Fowey situated in a remote valley two kilometres east of the village of Polruan.
The Kitty C had come to Fowey to load china clay and would have been meticulously cleaned before loading could commence to prevent any contamination of the clay to be loaded. It appears that all of the clay loaded into the Kitty C on Monday 9 September came from the store or was brought in by lorries along the private road from Par which was constructed on the route of the St. Blazey to Fowey railway line in 1968; but where did the clay originate from and why was it not brought by rail – perhaps there is a good reason. No clay trains ran to Carne Point on Monday 9 September but there was one on the 10th and another on the 11th September, both from Goonbarrow.
The ship only took on a part load before sailing very late, about 23.00 hours, on the day it was loaded. This was an hour or two after high water. The Kitty C's journey was short, only lasting a couple of hours before arriving at the Port of Plymouth, and mooring up at Victoria Wharves (about 02.30) which lies between Sutton Harbour and The Cattewater on the east side of the City. Victoria Wharves handle a greater variety of commodities than Fowey but one of the principal ones is china clay. As an aside I was there on the quayside many years ago when china clay in bags was being unloaded from a 12-ton railway box van. The wagon had travelled the enormous distance of just two miles from Marsh Mills dries on the east side of Plymouth. The one great advantage of the railway wagon in such circumstances is that there is no driver agitating to be unloaded asap. What is interesting about the china clay arriving at Victoria Wharves is that it comes from a completely different source, on Dartmoor, and possibly from a different company to that at Fowey The pattern of a ship being loaded with clay partly at Fowey and partly at Plymouth is a regular occurrence. The Kitty C sailed from Plymouth about 21.00 on 10 September for a destination in Spain - not mainland Spain but the port of Ceuta which lies on the south side of the Strait of Gibralter in a small Spanish enclave on mainland Africa. Another ship had sailed from Victoria Wharves to Ceuta some two months earlier – a journey of some six days. You can find the current position of the Kitty C by searching marinetraffic.com
I have been watching the ships coming and going at Fowey and Plymouth for a couple of months now to try to learn the patterns. Presuming I did not miss any ships, and I was looking twice a day, a total of seven ships arrived at Fowey in July 2024 which was not great, but August was even worse with just two ships arriving. The destinations of the ships leaving Fowey were ports around the Mediterranean or Plymouth and then on to the same ports around the Med. I think that in the past the principal destinations for Cornish clay were the ports in the Baltic, and particularly on the north side of the Baltic where there are vast forests and much paper is made. One wonders how those paper mills are now supplied with china clay ? Is Cornish clay production in a permanent state of decline ?
The Kitty C had come to Fowey to load china clay and would have been meticulously cleaned before loading could commence to prevent any contamination of the clay to be loaded. It appears that all of the clay loaded into the Kitty C on Monday 9 September came from the store or was brought in by lorries along the private road from Par which was constructed on the route of the St. Blazey to Fowey railway line in 1968; but where did the clay originate from and why was it not brought by rail – perhaps there is a good reason. No clay trains ran to Carne Point on Monday 9 September but there was one on the 10th and another on the 11th September, both from Goonbarrow.
The ship only took on a part load before sailing very late, about 23.00 hours, on the day it was loaded. This was an hour or two after high water. The Kitty C's journey was short, only lasting a couple of hours before arriving at the Port of Plymouth, and mooring up at Victoria Wharves (about 02.30) which lies between Sutton Harbour and The Cattewater on the east side of the City. Victoria Wharves handle a greater variety of commodities than Fowey but one of the principal ones is china clay. As an aside I was there on the quayside many years ago when china clay in bags was being unloaded from a 12-ton railway box van. The wagon had travelled the enormous distance of just two miles from Marsh Mills dries on the east side of Plymouth. The one great advantage of the railway wagon in such circumstances is that there is no driver agitating to be unloaded asap. What is interesting about the china clay arriving at Victoria Wharves is that it comes from a completely different source, on Dartmoor, and possibly from a different company to that at Fowey The pattern of a ship being loaded with clay partly at Fowey and partly at Plymouth is a regular occurrence. The Kitty C sailed from Plymouth about 21.00 on 10 September for a destination in Spain - not mainland Spain but the port of Ceuta which lies on the south side of the Strait of Gibralter in a small Spanish enclave on mainland Africa. Another ship had sailed from Victoria Wharves to Ceuta some two months earlier – a journey of some six days. You can find the current position of the Kitty C by searching marinetraffic.com
I have been watching the ships coming and going at Fowey and Plymouth for a couple of months now to try to learn the patterns. Presuming I did not miss any ships, and I was looking twice a day, a total of seven ships arrived at Fowey in July 2024 which was not great, but August was even worse with just two ships arriving. The destinations of the ships leaving Fowey were ports around the Mediterranean or Plymouth and then on to the same ports around the Med. I think that in the past the principal destinations for Cornish clay were the ports in the Baltic, and particularly on the north side of the Baltic where there are vast forests and much paper is made. One wonders how those paper mills are now supplied with china clay ? Is Cornish clay production in a permanent state of decline ?
The Kitty C is being loaded with clay from the articulated lorry (centre). Note the building centre right where rail wagons are unloaded. Behind this building is the transverser, which was used to move empty CDA wagons sideways onto the adjacent siding - now out of use as the JIA wagons are too long to fit on it. Copyright Jon Hird.
A view of the Port of Fowey looking south showing Fowey and Polruan (top right); the huge china clay store (middle left); and all the conveyors needed to move the clay around. Copyright Jon Hird.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 6A
Update to Part 6
Michael L. Roach
In Part 6 (above) I recorded the number of cargo ships arriving at Fowey in July and August 2024 to collect china clay for export, some of which had arrived at Carne Point by rail. The numbers were not good. As Part 6 was being published things took an unexpected and welcome turn for the better with three ship arriving at the port in just 24
hours. They were the following:
The destination of the clay was Antwerp in the case of Runner; Abu Qir, Egypt for Trio Firat; and Izmir, Turkey for Eems Rover. It was great to see Eems Rover at the quayside in Jon Hird's drone shot posted on 18.09.2024 The hatches are closed, the loading gantry is raised out of the way, and the ship is about to cast off. The official recorded time for leaving Fowey was 19.02 hours but it is believed that that is when the Fowey pilot leaves the vessel at the mouth of the river with the open sea ahead.
Whereas most of the ships arriving at Fowey are general cargo ships, one of the three (Runner) is also capable of carrying containers and is now on its way to Hamburg where it is due to arrive on 19 September 2024.
Watching Michael Portillo travel through Cornwall recently (but recorded many years ago), he met the late Ivor Bowditch of Imerys in a claypit. Ivor quoted the following figures as the end uses of the clay produced: coating paper 50%; ceramics 30%; the rest 20%; and that 85% of the clay produced in Cornwall was then exported.
hours. They were the following:
- Eems Rover from Ringaskiddy in Ireland near Cork
- Runner from Poole
- Trio Firat from Plymouth
The destination of the clay was Antwerp in the case of Runner; Abu Qir, Egypt for Trio Firat; and Izmir, Turkey for Eems Rover. It was great to see Eems Rover at the quayside in Jon Hird's drone shot posted on 18.09.2024 The hatches are closed, the loading gantry is raised out of the way, and the ship is about to cast off. The official recorded time for leaving Fowey was 19.02 hours but it is believed that that is when the Fowey pilot leaves the vessel at the mouth of the river with the open sea ahead.
Whereas most of the ships arriving at Fowey are general cargo ships, one of the three (Runner) is also capable of carrying containers and is now on its way to Hamburg where it is due to arrive on 19 September 2024.
Watching Michael Portillo travel through Cornwall recently (but recorded many years ago), he met the late Ivor Bowditch of Imerys in a claypit. Ivor quoted the following figures as the end uses of the clay produced: coating paper 50%; ceramics 30%; the rest 20%; and that 85% of the clay produced in Cornwall was then exported.
The EEMS Rover waiting departure from Fowey Docks on 17.09.2024. Copyright Jon Hird.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 7
The Bromyard Branch
Michael L. Roach
Sixty years ago, I travelled overnight from my home in Plymouth to Herefordshire and Worcestershire in search of steam, and at the end of the day I would again travel home overnight. The first steam of the day was Standard Class 5 no. 73025 from Gloucester Central to Ross-on-Wye, followed two hours later by large prairie 4107 from Ross to Hereford. At the end of the day, I caught the last train of the day from Hereford to Gloucester behind 7814 Fringford Manor of Gloucester Shed and formerly of Laira Shed in the Nineteen Fifties. The date of the trip was Saturday 5 September 1964 and the principal reason for the trip was to attend the last day of passenger services on the Bromyard Branch. Bromyard was previously a through station on a line heading west to Leominster on the Welsh Marches line but the Bromyard to Leominster section had closed some 12 years earlier. Having left Plymouth at midnight I finally reached Worcester Shrub Hill at 3.00pm having travelled the 29-miles from Hereford behind a Hymek hauling 4C. As an aside I believe that this was the last weekend that the Western Region used the 12-hour clock before going over to the 24-hour clock.
I caught the 4.10pm out from Shrub Hill to Bromyard. The branch had a really strange timetable; had this been a weekday the 4.10pm would have been the first train of the day in this direction, and the first of only two. On Saturdays there were five trains with six in the other direction. The train was a well-loaded bubble car no. W55018 which gave enough time at Bromyard to take some photos before returning at 5.15pm. I alighted at Henwick Station on the main line where I had just eight minutes before the 5.45pm from Shrub Hill to Bromyard arrived. BR and the Worcester shed master had turned up trumps by putting on a pannier tank with six well-loaded coaches. This was the penultimate train, as there was one last train on Saturdays at 10.15pm off Shrub Hill but I would not be there to see it. Leaving Henwick on time pannier 8793 did well with the six coaches but arrived Bromyard 7L. This gave the photographers fourteen minutes to take photos as the engine took water and ran around its train. 8793 did even better on the return trip leaving 2L and arriving Shrub Hill 4L a really good achievement considering that there was a lengthy 15mph permanent way restriction between Bromyard and Suckley, and this was a loaded train on the last evening of passenger services. 8793 was withdrawn at Worcester Shed just three months later.
I arrived back in Plymouth at 5.26am the next morning. Including an early morning side trip from Bristol Temple Meads out to Portishead in a DMU (also on the last day of passenger services) I had travelled a total of 526 miles in a little under 30 hours of which just 88 miles were steam hauled. This was typical of the time, but definitely worth it.
I caught the 4.10pm out from Shrub Hill to Bromyard. The branch had a really strange timetable; had this been a weekday the 4.10pm would have been the first train of the day in this direction, and the first of only two. On Saturdays there were five trains with six in the other direction. The train was a well-loaded bubble car no. W55018 which gave enough time at Bromyard to take some photos before returning at 5.15pm. I alighted at Henwick Station on the main line where I had just eight minutes before the 5.45pm from Shrub Hill to Bromyard arrived. BR and the Worcester shed master had turned up trumps by putting on a pannier tank with six well-loaded coaches. This was the penultimate train, as there was one last train on Saturdays at 10.15pm off Shrub Hill but I would not be there to see it. Leaving Henwick on time pannier 8793 did well with the six coaches but arrived Bromyard 7L. This gave the photographers fourteen minutes to take photos as the engine took water and ran around its train. 8793 did even better on the return trip leaving 2L and arriving Shrub Hill 4L a really good achievement considering that there was a lengthy 15mph permanent way restriction between Bromyard and Suckley, and this was a loaded train on the last evening of passenger services. 8793 was withdrawn at Worcester Shed just three months later.
I arrived back in Plymouth at 5.26am the next morning. Including an early morning side trip from Bristol Temple Meads out to Portishead in a DMU (also on the last day of passenger services) I had travelled a total of 526 miles in a little under 30 hours of which just 88 miles were steam hauled. This was typical of the time, but definitely worth it.
Bromyard looking towards the buffer stop with passengers waiting to board W55018 forming the 5.15pm to Worcester. The station area retained a good number of Great Western fir trees in 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Bromyard Station from the road bridge carrying the B4203. The area is now an industrial estate and retains a couple of Great Western fir trees. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
8793 has arrived at Bromyard with the six coaches of the 5.45pm from Shrub Hill. The time is 6.36pm. Part of the platform edging has been removed and is growing a good crop of weeds. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Another view of 8793 before it came off the train to take water and run round. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
8793 takes water. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
8793 is ready to take out the 6.50pm to Worcester Shrub Hill, the penultimate train to leave Bromyard. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A last view of 8793. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A wet evening at Hereford Station on 5 September 1964 sees 7814 Fringford Manor on the 9.42pm to Gloucester. The camera was held on top of a post with the shutter held open for five seconds at f4. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 8
Moving the Goods in the 1930s
Michael L. Roach
The Rail and Canal Traffic Act of 1854 obliged the railways (and canals at the time) to carry any and all of the goods offered to them, with a few exceptions. This was a complicated law with unforeseen consequences, especially when government control of the rates the railways could charge was introduced. Looking through a newly acquired batch of 1937 GWR Magazines a couple of items attracted my attention. The GWR undertook household, farm and factory removals and were prepared to quote for doing every aspect leaving the householder or factory owner to do very little. In the first photo are examples of GWR lorries carrying cattle, household furniture and items needing to be kept cold.
In the second example the GWR moved the complete contents of two factories from London to Cheltenham. The first factory was owned by Walker, Crosweller and the second by one of the firm's subsidiaries. That firm was called Spirax – a firm that still exists, now with a turnover in excess of £1.6 billion. The firm was called Spirax Sarco for many years but reverted to the simpler Spirax in 2024. One of Spirax's subsidiaries is called Watson-Marlow with a large factory in Falmouth, Cornwall. All the firms are involved in fluid management over a wide range of industries. The GWR also moved the furniture and household effects of some fifty employees of the two companies from London to Cheltenham. In total the GWR used 135 containers for the move. With the war starting two years later I expect the managers and staff were relieved to have moved out of London. The second image describes the factory move in more detail.
When I read the short piece in the third image for the first time I found it almost unbelievable. It described a pair of suitcases handed in at Dulverton Station at 10.00am on Thursday 2 September 1937 destined for Wendover near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. I tracked their journey using my GWR timetable via Taunton, Paddington and Princes Risborough. The earliest the cases could have arrived at Aylesbury Joint Station was at 6.50pm that evening and that was with some tight connections; but the article says the cases were actually delivered at Wendover at 6.30pm although the recipient may have had to collect them from Wendover Station which was not even on the Great Western. I went back to my timetable and looked at what trains would have been used if the cases left Dulverton slightly earlier. Leaving at 9.39am the cases would have reached Aylesbury Joint Station at 4.13pm which I think is much more likely, giving more time for them to be delivered to Wendover.
The two cases were sent by “Blue Arrow” which I had never heard of although I was familiar with the Red Arrow parcels service which I used, for my employer, in the nineteen sixties between Plymouth and Bristol. This was great service on the part of the Great Western Railway in 1937; but even more amazing the recipient of the suitcases then sat down and wrote a quick note to the stationmaster at Dulverton, and posted it in time to have the letter collected that evening. The letter was delivered to Dulverton Station the very next morning 3 September. There was no first or second class in those days, just the one standard service costing 1½ old pence at the time for a letter. Great service by the then state-owned Royal Mail as well.
In the second example the GWR moved the complete contents of two factories from London to Cheltenham. The first factory was owned by Walker, Crosweller and the second by one of the firm's subsidiaries. That firm was called Spirax – a firm that still exists, now with a turnover in excess of £1.6 billion. The firm was called Spirax Sarco for many years but reverted to the simpler Spirax in 2024. One of Spirax's subsidiaries is called Watson-Marlow with a large factory in Falmouth, Cornwall. All the firms are involved in fluid management over a wide range of industries. The GWR also moved the furniture and household effects of some fifty employees of the two companies from London to Cheltenham. In total the GWR used 135 containers for the move. With the war starting two years later I expect the managers and staff were relieved to have moved out of London. The second image describes the factory move in more detail.
When I read the short piece in the third image for the first time I found it almost unbelievable. It described a pair of suitcases handed in at Dulverton Station at 10.00am on Thursday 2 September 1937 destined for Wendover near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. I tracked their journey using my GWR timetable via Taunton, Paddington and Princes Risborough. The earliest the cases could have arrived at Aylesbury Joint Station was at 6.50pm that evening and that was with some tight connections; but the article says the cases were actually delivered at Wendover at 6.30pm although the recipient may have had to collect them from Wendover Station which was not even on the Great Western. I went back to my timetable and looked at what trains would have been used if the cases left Dulverton slightly earlier. Leaving at 9.39am the cases would have reached Aylesbury Joint Station at 4.13pm which I think is much more likely, giving more time for them to be delivered to Wendover.
The two cases were sent by “Blue Arrow” which I had never heard of although I was familiar with the Red Arrow parcels service which I used, for my employer, in the nineteen sixties between Plymouth and Bristol. This was great service on the part of the Great Western Railway in 1937; but even more amazing the recipient of the suitcases then sat down and wrote a quick note to the stationmaster at Dulverton, and posted it in time to have the letter collected that evening. The letter was delivered to Dulverton Station the very next morning 3 September. There was no first or second class in those days, just the one standard service costing 1½ old pence at the time for a letter. Great service by the then state-owned Royal Mail as well.
Photos of three different lorries and containers from the January 1937 Magazine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The factory move described in the November 1937 Magazine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The speedy transit of two suitcases described in the October 1937 Magazine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 9
Milk Trains (2)
Michael L. Roach
In 1962 – Part 70 titled Milk Trains (1) posted on Monday 19 February 2024 (click here), I described my fascination with milk trains. They were quite unlike any other trains on British Railways with their 6-wheel wagons and were never seen on many lines. Even through Plymouth where I lived, right in the middle of two dairying counties, there were just two loaded and two empty trains of milk wagons daily of which there was only one (loaded) train at a time when it was likely to be seen and photographed. That train was the Penzance to Kensington milk train 3A31 which in September 1962 left Penzance at 12.20pm and stopped for traffic purposes at St. Erth, Dolcoath Siding, Lostwithiel, Saltash, Totnes and perhaps other places further east. I saw it many times, but looking back not enough. It was scheduled to pass Hemerdon Summit at 4.30pm where I spent many happy hours on Sparkwell Bridge in the late nineteen fifties watching trains after cycling there from my home in Plymouth, about 7 miles and 35 minutes away.
The first three images were taken in different places in Devon and Cornwall and the last image sets a conundrum for the reader. Where was the photograph taken and what type of train is in the photograph – milk, passenger or mixed ? The answer will be revealed in the next instalment about milk trains due to be posted on 10 October 2024.
The first three images were taken in different places in Devon and Cornwall and the last image sets a conundrum for the reader. Where was the photograph taken and what type of train is in the photograph – milk, passenger or mixed ? The answer will be revealed in the next instalment about milk trains due to be posted on 10 October 2024.
0-4-2T 1442 shunts milk tanks at Hemyock in deep snow on the afternoon of 5 January 1963 between passenger turns. We had travelled to Hemyock via Okehampton where the line had only just been cleared of snow drifts (at Sourton) and was soon blocked again by heavy drifting snow a few days later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Brush Type 4 1643 roars through Totnes with 30 loaded milk tanks ready to attack Rattery Bank at 6.50pm on 17 May 1969 The reason for milk to head west, possibly to be made into milk powder, was a strike of dairy workers at Torrington. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D834 passes St. Germans with the up milk of 7 loaded tanks at 4.27pm on 7 June 1969. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
More about this train in Part 10 of the series. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 10
Milk Trains (3)
Michael L. Roach
In Part 9 (above), I posed a question as to the location of the last photograph in that part and the answer was Carmarthen Station looking north in October 1964. A similar view is included with this part. Carmarthen was the hub of railways serving the two great dairying counties of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, where at that time there were several dairies and milk depots served by rail sending liquid milk to London daily. There was always great excitement at Plymouth Station on Summer Saturdays in the 1950s when a Carmarthen engine turned up occasionally; but things might not bes quite what they seemed, as if it had come all the way from Carmarthen or Swansea on a Summer Saturday it might well have run out of coal after all the traffic delays en-route so could have been serviced at Bristol and sent further west due to a shortage of tender engines at Bristol.
The line that headed north from Carmarthen in West Wales went through very pleasant, but sparely populated, countryside with distant views of the Cambrian Mountains before turning and heading down to the coast at Aberystwyth on the coast of Cardigan Bay. This is a land of small towns, villages and dairy farms. Passenger trains took two and a half hours to cover the 56 miles from Carmarthen to Aber. Because the line served no large towns there were never more than 5 trains each way even on a summer Saturday in the 1930s when the line was at its peak of popularity after the GWR publicity machine had been busy promoting the line. In the last few years there were just 3 passenger trains each way Monday to Friday with more on Summer Saturdays. However there was a substantial freight traffic originating on the line with hundreds of live cattle and thousands of gallons of liquid milk making their way eastwards towards London every day until the 1950s. My first trip over the line was on the 6.10am off Carmarthen on 22 July 1963 after travelling overnight from Plymouth diesel-hauled all the way. It was great to see 7810 Draycott Manor of Oswestry Shed at the head of four coaches and one truck – a true mixed train. The return from Aber at 11.55am was behind 7826 Longworth Manor of Carmarthen Shed with three coaches. During a five minute stop at Pont Llanio Station one loaded milk truck was attached to the rear of the train from the milk depot alongside the station.
My second trip over the line was 15 months later on 10 October 1964. I was staying at Gloucester for the weekend and left there very early to motor to Cardiff to meet a friend and catch the 7.35am dmu to Carmarthen. We arrived to find two coaches up against the buffers in the north-facing bay platform with 7826 Longworth Manor doing some shunting of empty milk tanks. 7826 was now based at Llanelly Shed, involving a 20-mile light engine movement at the beginning and end of the working day, because Carmarthen Shed had closed between my two visits. 7826 proceeded to add no less than eight empty milk tanks in front of the passenger coaches in the bay platform to form the 10.35am Carmarthen to Aberystwyth the second train of the day. The engine was way off the end of the bay platform and the train consisted of 7826 plus 8 milk tanks and 2 coaches – quite a load but no problem for the Manor. Four tanks were detached at Lampeter Station and would later be tripped down to Green Grove Siding and milk depot on the Aberayron Branch. The remaining four tanks were dropped off at Pont Llanio where there was a Creamery and milk depot alongside the station set in a tiny hamlet beside the River Teifi. More about Lampeter and Pont Llanio in a later part of the series.
In September 2024 I purchased the latest book about the line by Geraint Roberts (Lightmoor Press ISBN 9781 915069 405) and it's very good – it brought back a lot of memories. The book has 300 pages and perhaps 400-500 photographs but there are only a handful of photos showing milk tanks attached to a passenger train. Of those handful the largest number of milk tanks in a passenger train is four and there is not a single photo showing a passenger train with eight milk tanks, so I was very lucky that day to have such a number. I thought it was a regular occurrence that would have been captured by other photographers, but obviously that was not the case. My friend and travelling companion in October 1964 worked for BR in the Divisional Office at Cardiff at the time and perhaps used his position to ensure we had a worthwhile load. No matter how it came about it made a most memorable trip, complete with steam haulage, at a time when the diesels were taking over all trains in West Wales. Within a few months of my trip on 10.10.1964 the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line would close to passengers and dieselisation be completed west of Swansea.
Finally, in Part 9 I ended by posing the question was our train a passenger or a mixed train. The answer is that it was a passenger train also conveying milk tanks, and not a mixed train of passenger coaches and freight wagons. The reason is that milk and milk tanks are passenger-rated traffic. A wholly milk train, like the 12.20pm Penzance to Kensington, appeared in the Plymouth District Working Time Table of Passenger Trains but not in the Plymouth District WTT of Freight Trains.
The line that headed north from Carmarthen in West Wales went through very pleasant, but sparely populated, countryside with distant views of the Cambrian Mountains before turning and heading down to the coast at Aberystwyth on the coast of Cardigan Bay. This is a land of small towns, villages and dairy farms. Passenger trains took two and a half hours to cover the 56 miles from Carmarthen to Aber. Because the line served no large towns there were never more than 5 trains each way even on a summer Saturday in the 1930s when the line was at its peak of popularity after the GWR publicity machine had been busy promoting the line. In the last few years there were just 3 passenger trains each way Monday to Friday with more on Summer Saturdays. However there was a substantial freight traffic originating on the line with hundreds of live cattle and thousands of gallons of liquid milk making their way eastwards towards London every day until the 1950s. My first trip over the line was on the 6.10am off Carmarthen on 22 July 1963 after travelling overnight from Plymouth diesel-hauled all the way. It was great to see 7810 Draycott Manor of Oswestry Shed at the head of four coaches and one truck – a true mixed train. The return from Aber at 11.55am was behind 7826 Longworth Manor of Carmarthen Shed with three coaches. During a five minute stop at Pont Llanio Station one loaded milk truck was attached to the rear of the train from the milk depot alongside the station.
My second trip over the line was 15 months later on 10 October 1964. I was staying at Gloucester for the weekend and left there very early to motor to Cardiff to meet a friend and catch the 7.35am dmu to Carmarthen. We arrived to find two coaches up against the buffers in the north-facing bay platform with 7826 Longworth Manor doing some shunting of empty milk tanks. 7826 was now based at Llanelly Shed, involving a 20-mile light engine movement at the beginning and end of the working day, because Carmarthen Shed had closed between my two visits. 7826 proceeded to add no less than eight empty milk tanks in front of the passenger coaches in the bay platform to form the 10.35am Carmarthen to Aberystwyth the second train of the day. The engine was way off the end of the bay platform and the train consisted of 7826 plus 8 milk tanks and 2 coaches – quite a load but no problem for the Manor. Four tanks were detached at Lampeter Station and would later be tripped down to Green Grove Siding and milk depot on the Aberayron Branch. The remaining four tanks were dropped off at Pont Llanio where there was a Creamery and milk depot alongside the station set in a tiny hamlet beside the River Teifi. More about Lampeter and Pont Llanio in a later part of the series.
In September 2024 I purchased the latest book about the line by Geraint Roberts (Lightmoor Press ISBN 9781 915069 405) and it's very good – it brought back a lot of memories. The book has 300 pages and perhaps 400-500 photographs but there are only a handful of photos showing milk tanks attached to a passenger train. Of those handful the largest number of milk tanks in a passenger train is four and there is not a single photo showing a passenger train with eight milk tanks, so I was very lucky that day to have such a number. I thought it was a regular occurrence that would have been captured by other photographers, but obviously that was not the case. My friend and travelling companion in October 1964 worked for BR in the Divisional Office at Cardiff at the time and perhaps used his position to ensure we had a worthwhile load. No matter how it came about it made a most memorable trip, complete with steam haulage, at a time when the diesels were taking over all trains in West Wales. Within a few months of my trip on 10.10.1964 the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line would close to passengers and dieselisation be completed west of Swansea.
Finally, in Part 9 I ended by posing the question was our train a passenger or a mixed train. The answer is that it was a passenger train also conveying milk tanks, and not a mixed train of passenger coaches and freight wagons. The reason is that milk and milk tanks are passenger-rated traffic. A wholly milk train, like the 12.20pm Penzance to Kensington, appeared in the Plymouth District Working Time Table of Passenger Trains but not in the Plymouth District WTT of Freight Trains.
The 10.35am Carmarthen to Aberystwyth on 10 October 1964 looking north from the end of the platform. On the left, out of picture, are three further milk tanks and two passenger coaches up against the buffers. Time did not permit me to walk up on to the road bridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
My first view out the window from the front of the first coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
We are now 9 miles into the journey and half a mile south of the station at Llanpumpsaint. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
I have now moved to the rear of the last coach for this view out of the window. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 heads the train out of Llanybyther 22½ miles into the 56 mile journey at 11.47 (8L) one hour after leaving Carmarthen 11 late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Also leaving Llanybyther which had one of several crossing loops on the route. Llanybyther is a small town with a major livestock market which survives to this day and which is famous for its monthly horse sales attracting buyers from all over Britain and Ireland. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 11
Cornish Mainline Stations Closed in October 1964 (1)
Michael L. Roach
There are currently 14 railway stations in the 75 miles between Saltash and Penzance; an average of 5¾ miles between each pair. The longest gap is St. Austell to Truro 14 miles; and the shortest Hayle to St. Erth just 1½ miles. None of the 14 stations deals with anything other than passengers (unless you know differently); no freight, mail, milk, newspapers or parcels traffic as there once was.
There were once many more stations on the mainline and in this article I will be looking at the last ones to close to passengers which is an amazing 60 years ago this month. So, no change in 60 years, and the possible re-opening of Carn Brea in the 1990s never happened. On and from 5 October 1964 the following stations closed to passengers:- Doublebois, Grampound Road, Chacewater, Scorrier, Gwinear Road and Marazion.
Looking a bit wider which were the last passenger stations to close, anywhere in Cornwall – I think it was the stations between Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) and Padstow, including Bodmin General and Bodmin North on and from 30 January 1967. Which were the first ones to close – Penponds (in 1852) and Angarrack second station (in 1853) both on the Hayle Railway. Further east the temporary station at Respryn closed in 1859 just 8 weeks after opening while the building of Bodmin Road Station was being completed. The last station to open (excluding heritage railways) was I think Boscarne Junction in 1964. But what was the last station to open anywhere in Cornwall that is still open to passengers ? I think it was Quintrell Downs Platform opened by the Great Western Railway on 2 October 1911 and now serving 3,000 passengers per annum.
There are at least two villages in Cornwall that have a railway adjacent or a short distance away that have never had a railway station provided; but they still could. They are Ponsanooth close to the Falmouth Branch and Coombe-by-St. Stephens beside the mainline between St. Austell and Truro. Ponsanooth in particular is a sizeable village surely deserving of an unstaffed halt, although I can see the difficulty of providing access to one as the single line comes off Ponsanooth Viaduct, crossing a minor road, and entering quite a deep cutting. However if the access was off the A393 Reduth to Falmouth road with a large car park it could become a park-and-ride station for both Truro and Falmouth. With two trains per hour in each direction for most of the day the Falmouth Branch has an excellent train service.
In addition to the current 14 stations and the 6 closed in October 1964 there were a further 9 which closed earlier. So with 6 plus 9 adding to 15 there are more closed stations on the main line in Cornwall than stations still open. With closure of the six stations imminent I decided to visit most of the doomed stations on Tuesday 8 September 1964 a month before closure. I had a West of England Rail-Rover so it was easy to hop between stations and backtrack as necessary; including walking from Marazion to Penzance and from Chacewater to Scorrier. Even so I did not manage to visit Doublebois that day. I left Plymouth at 09.15 and got back to Plymouth about 22.40 My last train was the 19.55 off Penzance, from St. Erth after visiting St. Ives. The 12.45 off Penzance was an 800-class Warship, but apart from that one trip to Gwinear Road every one of the other 8 trains was a 3-car dmu. Dieselisation of the main line had been completed a year or two earlier. In this first part I visit Marazion and Gwinear Road.
There were once many more stations on the mainline and in this article I will be looking at the last ones to close to passengers which is an amazing 60 years ago this month. So, no change in 60 years, and the possible re-opening of Carn Brea in the 1990s never happened. On and from 5 October 1964 the following stations closed to passengers:- Doublebois, Grampound Road, Chacewater, Scorrier, Gwinear Road and Marazion.
Looking a bit wider which were the last passenger stations to close, anywhere in Cornwall – I think it was the stations between Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) and Padstow, including Bodmin General and Bodmin North on and from 30 January 1967. Which were the first ones to close – Penponds (in 1852) and Angarrack second station (in 1853) both on the Hayle Railway. Further east the temporary station at Respryn closed in 1859 just 8 weeks after opening while the building of Bodmin Road Station was being completed. The last station to open (excluding heritage railways) was I think Boscarne Junction in 1964. But what was the last station to open anywhere in Cornwall that is still open to passengers ? I think it was Quintrell Downs Platform opened by the Great Western Railway on 2 October 1911 and now serving 3,000 passengers per annum.
There are at least two villages in Cornwall that have a railway adjacent or a short distance away that have never had a railway station provided; but they still could. They are Ponsanooth close to the Falmouth Branch and Coombe-by-St. Stephens beside the mainline between St. Austell and Truro. Ponsanooth in particular is a sizeable village surely deserving of an unstaffed halt, although I can see the difficulty of providing access to one as the single line comes off Ponsanooth Viaduct, crossing a minor road, and entering quite a deep cutting. However if the access was off the A393 Reduth to Falmouth road with a large car park it could become a park-and-ride station for both Truro and Falmouth. With two trains per hour in each direction for most of the day the Falmouth Branch has an excellent train service.
In addition to the current 14 stations and the 6 closed in October 1964 there were a further 9 which closed earlier. So with 6 plus 9 adding to 15 there are more closed stations on the main line in Cornwall than stations still open. With closure of the six stations imminent I decided to visit most of the doomed stations on Tuesday 8 September 1964 a month before closure. I had a West of England Rail-Rover so it was easy to hop between stations and backtrack as necessary; including walking from Marazion to Penzance and from Chacewater to Scorrier. Even so I did not manage to visit Doublebois that day. I left Plymouth at 09.15 and got back to Plymouth about 22.40 My last train was the 19.55 off Penzance, from St. Erth after visiting St. Ives. The 12.45 off Penzance was an 800-class Warship, but apart from that one trip to Gwinear Road every one of the other 8 trains was a 3-car dmu. Dieselisation of the main line had been completed a year or two earlier. In this first part I visit Marazion and Gwinear Road.
Marazion looking east on 8 September 1964. Note the camping coaches. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Marazion looking west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Marazion looking west from the road bridge. I have no idea what the parcels train is doing. The time is 11.50. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Helston branch platform at Gwinear Road. The branch had closed to passengers two years earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking east. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The business end of a level crossing gate which was very long. Note the extra height of the gate post and the extra supports to the gate. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking west. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Gwinear Road looking east again. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 12
Cornish Mainline Stations Closed 1964 (2)
Michael L. Roach
In the last part (above), I visited Marazion and Gwinear Road Stations a month before closure to passengers in October 1964. After Gwinear Road, I spent an hour at Truro Station but took no photos, before moving on to Grampound Road arriving there at 3.47pm before doubling back to Chacewater arriving at 4.43pm.
The village of Chacewater was a good mile away from the station along a narrow country lane. Chacewater was the junction station for the other line to Newquay with trains running from Truro to Newquay via St. Agnes and Perranporth via a dedicated branch platform at Chacewater, but no longer as the line had closed completely 18 months before my visit.
Having taken my record photos, I then walked the 1¾ miles from Chacewater Station westwards to the next station – Scorrier, which was in the middle of a small dispersed settlement but there were many mines in close proximity. The Poldice Tramway formerly passed below the main line on the diagonal right beneath the extended platforms.
One strange anomaly of the up (eastbound) platform was a depression, with normal end-of-platform slopes each side, which effectively cut the platform into two parts. Regular passengers would have known of the dangers, but I just hope that there was normally a staff member on the platform to warn occasional passengers as an up train slowed to a stop. The depression can be seen in the first three photographs.
In this second part the photos record the scene at Chacewater and Scorrier on Tuesday 8 September 1964.
The village of Chacewater was a good mile away from the station along a narrow country lane. Chacewater was the junction station for the other line to Newquay with trains running from Truro to Newquay via St. Agnes and Perranporth via a dedicated branch platform at Chacewater, but no longer as the line had closed completely 18 months before my visit.
Having taken my record photos, I then walked the 1¾ miles from Chacewater Station westwards to the next station – Scorrier, which was in the middle of a small dispersed settlement but there were many mines in close proximity. The Poldice Tramway formerly passed below the main line on the diagonal right beneath the extended platforms.
One strange anomaly of the up (eastbound) platform was a depression, with normal end-of-platform slopes each side, which effectively cut the platform into two parts. Regular passengers would have known of the dangers, but I just hope that there was normally a staff member on the platform to warn occasional passengers as an up train slowed to a stop. The depression can be seen in the first three photographs.
In this second part the photos record the scene at Chacewater and Scorrier on Tuesday 8 September 1964.
Scorrier looking east from the up platform, 8 September 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking west at Scorrier showing the main station building on the down platform. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Scorrier looking east from the down platform. The Methodist Chapel is a prominent feature of the hamlet and is still in use as a place of worship. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
These large and heavy cast iron signs were once a common feature of many Great Western stations in order to deter passengers from using the board crossing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Chacewater looking east from the down platform with the signal box and the modern station building beyond. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The island platform looking east. The line can be seen continuing to the left of the building. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking west from the island platform showing the cement silo which was there for many years holding “Blue Circle” cement in bulk. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Chacewater Station looking east from the road bridge, also showing Blackwater Viaduct extreme left. Chacewater Viaduct is a quarter mile further east. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 13
Cornish Mainline Stations Closed 1964 (3)
Michael L. Roach
In the last Part I visited Grampound Road but I saved the photos for this part. The last of the six stations to be covered is Doublebois 3¼ miles west of Liskeard. The station was located right beside the Liskeard to Bodmin main road at a crossroads, but there were less than a dozen domestic properties in the immediate vicinity. The station was located at the top of the 7-mile bank from Respryn; but one kilometre east of Doublebois Station was the larger village of Dobwalls. Why was the station not located at Dobwalls ? I thought that the answer lied a quarter mile north of the station in the shape of a big country mansion. The owners of such properties had money, influence and perhaps had invested in the company building the railway. Such factors may also have influenced the choice of location for Scorrier Station visited in the last part where there was also a big house a short distance from the station. However in the case of Doublebois the imposing manor house was not built until 1883 long after the railway and the station opened, so there must be another reason for the choice of location for the station.
I am quite sure that I visited Doublebois Station on another occasion and parked the car in the station forecourt but the negatives have not come to light or been scanned yet. The population of the Parish of Dobwalls is more than 2,000 and with the boundary of the main part of the village coming right up to the railway there may be a case for opening a station to serve Dobwalls one day, as with Ponsanooth and Coombe-by-St. Stephens mentioned in Part 11. It would not be right to leave this area without mentioning the much-missed Dobwalls Adventure Park. The chief attraction for railway enthusiasts was the extensive 7.25 inch gauge miniature railway based on American outlines which sadly closed down in 2006.
I am quite sure that I visited Doublebois Station on another occasion and parked the car in the station forecourt but the negatives have not come to light or been scanned yet. The population of the Parish of Dobwalls is more than 2,000 and with the boundary of the main part of the village coming right up to the railway there may be a case for opening a station to serve Dobwalls one day, as with Ponsanooth and Coombe-by-St. Stephens mentioned in Part 11. It would not be right to leave this area without mentioning the much-missed Dobwalls Adventure Park. The chief attraction for railway enthusiasts was the extensive 7.25 inch gauge miniature railway based on American outlines which sadly closed down in 2006.
Grampound Road looking east from the up platform just before 4.00pm on 8 September 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking west at Grampound Road. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking east from down platform at Grampound Road. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Doublebois Station looking east from the road bridge at 7.30pm on the evening of 28 April 1962, after a day photographing a railtour in Mid-Cornwall. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 14
Charlestown Harbour
Michael L. Roach
The harbour at Charlestown was constructed over a period of ten years from 1791 to export copper from local mines and must have been a major exercise in excavation for the time. The properties around the harbour were built at the same time and the whole harbour area remains little-altered. The harbour is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the Cornwall & West Devon Mining Landscape WHS. The harbour area is very atmospheric which is why it is often used for filming historical dramas.
As copper mining, and later tin mining, declined in Victorian times something arose to take its place and that was the rapid expansion of the mining and export of kaolin or china clay from the huge deposits to the north of St. Austell. As china clay mining declines a new mineral is in demand to takes its place and that is lithium, which is needed for car batteries, and which occurs in the same areas as china clay. The production of lithium took a big leap forward with the opening of a 10,000 tonne per annum demonstration plant to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in October 2024. The plant is owned by Cornish Lithium and located at Trelavour.
One of the smaller china clay mining companies was owned by the Tregothnan Estates – Tregothnan House is the home of Lord Falmouth. The Company was known as the Goonvean and Rostowrack China Clay Company, later changing the name to just Goonvean; and one of their main sites was at Trelavour mentioned above. Goonvean sold out to Imerys in 2014. It is believed that latterly Goonvean were the only company to use Charlestown Harbour for dispatching china clay but that ceased many years ago (20 to 30 ?). Since then Charlestown has been used as a base for sailing ships. I would call into Charlestown harbour occasionally when passing particularly in the 1970s and 1980s to see what coasters were present and take photographs.
Monday 7 May 1979 was a Bank Holiday. The following day I took a day off work and spent several hours at Charlestown in and around the harbour photographing the comings and goings. I was very lucky and had picked a good day. There were three coasters in port when I arrived at 12.30pm and three when I left five hours later. However I watched one leave and another arrive to take its place. Ships arriving have to be turned through ninety degrees which is done by warping. This was then done by dock workers with a rope attached to the each end of the ship.
There has never been a standard gauge railway line bringing china clay to the harbour because it wasn't originally necessary. The china clay arrived at the harbour by pipeline in slurry form and was dried in “dries” adjacent to the harbour from where it could be taken under the road in tunnels on a narrow gauge railway and dumped straight into the holds of the waiting ships down a sloping chute. The chutes were in use until the end of clay exports through the port of Charlestown and were doomed because of the clouds of fine dust released into the air, which was not at all environmentally friendly ! Charlestown is a “floating harbour” which means that water is normally retained in the harbour by a single lock gate. The gate can be lowered into the horizontal position when the water levels each side of the gate have been equalised which in practice (from observation) is about two hours before high water to two hours after high water, allowing boats to sail in and out. The china clay dries closed many decades ago after which all the clay arrived by road. Part of the site of the dries was later used as the Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre. In 2024 it was announced that the museum was for sale but there may have been no takers as museums are having a tough time at present. Later it was announced that the museum was to close with contents sold by Lay's Auctioneers of Penzance. The auction details say that there are some 8000 artifacts, from 150 shipwrecks, to be auctioned on 6/7/8 November 2024 at Lay's Saleroom in Penzance, with viewing of the artifacts on the four days before the first auction day on site at Charlestown.
The next port to the west was Pentewan which once also exported large volumes of china clay, but suffered continual problems with silting up. The last ship left Pentewan in 1940. Three miles to the east of Charlestown was the Port of Par, which had far more berths than Charlestown. The main commodity dealt with at Par was again china clay but it also imported materials like timber. There was a good view of Par Docks from main line trains and it was possible at times to see more than half a dozen coasters moored up. Par gradually lost out to Fowey as a result of the BR Docks at Fowey being leased to ECLP; the direct railway from Par to Fowey being converted to a haul road for china clay lorries; and the gradual shift to larger cargo ships. The last coaster left Par in 2007, leaving just the Port of Fowey to export china clay to other countries – a job that the port has been doing since 1869, although the history of the harbour goes back at least 400 years before that date.
Charlestown is well worth visiting if you have never been, and for readers living further away who would like a day out by train the village is located just one and a half miles from St. Austell railway station. Read more at the website - http://www.charlestownharbour.com
As copper mining, and later tin mining, declined in Victorian times something arose to take its place and that was the rapid expansion of the mining and export of kaolin or china clay from the huge deposits to the north of St. Austell. As china clay mining declines a new mineral is in demand to takes its place and that is lithium, which is needed for car batteries, and which occurs in the same areas as china clay. The production of lithium took a big leap forward with the opening of a 10,000 tonne per annum demonstration plant to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in October 2024. The plant is owned by Cornish Lithium and located at Trelavour.
One of the smaller china clay mining companies was owned by the Tregothnan Estates – Tregothnan House is the home of Lord Falmouth. The Company was known as the Goonvean and Rostowrack China Clay Company, later changing the name to just Goonvean; and one of their main sites was at Trelavour mentioned above. Goonvean sold out to Imerys in 2014. It is believed that latterly Goonvean were the only company to use Charlestown Harbour for dispatching china clay but that ceased many years ago (20 to 30 ?). Since then Charlestown has been used as a base for sailing ships. I would call into Charlestown harbour occasionally when passing particularly in the 1970s and 1980s to see what coasters were present and take photographs.
Monday 7 May 1979 was a Bank Holiday. The following day I took a day off work and spent several hours at Charlestown in and around the harbour photographing the comings and goings. I was very lucky and had picked a good day. There were three coasters in port when I arrived at 12.30pm and three when I left five hours later. However I watched one leave and another arrive to take its place. Ships arriving have to be turned through ninety degrees which is done by warping. This was then done by dock workers with a rope attached to the each end of the ship.
There has never been a standard gauge railway line bringing china clay to the harbour because it wasn't originally necessary. The china clay arrived at the harbour by pipeline in slurry form and was dried in “dries” adjacent to the harbour from where it could be taken under the road in tunnels on a narrow gauge railway and dumped straight into the holds of the waiting ships down a sloping chute. The chutes were in use until the end of clay exports through the port of Charlestown and were doomed because of the clouds of fine dust released into the air, which was not at all environmentally friendly ! Charlestown is a “floating harbour” which means that water is normally retained in the harbour by a single lock gate. The gate can be lowered into the horizontal position when the water levels each side of the gate have been equalised which in practice (from observation) is about two hours before high water to two hours after high water, allowing boats to sail in and out. The china clay dries closed many decades ago after which all the clay arrived by road. Part of the site of the dries was later used as the Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre. In 2024 it was announced that the museum was for sale but there may have been no takers as museums are having a tough time at present. Later it was announced that the museum was to close with contents sold by Lay's Auctioneers of Penzance. The auction details say that there are some 8000 artifacts, from 150 shipwrecks, to be auctioned on 6/7/8 November 2024 at Lay's Saleroom in Penzance, with viewing of the artifacts on the four days before the first auction day on site at Charlestown.
The next port to the west was Pentewan which once also exported large volumes of china clay, but suffered continual problems with silting up. The last ship left Pentewan in 1940. Three miles to the east of Charlestown was the Port of Par, which had far more berths than Charlestown. The main commodity dealt with at Par was again china clay but it also imported materials like timber. There was a good view of Par Docks from main line trains and it was possible at times to see more than half a dozen coasters moored up. Par gradually lost out to Fowey as a result of the BR Docks at Fowey being leased to ECLP; the direct railway from Par to Fowey being converted to a haul road for china clay lorries; and the gradual shift to larger cargo ships. The last coaster left Par in 2007, leaving just the Port of Fowey to export china clay to other countries – a job that the port has been doing since 1869, although the history of the harbour goes back at least 400 years before that date.
Charlestown is well worth visiting if you have never been, and for readers living further away who would like a day out by train the village is located just one and a half miles from St. Austell railway station. Read more at the website - http://www.charlestownharbour.com
My first view of the harbour at 12.30pm on Tuesday 8 May 1979 showing Birte of Plymouth on the left; Anna V on the right and Espero at the far end still being loaded. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A typical lorry of the period dating from 1975/76. This one belonged to Western Express Haulage which was owned by ECLP. Note the chimney of the former china clay dries. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Anna V has moved to the left of the dock to allow Espero to leave. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Espero is warped out of Charlestown. Note the waiting ships in the distance. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Eilean Glas sails into Charlestown. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Eilean Glas sails over the dock gate to enter the inner basin. Note the chimney again. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A last view looking south-east along the inner basin at 5.20pm on 8 May 1979. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Here is a view of real congestion at Charlestown, some 65 years earlier than when I was there in 1979. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
This diagram explains how the clay moved from the inlet pipe bringing the clay in slurry form through the drying process to the hold of the ship via a narrow gauge railway. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 15
The 10.35am Carmarthen to Aberystwyth
Michael L. Roach
A weekend in October 1964 found me staying just outside Gloucester where I had taken my parents to stay with my Mother's brother and his wife, so I felt free to go off in search of steam in West Wales. Because there was no convenient connecting train, and knowing I would be back very late I opted to drive to Cardiff and park the car at Cardiff General Station rather than Gloucester Station. The cost of parking on the south side of Cardiff General was two shillings (10p). To put that amount into context, I was probably earning around 20 to 22 p an hour at the time. I would have left Twigworth around 05.00 to 05.15 to be sure of getting to Cardiff in time to catch the 07.35 dmu to Carmarthen. In fact, the train departed 11 late and reached Carmarthen 34 late after, doubling its length at Swansea High Street from 3-car to 6-car. Upon arrival at Carmarthen our train mto Aberystwyth was being put together in the bay at the north end of the station used by some trains to Llandeilo as well.
The engine ended up by adding eight empty milk tanks to two passenger coaches with the engine, 7826 Longworth Manor, of Llanelli Shed was way off the end of the platform. There was only nine minutes between our arrival and scheduled departure time at 10.35am so I had no time to go anywhere else on the station to get a view other than that shown in Part 9 image 7720 from the end of the platform. In fact because of all the shunting our train again departed 11 late.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line was single track, 56 miles long, and had just three passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday by this date, 10 October 1964. Passengers trains left Carmarthen at 06.10, 10.35 and 17.50 and Aber at 07.00, 11.55 and 17.40. These trains would normally cross in the passing loops at Tregaron, Strata Florida and Lampeter respectively, although they could cross almost anywhere if running late, as most of the stations had a passing loop and a signal box. Points to note en-route were the freight-only Newcastle Emlyn branch going off at Pencader Junction just north of Pencader Station (14½ miles); the freight-only Aberayron branch going off at Aberayron Junction just north of Lampeter Station (27½ miles); the milk depot and factory alongside Pont Llanio Station (34¾ miles); and the line turning through 90 degrees to the west at Strata Florida Station (42¼ miles) for reasons which will be explained.
The Carmarthen – Pencader – Newcastle Emlyn line was built by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway which never reached Cardigan. The Pencader – Strata Florida – Aberystwyth line was built by the Manchester and Milford Railway. At Strata Florida the line was due to head straight on to Manchester but the line was never built and this was the nearest the line got to Manchester some 140 miles away; it never reached Milford Haven either. Strata Florida to Aber was to be a branch line but became the main line. Both railways were taken over by the Great Western Railway. The M&M opened in sections in 1866 and 1867 (more on Wikipedia). Never having the finance to do what it wanted to do, the company decided that most of its station buildings would be made of prefabricated elements which were then very popular and available from a number of manufacturers. These were the first prefabs and consisted of a timber framework covered on one side with corrugated iron sheets of a panel size that could be transported and handled easily by two or three men. The buildings were particularly popular during the second half of the nineteenth century for village halls and chapels. Many survive and in the most unlikely places; a few years ago I spotted one in a residential road in Harrow, London, but generally they were used in rural areas. The M&M prefab buildings date from about 1866 and there is one to be seen in image 8268 at Pont Llanio. All the M&M examples were demolished when the line closed but just one example survived. Ten years ago, I wrote an article drawing attention to the one derelict example of an M&M corrugated iron station building then just about hanging on waiting for someone to take it on and rejuvenate it. I am happy to report that it has been completely renovated and now looks as good as new and better than it has looked in its 158 year history. More on this station building and Pont Llanio Station in a later instalment.
Our train left Carmarthen at 10.46 (11L) because of all the shunting, and the engine 7826 Longworth Manor coped well with the extra load. The first 14 miles of line to Pencader were particularly curvaceous as the track wound its way along river valleys, so I took several photos out of the drop-down window. Even after that there were still other curves to be used. At Pencader we crossed pannier tank 9677 with six wagons on a southbound freight. At Lampeter Station 4 milk tanks were detached from the train and left in the siding beside the goods shed; this took 3½ minutes. The wagons would be picked up later by a different engine and tripped down to Green Grove Siding, some 7 miles down the 12 mile freight-only branch to Aberayron. The siding had been constructed in 1951 specifically to serve a new milk factory. Our train left Lampeter 12L and carried on to Pont Llanio where the passenger coaches were left in the single platform while the engine detached the remaining four milk tanks; ran into the goods loop in front of the signal box to the north of the platform and left the wagons there. They would later be pulled back into the milk siding using a winch and winch wire. 7826 came back onto its train of two coaches and departed 15½ late, having taken 7 mins to detach the wagons. Later the loaded tanks would be left in the same position in the loop and picked up by a south-bound passenger train by reversing the whole train into the goods loop.
We would later have to wait 9 mins in the loop at Tregaron waiting for the 11.55am from Aber which we should have passed 5 miles further north at Strata Florida had we been on time. The train departed Tregaron 23½ mins late but by dint of slick train working reached Aber just 13½ mins late, after leaving Carmarthen 11½ late. A very creditable performance by the train crew. This was almost certainly one of the most interesting rail trips I ever made. Agricultural produce was the life-blood of the line as some of the other stations dispatched live cattle and sheep by the thousand. This rail traffic continued for a few years after the line closed to passengers in February 1965. I returned a few weeks later to try to repeat the trip but was disappointed to find that the line had been dieselised during those few weeks.
Most of the photos attached to this article show the station at Pont Llanio (Llanio Bridge in English). As old maps show there was very little at Pont Llanio between the arrival of the railway and the first milk depot thirty years later. A bridge over the river, a railwayman's cottage, a post office, one large house and a public house. The station was built principally to serve the village of Llandewi Brefi more than a mile to the south east. The village became famous some twenty years ago as the setting for the BBC comedy series “Little Britain.” Pont Llanio station opened to passengers on 1 September 1866 with the length from Lampeter to Strata Florida and closed to passengers on and from Monday 22 February 1965
The engine ended up by adding eight empty milk tanks to two passenger coaches with the engine, 7826 Longworth Manor, of Llanelli Shed was way off the end of the platform. There was only nine minutes between our arrival and scheduled departure time at 10.35am so I had no time to go anywhere else on the station to get a view other than that shown in Part 9 image 7720 from the end of the platform. In fact because of all the shunting our train again departed 11 late.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line was single track, 56 miles long, and had just three passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday by this date, 10 October 1964. Passengers trains left Carmarthen at 06.10, 10.35 and 17.50 and Aber at 07.00, 11.55 and 17.40. These trains would normally cross in the passing loops at Tregaron, Strata Florida and Lampeter respectively, although they could cross almost anywhere if running late, as most of the stations had a passing loop and a signal box. Points to note en-route were the freight-only Newcastle Emlyn branch going off at Pencader Junction just north of Pencader Station (14½ miles); the freight-only Aberayron branch going off at Aberayron Junction just north of Lampeter Station (27½ miles); the milk depot and factory alongside Pont Llanio Station (34¾ miles); and the line turning through 90 degrees to the west at Strata Florida Station (42¼ miles) for reasons which will be explained.
The Carmarthen – Pencader – Newcastle Emlyn line was built by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway which never reached Cardigan. The Pencader – Strata Florida – Aberystwyth line was built by the Manchester and Milford Railway. At Strata Florida the line was due to head straight on to Manchester but the line was never built and this was the nearest the line got to Manchester some 140 miles away; it never reached Milford Haven either. Strata Florida to Aber was to be a branch line but became the main line. Both railways were taken over by the Great Western Railway. The M&M opened in sections in 1866 and 1867 (more on Wikipedia). Never having the finance to do what it wanted to do, the company decided that most of its station buildings would be made of prefabricated elements which were then very popular and available from a number of manufacturers. These were the first prefabs and consisted of a timber framework covered on one side with corrugated iron sheets of a panel size that could be transported and handled easily by two or three men. The buildings were particularly popular during the second half of the nineteenth century for village halls and chapels. Many survive and in the most unlikely places; a few years ago I spotted one in a residential road in Harrow, London, but generally they were used in rural areas. The M&M prefab buildings date from about 1866 and there is one to be seen in image 8268 at Pont Llanio. All the M&M examples were demolished when the line closed but just one example survived. Ten years ago, I wrote an article drawing attention to the one derelict example of an M&M corrugated iron station building then just about hanging on waiting for someone to take it on and rejuvenate it. I am happy to report that it has been completely renovated and now looks as good as new and better than it has looked in its 158 year history. More on this station building and Pont Llanio Station in a later instalment.
Our train left Carmarthen at 10.46 (11L) because of all the shunting, and the engine 7826 Longworth Manor coped well with the extra load. The first 14 miles of line to Pencader were particularly curvaceous as the track wound its way along river valleys, so I took several photos out of the drop-down window. Even after that there were still other curves to be used. At Pencader we crossed pannier tank 9677 with six wagons on a southbound freight. At Lampeter Station 4 milk tanks were detached from the train and left in the siding beside the goods shed; this took 3½ minutes. The wagons would be picked up later by a different engine and tripped down to Green Grove Siding, some 7 miles down the 12 mile freight-only branch to Aberayron. The siding had been constructed in 1951 specifically to serve a new milk factory. Our train left Lampeter 12L and carried on to Pont Llanio where the passenger coaches were left in the single platform while the engine detached the remaining four milk tanks; ran into the goods loop in front of the signal box to the north of the platform and left the wagons there. They would later be pulled back into the milk siding using a winch and winch wire. 7826 came back onto its train of two coaches and departed 15½ late, having taken 7 mins to detach the wagons. Later the loaded tanks would be left in the same position in the loop and picked up by a south-bound passenger train by reversing the whole train into the goods loop.
We would later have to wait 9 mins in the loop at Tregaron waiting for the 11.55am from Aber which we should have passed 5 miles further north at Strata Florida had we been on time. The train departed Tregaron 23½ mins late but by dint of slick train working reached Aber just 13½ mins late, after leaving Carmarthen 11½ late. A very creditable performance by the train crew. This was almost certainly one of the most interesting rail trips I ever made. Agricultural produce was the life-blood of the line as some of the other stations dispatched live cattle and sheep by the thousand. This rail traffic continued for a few years after the line closed to passengers in February 1965. I returned a few weeks later to try to repeat the trip but was disappointed to find that the line had been dieselised during those few weeks.
Most of the photos attached to this article show the station at Pont Llanio (Llanio Bridge in English). As old maps show there was very little at Pont Llanio between the arrival of the railway and the first milk depot thirty years later. A bridge over the river, a railwayman's cottage, a post office, one large house and a public house. The station was built principally to serve the village of Llandewi Brefi more than a mile to the south east. The village became famous some twenty years ago as the setting for the BBC comedy series “Little Britain.” Pont Llanio station opened to passengers on 1 September 1866 with the length from Lampeter to Strata Florida and closed to passengers on and from Monday 22 February 1965
7826 heads the train out of the loop at Llanybyther still with the full load of eight tanks as far as Lampeter. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pont Llanio looking towards Carmarthen. The two coaches have been left in the platform while the engine deposits the four empty milk tanks in the loop. Note the very basic station building. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 has returned to its train. Note the signal box, the milk trucks in the loop, and the oil lamp. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Strata Florida showing how it was built on a sharp curve, with the Cambrian Mountains in the background. View taken out of the last window of the last coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Our train has arrived at Aberystwyth – the coaches are already being removed by the station pilot. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 is seen on its return working, the 5.40pm Aber to Carm at Pont Llanio. Note the very primitive “gents.” Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking the other way at Pont Llanio it can be seen that we left the carriage door open while we took our photos to ensure we did not get left behind. Had there been any sun it would have set a few minutes earlier. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 16
Tiverton 03.10.1964
Michael L. Roach
This trip was made one week before the trip over the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line described in Part 15. I set out from Plymouth on the 9.15am 3-car dmu. First stop was after just 16 miles at Brent Station for an hour because this was Brent's last day of passenger services before closure. I was probably surprised that there was not more resistance to the closure of the station as Brent is a large village or small town with a present population approaching 3,000 persons. A railway station would be very useful for the residents who work and commute to Plymouth, Totnes, Newton Abbot and Exeter. Just like Okehampton (population 9,000) South Brent is on the edge of Dartmoor, and actually within the Dartmoor National Park Boundary.
I moved on from Brent behind a Warship piloted by a North British Type 2 to Exeter St. Davids where I changed to a 3-car dmu for Tiverton Junction. It was the last day of stopping trains along the line from Exeter to Taunton; and for some reason the dmu stopped for 12 minutes at Cullompton to allow an express to overtake on the through line. The object of the trip was to travel from Tiverton Junction to Tiverton which I did several times on Saturday 3 October 1964. I also walked from Tiverton to Halberton to photograph the halt. The direct route from Exeter to Tiverton and going on to Morebath Junction and Dulverton had already closed exactly one year earlier on the first weekend of October 1963. The shuttle was one of the very few railmotors left in the country at the time and all my trains were operated by 0-4-2 tank 1450 with at first one autocoach (W228) and later two autocoaches (W225 and W228) This was the only steam left on the former GWR west of Taunton; and it was also the last day of passenger services between Tiverton and the Junction. Quite a day for closures, which included Tiverton Junction Shed as well.
At Tiverton Station the shuttle used the former Exeter to Dulverton (north-bound) up platform which was the platform adjacent to the main station buildings. Presumably because there was no direct signalled access to this platform the train had an interesting way of reaching that platform which I did not record at the time, but luckily the Railway Observer did record. The auto arriving from the Junction ran non-stop through the Dulverton to Exeter (south-bound) down platform and out on to the former Exe Valley line and then reversed back into the up platform. This gave passengers a much shorter walk from booking office to train than walking to the bay platform used when all three lines were still open to passengers. At the time of closure, it was quoted that Tiverton with a population of 12,000 was the largest town in Devon without passenger rail services. Sixty years later Tiverton Parkway is considered the railway station for Tiverton and very successful it is too attracting passengers from up to 100 miles or more to the west keen to avoid the low speed of trains on the Cornish main line. So which town in Devon can now claim the title of being the largest by population without a railway station? I think that it is Bideford with a population of well over 18,000 persons and much more with the adjacent towns of Westward Ho! Northam, Appledore and Instow. The present branch to Barnstaple must surely be extended to Bideford in the not-too-distant future.
I moved on from Brent behind a Warship piloted by a North British Type 2 to Exeter St. Davids where I changed to a 3-car dmu for Tiverton Junction. It was the last day of stopping trains along the line from Exeter to Taunton; and for some reason the dmu stopped for 12 minutes at Cullompton to allow an express to overtake on the through line. The object of the trip was to travel from Tiverton Junction to Tiverton which I did several times on Saturday 3 October 1964. I also walked from Tiverton to Halberton to photograph the halt. The direct route from Exeter to Tiverton and going on to Morebath Junction and Dulverton had already closed exactly one year earlier on the first weekend of October 1963. The shuttle was one of the very few railmotors left in the country at the time and all my trains were operated by 0-4-2 tank 1450 with at first one autocoach (W228) and later two autocoaches (W225 and W228) This was the only steam left on the former GWR west of Taunton; and it was also the last day of passenger services between Tiverton and the Junction. Quite a day for closures, which included Tiverton Junction Shed as well.
At Tiverton Station the shuttle used the former Exeter to Dulverton (north-bound) up platform which was the platform adjacent to the main station buildings. Presumably because there was no direct signalled access to this platform the train had an interesting way of reaching that platform which I did not record at the time, but luckily the Railway Observer did record. The auto arriving from the Junction ran non-stop through the Dulverton to Exeter (south-bound) down platform and out on to the former Exe Valley line and then reversed back into the up platform. This gave passengers a much shorter walk from booking office to train than walking to the bay platform used when all three lines were still open to passengers. At the time of closure, it was quoted that Tiverton with a population of 12,000 was the largest town in Devon without passenger rail services. Sixty years later Tiverton Parkway is considered the railway station for Tiverton and very successful it is too attracting passengers from up to 100 miles or more to the west keen to avoid the low speed of trains on the Cornish main line. So which town in Devon can now claim the title of being the largest by population without a railway station? I think that it is Bideford with a population of well over 18,000 persons and much more with the adjacent towns of Westward Ho! Northam, Appledore and Instow. The present branch to Barnstaple must surely be extended to Bideford in the not-too-distant future.
Here we see 1450 having just arrived at Tiverton with the 13.42 from Tiverton Junction on 3 October 1964, but what is the driver or fireman doing with that piece of string? Copyright Michael L. Roach
In this view at Tiverton looking south it can be seen that 1450 has propelled the single autocoach from the Junction. Much of the signage at the station was blue letters on a white background enamelled steel, possibly dating back to 1885 when the station was enlarged to cope with the new lines arriving at the station. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The train stands in the sun looking north. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The station was substantially built with two through platforms and a bay formerly for Tiverton Junction trains at the far end on the right. Copyright Michael L. Roach
In this view looking north it can be seen that the paint is peeling on autocoach W228 beneath the right-hand window. Copyright Michael L. Roach
The forecourt of Tiverton Station looking north with a classic sports car of the time prominent. It may be an Austin Healey 3000. Copyright Michael L. Roach
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 17
Halberton Halt 03.10.1964
Michael L. Roach
In Part 16, I described how I travelled from Plymouth to Tiverton on Saturday 3 October 1964 to witness and photograph the last day of passenger services from Tiverton Junction. The branch was originally broad gauge, 4¾ miles long and was opened in 1848 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway. Journey time was 12 minutes. Roughly half way between the town of Tiverton and the Junction was the village of Halberton, then on the A373, and half a mile north of the railway. The village had to wait 79 years after the opening of the branch before a halt was eventually provide to serve the village. It was the Great Western Railway which provided the short platform during their great halt-building era, to counter road competition.
The unstaffed platform was 109 feet (33 metres) long and had two relatively rare and unusual features. The platform and its waiting shelter were placed directly beneath an overbridge carrying a minor road south from the village, which provided a good walking or cycling route from village to halt. Immediately to the west of the halt, between the track and the railway fence was an orchard extending westwards for several hundred metres. Whether the orchard was deliberately planted or resulted from a regular passenger throwing their apple core out of the window at a similar spot each day is not known. I suspect the latter.
I stayed at Tiverton Station for half an hour and then set out to walk the 2¼ miles (net) to Halberton Halt, probably staying on the minor roads to the south of the railway line. A couple of shots from occupation bridges and then I was at the halt. There was room for the halt under the bridge because the overbridge had been built wide enough for double track which never materialised. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon with lots of sunshine. To the west of the halt the line was in a shallow cutting which has now been filled in and restored to the field it was before construction of the railway. The road bridge remains in-situ. All the trains in this part consist of 1450 and one auto-coach (W228).
The unstaffed platform was 109 feet (33 metres) long and had two relatively rare and unusual features. The platform and its waiting shelter were placed directly beneath an overbridge carrying a minor road south from the village, which provided a good walking or cycling route from village to halt. Immediately to the west of the halt, between the track and the railway fence was an orchard extending westwards for several hundred metres. Whether the orchard was deliberately planted or resulted from a regular passenger throwing their apple core out of the window at a similar spot each day is not known. I suspect the latter.
I stayed at Tiverton Station for half an hour and then set out to walk the 2¼ miles (net) to Halberton Halt, probably staying on the minor roads to the south of the railway line. A couple of shots from occupation bridges and then I was at the halt. There was room for the halt under the bridge because the overbridge had been built wide enough for double track which never materialised. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon with lots of sunshine. To the west of the halt the line was in a shallow cutting which has now been filled in and restored to the field it was before construction of the railway. The road bridge remains in-situ. All the trains in this part consist of 1450 and one auto-coach (W228).
In this photo I am stood on an occupation bridge about one third of a mile west of the Halt and the train is going away from me towards Tiverton. Note the apple trees and the shallow cutting. The time is 3.39pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
I have moved eastwards to a second overbridge and am looking east towards the Halt, and again the train is going away from me. The cutting is a bit deeper here, and was necessary because just behind me a short distance away the railway passed beneath the Grand Western Canal dating from 1814. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The auto-train enters Halberton Halt on the 4.15pm from the Junction to Tiverton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The same train leaves the Halt for Tiverton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1450 propels the 4.15pm away from the Halt. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Halberton Halt looking east towards Tiverton Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1450 approaches Halberton Halt with the 4.35pm from Tiverton which I caught back to the Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 18
Tiverton Junction 03.10.1964
Michael L. Roach
In Part 16 I described how I travelled from Plymouth to Tiverton Junction on Saturday 3 October 1964. Tiverton Junction Station had a poor train service with a gap of several hours in the up direction through the morning. In 1964 one would have changed into a local train at Exeter St. Davids to reach Tiverton Junction. Sixty years later Tiverton Junction's replacement Tiverton Parkway has a wonderful train service and one can travel from Plymouth to Parkway twice an hour by direct train in as little as 73 minutes. TVP has the quite remarkable figure of 526 scheduled train services per week, with a daily average of 1,436 passengers starting or ending their journey there with an average of 19 passengers per service. These figures are quite remarkable for a station that 60 years ago was lucky to survive the withdrawal of the local train service on and from 5 October 1964.
Tiverton Parkway is actually on the site of the former Sampford Peverell Halt closed in October 1964. Tiverton Junction Station was 1¾ miles further south towards Exeter. Tiverton Junction was enlarged in 1932, when some of the stations between Taunton and Exeter received similar treatment, with four lines through each station – two for through trains and two to platform stopping trains. The station closed on and from 12 May 1986, to be replaced by Tiverton Parkway.
After arriving at the Junction from Halberton at 17.07 I made two complete return trips to Tiverton and back that evening. The last scheduled train out of Tiverton on a Saturday was at 20.50. The train departed 1½ minutes late and reached the Junction just half a minute late – quite amazing for a last train; but it was all low-key, as if the residents of Tiverton had already given up on their trains after the withdrawal of their direct trains to Exeter on the Exe Valley Line. There were about two dozen people at Tiverton Station to see the last advertised train depart. All this was hardly surprising when one sees the rotten connecting service from Tiverton Junction. There were no trains off the junction heading north from 7.53 to 13.40; and heading south from 10.21 to 16.55
I thought it would be interesting to look at the ease and expense of getting from Tiverton Town Centre to Paddington by train in Summer 1964; and by bus and train in Autumn 2024. In 1964 one could leave Tiverton Station at 7.05, change at the junction and again at Taunton and arrive in Paddington at 10.55 on The Golden Hind, a journey time of 3 hours 15 mins. The next train off Tiverton with a main line connection was at 13.25 again changing at the junction and Taunton and arriving in Paddington at 16.45 on The Cornish Riviera Express, a journey time of 3 hours 20 mins. Fares from Tiverton were not given, but judging by Exeter and Taunton were about £2.00. In 2024 there is far more choice with a regular hourly bus to Tiverton Parkway Station. Leaving Tiverton Bus Station at 7.05 and changing at Parkway and Taunton one can arrive Paddington at 9.55 on The Golden Hind, a journey time of 2 hours 50 mins for a cost of £121.50 Leaving Tiverton at 13.45 with 20 minutes at Parkway one can travel by direct train to Paddington arriving at 16.29, a journey time of 2 hours 44 mins for a cost of £54.00 The official inflation factor from 1964 to 2024 is 25.4 times so the current fare on some trains of £54 is comparable.
A word about the last image which shows a down express approaching the site of the later Tiverton Parkway Station under an original Bristol & Exeter Railway overbridge dating from 1843. The bridge has been replaced with a modern structure carrying the dual-carriageway North Devon Link Road from the adjacent Junction 27 on the M5 Motorway. The newer bridge can be seen from the platforms at Tiverton Parkway.
Tiverton Parkway is actually on the site of the former Sampford Peverell Halt closed in October 1964. Tiverton Junction Station was 1¾ miles further south towards Exeter. Tiverton Junction was enlarged in 1932, when some of the stations between Taunton and Exeter received similar treatment, with four lines through each station – two for through trains and two to platform stopping trains. The station closed on and from 12 May 1986, to be replaced by Tiverton Parkway.
After arriving at the Junction from Halberton at 17.07 I made two complete return trips to Tiverton and back that evening. The last scheduled train out of Tiverton on a Saturday was at 20.50. The train departed 1½ minutes late and reached the Junction just half a minute late – quite amazing for a last train; but it was all low-key, as if the residents of Tiverton had already given up on their trains after the withdrawal of their direct trains to Exeter on the Exe Valley Line. There were about two dozen people at Tiverton Station to see the last advertised train depart. All this was hardly surprising when one sees the rotten connecting service from Tiverton Junction. There were no trains off the junction heading north from 7.53 to 13.40; and heading south from 10.21 to 16.55
I thought it would be interesting to look at the ease and expense of getting from Tiverton Town Centre to Paddington by train in Summer 1964; and by bus and train in Autumn 2024. In 1964 one could leave Tiverton Station at 7.05, change at the junction and again at Taunton and arrive in Paddington at 10.55 on The Golden Hind, a journey time of 3 hours 15 mins. The next train off Tiverton with a main line connection was at 13.25 again changing at the junction and Taunton and arriving in Paddington at 16.45 on The Cornish Riviera Express, a journey time of 3 hours 20 mins. Fares from Tiverton were not given, but judging by Exeter and Taunton were about £2.00. In 2024 there is far more choice with a regular hourly bus to Tiverton Parkway Station. Leaving Tiverton Bus Station at 7.05 and changing at Parkway and Taunton one can arrive Paddington at 9.55 on The Golden Hind, a journey time of 2 hours 50 mins for a cost of £121.50 Leaving Tiverton at 13.45 with 20 minutes at Parkway one can travel by direct train to Paddington arriving at 16.29, a journey time of 2 hours 44 mins for a cost of £54.00 The official inflation factor from 1964 to 2024 is 25.4 times so the current fare on some trains of £54 is comparable.
A word about the last image which shows a down express approaching the site of the later Tiverton Parkway Station under an original Bristol & Exeter Railway overbridge dating from 1843. The bridge has been replaced with a modern structure carrying the dual-carriageway North Devon Link Road from the adjacent Junction 27 on the M5 Motorway. The newer bridge can be seen from the platforms at Tiverton Parkway.
1450 is seen at Tiverton Junction on 3 October 1964 soon after arriving from Tiverton at 4.49pm. It has left W228 in the platform and is going off to collect another auto-coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1450 returns with the second autocoach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1450 propels W225 down towards W228. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking north at Tiverton Junction on 3 October 1964. The huge running in board previously read “Change for Exe Valley and Culm Valley Branches”. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The first train of two auto-coaches leaves for Tiverton at 5.07pm. I am standing behind the signal box. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Tiverton Junction looking north on 7 July 1984 two years before closure. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Note the unusual point rod cranking as an express speeds through on the up main line 7 July 1984. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Warship 814 Dragon on the 08.50 Liverpool to Plymouth express of 13 coaches approaches the later site of Tiverton Parkway Station at high speed at 14.34 on 29 November 1969, running about 10 late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 18A
Goodbye to Steam July 1964
Michael L. Roach
It was while completing Part 18 (click here), that I came across an article which will compliment Parts 16 to 18 about the last day of passenger services between Tiverton Junction and Tiverton on Saturday 3 October 1964. The article was by Russell Leitch and appeared in The Railway Observer. Here I am just going to quote a paragraph relevant to the Taunton - Exeter area. Later I may quote more of the article in a different context. I think that contemporary information is normally better than the same information being given out for the umpteenth time.
Russell Leitch was a Plymouth rail enthusiast born on 23 February 1916 and in 1939 he worked for the Plymouth & Stonehouse Gas Company whose gas works was alongside the GWR's Sutton Harbour Branch. He was active recording the locomotives and train workings in the Plymouth area throughout the nineteen thirties with his bunch of like-minded friends. It was said that at least one of them visited Laira engine shed every single day. It was Russell Leitch who brought all these records together in a book titled “Plymouth's Railways in the 1930's” with many photos of the trains themselves forming a wonderful record of, what, with hindsight, turned out to be the heyday and most glamorous period of the increasingly confident Great Western Railway. However the Southern Railway trains in the Plymouth area were not forgotten in the book which is highly recommended and can be purchased at modest cost. The gas industry was nationalised in 1949 and soon after Russell Leitch moved to Keynsham presumably to work at the head office of South West Gas in Bath. Many decades later he wrote a book titled “The Railways of Keynsham” which covered a much wider time span than his earlier Plymouth book.
Quote from The Passing Scene – Devonshire – July 1964 (Railway Observer December 1964):
“Travelling down to Devon by the Western Region route nowadays one really says good-bye to steam at Taunton, and even here, the shed is at the time of writing but a shadow of what it was a few months ago. The only steam seen on recent visits has been restricted to the Barnstaple branch and a transfer trip to Bridgwater which has been worked by pannier tank 9647 plus two odd occasions when a 28xx was seen on the down cement block train [note 1] and Grange 6803 seen standing at Norton Fitzwarren station. By the time one reaches Exeter one sees the first sign of integration of Western and Southern operations, motive power and rolling stock. It used to be at Exeter that there were two railways, or two regions, but never the twain did meet, except for the closely defined running powers of the Southern through St. Davids. It was therefore, a sign of the times when three GWR rail motor cars (still in capital stock) were in and around the Central carriage sidings, keeping company with two corridors , one in maroon, and one in chocolate and cream. Conversely, condemned SR green stock, prefixed W was at St. Davids and the old GW motive power depot was host to condemned SR Moguls and a West Country Pacific.”
Note 1: At this time there was a large cement silo in the goods yard to the north of the platforms at Exeter Central Station. This received regular block trains from Westbury Cement Works but also from Plymstock Cement Works at Plymouth. The trains from Plymstock were diesel-hauled but those from Westbury remained steam-hauled right through the summer of 1964 despite the nominal ban on the use of steam engines south west of Taunton on the ex-GWR main line. The RO earlier recorded other classes working the Westbury cement train. On 2 May 1964 it was 2-8-0 no. 4707 of Old Oak Common Shed on the cement just a few days before withdrawal; and on 27 June it was 4978 Westwood Hall of Westbury Shed. The RO recorded that even with three assisting locomotives 4978 only just managed to reach the top of the 1 in 37 incline from St. Davids to Central.
Russell Leitch was a Plymouth rail enthusiast born on 23 February 1916 and in 1939 he worked for the Plymouth & Stonehouse Gas Company whose gas works was alongside the GWR's Sutton Harbour Branch. He was active recording the locomotives and train workings in the Plymouth area throughout the nineteen thirties with his bunch of like-minded friends. It was said that at least one of them visited Laira engine shed every single day. It was Russell Leitch who brought all these records together in a book titled “Plymouth's Railways in the 1930's” with many photos of the trains themselves forming a wonderful record of, what, with hindsight, turned out to be the heyday and most glamorous period of the increasingly confident Great Western Railway. However the Southern Railway trains in the Plymouth area were not forgotten in the book which is highly recommended and can be purchased at modest cost. The gas industry was nationalised in 1949 and soon after Russell Leitch moved to Keynsham presumably to work at the head office of South West Gas in Bath. Many decades later he wrote a book titled “The Railways of Keynsham” which covered a much wider time span than his earlier Plymouth book.
Quote from The Passing Scene – Devonshire – July 1964 (Railway Observer December 1964):
“Travelling down to Devon by the Western Region route nowadays one really says good-bye to steam at Taunton, and even here, the shed is at the time of writing but a shadow of what it was a few months ago. The only steam seen on recent visits has been restricted to the Barnstaple branch and a transfer trip to Bridgwater which has been worked by pannier tank 9647 plus two odd occasions when a 28xx was seen on the down cement block train [note 1] and Grange 6803 seen standing at Norton Fitzwarren station. By the time one reaches Exeter one sees the first sign of integration of Western and Southern operations, motive power and rolling stock. It used to be at Exeter that there were two railways, or two regions, but never the twain did meet, except for the closely defined running powers of the Southern through St. Davids. It was therefore, a sign of the times when three GWR rail motor cars (still in capital stock) were in and around the Central carriage sidings, keeping company with two corridors , one in maroon, and one in chocolate and cream. Conversely, condemned SR green stock, prefixed W was at St. Davids and the old GW motive power depot was host to condemned SR Moguls and a West Country Pacific.”
Note 1: At this time there was a large cement silo in the goods yard to the north of the platforms at Exeter Central Station. This received regular block trains from Westbury Cement Works but also from Plymstock Cement Works at Plymouth. The trains from Plymstock were diesel-hauled but those from Westbury remained steam-hauled right through the summer of 1964 despite the nominal ban on the use of steam engines south west of Taunton on the ex-GWR main line. The RO earlier recorded other classes working the Westbury cement train. On 2 May 1964 it was 2-8-0 no. 4707 of Old Oak Common Shed on the cement just a few days before withdrawal; and on 27 June it was 4978 Westwood Hall of Westbury Shed. The RO recorded that even with three assisting locomotives 4978 only just managed to reach the top of the 1 in 37 incline from St. Davids to Central.
Here we see the Plymstock to Exeter Central cement train at Filham, just east of Ivybridge, hauled by a Western class diesel. The time is 18.42 on 31 July 1970. I am stood in Palace Lane but this gateway is now lost in vegetation. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 19
The Cattewater Branch and Wharves (1)
Michael L. Roach
It was in 1956 that I acquired my first bicycle and rather than walking or catching the bus to Laira Shed I would cycle there regularly. In summer this would often be in the evening and the bike would give me the flexibility to go on to Friary Shed as well. I would also regularly cycle around the commercial docks of The Cattewater, Victoria Wharves, Sutton Harbour and Millbay Docks to view the ships moored up. Sutton Harbour has not received any boats bringing coal from the north-east for the gas works since the conversion to natural gas in 1971; and Millbay Docks now deals mainly and perhaps exclusively with cross-channel ferry traffic; leaving the Cattewater and Victoria Wharves to receive a regular stream of cargo ships. One of the main exports is china clay through Victoria Wharves. The main imports are oil and cement through Cattewater Wharves. The cement comes from Spain while the oil products come from all over Europe with some from British ports. At present there are six large oil refineries in the UK but this figure will reduce to five when the Petroineos refinery at Grangemouth closes in 2025 or 2026. Occasional loads of refined product are received from Stanlow on the Mersey and the refineries at Immingham. The refinery at Pembroke, on the south side of the Milford Haven estuary, sends regular ship-loads to the Cattewater. The refinery is owned by Valero Energy of San Antonio, Texas who have a depot and tank farm a short distance from Cattewater Wharves. After several months of watching I have not witnessed the Exxon Mobil refinery at Fawley send a single ship-load of oil to The Cattewater. The total capacity of the British oil refineries is 58M tonnes per annum.
It was in 1957 that I acquired my first camera and started photographing railways. Although a few years later I started taking an interest in other forms of transport and landscapes it was railways that were the subject matter of ninety percent of my transport photos right through the nineteen sixties and seventies.
The history of Plymouth goes back thousands of years but it was only in 1928 that it became a city. For the next 50 years the eastern boundary of the City was the River Plym which had been used for navigation in its lower reaches. As the river silted up the quays and wharves moved downstream to The Cattewater which is the name given to the last 1½ miles of the River Plym below Laira Bridge until it flows into Plymouth Sound. On the south side of The Cattewater is the village of Turnchapel which once had a branchline railway terminating on the edge of the village, closed to passengers on and from 10 September 1951. On the north side of the Cattewater lies a ridge of limestone which was extensively quarried over a long period to provide building stone for the area. The grey limestone can still be seen on many public buildings in Plymouth. This area of about half a mile east-west and quarter mile north-south was later developed as an area for heavy industry as the quarries declined. There were only a handful of houses in the area and most of these were demolished as the industries advanced. The industries that gravitated to this area comprised almost every type of smelly, polluting and undesirable industry imaginable; e.g. Chemical works, glue factory, tannery, oil depots, tar distillery, gas works, lime kilns, cement works, manure factory, refuse destructor, power station etc. The ones I particularly remember from the 1950s and 1960s are the glue factory because of the awful smells, the metal bashers who were putting together structural steel (still using rivets perhaps), and the tar distillery again because of the smell. The number of factories is now greatly reduced but the oil depots have lived on through all the changes.
The first railway to enter this area was the Plymouth & Dartmoor which opened in 1823 but not to The Cattewater at first, followed by the LSWR which worked the P&D from 1880 and later built its own freight-only branch through the area avoiding the existing factories and works – hence the need for sweeping curves and tunnels through the remaining outcrops of limestone. The Cattewater Branch started at Cattewater Junction just over half a mile from Friary Station on the route to Plymstock and Turnchapel. The Branch served numerous sidings and depots en-route and finished at the gates of the privately-owned Victoria Wharves. In steam days the normal motive power for the Cattewater goods was the B4 0-4-0 tank class a design dating back to 1890 and built at the LSWR's own Nine Elms Works. The LSWR built its own goods station a short distance before the line crossed Cattewater Road on a level crossing. The Cattewater as a harbour dates back to at least 1708. A short distance inland from Cattewater Wharves are a couple of major tank farms and oil depots. Sixty years ago they were owned by Shell/BP (jointly) and Esso but now they have been sold on to Valero of Texas and Greenergy, a leading supplier of biofuels, recently taken over by a firm called Trafigura in August 2024.
When I first started going along the public road past Cattewater Wharves in the late 1950s it was a fascinating place. There was the railway line wending its way between buildings and through a series of unlined tunnels and across the road going on to Victoria Wharves; sidings everywhere; and small groups of parked rail wagons. There was little security in those far off days and I was able to take photos almost wherever I wanted. Most of the photos shown here were taken in the vicinity of the level crossing where the Cattewater Branch crossed from the north side to the south side of Cattewater Road at the west end of the main Cattewater Wharf. On the Wharf itself a railway line ran along the edge of the wharf connected to the branch at both ends to allow direct transfer of goods from ship to railway wagon. Some of the maps on the NLS website show the situation in the 1860s before the Cattewater Branch was built and the only railway in the area was the Plymouth & Dartmoor.
It was in 1957 that I acquired my first camera and started photographing railways. Although a few years later I started taking an interest in other forms of transport and landscapes it was railways that were the subject matter of ninety percent of my transport photos right through the nineteen sixties and seventies.
The history of Plymouth goes back thousands of years but it was only in 1928 that it became a city. For the next 50 years the eastern boundary of the City was the River Plym which had been used for navigation in its lower reaches. As the river silted up the quays and wharves moved downstream to The Cattewater which is the name given to the last 1½ miles of the River Plym below Laira Bridge until it flows into Plymouth Sound. On the south side of The Cattewater is the village of Turnchapel which once had a branchline railway terminating on the edge of the village, closed to passengers on and from 10 September 1951. On the north side of the Cattewater lies a ridge of limestone which was extensively quarried over a long period to provide building stone for the area. The grey limestone can still be seen on many public buildings in Plymouth. This area of about half a mile east-west and quarter mile north-south was later developed as an area for heavy industry as the quarries declined. There were only a handful of houses in the area and most of these were demolished as the industries advanced. The industries that gravitated to this area comprised almost every type of smelly, polluting and undesirable industry imaginable; e.g. Chemical works, glue factory, tannery, oil depots, tar distillery, gas works, lime kilns, cement works, manure factory, refuse destructor, power station etc. The ones I particularly remember from the 1950s and 1960s are the glue factory because of the awful smells, the metal bashers who were putting together structural steel (still using rivets perhaps), and the tar distillery again because of the smell. The number of factories is now greatly reduced but the oil depots have lived on through all the changes.
The first railway to enter this area was the Plymouth & Dartmoor which opened in 1823 but not to The Cattewater at first, followed by the LSWR which worked the P&D from 1880 and later built its own freight-only branch through the area avoiding the existing factories and works – hence the need for sweeping curves and tunnels through the remaining outcrops of limestone. The Cattewater Branch started at Cattewater Junction just over half a mile from Friary Station on the route to Plymstock and Turnchapel. The Branch served numerous sidings and depots en-route and finished at the gates of the privately-owned Victoria Wharves. In steam days the normal motive power for the Cattewater goods was the B4 0-4-0 tank class a design dating back to 1890 and built at the LSWR's own Nine Elms Works. The LSWR built its own goods station a short distance before the line crossed Cattewater Road on a level crossing. The Cattewater as a harbour dates back to at least 1708. A short distance inland from Cattewater Wharves are a couple of major tank farms and oil depots. Sixty years ago they were owned by Shell/BP (jointly) and Esso but now they have been sold on to Valero of Texas and Greenergy, a leading supplier of biofuels, recently taken over by a firm called Trafigura in August 2024.
When I first started going along the public road past Cattewater Wharves in the late 1950s it was a fascinating place. There was the railway line wending its way between buildings and through a series of unlined tunnels and across the road going on to Victoria Wharves; sidings everywhere; and small groups of parked rail wagons. There was little security in those far off days and I was able to take photos almost wherever I wanted. Most of the photos shown here were taken in the vicinity of the level crossing where the Cattewater Branch crossed from the north side to the south side of Cattewater Road at the west end of the main Cattewater Wharf. On the Wharf itself a railway line ran along the edge of the wharf connected to the branch at both ends to allow direct transfer of goods from ship to railway wagon. Some of the maps on the NLS website show the situation in the 1860s before the Cattewater Branch was built and the only railway in the area was the Plymouth & Dartmoor.
Oil tanker Vally and Esso rail tankers at Cattewater on 6 August 1959. Vally is facing the opposite way to what has been normal for many many years. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Eighteen years later and there is a line-up of Esso tankers in the same place as 1959. All five tankers were built in 1964; the two at the left end were empty and had arrived from Penzance MPD. The three on the right had arrived from Inverness Harbour with Avgas. The wall in the foreground is built of the locally quarried limestone and the date is Saturday 11 June 1977. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Standard 14-ton oil tank wagon belonging to Shell/BP and first registered by the GWR in December 1940 at the Cattewater goods station on 23 May 1970. This is the type of wagon that would then have been used to carry oil products to numerous small rail-connected oil depots like Quintrell Downs. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Bridgeman has brought oil products to Cattewater Wharf on 2 September 1978. Note the bow thruster. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Unloading coal from Blackthorn on Sunday 28 October 1979. The coal was for Plymstock cement works which has since closed. The cement works was only about one kilometre away from the wharf as the crow flies, but probably twice as far by road. Note the rails set in the road surface. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
BGL 633 V is a new Foden less than three months old. Before leaving the driver executed a shake-down stop to remove any loose coal from the bodywork. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 20
The Traditional Railway
Michael L. Roach
In the summer of 2015, we went to the Welsh Marches for a holiday staying in a small village between Leominster and Ludlow, and just 3 miles from the site of the former Woofferton Station closed on and from 31 July 1961. Woofferton was on the Welsh Marches line – an important north to south route from Manchester, Crewe and Shrewsbury to Newport, Cardiff and Bristol along the Welsh border. The line is important for freight as well as passengers and in steam days carried passenger trains from Liverpool and Manchester to Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance; meaning it was then known as the north-and-west route. Woofferton was the junction for a single line heading east through Tenbury Wells and Bewdley to Kidderminster. Woofferton is located in the extreme south of Shropshire almost on the boundary with Herefordshire and not far from Worcestershire. Although the station, and most of its buildings, are long gone Woofferton has an up goods loop and retains a mechanical signal box dating back to 1875 and semaphore signals, one of a number of mechanical boxes working ABS along the line. The line was built by the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway in 1853 and was taken over jointly by the GWR and the LNWR, confirmed by an Act of Parliament in 1871. Much more of the complicated early history to be found on Wikipedia.
The Welsh Marches railway line retains one of the longest lengths of absolute block signalling in the whole of England and Wales. Branch trains left Woofferton heading nearly north but immediately turned through sixty degrees and headed east, but many trains only travelled five miles to Tenbury Wells where they terminated and returned to Woofferton. There were often, but not always, connections at Tenbury into trains which went on to Kidderminster (24 miles), or Hartlebury and Worcester. Woofferton box is just one of many signal boxes along the line worth photographing. The box is unusually square and much wider than a GWR box would be.
We had been to the Welsh Marches before and what I liked about the area was the very pleasant countryside and the proximity to Wales. The railway line was a bonus because it reminded me of how many railways were in the 1950s and 1960s before they were improved and lost so much of their character. The Welsh Marches line retains a bygone atmosphere with its historic signal boxes, semaphore signals and some original Victorian station buildings of brick and stone. The other things that enhance the whole experience are the freight trains, loco-hauled passenger trains and some manually operated level crossing gates; and no overhead electric wiring. Since I was there in 2015 most of the semaphore distant signals have been replaced by colour lights but what remains is a traditional railway from an era that disappeared from most of the railway network decades ago. There are very few lines in England Wales where all these features come together over many miles to give a traditional railway looking much as it would have done sixty years ago. Catch the traditional railway while you can.
There are many views of the semaphore signals at Woofferton, and many other locations, on the website: roscalen.com/signals. On the way home from Shropshire we stopped at Tintern Railway Station and Taunton Deane Service Area and saw at least one GWR railway coach at both locations!
The Welsh Marches railway line retains one of the longest lengths of absolute block signalling in the whole of England and Wales. Branch trains left Woofferton heading nearly north but immediately turned through sixty degrees and headed east, but many trains only travelled five miles to Tenbury Wells where they terminated and returned to Woofferton. There were often, but not always, connections at Tenbury into trains which went on to Kidderminster (24 miles), or Hartlebury and Worcester. Woofferton box is just one of many signal boxes along the line worth photographing. The box is unusually square and much wider than a GWR box would be.
We had been to the Welsh Marches before and what I liked about the area was the very pleasant countryside and the proximity to Wales. The railway line was a bonus because it reminded me of how many railways were in the 1950s and 1960s before they were improved and lost so much of their character. The Welsh Marches line retains a bygone atmosphere with its historic signal boxes, semaphore signals and some original Victorian station buildings of brick and stone. The other things that enhance the whole experience are the freight trains, loco-hauled passenger trains and some manually operated level crossing gates; and no overhead electric wiring. Since I was there in 2015 most of the semaphore distant signals have been replaced by colour lights but what remains is a traditional railway from an era that disappeared from most of the railway network decades ago. There are very few lines in England Wales where all these features come together over many miles to give a traditional railway looking much as it would have done sixty years ago. Catch the traditional railway while you can.
There are many views of the semaphore signals at Woofferton, and many other locations, on the website: roscalen.com/signals. On the way home from Shropshire we stopped at Tintern Railway Station and Taunton Deane Service Area and saw at least one GWR railway coach at both locations!
Looking north along the up goods loop which is just north of Woofferton Box. The bridge carries the A49 road across the railway. Until 1961 there was a down goods loop on the right hand side, when it became a siding which lasted until 1985. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The log train from Baglan Bay passes the loop. This is very useful for looping such 60mph freight trains to allow the 90mph passenger trains to overtake. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The outside of Leominster Station built by the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway in 1853. The station has one train per hour in each direction and sees around 240,000 passengers per annum boarding or alighting. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A pair of 175s (175 104 and 111) head north through Leominster Station. These are the dmus that are coming to Devon and Cornwall next year. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
60085 approaches Woofferton with the 15.24 Baglan Bay to Chirk log train on 23 July 2015. It is only in summer that the train can be photographed here in daylight. The train now runs an hour later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The log train passes Woofferton Signal Box. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Woofferton Signal Box built circa 1875. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
66616 is just south of Woofferton with the 13.30 Tunstead to Westbury loaded cement train on the evening of Sunday 26 July 2015. The train still runs on an as required basis. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
These 4-wheel cement wagons are all now out-of-use? Copyright Michael L. Roach.
At Taunton Deane on Saturday 25 July 2015 is HST first-class coach 41169 which seated 47 passengers. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Alley’s 15-litre MAN had the registration T900AHH and is currently taxed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 21
Proposed Railway from Bodmin to Roche
Michael L. Roach
This instalment is the first of a trilogy about some of the railways around Bodmin, and a railway enthusiast born at Bodmin more than 150 years ago. How the articles link together will become apparent in the last of the three parts.
The attached scan comes from the GWR Magazine for July 1905, and is all about the new lengths of railway that the Great Western Railway were proposing to build and therefore seeking parliamentary approval for the works. It can readily be seen that many of the railways did gain approval, and were actually built, including some very useful cut-offs like Ashendon to Aynho which shortened the Great Western's route from London to Birmingham by 19 miles and led to the introduction of two-hour trains between the two cities.
I found the couple of lines at the bottom of the left-hand column particularly interesting. The GWR were planning to build a completely new railway from Bodmin, on the line from Bodmin Road to Bodmin General, to near Roche on the line from Par to Newquay. The thinking was to shorten the route for heavy expresses to Newquay and to obviate the ferocious climb of Luxulyan Bank of three miles, at gradients as steep as 1 in 37 (although the climb out of Bodmin Road was nearly as steep and started from the platform end with a sharp curve, but the bank was a bit shorter at 2½ miles and a little less steep at 1 in 40/61). It would have been fascinating to watch a heavy Newquay express banked out of Bodmin Road Station by the branch engine (borrowed for 20 minutes) from a standing start in the branch platform, round the sharp curve and over the viaduct.
Mulling over the proposed line in my head at first and having seen only words and no plan at that stage, my thought was to form a triangular junction outside Bodmin General Station and then have a second junction just west of the triangle. This would enable the Newquay expresses to serve Bodmin or bypass Bodmin. The existing line falls steeply from Bodmin General to Boscarne Junction down the side of a valley. The new line would have to cross this deep and wide valley and was obviously the wrong solution. Time to look at the OS 1:25,000 Explorer Map. The map showed that the more obvious solution was to form a junction at the west end of the long straight which starts just west of Carminnow Cross, with the junction between mileposts 276¼ and 276½ at the start of Quarry Curve, This was also the point where trains reached the summit level of the climb from Bodmin Road, and where banking engines would have dropped off the train right by the junction signal box.
From the junction, the proposed line would then head south-west before turning roughly west, passing to the south of the village of Lanivet until reaching Innis Downs. After that, the new line could stay a short distance north of the Bodmin to Truro turnpike road (later the old A30 before dualling) before rejoining the existing Par to Newquay line about a quarter of a mile west of Roche Station near the summit of the whole line. Those were just my original thoughts, and the actual route proposed by the GWR turned up in another article and will be shown later. The line was never built, of course.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all readers of the CRS website. My thanks go to the Editor and all those who write in about my articles – your kind comments are much appreciated.
The attached scan comes from the GWR Magazine for July 1905, and is all about the new lengths of railway that the Great Western Railway were proposing to build and therefore seeking parliamentary approval for the works. It can readily be seen that many of the railways did gain approval, and were actually built, including some very useful cut-offs like Ashendon to Aynho which shortened the Great Western's route from London to Birmingham by 19 miles and led to the introduction of two-hour trains between the two cities.
I found the couple of lines at the bottom of the left-hand column particularly interesting. The GWR were planning to build a completely new railway from Bodmin, on the line from Bodmin Road to Bodmin General, to near Roche on the line from Par to Newquay. The thinking was to shorten the route for heavy expresses to Newquay and to obviate the ferocious climb of Luxulyan Bank of three miles, at gradients as steep as 1 in 37 (although the climb out of Bodmin Road was nearly as steep and started from the platform end with a sharp curve, but the bank was a bit shorter at 2½ miles and a little less steep at 1 in 40/61). It would have been fascinating to watch a heavy Newquay express banked out of Bodmin Road Station by the branch engine (borrowed for 20 minutes) from a standing start in the branch platform, round the sharp curve and over the viaduct.
Mulling over the proposed line in my head at first and having seen only words and no plan at that stage, my thought was to form a triangular junction outside Bodmin General Station and then have a second junction just west of the triangle. This would enable the Newquay expresses to serve Bodmin or bypass Bodmin. The existing line falls steeply from Bodmin General to Boscarne Junction down the side of a valley. The new line would have to cross this deep and wide valley and was obviously the wrong solution. Time to look at the OS 1:25,000 Explorer Map. The map showed that the more obvious solution was to form a junction at the west end of the long straight which starts just west of Carminnow Cross, with the junction between mileposts 276¼ and 276½ at the start of Quarry Curve, This was also the point where trains reached the summit level of the climb from Bodmin Road, and where banking engines would have dropped off the train right by the junction signal box.
From the junction, the proposed line would then head south-west before turning roughly west, passing to the south of the village of Lanivet until reaching Innis Downs. After that, the new line could stay a short distance north of the Bodmin to Truro turnpike road (later the old A30 before dualling) before rejoining the existing Par to Newquay line about a quarter of a mile west of Roche Station near the summit of the whole line. Those were just my original thoughts, and the actual route proposed by the GWR turned up in another article and will be shown later. The line was never built, of course.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all readers of the CRS website. My thanks go to the Editor and all those who write in about my articles – your kind comments are much appreciated.
A page from the Great Western Railway Magazine for July 1905. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 22
Remembering 29 December
Michael L. Roach
As I suspect is the case with most adults, there will be dates in the calendar etched in the memory because of the events that occurred on those dates. I have just a couple: 29 March (sad); 15 October (happy); and 29 December (dramatic). I have written about 29 December 1962 before several times, so do not intend to say much this time. That date was the day that the last passenger trains ran from Plymouth to Tavistock South and Launceston, and they were steam-hauled right to the end by 4500/4575 light prairies and 6400 pannier tanks, much as they would have been in the 1930s (and even earlier in the case of the prairies).
Having made many trips over the line in the previous 20 months, I opted not to travel far on the trains on the last day, but to spend much of the daylight hours at Yelverton photographing the last trains to call at the station. The decision was made before seeing the weather forecast which was not good. After the booking office closed at 2.00pm the only shelter from the 60mph winds and driving snow was to stand on the west side of a building in the lee of the bitter easterly wind.
You can read more about the last weeks of 1962, that dramatic last day and the evening trip from Plymouth to Tavistock South in a previous series – click here
Having made many trips over the line in the previous 20 months, I opted not to travel far on the trains on the last day, but to spend much of the daylight hours at Yelverton photographing the last trains to call at the station. The decision was made before seeing the weather forecast which was not good. After the booking office closed at 2.00pm the only shelter from the 60mph winds and driving snow was to stand on the west side of a building in the lee of the bitter easterly wind.
You can read more about the last weeks of 1962, that dramatic last day and the evening trip from Plymouth to Tavistock South in a previous series – click here
5564 stands in Yelverton Station having just brought in the 10.40am Plymouth to Launceston. The overnight snow on the platform was 75 – 100 mm deep. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6430 passes through Yelverton non-stop with the 10.53am Millbay to Tavistock South ECS train of four auto-coaches. 6430 is preserved on the Llangollen Steam Railway. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6400 runs through Yelverton non-stop with the 2.00pm ECS train from Tavistock South to Millbay. Note the stop-board for freight trains. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 23
Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics (1)
Michael L. Roach
To welcome in 2025, and to do something different, I thought I would show some diesel-hauled trains from around 50 to 55 years ago, towards the end of the reign of the BR Class 42/43 Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives and the BR Class 52 Westerns.
I took black-and-white negative film, with the very occasional colour negative film up until 1968. On the first weekend of August 1968, I stopped both, and started taking colour film only from then on.
On 5 May 1969, the Western Region commenced double-heading the Cornish Riviera Express with two Warships throughout between Paddington and Plymouth. The schedule was 3½ hours in both directions, between Paddington and Plymouth, on weekdays and winter Saturdays, with one stop at Exeter. On summer Saturdays the CRE was allowed 4 hours with no intermediate stops.
The first up train left Plymouth on 5 May at 13.30 in light rain behind 822 and 827 and was about quarter full. The down train left Paddington at 10.30, was about three quarters full, and surprised me by showing up 7 minutes early where I was behind 819 and 808.
There is only one slide to show of the double-headed CRE as I was then taking 8mm movie film most of the time. This instalment will start with diesels from that era 55 years ago in the summer and autumn of 1969. Look out for D836 Powerful which appears three times in the 19 images in Parts 23 and 24.
I took black-and-white negative film, with the very occasional colour negative film up until 1968. On the first weekend of August 1968, I stopped both, and started taking colour film only from then on.
On 5 May 1969, the Western Region commenced double-heading the Cornish Riviera Express with two Warships throughout between Paddington and Plymouth. The schedule was 3½ hours in both directions, between Paddington and Plymouth, on weekdays and winter Saturdays, with one stop at Exeter. On summer Saturdays the CRE was allowed 4 hours with no intermediate stops.
The first up train left Plymouth on 5 May at 13.30 in light rain behind 822 and 827 and was about quarter full. The down train left Paddington at 10.30, was about three quarters full, and surprised me by showing up 7 minutes early where I was behind 819 and 808.
There is only one slide to show of the double-headed CRE as I was then taking 8mm movie film most of the time. This instalment will start with diesels from that era 55 years ago in the summer and autumn of 1969. Look out for D836 Powerful which appears three times in the 19 images in Parts 23 and 24.
D862 heads through St. Germans with the down Cornishman on the afternoon of 7 June 1969. It was then 7 years old and lasted another 2 years. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An unidentified Warship heads through Menheniot with a down 12C express at 17.17 on Saturday 14 June 1969 as another of the same class intrudes into the picture with an up train. I hope that the driver of the up “milk” has spotted the aspect of the starting signal before his view was blocked by the down train, although the signal box may have been switched out by this time. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D1011 leaves Hemerdon Woods with 12C on the up CRE on the first Saturday of the enhanced summer timetable – 14 June 1969. The train left Penzance at 10.15 and Plymouth at 12.30 then running non-stop to Paddington due 16.30 The house is called Sherwell. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D836 crosses the Royal Albert Bridge with an up freight of 27 wagons at 20.20 on the evening of Monday 14 July 1969. The first wagon is carrying a Holman compressor made in Camborne at a time when the Holman factory had more than 3,000 employees. The factory was razed to the ground and replaced by a Tesco store more than 30 years ago. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D836 is seen crossing the River Plym at 19.03 with 34 wagons soon after leaving Tavistock Junction on the evening of Saturday 12 July 1969 heading for Cornwall. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D866 passes Hackney Box's home, or outer home, signal with the 11C 09.06 Sheffield – Paignton on Saturday 23 August 1969. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D834 passes under the public road to the west of Whiteball Tunnel with a down freight at 13.14 on Saturday 29 November 1969. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Super power for three coaches at a misty Rattery Box on 11 October 1969. The train is the 12.15 Penzance to Exeter St. Davids and the locos are D817 and D1019. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D864 is about to pass the entrance to Hemerdon down loop with 12C on the 08.50 Liverpool to Plymouth on Saturday 7 February 1970. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
D865 is seen about 200 metres further east and 12 minutes earlier than the previous image with a down engineering train which was put into Hemerdon loop. Behind the loco was diesel shunter PWM652. NLS have an OS 25-inch of this area dating from 1854-63. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 24
Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics (2)
Michael L. Roach
In this second part, we continue the images of Western Region diesel-hydraulics and take it up to 1976, which was the last complete year of the Western Class.
Warships 825 and 808 head down towards Tigley Box with the up CRE on a winter Saturday - 21 February 1970. The train left Penzance at 11.25 and Plymouth at 13.30 then calling at Exeter only arriving Paddington at 17.00 Compare with the summer times given in the caption to the third image of Part 23. The telegraph poles had just been felled after the cables were laid in the troughs seen on the right. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
One of my favourite locations in late May/early June was here about a quarter of a mile west of Forder Viaduct in a deep cutting on the 1908 diversionary route because of the profusion of rhododendrons. The train is the down CRE running 55L behind D836 on 7 June 1970. The rhododendron “ponticum” is considered an invasive species in many countries but is much more colourful than what has now invaded the sides of this cutting. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
831 heads towards Dainton Box and Tunnel on Saturday 17 October 1970 with the 16.15 Plymouth, via Newport, to Liverpool Lime Street where arrival was scheduled at 01.14 next day. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
844 and 7098 leave Brent up loop with a special train at 12.52 on Tuesday 13 October 1970. The train had been looped to allow Peak-class no. 74 to pass with the up Cornishman at 12.39 running late. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An unidentified Western passes Crabtree, Plymouth and approaches Laira Junction on 29 April 1971. The adjacent dual carriageway was then being constructed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1047 passes Hemerdon Box with 20 wagons at 15.15 on Wednesday 20 December 1972. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An immaculate 1045 passes Menheniot Station at 15.44 on Saturday 8 September 1973 with an express from Paddington. I had attended the Liskeard Traction Engine Rally earlier in the day. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1034 passes Menheniot with 7C on the 14.35 from Penzance on 08.09.1973. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1028 is leaving Camborne with an up express on Sunday 7 March 1976 having run wrong line from St. Erth during track works. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 25
North Cornwall March 1964
Michael L. Roach
On Saturday 28 March 1964 I made an afternoon trip from Plymouth to North Cornwall by car. First stop was at Dunsland Cross which was about 40 miles and an hour and a quarter from Plymouth. I stayed in the area of Halwill and Hole for the next three hours photographing every train that was available at first. From 6.10 to 6.30pm Halwill Junction Station came to life with the arrival of the 5.32 from Bude at 6.11; the 5.57 from Okehampton to Padstow calling 6.21-6.22; the departure of the 6.25 to Bude; and the departure of the 6.30 to Torrington. I saw none of these at Halwill because I had departed early to be sure of seeing the 6.30pm train further up the line to Torrington. The Halwill to Torrington line was 20½ miles long and at the north end the 7¾ miles from Petrockstow to Torrington was used by freight and passenger trains, with the principal freight being ball clay from opencast pits. However the 12¾ miles from Halwill to Petrockstow were used by just two passenger trains in each direction at 8.52am and 4.00pm off Torrington and 10.38am and 6.30pm off Halwill Junction. I opted to see the 6.30 train pass through Hole at 6.39pm but actually at 6.42pm that evening behind Ivatt 2-6-2T no. 41283 hauling just one passenger coach. This was an easy afternoon/evening trip lasting less than six hours but the trips to be described in the next two instalments were much more demanding.
I read a lot, particularly old magazines, and just occasionally I am in almost total disbelief at what I am reading. This was such a case on the evening of 18 January 2025 the day before Part 25 was submitted to the CRS webmaster. Just a few lines in the October 1925 Railway Magazine concerning train working on the Looe Branch on the August Bank Holiday weekend that year which I would like to share with readers. The passenger trains were being worked by the GWR's 4400-class prairie tanks that day, a class dating from 1904. with driving wheels measuring 4 feet 1½ inches in diameter. Only eleven were ever built because they were followed just two years later by the much more numerous 4500-class prairie tanks which had driving wheels six inches larger at 4 feet 7½ inches. Smaller driving wheels equals better hill-climbing ability so the 4400s always gravitated to the sheds providing power for the steepest gradients like the Princetown Branch. St. Blazey Shed received examples of the 4400-class within two years of the first one being built which were used on the branch lines to Newquay and Fowey. It would be 18 years before two members of the class were out-stationed to Moorswater Shed to work the Looe Branch in November 1924.
This is what the Railway Magazine reported: “On August Bank Holiday, 3 August 1925, the Looe and Liskeard branch was worked by two trains made up to 10 and 11 main-line coaches, and worked by GW 2-6-2 tank engines, nos. 4400 and 4410. From Coombe Junction to Liskeard, which includes a gradient of 1 in 35, assistance was provided by no. 4405.” What a magnificent sight and sound the three engines would have made pounding up the bank with ten coaches. 4405 was based at Laira Shed, Plymouth, at the time which suggests to me that it had worked down the main line with an excursion train from Plymouth to Looe. Ten coaches would have been a good load for a single 4400 engine. There were three inclines to be surmounted in the 18 miles between Plymouth and Liskeard at gradients as steep as 1 in 60/68/74 The standard load for a 4400-class engine along the Cornish main line was 280 tons or say eight coaches; so if 4405 did bring 10 coaches down from Plymouth it would have been given extra time but would have made a great sight climbing up the 3-mile bank through St. Germans Station.
Although he was not as famous as fellow-Cornishman Richard Trevithick many of you will have heard of the Cornish inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney who was an early exponent of designing and building steam road passenger carrying carriages. In the Sunday Times of 19 January 2025 was an article about the struggles of British cathedrals to cover their running costs due to the high cost of energy bills. There are 97 cathedrals in Britain (including Anglican and Catholic) and you may have noticed in some a large black cast iron stove with external ribs to increase the surface area available for heating these huge spaces. The stove was designed and patented in 1856 by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney and is called the Gurney Stove. They were originally coal-fired, later oil-fired and now gas-fired. Quite amazingly three Gurney Stoves are still in use in 2025, 160 years after being invented, at Durham, Ely and Peterborough Cathedrals. More than 10,000 Gurney Stoves were made in three different sizes.
I read a lot, particularly old magazines, and just occasionally I am in almost total disbelief at what I am reading. This was such a case on the evening of 18 January 2025 the day before Part 25 was submitted to the CRS webmaster. Just a few lines in the October 1925 Railway Magazine concerning train working on the Looe Branch on the August Bank Holiday weekend that year which I would like to share with readers. The passenger trains were being worked by the GWR's 4400-class prairie tanks that day, a class dating from 1904. with driving wheels measuring 4 feet 1½ inches in diameter. Only eleven were ever built because they were followed just two years later by the much more numerous 4500-class prairie tanks which had driving wheels six inches larger at 4 feet 7½ inches. Smaller driving wheels equals better hill-climbing ability so the 4400s always gravitated to the sheds providing power for the steepest gradients like the Princetown Branch. St. Blazey Shed received examples of the 4400-class within two years of the first one being built which were used on the branch lines to Newquay and Fowey. It would be 18 years before two members of the class were out-stationed to Moorswater Shed to work the Looe Branch in November 1924.
This is what the Railway Magazine reported: “On August Bank Holiday, 3 August 1925, the Looe and Liskeard branch was worked by two trains made up to 10 and 11 main-line coaches, and worked by GW 2-6-2 tank engines, nos. 4400 and 4410. From Coombe Junction to Liskeard, which includes a gradient of 1 in 35, assistance was provided by no. 4405.” What a magnificent sight and sound the three engines would have made pounding up the bank with ten coaches. 4405 was based at Laira Shed, Plymouth, at the time which suggests to me that it had worked down the main line with an excursion train from Plymouth to Looe. Ten coaches would have been a good load for a single 4400 engine. There were three inclines to be surmounted in the 18 miles between Plymouth and Liskeard at gradients as steep as 1 in 60/68/74 The standard load for a 4400-class engine along the Cornish main line was 280 tons or say eight coaches; so if 4405 did bring 10 coaches down from Plymouth it would have been given extra time but would have made a great sight climbing up the 3-mile bank through St. Germans Station.
Although he was not as famous as fellow-Cornishman Richard Trevithick many of you will have heard of the Cornish inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney who was an early exponent of designing and building steam road passenger carrying carriages. In the Sunday Times of 19 January 2025 was an article about the struggles of British cathedrals to cover their running costs due to the high cost of energy bills. There are 97 cathedrals in Britain (including Anglican and Catholic) and you may have noticed in some a large black cast iron stove with external ribs to increase the surface area available for heating these huge spaces. The stove was designed and patented in 1856 by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney and is called the Gurney Stove. They were originally coal-fired, later oil-fired and now gas-fired. Quite amazingly three Gurney Stoves are still in use in 2025, 160 years after being invented, at Durham, Ely and Peterborough Cathedrals. More than 10,000 Gurney Stoves were made in three different sizes.
Ivatt 2-6-2T no. 41206 approaches Dunsland Cross Station with 2C on the 3.39pm Halwill to Bude train on Saturday 28 March 1964; where it crossed 31824. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
At the same spot as the previous image and six minutes later N-class 31824 leaves Dunsland Cross with two coaches and two vans on the 3.11pm Bude to Okehampton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
31835 is hauling the 4.24pm Okehampton to Bude train taken from the overbridge about 1½ miles south-east of Halwill Junction Station; 28 March 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The 3.13pm Padstow to Okehampton is seen leaving Halwill Junction at 5.30pm on 28 March 1964 behind 31821. The station is just out of the picture on the right. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Ivatt 2-6-2T no. 41283 leaves Hole Station with the second and last passenger train of the day to Torrington. Hole was the first station along the line 3 miles from Halwill Junction in an area of very small villages and sparse population. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 26
Day Trip to Crumlin
Michael L. Roach
In the last part I described a half day trip by car to do some railway photography in North Cornwall around Halwill Junction Station without actually visiting the station. Two weeks later I made a completely different type of photographic trip by train and lasting more than 24 hours. This was not the longest such trip I made as six months earlier I had made a 30-hour day trip to Yorkshire and Lancashire using a cheap excursion ticket for Plymouth Argyle fans to watch an away match at Rotherham.
On Friday 10 April 1964 I left home about 11.30pm to walk to Plymouth Station where I bought a cheap day return to Bristol Temple Meads for 32 shillings (£1.60). My train was the 8.55pm Penzance to Paddington sleeping car train which was scheduled to leave Plymouth at midnight. Arrival at Temple Meads was at 3.33am some four minutes early. I then had to wait 2½ hours for my next train which was the first train of the day to South Wales at 6.05am. I never enjoyed BTM in the middle of the night but it was OK while the refreshment room was open. I think it was then open 23 hours a day from memory. At Newport I changed into the first daytime train north at 7.03am alighting at Pontypool Road at 7.20am.
The objective on Saturday 11 April 1964 was to travel the 42 mile route to Neath via Nelson, Quakers Yard, Aberdare and Hirwaun which had several lines connecting to it where it was possible to change for places like Rhymney, Dowlais, Merthyr, Caerphilly and Pontypridd. The line had a relatively good passenger service and carried many freight trains. I would spend more than ten hours on the line in total working my way westwards before travelling the full length on return. This was a line which saw a wonderful variety of steam engines of many different classes and sizes. This is best illustrated by my return trip from Neath to Pontypool Road aboard the 2.55pm from Swansea High Street from Neath at 3.26pm when I passed the following steam engines: 4157 (at Rhigos Pond); 3807 (Aberdare on a freight train); 9488 (Quakers Yard); 6144 (at Crumlin); and 4668 (at Hafodyrynys). Although I had travelled the line before I was here to pay my last respects because closure to passengers, and some of the line completely had been agreed. Closure came two months later but I would be at another line that closed that day. My journey home from Pontypool Road was at 7.03pm on a train which had through coaches from Glasgow and Manchester to Plymouth, due 12.36am.
Six miles west of Pontypool Road the line crossed a deep and wide valley on the magnificent Crumlin Viaduct. This was built between 1853 and 1857 of cast and wrought iron in the years before the invention of the Bessemer Process and mild steel. There were just five large all cast/wrought iron viaducts in Britain. By “all” I mean with cast or wrought iron piers as well as spans. There were many more with wrought iron spans on stone or brick piers and even more which I would consider as bridges because they spanned rivers rather than valleys. Of the five viaducts listed below just two remain and none carry trains. Three were demolished after the lines they were on closed completely:- Crumlin, Belah and Deepdale, with the last two being located high in The Pennines on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Barnard Castle and Tebay on the WCML. The two remaining extant examples are at Meldon on Dartmoor, near Okehampton and Bennerley, near Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Meldon, in particular, is in a magnificent setting and well-worth visiting together with the advantage of the Meldon Dam and Okehampton Station being close by. Wikipedia tells us that the Crumlin Viaduct was the least expensive bridge of its size ever constructed. It cost £62,000 to build which equals £5.95 million today – a real bargain.
The five large all-metal viaducts were:
On Friday 10 April 1964 I left home about 11.30pm to walk to Plymouth Station where I bought a cheap day return to Bristol Temple Meads for 32 shillings (£1.60). My train was the 8.55pm Penzance to Paddington sleeping car train which was scheduled to leave Plymouth at midnight. Arrival at Temple Meads was at 3.33am some four minutes early. I then had to wait 2½ hours for my next train which was the first train of the day to South Wales at 6.05am. I never enjoyed BTM in the middle of the night but it was OK while the refreshment room was open. I think it was then open 23 hours a day from memory. At Newport I changed into the first daytime train north at 7.03am alighting at Pontypool Road at 7.20am.
The objective on Saturday 11 April 1964 was to travel the 42 mile route to Neath via Nelson, Quakers Yard, Aberdare and Hirwaun which had several lines connecting to it where it was possible to change for places like Rhymney, Dowlais, Merthyr, Caerphilly and Pontypridd. The line had a relatively good passenger service and carried many freight trains. I would spend more than ten hours on the line in total working my way westwards before travelling the full length on return. This was a line which saw a wonderful variety of steam engines of many different classes and sizes. This is best illustrated by my return trip from Neath to Pontypool Road aboard the 2.55pm from Swansea High Street from Neath at 3.26pm when I passed the following steam engines: 4157 (at Rhigos Pond); 3807 (Aberdare on a freight train); 9488 (Quakers Yard); 6144 (at Crumlin); and 4668 (at Hafodyrynys). Although I had travelled the line before I was here to pay my last respects because closure to passengers, and some of the line completely had been agreed. Closure came two months later but I would be at another line that closed that day. My journey home from Pontypool Road was at 7.03pm on a train which had through coaches from Glasgow and Manchester to Plymouth, due 12.36am.
Six miles west of Pontypool Road the line crossed a deep and wide valley on the magnificent Crumlin Viaduct. This was built between 1853 and 1857 of cast and wrought iron in the years before the invention of the Bessemer Process and mild steel. There were just five large all cast/wrought iron viaducts in Britain. By “all” I mean with cast or wrought iron piers as well as spans. There were many more with wrought iron spans on stone or brick piers and even more which I would consider as bridges because they spanned rivers rather than valleys. Of the five viaducts listed below just two remain and none carry trains. Three were demolished after the lines they were on closed completely:- Crumlin, Belah and Deepdale, with the last two being located high in The Pennines on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Barnard Castle and Tebay on the WCML. The two remaining extant examples are at Meldon on Dartmoor, near Okehampton and Bennerley, near Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Meldon, in particular, is in a magnificent setting and well-worth visiting together with the advantage of the Meldon Dam and Okehampton Station being close by. Wikipedia tells us that the Crumlin Viaduct was the least expensive bridge of its size ever constructed. It cost £62,000 to build which equals £5.95 million today – a real bargain.
The five large all-metal viaducts were:
It will be noted that Crumlin was not only the oldest, it was also the longest and the highest, and was quite jaw dropping to see perhaps because of its height in an urban area. Because of concerns over its structural integrity the number of tracks had been long ago reduced from two to one and an 8mph speed restriction imposed. It was magnificent when viewed from any angle and any level. I caught the 7.38am from Pontypool Road to Crumlin High Level Station at the far (west) end of the viaduct; then walked one mile east across the valley photographing the viaduct from various positions finally ending up at Hafodyrynys Platform to travel on westwards thus getting two trips across the viaduct in quick succession, plus another one later that day.
Interestingly as the Crumlin Viaduct was being built of cast and wrought iron Henry Bessemer was inventing and patenting his process for the mass production of steel which would soon become the metal of choice for bridge spans; and yet in France Gustave Eifel was building the magnificent Garabit Viaduct of wrought iron between 1882 and 1884; i.e later than any of the viaducts listed earlier and long after steel had been invented. Garabit has a total length of 565 metres and a height of 404 feet.
Interestingly as the Crumlin Viaduct was being built of cast and wrought iron Henry Bessemer was inventing and patenting his process for the mass production of steel which would soon become the metal of choice for bridge spans; and yet in France Gustave Eifel was building the magnificent Garabit Viaduct of wrought iron between 1882 and 1884; i.e later than any of the viaducts listed earlier and long after steel had been invented. Garabit has a total length of 565 metres and a height of 404 feet.
My train leaves Crumlin High Level Station for Aberdare where it terminated, behind 0-6-2T no. 6659. Note the platform edging slabs which have been removed because of frost damage 15 months earlier in the severe winter of 1962-63 – they would not be replaced with the line proposed for closure. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Crumlin Viaduct as seen looking north from the closed Crumlin (Low Level) Station on the Western Valleys Branch. The station was then still intact apart from the removal of some platform edging slabs. The picture was taken at 8.20am on the morning of Saturday 11 April 1964. It was a dull start to the day. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking west along the axis of the viaduct showing a close-up view of a pier showing the arrangement of the 14 cast iron columns in 3 rows of 4 with an extra one at the outside of the centre-line. These outside ones have a pronounced rake on them. Note also the diagonal ties and struts both in the vertical and horizontal planes. Each lift was 5.2 metres (17 feet) high; so there is more than 15 metres (50 feet) of columns shown here. The object sat on the cross-member is believed to be a cat or dog. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A general view along the north side of the viaduct. The person admiring the structure was not known to the photographer, but with a duffle bag has got to be a railway enthusiast. Note the mineral wagons on the line below the viaduct and the fact that the farthest spans are on a curve. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
It is 8.36am and two men tend to their pigeons in a motley collection of buildings believed to have been swept away long ago. The railway across the viaduct had been single for many years with an 8 mph speed restriction. For comparison the Garabit Viaduct has a speed limit of 10 km/h (6.2 mph). Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 27
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)
Michael L. Roach
Sir Winston Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, writer and painter who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He was one of the most famous Englishman of the twentieth century and one of the leaders of the free world during World War Two. The day after the new President of the United States was installed on Monday 21 January 2025 Sir Winston's bust was restored to its place in the Oval Office at The White House in Washington DC, after having been in store for four years. This was entirely appropriate as Sir Winston had died 60 years earlier on 24 January 1965 at the age of 90 years. He was given a state funeral on 30 January 1965 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. There has been only one state funeral since then, that of Queen Elizabeth the Second on 19 September 2022. After the funeral service at St. Paul's Cathedral Sir Winston's coffin was taken along the River Thames by barge to Waterloo Station to be taken by train to Hanborough Station in rural Oxfordshire. The coffin was then taken one mile east by road to be buried in the churchyard of St. Martin's Church at Bladon. Appropriately the funeral train was hauled by Southern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 no. 34051 “Winston Churchill” then based at Salisbury Shed. The engine was constructed at Brighton Works in December 1946 and was withdrawn from BR service in September 1965 to be preserved by the National Railway Museum.
The funeral train was routed from Waterloo through Reading, Didcot and Oxford. I decided that this was one train that I just had to see even though it was a journey of more than 190 miles to Didcot. I left Plymouth at 06.35 and Bristol TM at 10.15 arriving at Didcot at 11.41 both journeys being hauled by a Warship in the 800 series. Still undecided where to see the funeral train I journeyed on to Oxford. The 203 miles to Oxford had cost me 51 shillings (£2.55) for two cheap day returns.
Oxford was very busy with north - south freight and passenger trains as it still is, and in January 1965 many of them were still steam-hauled for the next 12 months; one of the last steam outposts on the Western Region. I stayed at Oxford for 80 minutes photographing trains but decided that this was not the place to see the funeral train. I headed back south again just seven miles to Culham to do some more photography, but again decided that this was just not the place to see the funeral train. The station was just too closed-in to see the whole train, so I headed north across the fields for half a mile to an overbridge. It was a cold damp miserable day which was perhaps appropriate to accompany a sombre occasion because in some ways the death of Sir Winston Churchill really did signal the end of an era.
My guide that day was the OS 1-inch map and I could see that if I continued to head north, after photographing the funeral train, I would come to a bridge across the River Thames where I was able to take more photos before the light faded completely. I had no idea what the bridge was called but 58 years later I would learn that it was called Nuneham when on 11 April 2023 all rail traffic across the bridge was stopped at short notice due to a failing abutment. The bridge had been constructed 180 years earlier by the GWR as part of its Didcot to Oxford Branch and was showing its age. The line was said to be carrying 40 freight trains per day and with passenger trains added and simple maths was probably carrying in excess of one million tonnes of train per month. I believe that the original bridge abutments were founded on wooden piles driven into the clay.
My journey home started at Oxford at 17.17 and took in the last train of the day at 21.15 off Bristol TM. This was hauled by a Hymek to Taunton where a North British Type 2 came on to the six coaches. It was a dreadful journey starting 33L and reaching Plymouth at 01.53 the next day – 65L - because of trackwork and signal delays at several places between Bridgwater and Teignmouth. This was a journey to be endured rather than enjoyed after a long day. In 2025 the last train of the day leaves Bristol TM half an hour later and covers the 128 miles to Plymouth in two hours.
Winston Churchill's funeral saw the largest gathering of world leaders in history up to that point with representatives from 112 countries. Among the more interesting ones present was King Frederick 9th of Denmark, because seven years later he would also die in the first month of the year, and he was also carried to his final resting place by funeral train hauled by two steam engines. That train is believed to be the last funeral train to have run in Europe.
In the present century the funeral train which should have run and didn't was that of our late Queen as her body was brought back from Scotland to London for the funeral. I believe that a carriage had been adapted to carry the coffin several years earlier and there is a Royal Train to carry the family accompanying the coffin. The coffin could have been put on a train at Edinburgh and have travelled via Carstairs, Carlisle, Settle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Bedford and St. Albans. Yes, I know the train would have taken seven or eight hours to reach London by that route as it reduced speed at the major stations but hundreds of thousands of the Queen's subjects would have turned out to see the train pass. In fact the coffin was flown from Edinburgh to London.
Apart from 18 months at Nine Elms and Exmouth Junction Sheds in 1950-51 34051 spent the whole of its time after Nationalisation at Salisbury Shed. The engine was withdrawn from normal service eight months after it hauled the funeral train in September 1965. One would have expected it to be in demand for hauling rail tours but I could find only one – the SLS Bulleid Pacific Rail Tour of 23 May 1965 starting and finishing at Birmingham Snow Hill. 34051 operated the first leg of the railtour to Salisbury via Reading West Junction. I am obliged to Richard Hoskin for providing a photo of 34051 at Solihull where the rail tour stopped to pick up passengers.
The funeral train was routed from Waterloo through Reading, Didcot and Oxford. I decided that this was one train that I just had to see even though it was a journey of more than 190 miles to Didcot. I left Plymouth at 06.35 and Bristol TM at 10.15 arriving at Didcot at 11.41 both journeys being hauled by a Warship in the 800 series. Still undecided where to see the funeral train I journeyed on to Oxford. The 203 miles to Oxford had cost me 51 shillings (£2.55) for two cheap day returns.
Oxford was very busy with north - south freight and passenger trains as it still is, and in January 1965 many of them were still steam-hauled for the next 12 months; one of the last steam outposts on the Western Region. I stayed at Oxford for 80 minutes photographing trains but decided that this was not the place to see the funeral train. I headed back south again just seven miles to Culham to do some more photography, but again decided that this was just not the place to see the funeral train. The station was just too closed-in to see the whole train, so I headed north across the fields for half a mile to an overbridge. It was a cold damp miserable day which was perhaps appropriate to accompany a sombre occasion because in some ways the death of Sir Winston Churchill really did signal the end of an era.
My guide that day was the OS 1-inch map and I could see that if I continued to head north, after photographing the funeral train, I would come to a bridge across the River Thames where I was able to take more photos before the light faded completely. I had no idea what the bridge was called but 58 years later I would learn that it was called Nuneham when on 11 April 2023 all rail traffic across the bridge was stopped at short notice due to a failing abutment. The bridge had been constructed 180 years earlier by the GWR as part of its Didcot to Oxford Branch and was showing its age. The line was said to be carrying 40 freight trains per day and with passenger trains added and simple maths was probably carrying in excess of one million tonnes of train per month. I believe that the original bridge abutments were founded on wooden piles driven into the clay.
My journey home started at Oxford at 17.17 and took in the last train of the day at 21.15 off Bristol TM. This was hauled by a Hymek to Taunton where a North British Type 2 came on to the six coaches. It was a dreadful journey starting 33L and reaching Plymouth at 01.53 the next day – 65L - because of trackwork and signal delays at several places between Bridgwater and Teignmouth. This was a journey to be endured rather than enjoyed after a long day. In 2025 the last train of the day leaves Bristol TM half an hour later and covers the 128 miles to Plymouth in two hours.
Winston Churchill's funeral saw the largest gathering of world leaders in history up to that point with representatives from 112 countries. Among the more interesting ones present was King Frederick 9th of Denmark, because seven years later he would also die in the first month of the year, and he was also carried to his final resting place by funeral train hauled by two steam engines. That train is believed to be the last funeral train to have run in Europe.
In the present century the funeral train which should have run and didn't was that of our late Queen as her body was brought back from Scotland to London for the funeral. I believe that a carriage had been adapted to carry the coffin several years earlier and there is a Royal Train to carry the family accompanying the coffin. The coffin could have been put on a train at Edinburgh and have travelled via Carstairs, Carlisle, Settle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Bedford and St. Albans. Yes, I know the train would have taken seven or eight hours to reach London by that route as it reduced speed at the major stations but hundreds of thousands of the Queen's subjects would have turned out to see the train pass. In fact the coffin was flown from Edinburgh to London.
Apart from 18 months at Nine Elms and Exmouth Junction Sheds in 1950-51 34051 spent the whole of its time after Nationalisation at Salisbury Shed. The engine was withdrawn from normal service eight months after it hauled the funeral train in September 1965. One would have expected it to be in demand for hauling rail tours but I could find only one – the SLS Bulleid Pacific Rail Tour of 23 May 1965 starting and finishing at Birmingham Snow Hill. 34051 operated the first leg of the railtour to Salisbury via Reading West Junction. I am obliged to Richard Hoskin for providing a photo of 34051 at Solihull where the rail tour stopped to pick up passengers.
6823 Oakley Grange heads north through Oxford with a general freight train on 30 January 1965. It was then shedded at Oxley, Wolverhampton and was withdrawn just five months later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An unidentified Hall-class engine heads through Oxford with a short freight. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6967 Willesley Hall of Oxford Shed heads south with oil tanks through Culham Station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Rebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 no. 34071 601 Squadron of Eastleigh Shed heads north through Culham with a passenger train. The class were common at Oxford where they usually came off to turn and head back south. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
34051 with the Funeral Train is seen about half a mile north of Culham Station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The Funeral Train heads away north shortly to cross the River Thames. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An unidentified Hall-class engine heads south across the River Thames at Nuneham. It was the nearest abutment which failed in April 2023. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Here is 34051 stopped at Solihull Station to pick up passengers ten minutes after leaving Snow Hill on the Bulleid Pacific Rail Tour of 23 May 1965. Copyright Richard Hoskin
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 28
Queen Victoria's Funeral
Michael L. Roach
The second of February marks the 124th anniversary of the funeral of Queen Victoria.
Part 27 outlined the life of Sir Winston Churchill with particular reference to his funeral and last journey by train from London to Oxfordshire in January 1965. Sixty four years earlier and also in the month of January Queen Victoria died and this is a little about her funeral and funeral train; but first a bit about the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. The LBSCR existed as a corporate entity from 1846 to 1922 when it became part of the Southern Railway Group. The LBSCR brought 457 route miles to the Southern; for comparison the LSWR brought 1,020 route miles, including many miles in Devon and Cornwall. The LBSCR extended from Portsmouth and Cosham in the west to Hastings in the east, and northwards to London where it had three major stations at Kensington, Victoria and London Bridge.
Osborne House on the Isle of Wight was built between 1845 and 1851 as the summer home and rural retreat for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Queen died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901 at the age of 81 years after reigning for more than 63 years. The state funeral took place on Saturday 2 February 1901 at Windsor Castle; having been 64 years since the previous funeral of a monarch. Queen Victoria's coffin was conveyed by boat from Cowes to Gosport where it was taken to a railway station. Gosport Station was built by the LSWR in 1841 at the end of a 4½ branch from Fareham. It closed to passengers in 1953 and to goods in 1969. However the coffin was taken to Victoria's private station at the end of an extension to the branch within Royal Navy property.
The funeral train was hauled from Gosport to Fareham by an LSWR engine where the train reversed. The engine was then provided by the London, Brighton and South Coast and it was at Fareham that one of Billinton's new 4-4-0 B4-class engines no. 54 “Empress” came on to the train to haul it to London via Havant Junction (scheduled time 9.15am), Ford Junction (9.36), Horsham (10.05), Dorking (10.23), Mitcham Junction (10.43), Clapham Junction (10.54), Grosvenor Road (10.58) and arriving at Victoria (11.00am). In fact the funeral train departed Gosport 8L and Fareham 10L but by dint of some fast running reached Victoria two minutes early. The train was reputed to have reached 80 mph on the level between Havant and Ford Junction. The first of the B4-class class had come out of Brighton Works in December 1899 and they had a good reputation. OS Nock described the class as among the finest passenger locomotives of their day. Several of the class passed to BR on nationalisation but none were preserved. “Empress” was withdrawn in May 1951. Although there are many LBSCR engines in preservation there appears to be only one Billinton engine which is E4 0-6-2T “Birch Grove.”
Many crowned heads had travelled to Gosport to travel on the train and because of this someone in authority had decided that no photographers would be allowed anywhere near the line which was patrolled by an army of railwaymen to enforce it. The result was very few photographs of the funeral train taken by members of the public. The trip to London was only the first leg of the trip to Windsor. At Victoria the coffin was put on a gun-carriage to be taken across London by road the 2½ miles to Paddington Station. Seven of the eight coaches on the first leg belonged to the LBSCR but the coffin travelled in a GWR coach from that Company's Royal Train no. 229 which was taken around London by way of Battersea, Addison Road, Uxbridge Road and Westborne Park to Paddington to be available for the second leg of the journey. The GWR stationed a railwayman on both sides of the line every 25 yards all the way from Paddington to Windsor. The train was hauled by a 4-4-0 named “Royal Sovereign” although it was actually 3373 “Atbara” in disguise, temporarily carrying the nameplates of 3050. From the GWR station in Windsor the coffin was taken to St. George's Chapel within Windsor Castle for the funeral service. It was the first royal funeral for which a printed Order of Service was produced.
Now Windsor has a second railway station at Riverside which pre-1923 was owned by the LSWR. You may ask why Queen Victoria's funeral train did not go direct to Windsor & Eton Riverside. I think there are a couple of reasons. Firstly it would have denied Londoners the chance to see the funeral procession from Victoria to Paddington. Secondly Victoria had made her first train journey from Slough to Paddington on 13 June 1842 some seven years before the branch to Windsor & Eton Central opened, and normally used the Great Western route to Windsor; and thirdly, and most importantly, Queen Victoria would pass through the London Station named after herself.
The information used in this article has been sourced from Wikipedia and The Railway Magazine for March 1940. My thanks go to both organisations.
Part 27 outlined the life of Sir Winston Churchill with particular reference to his funeral and last journey by train from London to Oxfordshire in January 1965. Sixty four years earlier and also in the month of January Queen Victoria died and this is a little about her funeral and funeral train; but first a bit about the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. The LBSCR existed as a corporate entity from 1846 to 1922 when it became part of the Southern Railway Group. The LBSCR brought 457 route miles to the Southern; for comparison the LSWR brought 1,020 route miles, including many miles in Devon and Cornwall. The LBSCR extended from Portsmouth and Cosham in the west to Hastings in the east, and northwards to London where it had three major stations at Kensington, Victoria and London Bridge.
Osborne House on the Isle of Wight was built between 1845 and 1851 as the summer home and rural retreat for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Queen died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901 at the age of 81 years after reigning for more than 63 years. The state funeral took place on Saturday 2 February 1901 at Windsor Castle; having been 64 years since the previous funeral of a monarch. Queen Victoria's coffin was conveyed by boat from Cowes to Gosport where it was taken to a railway station. Gosport Station was built by the LSWR in 1841 at the end of a 4½ branch from Fareham. It closed to passengers in 1953 and to goods in 1969. However the coffin was taken to Victoria's private station at the end of an extension to the branch within Royal Navy property.
The funeral train was hauled from Gosport to Fareham by an LSWR engine where the train reversed. The engine was then provided by the London, Brighton and South Coast and it was at Fareham that one of Billinton's new 4-4-0 B4-class engines no. 54 “Empress” came on to the train to haul it to London via Havant Junction (scheduled time 9.15am), Ford Junction (9.36), Horsham (10.05), Dorking (10.23), Mitcham Junction (10.43), Clapham Junction (10.54), Grosvenor Road (10.58) and arriving at Victoria (11.00am). In fact the funeral train departed Gosport 8L and Fareham 10L but by dint of some fast running reached Victoria two minutes early. The train was reputed to have reached 80 mph on the level between Havant and Ford Junction. The first of the B4-class class had come out of Brighton Works in December 1899 and they had a good reputation. OS Nock described the class as among the finest passenger locomotives of their day. Several of the class passed to BR on nationalisation but none were preserved. “Empress” was withdrawn in May 1951. Although there are many LBSCR engines in preservation there appears to be only one Billinton engine which is E4 0-6-2T “Birch Grove.”
Many crowned heads had travelled to Gosport to travel on the train and because of this someone in authority had decided that no photographers would be allowed anywhere near the line which was patrolled by an army of railwaymen to enforce it. The result was very few photographs of the funeral train taken by members of the public. The trip to London was only the first leg of the trip to Windsor. At Victoria the coffin was put on a gun-carriage to be taken across London by road the 2½ miles to Paddington Station. Seven of the eight coaches on the first leg belonged to the LBSCR but the coffin travelled in a GWR coach from that Company's Royal Train no. 229 which was taken around London by way of Battersea, Addison Road, Uxbridge Road and Westborne Park to Paddington to be available for the second leg of the journey. The GWR stationed a railwayman on both sides of the line every 25 yards all the way from Paddington to Windsor. The train was hauled by a 4-4-0 named “Royal Sovereign” although it was actually 3373 “Atbara” in disguise, temporarily carrying the nameplates of 3050. From the GWR station in Windsor the coffin was taken to St. George's Chapel within Windsor Castle for the funeral service. It was the first royal funeral for which a printed Order of Service was produced.
Now Windsor has a second railway station at Riverside which pre-1923 was owned by the LSWR. You may ask why Queen Victoria's funeral train did not go direct to Windsor & Eton Riverside. I think there are a couple of reasons. Firstly it would have denied Londoners the chance to see the funeral procession from Victoria to Paddington. Secondly Victoria had made her first train journey from Slough to Paddington on 13 June 1842 some seven years before the branch to Windsor & Eton Central opened, and normally used the Great Western route to Windsor; and thirdly, and most importantly, Queen Victoria would pass through the London Station named after herself.
The information used in this article has been sourced from Wikipedia and The Railway Magazine for March 1940. My thanks go to both organisations.
Queen Victoria's funeral train passes Carshalton on 2 February 1901
The funeral train was hauled from Fareham to Victoria by LBSCR's 4-4-0 no. 54 “Empress”
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 29
More on Crumlin Viaduct
(and Other Bridges and Viaducts)
Michael L. Roach
In Part 26 I described a day trip from Plymouth to Crumlin in1964 to pay my last respects to a magnificent railway viaduct which was shortly to be closed to all rail traffic and likely to be demolished. Demolition started 60 years ago in the summer of 1965 and was no easy task. History records that no less than six demolition contractors came and went before British Railways found one that could actually do the work; but first we must go back and learn a bit more about the viaduct.
I alighted from a train at Crumlin High Level Station on the Pontypool Road to Neath line and walked down into the Ebbw Valley to visit the Low Level Station. This had closed to passengers on 30 April 1962 but was still intact and freight trains still passed through on their way to the steel works at the head of the valley. It was only from down here at ground level that one could truly appreciate the sheer scale of Crumlin Viaduct towering over the valley. In fact the viaduct was in two parts and crossed two valleys. The longest crossed the Ebbw Valley on seven 150 feet spans; while the shorter part crossed the Kendon Valley with three 150 feet spans.
Crumlin Viaduct was built by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Company as part of their Taff Vale Extension Railway which aimed to link their own line at Pontypool with the Taff Vale Railway at Quakers Yard. The line crossed a number of valleys on major viaducts as at Hengoed; but the major crossing was at the Ebbw Valley where the proposed railway was 200 feet (61 metres) above the bottom of the valley. The Engineer for the line was Charles Liddell, but he did not design the necessary viaduct. He invited various contractors to submit tenders for building the two bridges needed to their own design. The winner of the competition was Thomas William Kennard (1825 – 1893) who started with an advantage over the others tendering as his family already owned iron-works capable of casting some of the iron which was used in his all-metal design. Kennard tried different combinations of span length and number of piers and finally settled on 150 feet spans and 6 piers / 7 spans for the main part of the viaduct. Crumlin was also a very economical structure to build costing £62,000. The railway across the viaduct was opened on 1 June 1857 and throughout its life the viaduct was the highest (i.e tallest) railway viaduct in the United Kingdom.
The superstructure of Crumlin Viaduct contained 1,133 tons of wrought iron in the trusses which were manufactured at the Blaenavon Ironworks just 10 miles away. The 1,368 tons of cast iron in the piers came from the Falkirk Ironworks in Scotland which was owned by the Kennard Family, and which came most of the way by sea. Cast iron is good in compression but not good in tension. Wrought iron is much better at coping with the tension that would arise in the bottom flange of the 150 feet spans. The main difference between cast and wrought iron is that the latter has been hammered or wrought. At the same time as the viaduct was being built, Henry Bessemer was inventing the Bessemer Process for the mass production of steel which would replace cast and wrought iron in bridge structures. Kennard established an iron-works below the viaduct which no doubt helped during the construction of the viaduct and the works later established a good reputation for bridge building at home and abroad.
One of the bridges supplied with iron from the Viaduct Works was the Lydbrook Viaduct just 30 miles away to the north-east of Crumlin. This was a wrought iron lattice truss type bridge with three main spans plus stone arch approaches at each end crossing the Lydbrook Valley just before it met the Wye Valley. The two main piers were built of the same stone as the approach spans. The main spans were 120 feet, 150 feet and 120 feet. The centre span was the same length as the main spans of the Crumlin Viaduct. The trusses were similar to those provided in hundreds of other road and rail bridges throughout the world. Lydbrook Viaduct was constructed between 1872 – 74 and opened to traffic 26 August 1874. The viaduct was designed by the Severn & Wye Railway's own Chief Engineer George William Keeling (1838 – 1913) and he was also the joint designer of the Severn Bridge. The first of the two adjacent Meldon Viaducts was built 1871 – 74 and opened to traffic two months after Lydbrook on 12 October 1874. The trusses at Meldon were were also made of wrought iron.
The last image attached to this article shows Lydbrook Viaduct as it neared completion in 1874. The line across the viaduct was the last link in joining the River Severn to the River Wye by rail constructed by the Severn & Wye Railway. The following year (1875) work started on building a rail bridge across the River Severn (opened 1879) by the Severn Bridge Railway Company just to the north of Sharpness Docks. The two Companies amalgamated the same year and in 1894 were taken over to become the Severn & Wye Joint Railway; jointly owned by the Great Western and Midland Railways. The railways of the Forest of Dean and the Joint Railway have a fascinating history and I still remember that night in October 1960 when the first item on the 10.00 o'clock news was the fact that two barges carrying petroleum products had collided with one pier of the Severn Bridge in thick fog; brought down two spans of the bridge; exploded and been engulfed in flames. Five men lost their lives and the bridge was never repaired.
Lydbrook Viaduct was a magnificent structure which just like Crumlin dominated its setting but I regret I never got to see it before it was demolished between August 1965 and March 1966. The firms that demolished Lydbrook was R.S.Tyley of Barry working with Cox and Danks one of the most well-known names in scrapping steam engines in the 1960s.
The firm that actually demolished Crumlin Viaduct was Bird's of Risca – more at thebirdgroup.co.uk/history. Risca is a village located six miles south of Crumlin in the same valley. My sincere thanks go to Robert Darlaston for supplying the two colour images accompanying the article which show the piers of Crumlin in June 1965 just two months before demolition commenced. Looking at the site of the viaduct on Streetview it looks as though parts of the Viaduct Ironworks may still exist adjacent to Lawn Terrace. The windowthroughtime website (which was new to me) describes Crumlin Viaduct as “one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution.” Crumlin Viaduct was one of the first railway structures to be photographed throughout the construction period and I anticipate that some of those photos have been used in a recently published book on the subject. Coming from Lightmoor Press I am sure that it will be first class record in words, photos, maps and diagrams.
I alighted from a train at Crumlin High Level Station on the Pontypool Road to Neath line and walked down into the Ebbw Valley to visit the Low Level Station. This had closed to passengers on 30 April 1962 but was still intact and freight trains still passed through on their way to the steel works at the head of the valley. It was only from down here at ground level that one could truly appreciate the sheer scale of Crumlin Viaduct towering over the valley. In fact the viaduct was in two parts and crossed two valleys. The longest crossed the Ebbw Valley on seven 150 feet spans; while the shorter part crossed the Kendon Valley with three 150 feet spans.
Crumlin Viaduct was built by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Company as part of their Taff Vale Extension Railway which aimed to link their own line at Pontypool with the Taff Vale Railway at Quakers Yard. The line crossed a number of valleys on major viaducts as at Hengoed; but the major crossing was at the Ebbw Valley where the proposed railway was 200 feet (61 metres) above the bottom of the valley. The Engineer for the line was Charles Liddell, but he did not design the necessary viaduct. He invited various contractors to submit tenders for building the two bridges needed to their own design. The winner of the competition was Thomas William Kennard (1825 – 1893) who started with an advantage over the others tendering as his family already owned iron-works capable of casting some of the iron which was used in his all-metal design. Kennard tried different combinations of span length and number of piers and finally settled on 150 feet spans and 6 piers / 7 spans for the main part of the viaduct. Crumlin was also a very economical structure to build costing £62,000. The railway across the viaduct was opened on 1 June 1857 and throughout its life the viaduct was the highest (i.e tallest) railway viaduct in the United Kingdom.
The superstructure of Crumlin Viaduct contained 1,133 tons of wrought iron in the trusses which were manufactured at the Blaenavon Ironworks just 10 miles away. The 1,368 tons of cast iron in the piers came from the Falkirk Ironworks in Scotland which was owned by the Kennard Family, and which came most of the way by sea. Cast iron is good in compression but not good in tension. Wrought iron is much better at coping with the tension that would arise in the bottom flange of the 150 feet spans. The main difference between cast and wrought iron is that the latter has been hammered or wrought. At the same time as the viaduct was being built, Henry Bessemer was inventing the Bessemer Process for the mass production of steel which would replace cast and wrought iron in bridge structures. Kennard established an iron-works below the viaduct which no doubt helped during the construction of the viaduct and the works later established a good reputation for bridge building at home and abroad.
One of the bridges supplied with iron from the Viaduct Works was the Lydbrook Viaduct just 30 miles away to the north-east of Crumlin. This was a wrought iron lattice truss type bridge with three main spans plus stone arch approaches at each end crossing the Lydbrook Valley just before it met the Wye Valley. The two main piers were built of the same stone as the approach spans. The main spans were 120 feet, 150 feet and 120 feet. The centre span was the same length as the main spans of the Crumlin Viaduct. The trusses were similar to those provided in hundreds of other road and rail bridges throughout the world. Lydbrook Viaduct was constructed between 1872 – 74 and opened to traffic 26 August 1874. The viaduct was designed by the Severn & Wye Railway's own Chief Engineer George William Keeling (1838 – 1913) and he was also the joint designer of the Severn Bridge. The first of the two adjacent Meldon Viaducts was built 1871 – 74 and opened to traffic two months after Lydbrook on 12 October 1874. The trusses at Meldon were were also made of wrought iron.
The last image attached to this article shows Lydbrook Viaduct as it neared completion in 1874. The line across the viaduct was the last link in joining the River Severn to the River Wye by rail constructed by the Severn & Wye Railway. The following year (1875) work started on building a rail bridge across the River Severn (opened 1879) by the Severn Bridge Railway Company just to the north of Sharpness Docks. The two Companies amalgamated the same year and in 1894 were taken over to become the Severn & Wye Joint Railway; jointly owned by the Great Western and Midland Railways. The railways of the Forest of Dean and the Joint Railway have a fascinating history and I still remember that night in October 1960 when the first item on the 10.00 o'clock news was the fact that two barges carrying petroleum products had collided with one pier of the Severn Bridge in thick fog; brought down two spans of the bridge; exploded and been engulfed in flames. Five men lost their lives and the bridge was never repaired.
Lydbrook Viaduct was a magnificent structure which just like Crumlin dominated its setting but I regret I never got to see it before it was demolished between August 1965 and March 1966. The firms that demolished Lydbrook was R.S.Tyley of Barry working with Cox and Danks one of the most well-known names in scrapping steam engines in the 1960s.
The firm that actually demolished Crumlin Viaduct was Bird's of Risca – more at thebirdgroup.co.uk/history. Risca is a village located six miles south of Crumlin in the same valley. My sincere thanks go to Robert Darlaston for supplying the two colour images accompanying the article which show the piers of Crumlin in June 1965 just two months before demolition commenced. Looking at the site of the viaduct on Streetview it looks as though parts of the Viaduct Ironworks may still exist adjacent to Lawn Terrace. The windowthroughtime website (which was new to me) describes Crumlin Viaduct as “one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution.” Crumlin Viaduct was one of the first railway structures to be photographed throughout the construction period and I anticipate that some of those photos have been used in a recently published book on the subject. Coming from Lightmoor Press I am sure that it will be first class record in words, photos, maps and diagrams.
Crumlin Viaduct looking north from the closed Low Level Station on the Western Valleys Branch. This photo was taken at 8.20am on the morning of Saturday 11 April 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view west along the south side of Crumlin Viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Not the best of images, but the only one I have of a train crossing the Viaduct – Churchward mogul 2-6-0 no. 6361 of Aberdare Shed was hauling the 7.45am Aberdare to Pontypool Road, one of many passenger trains not to run the full length of the line. The engine was withdrawn the following month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
This view looking north is believed to show the two tallest piers of the 7-span main viaduct on Whit Monday – 7 June 1965. Each lift was 17 feet (5.2 metres) high. Not sure what the large maroon car is, but it might be an Austin Westminster. Copyright Robert Darlaston.
Believed to be piers 5 and 6 from the eastern end. The bridge at the base carried the Western Valleys freight-only line over the River Ebbw. Copyright Robert Darlaston.
The finishing touches are being made to Lydbrook Viaduct in 1874 with some temporary works still in place. The quality of the stonework is quite superb. A great pity the viaduct did not survive as a cycleway and footpath. No Copyright.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 30
DIDCOT to SWINDON
Michael L. Roach
On 7 February 2025 Ken Mumford related how he took his young grandson to Ashbury Crossing to watch trains. The location is just half a mile east of the location of Shrivenham Station which closed to passengers on 7 November 1964. For the record these are the mileages of the key locations in the area:
Didcot Station 53m 10c
Uffington Station 66m 43c
Knighton Crossing 69m 00c
Ashbury Crossing 71m 05c
Shrivenham Station 71m 42c
Highworth Junction 76m 28c
Swindon Station 77m 24c
Ken's mention of this area rang a bell with me as I had written an article about this length of railway some years ago. It is a real-life story which may be of interest to one of our readers – Dave Letcher the well-known Cornish enthusiast and photographer. The article was first published in the Welsh Railways Research Circle's Newsletter No. 161 for Winter 2019 (website wrrc.org.uk) and is reproduced here unchanged. For the record it may be more than 24 miles from Didcot to Swindon, but today's passenger trains regularly complete that leg of their journey in 16 minutes start to stop.
Didcot Station 53m 10c
Uffington Station 66m 43c
Knighton Crossing 69m 00c
Ashbury Crossing 71m 05c
Shrivenham Station 71m 42c
Highworth Junction 76m 28c
Swindon Station 77m 24c
Ken's mention of this area rang a bell with me as I had written an article about this length of railway some years ago. It is a real-life story which may be of interest to one of our readers – Dave Letcher the well-known Cornish enthusiast and photographer. The article was first published in the Welsh Railways Research Circle's Newsletter No. 161 for Winter 2019 (website wrrc.org.uk) and is reproduced here unchanged. For the record it may be more than 24 miles from Didcot to Swindon, but today's passenger trains regularly complete that leg of their journey in 16 minutes start to stop.
THE MYSTERY of the MISSING PASSENGER
Michael L. Roach
Michael L. Roach
It sounds like the title of an Agatha Christie novel but its actually a true story based on a newspaper report from the same era that many of Christie's detective novels were set in; i.e. the 1930s. The actual title of the newspaper report was “Mystery of Missing Passenger on the G.W.R.” and it appeared in the Western Mail of Friday 23 December 1938. I came across the report by accident while looking for something else in December 2018 some 80 years after it first appeared. It was doubly interesting because the missing man was also a railwayman. The report was very brief because the newspaper was hitting the streets just 12 hours after the man disappeared, and went as follows:
The 7.45pm train from Paddington to Cardiff on Thursday night was stopped at Didcot when a signalman saw a carriage door open. Upon examination of the carriage a bag belonging to Mr. WTG was found. A search of the train was made but Mr. G could not be found, so the line was being searched as well. Later reports said that the train was the 7.55pm from Paddington to South Wales and that it was stopped at Highworth Junction, Swindon and not as reported earlier.
Walter Thomas Griffiths was born on 25 December 1883 at Griffithstown, Pontypool between the suburbs of Pontymoile to the north and Sebastopol to the south. The area was named after Henry Griffiths the first station master of Pontypool and New Inn station. Beginning work at the age of 13 as a baker's boy, Walter would later work at the steelworks at Panteg before joining the Great Western Railway at Pontypool Shed on 30 April 1901 as a cleaner earning 2 shillings and 4 pence a day [11.7p in decimal]. He progressed through 3rd class, 2nd class to 1st class fireman via postings at Dock Street (Newport), Ebbw Junction, Dowlais, Reading, Dock Street again and Ebbw Junction again. On 19 October 1928 WTG was granted 12 months leave without pay while he served as Mayor of Newport, and he was allowed to purchase first class privilege tickets during this period. A year later he was allowed to work in the Dock Street link so that he could continue his work as a Councillor for the County Borough of Newport.
WTG must have had a great sense of public duty as he was also rising through the ranks in the National Union of Railwaymen, and on 24 December 1936 he was granted 12 months leave of absence without pay for 1937 in order to carry out his duties as President of the NUR. Two years later he was granted an extension of 12 months covering 1939, that was on 1 December 1938. The final entry in the GWR records reads “22/12/38 Deceased – Accident off duty” So how did Walter Thomas Griffiths come to fall from the Paddington to Cardiff express two days before Christmas 1938.
Walter Griffiths body was found beside the track between Knighton Crossing and Uffington in Wiltshire at 8.40am the day after he had fallen from the train, and Uffington was where the inquest opened on Saturday 24 December 1938. The inquest was adjourned for the Coroner and the jury to inspect the coach, the door and its door fastenings, and for inquiries to be made of who had actually stopped the train. A friend confirmed that there was no reason for Mr Griffiths to take his own life. At the resumed inquest the following Friday a travelling companion called Maurice Brunnock gave evidence that Mr Griffiths was sober, in good spirits and looking forward to his birthday two days later on Christmas Day when he would be 55 years old. Both Mr Griffiths and Mr Brunnock went to sleep full length on the bench seats of the compartment. When Mr Brunnock awoke it was because he was cold. The outer door was open and his travelling companion was gone; the guard was fetched and it was he who stopped the train.
The Coroner reported that he had travelled in a similar coach the day before in the dark and he found that the outer door reflected the door of the compartment. It was possible for a man just waking from sleep to open the wrong door, and they knew from their own experience that passengers did attempt to do so. The Jury suggested that the railway company should consider abolishing inside door fastenings. We know from subsequent events that passengers continued to fall from railway carriage doors until the introduction of central locking more than 50 years later. The Jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death.” This was a sad end for a man who had risen from humble beginnings to be a major player in the public life of Newport and of the trade union movement.
I used to enjoy travelling in the same type of railway carriage that was involved in this tragedy, because they had a door to every compartment on both sides of the train. If you were travelling alone, or with other enthusiasts, you could have the windows down on both sides of the train and look out almost continuously as the train rounded the curves, by dodging from side to side, and even sit down occasionally when there was nothing to see. This style of coach was very common up to about 1960 but then disappeared rapidly as they were replaced by BR Mark 1 coaches.
The 7.45pm train from Paddington to Cardiff on Thursday night was stopped at Didcot when a signalman saw a carriage door open. Upon examination of the carriage a bag belonging to Mr. WTG was found. A search of the train was made but Mr. G could not be found, so the line was being searched as well. Later reports said that the train was the 7.55pm from Paddington to South Wales and that it was stopped at Highworth Junction, Swindon and not as reported earlier.
Walter Thomas Griffiths was born on 25 December 1883 at Griffithstown, Pontypool between the suburbs of Pontymoile to the north and Sebastopol to the south. The area was named after Henry Griffiths the first station master of Pontypool and New Inn station. Beginning work at the age of 13 as a baker's boy, Walter would later work at the steelworks at Panteg before joining the Great Western Railway at Pontypool Shed on 30 April 1901 as a cleaner earning 2 shillings and 4 pence a day [11.7p in decimal]. He progressed through 3rd class, 2nd class to 1st class fireman via postings at Dock Street (Newport), Ebbw Junction, Dowlais, Reading, Dock Street again and Ebbw Junction again. On 19 October 1928 WTG was granted 12 months leave without pay while he served as Mayor of Newport, and he was allowed to purchase first class privilege tickets during this period. A year later he was allowed to work in the Dock Street link so that he could continue his work as a Councillor for the County Borough of Newport.
WTG must have had a great sense of public duty as he was also rising through the ranks in the National Union of Railwaymen, and on 24 December 1936 he was granted 12 months leave of absence without pay for 1937 in order to carry out his duties as President of the NUR. Two years later he was granted an extension of 12 months covering 1939, that was on 1 December 1938. The final entry in the GWR records reads “22/12/38 Deceased – Accident off duty” So how did Walter Thomas Griffiths come to fall from the Paddington to Cardiff express two days before Christmas 1938.
Walter Griffiths body was found beside the track between Knighton Crossing and Uffington in Wiltshire at 8.40am the day after he had fallen from the train, and Uffington was where the inquest opened on Saturday 24 December 1938. The inquest was adjourned for the Coroner and the jury to inspect the coach, the door and its door fastenings, and for inquiries to be made of who had actually stopped the train. A friend confirmed that there was no reason for Mr Griffiths to take his own life. At the resumed inquest the following Friday a travelling companion called Maurice Brunnock gave evidence that Mr Griffiths was sober, in good spirits and looking forward to his birthday two days later on Christmas Day when he would be 55 years old. Both Mr Griffiths and Mr Brunnock went to sleep full length on the bench seats of the compartment. When Mr Brunnock awoke it was because he was cold. The outer door was open and his travelling companion was gone; the guard was fetched and it was he who stopped the train.
The Coroner reported that he had travelled in a similar coach the day before in the dark and he found that the outer door reflected the door of the compartment. It was possible for a man just waking from sleep to open the wrong door, and they knew from their own experience that passengers did attempt to do so. The Jury suggested that the railway company should consider abolishing inside door fastenings. We know from subsequent events that passengers continued to fall from railway carriage doors until the introduction of central locking more than 50 years later. The Jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death.” This was a sad end for a man who had risen from humble beginnings to be a major player in the public life of Newport and of the trade union movement.
I used to enjoy travelling in the same type of railway carriage that was involved in this tragedy, because they had a door to every compartment on both sides of the train. If you were travelling alone, or with other enthusiasts, you could have the windows down on both sides of the train and look out almost continuously as the train rounded the curves, by dodging from side to side, and even sit down occasionally when there was nothing to see. This style of coach was very common up to about 1960 but then disappeared rapidly as they were replaced by BR Mark 1 coaches.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 31
Carmarthen to Aberystwyth
Michael L. Roach
This instalment marks the sixtieth anniversary of the last day that passenger trains ran north from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth; except that they didn't, because they only ran part way. At the north end the line had been breached by flooding in the week ending 12 December 1964, and with the withdrawal of passenger trains already approved the line was not repaired and buses bridged the gap for two months. The line was 56 miles long and single throughout with many crossing loops. There were only three passenger trains each way and had been for many years. The line passed through sparsely populated but fertile countryside, and the largest town en-route Lampeter has a population of just 2,500 persons now. The next largest towns were Llanybyther (1,600), Pencader (1,050) and Tregaron (900).
When I made my first trip along the line on Monday 22 July 1963, the line was still intact as I headed north from Carmarthen behind 7810 Draycott Manor of Oswestry Shed (then coded 89D) with 4 coaches and one 4-wheel wagon. As the train left Carmarthen at 6.10am there were just two of us aboard. We would stop at the first three stations without picking up a single passenger. At Pencader (15 miles) the wagon was shunted off into a siding and three passengers joined the train. This would be the pattern throughout with many stations, providing no passengers. Arriving at Aberystwyth at 8.43am 34 passengers alighted from the train, which had become a commuter train for the northern half of the line. My second trip was behind 7826 Longworth Manor of Llanelly Shed on Saturday 10 October 1964. Between my two visits, Carmarthen Shed had closed with its remaining locos transferred to Llanelly Shed meaning a 20-mile LE movement. The train conveyed eight empty milk tanks between the engine and the two passenger coaches.
With or without Beeching the line was doomed as far as the passenger service was concerned, and the last trains ran on Saturday 20 February 1965. But, goods traffic (which meant principally milk traffic), continued for a further eight years to 1973. We will now look at images of some of the stations along the line starting at the southern end.
The last scan shows the timetable in Summer 1950 when there were more trains and even a limited stop through service from Cardiff to Aberystwyth for just six Saturdays in high summer. This was a throwback to the pre-war timetable. Is there any chance of the line being reinstated one day as part of a long-distance north to south route – I doubt it as there is far less road traffic on the A485 road compared to the A49 on the east side of Wales which is a main transport corridor with an excellent and frequent train service serving the towns along the A49.
When I made my first trip along the line on Monday 22 July 1963, the line was still intact as I headed north from Carmarthen behind 7810 Draycott Manor of Oswestry Shed (then coded 89D) with 4 coaches and one 4-wheel wagon. As the train left Carmarthen at 6.10am there were just two of us aboard. We would stop at the first three stations without picking up a single passenger. At Pencader (15 miles) the wagon was shunted off into a siding and three passengers joined the train. This would be the pattern throughout with many stations, providing no passengers. Arriving at Aberystwyth at 8.43am 34 passengers alighted from the train, which had become a commuter train for the northern half of the line. My second trip was behind 7826 Longworth Manor of Llanelly Shed on Saturday 10 October 1964. Between my two visits, Carmarthen Shed had closed with its remaining locos transferred to Llanelly Shed meaning a 20-mile LE movement. The train conveyed eight empty milk tanks between the engine and the two passenger coaches.
With or without Beeching the line was doomed as far as the passenger service was concerned, and the last trains ran on Saturday 20 February 1965. But, goods traffic (which meant principally milk traffic), continued for a further eight years to 1973. We will now look at images of some of the stations along the line starting at the southern end.
The last scan shows the timetable in Summer 1950 when there were more trains and even a limited stop through service from Cardiff to Aberystwyth for just six Saturdays in high summer. This was a throwback to the pre-war timetable. Is there any chance of the line being reinstated one day as part of a long-distance north to south route – I doubt it as there is far less road traffic on the A485 road compared to the A49 on the east side of Wales which is a main transport corridor with an excellent and frequent train service serving the towns along the A49.
Conwil Station on the late afternoon of 30 December 1964. The station served the village of Cynwyl Elfed. On the left is the A484 road and on the right the River Gwili. The GWR spear fencing still separates the public road from the site of the station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Llanpumpsaint is seen late on the afternoon of 31 December 1964 as the light fades. Looking north towards Pencader and Aberystwyth. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pencader looking north on 31.12.1964 there were sidings to the left and the right and previously an engine shed as this was the southern limit of the Manchester and Milford Railway which constructed the railway from here to Aberystwyth. The M&M was leased to the GWR in 1906 and completely taken over in 1911. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Bryn Teify on 31.12.1964 looking north. Although two passenger trains could not pass here a passenger train could pass a goods train. Note the very basic M&M corrugated iron station building. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Maesycrugiau looking north showing the only five minutes of sun in the whole of a bleak cold day of 31.12.1964. A good collection of basic buildings but there were very few houses within reasonable walking distance of the station. On 19 August 1890 there was a serious railway accident here when the boiler of a goods engine blew up luckily with no injuries to anyone. There is a full report on the Railways Archive website. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Llanybyther looking south. It was one of the most important stations on the line because of the adjacent livestock mart which had earlier dispatched thousands of animals on the hoof by rail. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The diesels have arrived on the line in the shape of a Class 37 heading north with empty milk tanks on 31 December 1964 through Pencarreg Halt. The flat field on the left is in fact a lake, although it is not obvious. I remember getting off the bus here and feeling cold as the temperature was only just above freezing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking north at Lampeter which was the largest station on the line. I had arrived at Lampeter by bus on the morning of 31 December 1964 and then worked my way back to Carmarthen by walking 13 miles between stations plus train and bus. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
7826 stands at Pont Llanio ready to depart after depositing four milk tanks in the loop outside the signal box in the distance. The milk depot was on the right and the tanks would have been winched into the depot by a wire. Note the M&M corrugated iron station building. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The driver of 7826 reads his newspaper at Tregaron while he waits for the 11.55am from Aberystwyth to pass the other way on 10 October 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The timetable for Summer 1950. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 32
Nelson & Llancaiach Station April 1964
Michael L. Roach
Four miles north of Pontypridd and a little to the east is the village of Nelson, Glamorgan; not to be confused with the town of the same name in Lancashire. The village in Wales was named after The Lord Nelson public house about 200 years ago, and today has a population of about 4,250. It once had a station called Nelson (Glam) at the end of a former Taff Vale Railway Branch some six miles long from Pontypridd with a single platform located between Ashgrove Terrace and Dynevor Street, just off Commercial Street which passed over the railway. The last timetable shows six trains each way with an extra one late on a Saturday evening to and from Pontypridd; with none on Sundays. The last passenger trains ran on Saturday 11 September 1932. The residents of Nelson were not too inconvenienced by the withdrawal of passenger trains as the village would have had a direct bus service to Pontypridd and had another railway station half a mile to the north called Nelson & Llancaiach, dating from 1912, which replaced an earlier station 15 chains to the east called Llancaiach which would have served Llancaiach Colliery.
In Part 26 I described an early morning visit to Crumlin Viaduct where I walked east to resume my train travel at Hafodyrynys Platform, which was alongside a colliery of the same name. Here I picked up the second train of the day westwards from Pontypool Road which turned up behind Hawksworth pannier 9488 which were relatively rare on passenger trains. I travelled eight miles behind 9488 to alight at Nelson & Llancaiach Station at 9.25am. This was one of the larger stations on the line with three platforms and avoiding lines to the north of the station for freight trains coming from Dowlais CH and Cwmbargoed. There was a junction to the south-east of the station, where the Dowlais line joined the Vale of Neath and a mile further on another line went off to join the Rhymney main line at Ystrad Mynach.
I had two spells at Nelson & Llancaiach Station with a trip to Dowlais Cae Harris in between. It was a very easy station to take photographs with opportunities at many different places in the area. Attached are scans of the last passenger timetable dated 9 September 1963 to 14 June 1964 for one direction only. This shows that 16 trains started, terminated or passed through in this direction between 6.17am and 9.40pm Monday to Friday. This was an interesting area at the time of my visit with much to see railway-wise. It is worth looking at old maps and consulting the website: treharrisdistrict.co.uk. There was no Sunday service and the last passenger trains ran on Saturday 13 June 1964.
The weather recently in Cornwall has been a mixture of rain and some sunshine, but earlier in February 2025 a high pressure area was stuck over Britain for about a fortnight. It was mostly dry and cold with Cornwall receiving strong easterly winds coming around the south side of the high pressure area gusting to gale force at times. It was much worse 70 years earlier in February 1955 with Britain in the grip of a brutal freeze and snowdrifts up to 30 feet (9 metres) deep in places. At 4.20am on 24 February 1955 BR Class 2 2-6-0 no. 78018 set out from Kirkby Stephen to travel over the Pennines to Barnard Castle on the Stainmore route with a mineral train, but the train soon became stuck in a snowdrift at 5.00am just north of Barras Station and west of Stainmore Summit.
In 1949 British Transport Films was formed to make documentaries about British transport in all its forms. The resulting films were and are highly regarded as records of the time. At the end of February 1955 a team was dispatched north to capture the heroic efforts of the British Railways workers rescuing 78018 and its wagons from the snowdrift. The resulting film “Snowdrift at Bleath Gill” only lasted ten minutes but was one of the most interesting of the 700 films made by BTF. Snowdrift at Bleath Gill can be viewed online and it will be seen that one of the engines operating the snowplough was sister engine 78017. Both engines were based at 51H Kirkby Stephen Shed.
In Part 26 I described an early morning visit to Crumlin Viaduct where I walked east to resume my train travel at Hafodyrynys Platform, which was alongside a colliery of the same name. Here I picked up the second train of the day westwards from Pontypool Road which turned up behind Hawksworth pannier 9488 which were relatively rare on passenger trains. I travelled eight miles behind 9488 to alight at Nelson & Llancaiach Station at 9.25am. This was one of the larger stations on the line with three platforms and avoiding lines to the north of the station for freight trains coming from Dowlais CH and Cwmbargoed. There was a junction to the south-east of the station, where the Dowlais line joined the Vale of Neath and a mile further on another line went off to join the Rhymney main line at Ystrad Mynach.
I had two spells at Nelson & Llancaiach Station with a trip to Dowlais Cae Harris in between. It was a very easy station to take photographs with opportunities at many different places in the area. Attached are scans of the last passenger timetable dated 9 September 1963 to 14 June 1964 for one direction only. This shows that 16 trains started, terminated or passed through in this direction between 6.17am and 9.40pm Monday to Friday. This was an interesting area at the time of my visit with much to see railway-wise. It is worth looking at old maps and consulting the website: treharrisdistrict.co.uk. There was no Sunday service and the last passenger trains ran on Saturday 13 June 1964.
The weather recently in Cornwall has been a mixture of rain and some sunshine, but earlier in February 2025 a high pressure area was stuck over Britain for about a fortnight. It was mostly dry and cold with Cornwall receiving strong easterly winds coming around the south side of the high pressure area gusting to gale force at times. It was much worse 70 years earlier in February 1955 with Britain in the grip of a brutal freeze and snowdrifts up to 30 feet (9 metres) deep in places. At 4.20am on 24 February 1955 BR Class 2 2-6-0 no. 78018 set out from Kirkby Stephen to travel over the Pennines to Barnard Castle on the Stainmore route with a mineral train, but the train soon became stuck in a snowdrift at 5.00am just north of Barras Station and west of Stainmore Summit.
In 1949 British Transport Films was formed to make documentaries about British transport in all its forms. The resulting films were and are highly regarded as records of the time. At the end of February 1955 a team was dispatched north to capture the heroic efforts of the British Railways workers rescuing 78018 and its wagons from the snowdrift. The resulting film “Snowdrift at Bleath Gill” only lasted ten minutes but was one of the most interesting of the 700 films made by BTF. Snowdrift at Bleath Gill can be viewed online and it will be seen that one of the engines operating the snowplough was sister engine 78017. Both engines were based at 51H Kirkby Stephen Shed.
5677 stands at Nelson & Llancaiach with the 9.35am to Dowlais Cae Harris on Saturday 11 April 1964. The train had started back at Hengoed High Level which gave connections from Cardiff. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Two and a half hours later 5677 has arrived back at N&L Station with the 11.32am from Dowlais CH to Ystrad Mynach. The coaches were non-corridor suburban. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking the other way it can be seen that there was a maze of pointwork just to the east of the station as 5677 departed for Ystrad. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Fifteen minutes later and 5605 has followed 5677 down from the Dowlais line with 20 wagons of coal from Cwmbargoed. These are all the larger mineral wagons with two doors each side and a capacity of 20 tons. The last wagonload of coal left Cwmbargoed in 2024. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6612 passes through Nelson with a short coal train bound for the Quakers Yard direction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The last passenger timetable – that for Winter 1963 – 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The last passenger timetable – that for Winter 1963 – 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 33
Nelson Station April 1964 – Part 2
Michael L. Roach
When the Pontypool Road to Neath passenger service was withdrawn I could not be there on the last day, Saturday 13 June 1964, because I was miles away at another closure nearer home in Somerset. The steam engines used on the last day of passenger services included tank engines 4110, 4121, 4639 and tender engine 6836 Estevarney Grange. Within 15 months all these engines had been withdrawn from service.
The line played host to a wide variety of steam engine classes. Regular classes were: 0-6-0 pannier tanks 5700, 6400 and 8400/9400; 0-6-2 tanks 5600/6600; 2-6-2 tanks 4100; 2-8-0 tanks 4200/5200; 2-8-2 tanks 7200; 2-6-0 tender 6300; 2-8-0 tender 2800 and Stanier 8F. Classes used possibly less frequently 4-6-0 tender 6800 Granges. Even though classed as a branch line the route could accept all classes of GWR steam engines except one – the only one to be banned was the King-class. The Castle class appeared occasionally hauling the Royal Train on at least two known occasions.
It may only have been 42 miles from Pontypool Road Station to Neath General Station, but it was double track all the way except for ¾ of a mile just west of Quakers Yard High Level Station over a viaduct and through a tunnel which remained single line throughout the line's existence. The route shared something in common with the Cornish main line in that very little was level – about 90 percent of both lines were on a gradient. At the eastern end trains were faced with a steep bank as soon as they passed onto the route proper – 3 miles at 1 in 45 but luckily most of the coal trains would have been returning empty mineral wagons to the collieries. At the west end the line started climbing as soon as it left the main line at Neath but after 9 miles the gradient stiffened considerably at Glyn Neath and coal trains faced 5 miles at 1 in 57/50/47. A small shed was located at Glyn Neath to provide banking engines; but coming down the bank was also difficult in the days of loose-coupled freight trains. On this bank loaded coal trains were heading in both directions – up the bank taking coal to England and down the bank for export though Swansea Docks.
The GWR were obviously worried about heavy loose-coupled trains coming down the bank so in 1924 they provided a lengthy sand-drag just over half way down at British Rhondda. The drag was on a loop adjacent to the main line and was a 1000 feet long. Experiments had shown that gravel was better than sand at slowing trains and the gravel was piled three inches (75 mm) above the running rails. The points were set for the loop and sand-drag until the train had safely stopped at the home signal. On Sunday 14 December 1924 the GWR conducted some experiments with loaded coal trains going through the loop and drag. First was Aberdare 2-6-0 with 826 tons behind the tender. Second was 2-8-0 tank 5240 with 1003 tons. The train was allowed to enter the loop at 33 mph with only a few handbrakes pinned down and travelled the full length of the drag before re-entering the main line through spring points hopefully at much reduced speed. The GWR declared the tests a complete success. 5240 spent three months at St. Blazey shed in 1955 and survived almost to the end of steam in South Wales, being condemned, fittingly enough, at Aberdare Shed in February 1964, from where it would have been working up and down Glyn Neath Bank. A short item in a GWR Magazine in 1917 recorded that the first type of sand drag in this country was brought into use by the GWR at Hayle in Cornwall in 1887. In the days of continuous brakes and no loose-coupled freight trains the sand drag has become a rare beast but in a great connection to history there is still one sand drag in Cornwall protecting a length of single track. It might be the only one in the whole of the West Country.
There were a large number of collieries either alongside or close to the route resulting in many groups of sidings and a large number of signal boxes; and of course a lot of trains. The GWR divided their service timetables (what BR called their working time tables) into 17 parts to cover the whole of the system. Part 11 covered just Pontypool Road to Neath plus the two branches to Merthyr. I think that shows just how important and busy the line was. For comparison the GWR's Taunton to Barnstaple Branch was 46 miles long; single for most of its length with far fewer trains; and yet was deemed worthy of being called a main line on the GWR map. The Barnstaple Branch was shown in Service Timetable No. 5 covering Highbridge/Castle Cary to Ashburton Junction (Totnes) plus nine branches. I attempted to count the number of signal boxes that a passenger train would pass after moving on to the route at Taff Vale Extension Junction just south of Pontypool Road Station in 1947. The answer was 46 boxes of which no less than 22 boxes were junction boxes. There were a further 12 boxes that had come and gone by 1947. 46 signal boxes in 42 miles, and a junction every two miles!
I could only find a couple of railtours traversing the line. The first became very well-known at the time because of the motive power. It was Ian Allan's “The Daffodil Express” of 18 May 1957 of nine coaches which left Paddington behind Castle 4090. Heading west down the Vale of Neath the train was double-headed by 3440 “City of Truro” and Churchward mogul 4358. At Crumlin Junction 3440 came off and proceeded across the Viaduct light engine, to be followed by 4358 with the 9C at the regulation 8 mph. The duo came off the train at Neath General but later hauled it along the main line from Swansea High Street to Newport where they again came off in favour of the Castle 4090 which hauled the train back to Paddington direct; whereas on the outward journey the train had travelled via Gloucester and Hereford to reach Pontypool Road.
I was on the second railtour to be described later in the series which was The Valley Wanderer of 24 April 1965 starting at Cardiff and finishing at Newport. The railtour travelled down the Vale of Neath line from Aberdare High Level to Neath Riverside behind large prairie 6116 with five coaches. I was also on the third railtour which was the Swansea Railway Circle's Rambling 56 Rail Tour of 31 July 1965, hauled throughout by 0-6-2 tank 6643 with four coaches. This crossed the Vale of Neath through Nelson & Llancaiach Station exactly as the Ystrad Mynach to Dowlais Cae Harris passenger trains had done until withdrawn 13 months earlier. By this second date there was very little steam left in South Wales and the remaining steam sheds were closing almost weekly.
The line played host to a wide variety of steam engine classes. Regular classes were: 0-6-0 pannier tanks 5700, 6400 and 8400/9400; 0-6-2 tanks 5600/6600; 2-6-2 tanks 4100; 2-8-0 tanks 4200/5200; 2-8-2 tanks 7200; 2-6-0 tender 6300; 2-8-0 tender 2800 and Stanier 8F. Classes used possibly less frequently 4-6-0 tender 6800 Granges. Even though classed as a branch line the route could accept all classes of GWR steam engines except one – the only one to be banned was the King-class. The Castle class appeared occasionally hauling the Royal Train on at least two known occasions.
It may only have been 42 miles from Pontypool Road Station to Neath General Station, but it was double track all the way except for ¾ of a mile just west of Quakers Yard High Level Station over a viaduct and through a tunnel which remained single line throughout the line's existence. The route shared something in common with the Cornish main line in that very little was level – about 90 percent of both lines were on a gradient. At the eastern end trains were faced with a steep bank as soon as they passed onto the route proper – 3 miles at 1 in 45 but luckily most of the coal trains would have been returning empty mineral wagons to the collieries. At the west end the line started climbing as soon as it left the main line at Neath but after 9 miles the gradient stiffened considerably at Glyn Neath and coal trains faced 5 miles at 1 in 57/50/47. A small shed was located at Glyn Neath to provide banking engines; but coming down the bank was also difficult in the days of loose-coupled freight trains. On this bank loaded coal trains were heading in both directions – up the bank taking coal to England and down the bank for export though Swansea Docks.
The GWR were obviously worried about heavy loose-coupled trains coming down the bank so in 1924 they provided a lengthy sand-drag just over half way down at British Rhondda. The drag was on a loop adjacent to the main line and was a 1000 feet long. Experiments had shown that gravel was better than sand at slowing trains and the gravel was piled three inches (75 mm) above the running rails. The points were set for the loop and sand-drag until the train had safely stopped at the home signal. On Sunday 14 December 1924 the GWR conducted some experiments with loaded coal trains going through the loop and drag. First was Aberdare 2-6-0 with 826 tons behind the tender. Second was 2-8-0 tank 5240 with 1003 tons. The train was allowed to enter the loop at 33 mph with only a few handbrakes pinned down and travelled the full length of the drag before re-entering the main line through spring points hopefully at much reduced speed. The GWR declared the tests a complete success. 5240 spent three months at St. Blazey shed in 1955 and survived almost to the end of steam in South Wales, being condemned, fittingly enough, at Aberdare Shed in February 1964, from where it would have been working up and down Glyn Neath Bank. A short item in a GWR Magazine in 1917 recorded that the first type of sand drag in this country was brought into use by the GWR at Hayle in Cornwall in 1887. In the days of continuous brakes and no loose-coupled freight trains the sand drag has become a rare beast but in a great connection to history there is still one sand drag in Cornwall protecting a length of single track. It might be the only one in the whole of the West Country.
There were a large number of collieries either alongside or close to the route resulting in many groups of sidings and a large number of signal boxes; and of course a lot of trains. The GWR divided their service timetables (what BR called their working time tables) into 17 parts to cover the whole of the system. Part 11 covered just Pontypool Road to Neath plus the two branches to Merthyr. I think that shows just how important and busy the line was. For comparison the GWR's Taunton to Barnstaple Branch was 46 miles long; single for most of its length with far fewer trains; and yet was deemed worthy of being called a main line on the GWR map. The Barnstaple Branch was shown in Service Timetable No. 5 covering Highbridge/Castle Cary to Ashburton Junction (Totnes) plus nine branches. I attempted to count the number of signal boxes that a passenger train would pass after moving on to the route at Taff Vale Extension Junction just south of Pontypool Road Station in 1947. The answer was 46 boxes of which no less than 22 boxes were junction boxes. There were a further 12 boxes that had come and gone by 1947. 46 signal boxes in 42 miles, and a junction every two miles!
I could only find a couple of railtours traversing the line. The first became very well-known at the time because of the motive power. It was Ian Allan's “The Daffodil Express” of 18 May 1957 of nine coaches which left Paddington behind Castle 4090. Heading west down the Vale of Neath the train was double-headed by 3440 “City of Truro” and Churchward mogul 4358. At Crumlin Junction 3440 came off and proceeded across the Viaduct light engine, to be followed by 4358 with the 9C at the regulation 8 mph. The duo came off the train at Neath General but later hauled it along the main line from Swansea High Street to Newport where they again came off in favour of the Castle 4090 which hauled the train back to Paddington direct; whereas on the outward journey the train had travelled via Gloucester and Hereford to reach Pontypool Road.
I was on the second railtour to be described later in the series which was The Valley Wanderer of 24 April 1965 starting at Cardiff and finishing at Newport. The railtour travelled down the Vale of Neath line from Aberdare High Level to Neath Riverside behind large prairie 6116 with five coaches. I was also on the third railtour which was the Swansea Railway Circle's Rambling 56 Rail Tour of 31 July 1965, hauled throughout by 0-6-2 tank 6643 with four coaches. This crossed the Vale of Neath through Nelson & Llancaiach Station exactly as the Ystrad Mynach to Dowlais Cae Harris passenger trains had done until withdrawn 13 months earlier. By this second date there was very little steam left in South Wales and the remaining steam sheds were closing almost weekly.
9488 slows to a stop at Nelson Station with the 11.05am Neath to Pontypool Road train on 11 April 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
9488 stopped at Nelson & Llancaiach Station. It was quite a large junction station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
9488 departs for Pontypool Road some 14 miles away. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5677 again entering the branch platform with the 12.37pm from Ystrad Mynach to Dowlais Cae Harris train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
5677 leaves for Dowlais at 12.49 taken from the road bridge. On the platform that day was a well-known photographer (R.E. Toop) capturing the train as it about to depart. His photograph can be seen in the Middleton Press book of the line. This is the classic view of a passenger train leaving Nelson for Dowlais CH. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
3634 of Aberdare Shed passes Nelson with another coal train heading west down the main line. The engine was withdrawn three months later. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The last passenger timetable – that for Winter 1963 - 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The last passenger timetable – that for Winter 1963 - 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 34
Meldon Viaduct February 1970
Michael L. Roach
Saturday 14 February 1970 dawned cold and clear. For me the beauty of such days in winter was that the light would be crystal clear when the sun did shine and ideal for photography.
When it had warmed up a bit, I set out after lunch to travel the 26 miles from my home in Plymouth to Meldon Viaduct, near Okehampton. From memory I parked on the road which passes beneath the viaduct leading up to the Quarry. I was not disappointed as the weather was immaculate.
I spent a lovely hour traversing the area including climbing up to rail level; there were no through passenger or freight trains of course as they had been withdrawn nearly two years earlier, but freight trains serving the adjacent quarry still shunted out on to the viaduct. There was still frozen snow which had turned to ice resting on the horizontal members of the trusses, but it was starting to melt in the sun. I also travelled further up the valley to take some photos of the planned Meldon Dam site.
It was a memorable day for a very lucky escape which sticks in the mind. As I walked down the road northwards to return the car I passed beneath the viaduct, and as I did so there was a terrific thud somewhere just behind me. A long length of ice had fallen more than 30 metres and landed on the road surface just a couple of metres behind me. It was about 6 feet (1.8 metres) long and had broken into many pieces. I was alone that day.
When it had warmed up a bit, I set out after lunch to travel the 26 miles from my home in Plymouth to Meldon Viaduct, near Okehampton. From memory I parked on the road which passes beneath the viaduct leading up to the Quarry. I was not disappointed as the weather was immaculate.
I spent a lovely hour traversing the area including climbing up to rail level; there were no through passenger or freight trains of course as they had been withdrawn nearly two years earlier, but freight trains serving the adjacent quarry still shunted out on to the viaduct. There was still frozen snow which had turned to ice resting on the horizontal members of the trusses, but it was starting to melt in the sun. I also travelled further up the valley to take some photos of the planned Meldon Dam site.
It was a memorable day for a very lucky escape which sticks in the mind. As I walked down the road northwards to return the car I passed beneath the viaduct, and as I did so there was a terrific thud somewhere just behind me. A long length of ice had fallen more than 30 metres and landed on the road surface just a couple of metres behind me. It was about 6 feet (1.8 metres) long and had broken into many pieces. I was alone that day.
Here I am looking up the west side of the piers of the Meldon Viaducts on Saturday 14 February 1970. It can be seen that the two viaducts are similar but with many detailed differences. The time is 2.05pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The various structural elements look to be in good condition in 1970. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Here I am looking north-east through the piers of the eastern half of the viaducts, showing how the bottom of the piers was weighted down with concrete in 1944 with more added in 1959/60. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking north-east through the tallest piers. Rail level is 46 metres above the bottom of the valley. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In this view looking towards Meldon Quarry it can be seen that the snow which has landed on the horizontal members has frozen but is now starting to thaw in the sunshine. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
At track level it becomes apparent that the track is still in use for shunting. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A final view looking north at 3.05pm on 14 February 1970. It must be cold as there is still some snow/ice attached to the vertical members. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 35
Bricks and the GWR
Michael L. Roach
In this instalment I am going to relate the little I know and have managed to glean about bricks and some of the bricks the Great Western Railway may have used over the years.
On 11th March (click here, scroll down) Tim Hughes posted a picture of a mystery object which I am fairly sure is a brick, because I used to have a similar one in the garden collected from a demolished building several decades ago. What happened to my brick I do not know, as I no longer have it.
If we use signal boxes as an example the GWR built most of their boxes either of timber or brick once they had decided on their standard range. The brick boxes often used two different bricks of contrasting colours. Around the brick and door openings and the plinth used Staffordshire blue bricks – these were a very heavy, strong, high crushing strength and low water absorption engineering brick also used on the brick rings of multi-arch viaducts. Staffordshire blue bricks were not blue but actually coloured brown created by firing the red clay at a high temperature. More on Wikipedia. However the GWR's rules were not invariable and sometimes a box would have a wholly wooden superstructure above operating-floor or window cill level sitting on a brick base; and sometimes the contrasting colour bricks were omitted.
In the days when I was specifying the use of such engineering bricks the ones that were normally purchased by the contractor came from the Baggeridge Brickworks in the West Midlands. The rest of a signal box was normally constructed with a red clay facing brick of good quality. When Broadway Station on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway was being rebuilt in 2017-18 I think it was constructed as described above. From memory the red facing bricks came from the Carlton Main Brickworks east of Barnsley. Perhaps someone from the Glos-Warks can confirm this. The resulting station buildings look very authentic and pleasing to the eye.
Just occasionally the GWR did not use a red facing brick for most of the superstructure of a signal box but one of a different colour. The best example that I know was that at Heathfield Station on the Moretonhampstead Branch erected at the north end of the through platform in 1916 to control the junction where the Teign Valley line from Exeter joined the Moretonhampstead Branch. Heathfield Box used a yellow or cream-coloured brick with the bricks coming from a brick and tile works which was just over the fence to the west of the station. The works was established in 1850 by Frank Candy and pre-dated the arrival of the railway opened to passengers in 1866. On old maps the works went by various names including in 1887 “Great Western Potteries & Brick Works.” After Heathfield Box was demolished I collected a yellow brick from the site around 50 years ago and I think it was similar, or identical, to the one that Tim Hughes showed in his photograph. What confirms the fact that the brick came from Heathfield is that the unusually shaped frog (the depression in the middle) is identical to a Candy brick illustrated on the internet. Candy not only made bricks and tiles but also a huge range of other earthenware pipes, fittings and chimney pots etc.
There is a lot more about the firm at: www.potteryhistories.com/candyhistory.html
For the sake of completeness I must describe one more type of brick associated with the Great Western Railway and that is the “GWR Plastic.” These were very common in the Plymouth area in the 1960s, and when I was on construction sites they often turned up. They were a common brick of no great strength and broke easily with a single deft blow from a brick hammer when the brickie wanted a half brick. I think that the GWR Plastic bricks were made by Westbrick either at their works at Steer Point or at Pinhoe, Exeter, or possibly both works.
I have had one new unused Baggeridge engineering brick in my small collection for more than 40 years and the first thing to say about it is that it is very heavy and expensive. It weighs more than 3 kilograms which is far more than most bricks, and equivalent to three bags of sugar. The equivalent Class B Blue 65mm Solid Wirecut Engineering Brick now costs up to £1.44 each. I also have another solid engineering brick in my collection and it is cream coloured, just like a Candy, but this one did not come from the Candy Works at Heathfield. It travelled nearly 600 miles from the Douglas Brickworks at Dalry, near Ardrossan to Cornwall perhaps by sea being used as ship's ballast or a return load. This one also weighs just over 3 kilograms.
More at: www.douglashistory.co.uk
Despite the widespread use of concrete blocks in this country the manufacture of bricks is still big business. There are three large groups of brick making companies and a smaller one (Michelmersh). Yet there is still room for smaller companies with just one works. A good example is the Northcot Brick Company whose works is adjacent to the railway line at the site of the former Blockley Station on the Cotswold Line. This is a family-owned company proud to proclaim that they still use coal-fired kilns. The history of brick making is a fascinating subject and a good introduction to the subject is the Shire Album “Bricks and Brickmaking.” Although Cornwall is normally considered to be a stone county with few brickworks there is a book solely devoted to Cornish Brick Making. Cornwall was also home to the more unusual calcium silicate brick made of china clay waste. If you come across a demolished signal box it is suggested that you collect a sample brick because every brick has a story to tell. Between the railway station at Heathfield and the town of Kingsteignton to the south east lie extensive deposits of ball clay which have been mined for hundreds of years. Much is exported through the port of Teignmouth but some used to leave by rail from Heathfield Station. The 2025 edition of Baker's Rail Atlas (which is highly recommended) describes the present limit of track at Heathfield as “Heathfield Imerys (disused).”
Most of the attached photographs of Heathfield Station were taken between 7.30 and 8.00am on Monday 7 June 1965. I had left home about 6.30am and was on my way to Evercreech Junction on the Somerset & Dorset to photograph a rail-tour organised by the Warwickshire Railway Society hauled by 9F no. 92238. The last colour image shows the station some 11 years later when the station building was boarded up and the signal box had been demolished. It was probably on that visit that I collected a brick from the demolished Heathfield signal box.
RECOMMENDED READING: GWR Signalling Practice ISBN 978-1-916112-20-9
On 11th March (click here, scroll down) Tim Hughes posted a picture of a mystery object which I am fairly sure is a brick, because I used to have a similar one in the garden collected from a demolished building several decades ago. What happened to my brick I do not know, as I no longer have it.
If we use signal boxes as an example the GWR built most of their boxes either of timber or brick once they had decided on their standard range. The brick boxes often used two different bricks of contrasting colours. Around the brick and door openings and the plinth used Staffordshire blue bricks – these were a very heavy, strong, high crushing strength and low water absorption engineering brick also used on the brick rings of multi-arch viaducts. Staffordshire blue bricks were not blue but actually coloured brown created by firing the red clay at a high temperature. More on Wikipedia. However the GWR's rules were not invariable and sometimes a box would have a wholly wooden superstructure above operating-floor or window cill level sitting on a brick base; and sometimes the contrasting colour bricks were omitted.
In the days when I was specifying the use of such engineering bricks the ones that were normally purchased by the contractor came from the Baggeridge Brickworks in the West Midlands. The rest of a signal box was normally constructed with a red clay facing brick of good quality. When Broadway Station on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway was being rebuilt in 2017-18 I think it was constructed as described above. From memory the red facing bricks came from the Carlton Main Brickworks east of Barnsley. Perhaps someone from the Glos-Warks can confirm this. The resulting station buildings look very authentic and pleasing to the eye.
Just occasionally the GWR did not use a red facing brick for most of the superstructure of a signal box but one of a different colour. The best example that I know was that at Heathfield Station on the Moretonhampstead Branch erected at the north end of the through platform in 1916 to control the junction where the Teign Valley line from Exeter joined the Moretonhampstead Branch. Heathfield Box used a yellow or cream-coloured brick with the bricks coming from a brick and tile works which was just over the fence to the west of the station. The works was established in 1850 by Frank Candy and pre-dated the arrival of the railway opened to passengers in 1866. On old maps the works went by various names including in 1887 “Great Western Potteries & Brick Works.” After Heathfield Box was demolished I collected a yellow brick from the site around 50 years ago and I think it was similar, or identical, to the one that Tim Hughes showed in his photograph. What confirms the fact that the brick came from Heathfield is that the unusually shaped frog (the depression in the middle) is identical to a Candy brick illustrated on the internet. Candy not only made bricks and tiles but also a huge range of other earthenware pipes, fittings and chimney pots etc.
There is a lot more about the firm at: www.potteryhistories.com/candyhistory.html
For the sake of completeness I must describe one more type of brick associated with the Great Western Railway and that is the “GWR Plastic.” These were very common in the Plymouth area in the 1960s, and when I was on construction sites they often turned up. They were a common brick of no great strength and broke easily with a single deft blow from a brick hammer when the brickie wanted a half brick. I think that the GWR Plastic bricks were made by Westbrick either at their works at Steer Point or at Pinhoe, Exeter, or possibly both works.
I have had one new unused Baggeridge engineering brick in my small collection for more than 40 years and the first thing to say about it is that it is very heavy and expensive. It weighs more than 3 kilograms which is far more than most bricks, and equivalent to three bags of sugar. The equivalent Class B Blue 65mm Solid Wirecut Engineering Brick now costs up to £1.44 each. I also have another solid engineering brick in my collection and it is cream coloured, just like a Candy, but this one did not come from the Candy Works at Heathfield. It travelled nearly 600 miles from the Douglas Brickworks at Dalry, near Ardrossan to Cornwall perhaps by sea being used as ship's ballast or a return load. This one also weighs just over 3 kilograms.
More at: www.douglashistory.co.uk
Despite the widespread use of concrete blocks in this country the manufacture of bricks is still big business. There are three large groups of brick making companies and a smaller one (Michelmersh). Yet there is still room for smaller companies with just one works. A good example is the Northcot Brick Company whose works is adjacent to the railway line at the site of the former Blockley Station on the Cotswold Line. This is a family-owned company proud to proclaim that they still use coal-fired kilns. The history of brick making is a fascinating subject and a good introduction to the subject is the Shire Album “Bricks and Brickmaking.” Although Cornwall is normally considered to be a stone county with few brickworks there is a book solely devoted to Cornish Brick Making. Cornwall was also home to the more unusual calcium silicate brick made of china clay waste. If you come across a demolished signal box it is suggested that you collect a sample brick because every brick has a story to tell. Between the railway station at Heathfield and the town of Kingsteignton to the south east lie extensive deposits of ball clay which have been mined for hundreds of years. Much is exported through the port of Teignmouth but some used to leave by rail from Heathfield Station. The 2025 edition of Baker's Rail Atlas (which is highly recommended) describes the present limit of track at Heathfield as “Heathfield Imerys (disused).”
Most of the attached photographs of Heathfield Station were taken between 7.30 and 8.00am on Monday 7 June 1965. I had left home about 6.30am and was on my way to Evercreech Junction on the Somerset & Dorset to photograph a rail-tour organised by the Warwickshire Railway Society hauled by 9F no. 92238. The last colour image shows the station some 11 years later when the station building was boarded up and the signal box had been demolished. It was probably on that visit that I collected a brick from the demolished Heathfield signal box.
RECOMMENDED READING: GWR Signalling Practice ISBN 978-1-916112-20-9
Heathfield looking south-east towards Newton Abbot 4 miles away showing the junction pointwork in the foreground. Although the passenger trains had been withdrawn more than 6 years earlier the station was still fully signalled. The stone arch bridge in the distance carried the single carriageway A38 trunk road. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The north end of the 1916 GWR signal box. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A ¾ view of the box. It looks to me as though Staffordshire engineering bricks were not used except perhaps for the coping of the wall around the coal bin. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A full frontal view of the box and what surprised me was just how much variation there was in the colour of the Candy bricks used to build the box. In the foreground are some of the earthenware drainage products made by the firm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking north at Heathfield on 26 September 1976. The signals and box have gone but the left hand track is still in use. In the yard on this date were open trucks loaded with ball clay destined for Wrexham in North Wales. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Tims 'mystery object' which inspired this article. Found in Lostwithiel in 2025. Copyright Tim Hughes.