Nearholmer Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Provoked by this photo, which surprised me, not only by being reproduced back-to-front, but by showing a 4-4-0 in use on the line https://www.hatherleighhistory.co.uk/2014/hatherleigh-station-4/ ........... What classes were used over the life of the line? I tend to think E1R; Mickey Mouse tank; Class 22, Class 25 ..... er, that's about the limit of my knowledge! And, is the loco in the photo an LSWR T6? Many thanks in advance, Kevin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andania 213 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 I think the loco in the pic is possibly an X6, The line started off when opened with the superannuated 4-4-0's, and 0-6-0's, The book on the line in my possession states that these were of Adams design, presumably the 0-6-0's would have been of the 'Ilracombe goods' type. The E1R's arrived 1927/28, and ruled the roost until 1955/6, when the Ivatt's took over ( 41313, one of the regulars, still survives, last I heard it was on the IOW ). Dieselisation was in early / mid 1964, with the passenger services going over to 122's for the final months of those, and class 22's taking over the freight. Class 25's worked the line from '72 to '80, 31's then took over for the final 2 years or so, though they had been used sporadically on the line from '73. Just after the 22's went, a Hymek and a Warship apparently reached Meeth (the then limit of the line) on different days, the WR being at that point short of 25's and 31's that were meant to take up the 22's duties. ISTR that 33's did see occasional use, they certainly worked at least 1 railtour over the line. There were also occasional Railtours using Plymouth based DMU's. HTH K 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 (edited) Excellent - many thanks. I should have cottoned-on to a pre-E1R phase, given the dates. I went on a rail tour c1976/77/78, and I think that was top-and-tail 33s on 2x4TC, but I’m not totally sure. Edit: checked, it was March 1975, and it was the typical southern touring train of the time, 33-TC-RMB-TC-33. Visited Cornish branches with the same sort of train, I think in late 76 or early 77. Edited April 13, 2021 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 In the photo taken at Hatherleigh the line looks new, so presumably the photo was taken between 1925-1928 before the E1/R tanks took over. cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Apologies for the indulgence, but here is the 1975 ACE at Meeth https://www.flickr.com/photos/rgadsdon/49241021551/ I am somewhere among the anorak-clad horde, although I'm pretty sure I was wearing a bright red cycling jacket, having got up well before dawn, and cycled c15 miles to get to a station where I could catch a train to Waterloo in time to join the excursion. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted April 13, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 13, 2021 On opening, Adams Class 460s seem to have been the usual power. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Oldddudders said: On opening, Adams Class 460s seem to have been the usual power. In July/August 1925 0460 class Nos 0460, 0462, 0468, 0470, 0473, 0475, and 0476 were at Barnstaple, several sub-shedded at Torrington for the new Halwill service. 'The North Devon Line' by John Nicholas also mentions due to severe weight restrictions 0395 class 0-6-0s were also used when cattle specials were run to/from Hatherleigh or Hole. I believe the LSWR had scrapped or sold all the Ilfracombe Goods class by 1918, so they would not have worked over the route. cheers cheers Edited April 13, 2021 by Rivercider Additional info 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 (edited) Well, that’s at least two classes of 4-4-0, and probably 0395, in that early period. Really would work as a the setting for a multi-period layout, given how little the infrastructure changed in c50 years. Edited April 13, 2021 by Nearholmer 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 19 hours ago, andania 213 said: I think the loco in the pic is possibly an X6, The line started off when opened with the superannuated 4-4-0's, and 0-6-0's, The book on the line in my possession states that these were of Adams design, presumably the 0-6-0's would have been of the 'Ilfracombe goods' type. The E1R's arrived 1927/28, and ruled the roost until 1955/6, when the Ivatts took over ( 41313, one of the regulars, still survives, last I heard it was on the IOW ). K The Ilfracombe Goods were purchased by the LSWR from Beyer Peacock during the reign of W G Beattie, several years before Adams came on the LSWR scene. As others have said, the Ilfracombe Goods had all disappeared from the company by around 1918, well before the line opened in 1925, so most likely any 0-6-0 would have been Adams 395 Class, as the other two classes of Beyer Peacock goods locos had all but disappeared by 1924. According to Bradley, the first trains on the ND&CJLR were worked by "0460" class allocated to Barnstaple - 0460/2/8/70/3/5/6, 0470 surviving until December 1928. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Which poses further questions about the photo that I linked to at the start of this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 34 minutes ago, Nearholmer said: Which poses further questions about the photo that I linked to at the start of this. Is that the number painted on the buffer beam? I can not quite read it. cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Well, even turning it the right way round, I can’t read the number, but the loco isn’t an 0460, it seems to be either a T6 or an X6, I struggle to tell the difference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andania 213 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Rivercider said: I believe the LSWR had scrapped or sold all the Ilfracombe Goods class by 1918, so they would not have worked over the route. cheers Aah, I've learnt something there, cheers. In my defence m'lud, my main interest in the line spans the latter era ( 60's to closure) !!! K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Nearholmer said: Well, even turning it the right way round, I can’t read the number, but the loco isn’t an 0460, it seems to be either a T6 or an X6, I struggle to tell the difference. Certainly either a T6 or X6. I'd be inclined to think it was the latter, with the slightly smaller driving wheels (6' 7" compared with 7' 1"). Bradley notes that "In July 1925 (X6) No. 665 was despatched to Barnstaple, where it was kept so carefully cleaned it must have been amongst the best groomed of all the Southern Railway's locomotive stock." The date fits nicely with the opening date of the line, and Bradley doesn't place any other of the two classes in a suitable location at that time. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 I think we can underline that one in our Combined Volume on the basis of that - many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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