Western Region (Cornwall) Late 1980's to Privatisation

[Marky B]

Hi All,

 

I'm currently in the process of planning/building a fictitious Cornwall china clay branch line set during the last few years of BR. My intention is that as well as china clay traffic, there will be be some passenger traffic and a small amount of freight traffic. I've got John Vaughan's West Country China Clay Trains book, (both editions) and I'm wondering if anyone can recommend any books that will give me an insight into the freight and passenger traffic in the area during that period please?

 

Regards,

 

Mark

[St Enodoc]

8 hours ago, Marky B said:

Hi All,

 

I'm currently in the process of planning/building a fictitious Cornwall china clay branch line set during the last few years of BR. My intention is that as well as china clay traffic, there will be be some passenger traffic and a small amount of freight traffic. I've got John Vaughan's West Country China Clay Trains book, (both editions) and I'm wondering if anyone can recommend any books that will give me an insight into the freight and passenger traffic in the area during that period please?

 

Regards,

 

Mark

Try John Vaughan's other book "The Newquay Branch and its Branches".

[pb_devon]

Devon & Cornwall Railfreight, by David Mitchell; Silver Link Publishing; 2019

 

Huge collection of images and data for the period.

[steve howe]

Check out the Cornwall Railways Society's website

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk

 

Galleries of images of china clay branches and much else  besides.

 

Steve

[alexross42]

I'd highly recommend these two other John Vaughan books as well - Diesels in the Duchy and An Illustrated History of the Cornish Main Line

 

(no affiliation to either Amazon or John, just thought the links may be useful!)

 

>> On reflection Diesels In The Duchy may be a few years too early for your time period?

 

Regards,

Ross.

Edited September 24, 2020 by alexross42
Second thoughts on recommending 'DITD'

[The Pilotman]

8 hours ago, alexross42 said:

>> On reflection Diesels In The Duchy may be a few years too early for your time period?

Yes it is; the trains were still in black and white then 

[KeithMacdonald]

@Marky B - have you chosen a location yet?

 

Coincidently, I've just been looking at Coombe Junction on the Looe Valley branch line.

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=50.44648&lon=-4.48110&layers=168&b=1

 

Coombe Junction's current claim to fame is the "second least used station in Britain", with passenger trains reversing to & from Liskard & Looe. But it did run up a long thin valley to serve the Duchy Tweed factory and the St.Neots China Clay Factory. That would provide the china clay traffic, some passenger traffic and a small amount of freight traffic.

 

 

Or Li

[steve howe]

Keith's map shows Coombe as it was c.1907 with the three crossovers on the loop line. By 1928 the middle crossover was removed; other than that, the Junction remained pretty much untouched until 1981 when the signal box (which was on the point of collapse) was closed and the track layout 'rationalised'. Still a pretty spot, but in steam days Coombe Junction was idyllic.  In addition to the rural surroundings, it retained much of its pre-war atmosphere with the lovely Saxby & Farmer signal box and the fine array of semaphore signals.

 

Probably well outside your period Marky but I would recommend the excellent book 'The Liskeard & Looe Branch' by Gerry Beale (Wild Swan) which has some beautiful images of the line and a wealth of information on its operation including the fascinating locomotive sheds at Moorswater - surely a modelling gem if ever there was one!

 

Steve