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Barnstaple Bumper Set


JohnR

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Hi,

I remember reading somewhere about the pair of Mark 1s that were kept at Exeter St, Davids in the late 70s and early 80s ostensibly to cover for DMU failure, but also for the odd service train - but cant find the exact details, bar some mentions in passing.

 

What coaches were they - does anyone have numbers?

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I have seen loco hauled two car and single car dmu on the branch but no record of spare coaching stock. There was of course the 4 coach set that formed services e.g.with a class 31 in the early seventies. Maybe this set was halved when needed. I know that a three coach set was kept at Newton Abbot for the 8.05 Paignton-NA but I don't think it is connected.

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In my mind I am fairly certain that at times a BCK was unofficially kept at Exeter for use at short notice,

I have searched Flickr for a one or two coach set, with or without parcel vans either between Exeter and Barnstaple

or in the background of a view at St Davids station, but without success.

 

cheers

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I started a thread on North Devon 1980s services a few years back, there was some discussion about the early morning "mixed" train from Barnstaple which was formed with Mk1 SK + BCK then several parcels vans and 12t vans. There was a Wiki page, not available now, which said the coaches were kept at Exeter for this service. See

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/34499-north-devon-line-services-in-1980s/?p=367734

and onwards...

Picture of the train on Derby Suzler site

http://www.derbysulzers.com/25069newton78.jpg

Sadly no clue of the numbers,I would like to know as I need to replicate the train for my layout!

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I found my copy of the WIki notes as below, it was a page set up by the North Devon line users group, but not available now:

 

 

 

Notes
The 0405 from Exeter was a 2 or 3 car DMU conveying the News van detached at St Davids off the 0030 Paddington to Penzance. The unit then formed the 0617 to Exeter. Newspapers were, I think, still unloaded at Eggesford, Umberleigh and Barnstaple. News for North Devon was final-sorted on the train while en-route from Exeter. On arrival at Barnstaple the locomotive off the 0300 shunted the van to the 'Skin' road (about where the lorry entrance to B&Q is!) for unloading.

The 0750 Barns was a mixed train - the only other one on BR was the 1630 Fort William to Mallaig and return. Formed SK, BCK, and up to 5 mostly empty vans off 0300 St Davids and also any empty Vanfits not cleared from Barnstaple and Torrington by the previous night's 1915 Barnstaple to Exeter Riverside freight. It was formed by the locomotive off the 0300 Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple Parcels and Mails, about five vans, three or four ex-GW Fruit D's (there were at that time about 6 based at Exeter for use on the North Devon line) and one or two BG's, plus the empty stock for the 0750 from Barnstaple, an SK and BCK 'secret/unofficial' set kept at St Davids just for this train.

It only ran a couple of years from the late 1970's before the approx 0710 Barnstaple was introduced in, I think 1981, when it was realised an arrival in Exeter of about 0815/25 was far more suitable for most people. From this date the train was no longer mixed, formed of four or five coaches, one of five sets that worked semi-fast trains between Bristol and Penzance until the Sprinters took over. When the 'secret' set was disbanded, the 0710 also conveyed just an empty news van and an empty mails van.

The 0617 became 0550 with even fewer passengers, with at most about 15 on a Monday.

In 1980 Barnstaple was still quite busy, besides the passenger trains.

There was a daily freight 0430 Exeter Riverside to Barnstaple and 1915 return. During the locomotive's time at Barnstaple a trip was run about 1030 'Down Over' to Torrington, Marland and Meeth and return then an afternoon milk trip to Torrington and return, the locomotive then shunted and formed the 1915 to Exeter Riverside consisting of Milk tanks on front (which were taken onto St Davids for attaching to the 1640 St Erth to Kensington Olympia Milk train), then clay wagons for Fowey, empty Vanfits (normally for Avonmouth), finally any other wagons including unfitted wagons and a brake van if required.

There was also an 08 shunter at Barnstaple (manned in the morning only) for general shunting including the cement wagons (up to 10 a day) which needed moving to/from the silo a few times a day. There were vanfits of animal feeds and fertilisers, wagons of mostly plate steel loaded on special 'Trestle' bogie wagons, mostly from Scunthorpe for Appledore Ship yard, latterly delivered from Barnstaple Junction Goods Yard by Evans haulage after the BR-owned delivery/collection lorries were withdrawn. There were also odd wagons each week for Chivenor plus the clay wagons to/from the two ball clay works at Marland and the now-closed Meeth.

Tony Hill

 

 

So this is where the idea of the BCK+SK Mk1 'secret/unofficial' 2 coach set came from.

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I found my copy of the WIki notes as below, it was a page set up by the North Devon line users group, but not available now:

 

 

So this is where the idea of the BCK+SK Mk1 'secret/unofficial' 2 coach set came from.

Well remembered Rich, I had forgotten about that although I posted details of the 'mixed' from the Sectional Appendix.

 

Is this, I wonder, a picture of the train, are they Fruit Ds at the rear?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/21619858786/in/photolist-yWtqMY 

 

cheers

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To me, that looks like it's the same train! I forgot to link the caption to the Derby Suzler image, it was" November 25th 1978 25069 & 25058 pass the station with the 07.46 Barnstaple - Exeter mixed service". The Flikr picture is April 1st 1978, so pretty much same time, and captioned "25052 and 25224 stand in the rain at Exeter St Davids with a train formed of one GUV, two Mark I coaches, three CCTs and two PMVs". So no Fruit Ds by then, but still a nice mix! I need to find an all-blue GUV....

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To me, that looks like it's the same train! I forgot to link the caption to the Derby Suzler image, it was" November 25th 1978 25069 & 25058 pass the station with the 07.46 Barnstaple - Exeter mixed service". The Flikr picture is April 1st 1978, so pretty much same time, and captioned "25052 and 25224 stand in the rain at Exeter St Davids with a train formed of one GUV, two Mark I coaches, three CCTs and two PMVs". So no Fruit Ds by then, but still a nice mix! I need to find an all-blue GUV....

I think the Fruit Ds had disappeared by 1976; I went down the Barnstaple branch in 1975, and they were still there then. I think the last vehicle in the photo of the train hauled by two Class 25s was an ex-SR Van B; there appear to be three sets of doors, and it's too long for a Fruit D.

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