Garry Morris

8th June 1973, Goodrington yard. 6544 and 6505 were unusual visitors to Paignton on an excursion.

My main memory of them was going from BTM to Cardiff sitting in the front seat and watching for the exit of the Severn Tunnel once passed the dip!

A relatively unusual dmu for Paignton. Is it a class 120? They were the ones with orange curtains (in very thick material). Originally built including a buffet car which was never used on some of them allegedly. They had dials going up the window pillar so one could sit behind the driver and read the speedometer!

Victoria Street address rings a bell. It was I believe in the Ellacombe district of Torquay.Turn up Market Street from the main street then up a long hill past a park and it was on a corner on the right. Mr Savage had a young employee who went on to work on the railways (real) in some capacity.

That would be Torbay Model Supplies in Ellacombe Road run by Mr Savage. Exactly as you described it. A great loss to modellers when it closed.

Excellent shot of the yard at Goodrington Rivercider. The mystery location is of course Torquay/Paignton, many happy memories!

Still finding my way around these negatives. This looks very much like the arrival of 50009 with another 50 behind it at Paignton. It would then be split off in the yard to go to the fuelling point seen earlier. Not quite West Coast Main Line but a pair of 50's arriving at Paignton today would cause a stir! Very nice vintage gate lamp! Someones wall adornment now?

Feeling frivolous! Spot the train, name the train and location. Taken from my childhood bedroom!

Pop Up Stabling Point! The summer of 1982 and an outpost of Newton Abbot? This makeshift refueling point appeared behind Goodrington Sands Halt. It is easily modelable requiring only 3 wagons - a TTA a VEA and twin tank oil wagon. It saved trips back to Newton Abbot for long distance arrivals at Paignton needing fuel. Ironically it was too late as the number of Saturday workings were dwindling by the 80's - the following season it wasn't required. This 50 parked alongside has already been replenished. I never did see it in action probably because in trainspotting days if one was lurking down at Goodrington Sands Halt you could easily miss something coming into the other yard or running round in the station. It would be good to see if anyone else captured this anomaly of the modern era. I have not heard of one being set up anywhere else.

Lastly here we have the return working of 50029 Renown on the 15.35 Paignton to Oxford with the blue GUV prominent at the front. Aller Junction Signal Box is visible above the fourth vehicle. I doubt if the bobby had had time to make a cup of tea in the past couple of hours! I will sort through for some more pictures to put up but for now it's off to Minehead for a few days, then term begins. Thankyou for looking, feel free to copy, What a stunning shot of the 33 at Dawlish Warren, thanks for all the postings. Lets hope there's plenty more of this type of weather to come this summer.

45004 (D77) on the 1V81 Leeds to Penzance. Looking at these pictures reminds me that this really was a stunning location for photography.

50028 Tiger comes off the Paignton line with an afternoon Paddington train. Sad to say the glorious, stone two arch bridge has been demolished to make way for a new road.

The following train was the 1V72 09.11 Manchester to Newquay which I thought at the time had thrown up the most exotic traction of the afternoon with 47374 (D1893) heading it. I now see that it had in fact spent a short spell at Cardiff Canton having been for it's entire life in the North East on freight duties. Still a rare outing west though I suspect. Interesting to note the number on the front cab roof, good for photographers! I have no record of the up train disappearing in the distance on the line from Plymouth. A long train of Mk1's and no catering on board for the Newquay revellers!

50 029 Renown on a Paddington to Paignton service. A MK2 Brake Second at the front, seven Mk2E's, another MK2 brake and a blue GUV on the back. The Plymouth road is cleared for the Manchester - Newquay to proceed, sadly not racing this one to the split.

Sorry I think the last one is coming off the Paignton line. Re- the song......She was 31, I was 17, I knew nothing about love, she knew everything......Bobby Goldsboro - the home of querky song subjects...He also had a hit about bereavement...Honey. Now how many people have had hits on that subject! Back to the action (not the song!) The first real surprise of the afternoon as this was a 47 the previous few weeks. 33008 Eastleigh (three namers in a row!) working the 14.10 Paignton to Swansea 1B36, having worked in on the 08.36 Cardiff to Paignton. Once a service to Kingswear that regularly yielded an Ebbw Junction 9F (before my time). I wouldn't get much gardening done in those allotments!

Absolutely spot on with the song title (even the brackets correct!). Looking the other way at the same location a northbound 47541 'The Queen Mother' of Eastfield.shed, a long way from home. Not sure of the working but it was soon after the previous westbound picture. I can still only relate to these locos in their old numbering system even after all these years. As D1755 I know it is exotic!

Moving across to the Plymouth line off Aller Junction with the housing terrace directly ahead now. A Great Western semaphore emphatically of - I'm sure they don't normally drop to such a steep angle! The following down train was the 09.14 Brighton to Plymouth hauled by 47539 Rochdale Pioneers. There is still some evidence of the down loop where freights would be held to attach a banking loco. This working has a long and interesting history dating back to steam days when it was routed via Okehampton, then later curtailed back to Exeter with the paired 33's and later Hastings units. In 1984 its destination was once again Plymouth and I believe it may even have subsequently been extended to Penzance with 159's all the way. I don't know if any equivalent working still exists. Probably deemed too much bother to reverse at St. Davids. I look forward to it returning to the Okehampton route one day!

Aller Junction 30.06.84 'Was a hot afternoon, last day of June, and the sun was a demon!' Extra points if you can name that song and artist! Googling is cheating! This next group of images are from the 30th June 1984 at Aller Junction. A summer Saturday with the sun blazing down and my camera giving very erratic exposures. 50028 Tiger heads down the Torbay line with 1C31 the 10.18 Paddington to Paignton. I believe that the substantial terrace of houses behind have now been demolished to make way for the new road.

I bought a CD with 1350 scans of pictures on a few years ago and I'm pretty sure this one was on it along with several others taken on the same day. I too buy items off ebay and have been caught with inflated prices because information like 'copy' has been omitted. On the other hand I'm sure I have picked up a real bargain too from time to time. Having just found this CD it now won't boot up so I can't confirm this for definite. Nice record shot all the same. Hermes was one of the last Warships out of Waterloo if not the very last if I recall correctly (needs checking)

Can anyone guess this mystery location?

Sticking to the theme of capturing trains passing. Here's a pair of 50's at Totnes.

Sometimes good fortune is spot on. October 1982 and Aller Junction. Not a Mecca for freight but two were caught passing each other. 50032 on empty Motorail flats (is that freight?) and a named 45 on Speedlink?. What a fine gantry sadly stripped of most of it's signals.

Link is http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/95191-neils-hydraulic-pics/page-29

This may help. Although the Western carries no name I believe it's Western Courier.

A light load for a Class 50!