Peterborough North

[FarrMan]

Gilbert

 

Not a terminus, but Dawlish is hard to beat for this one. If it has to be a branch terminus, then St Ives.

[St Enodoc]

8 minutes ago, great northern said:

It has come to my attention that a number of people have been stranded in Exeter for weeks, as the poll in which they were involved was put on hold while we took part in Brian's excellent series. That has now sadly concluded, and though Exeter has many attractions, they can begin to pall over time.

 

So, the journey will now continue. We were looking for the feature you would most want to see on a particular stretch of line, and we are now going on from Exeter to Penzance via the coastal route. As it is August, you might be wanting to go somewhere on holiday, so please consider your preferred destination which both gives you a good seaside holiday and the opportunity to go back up the branch to the junction station to see what is going on there. Best combination of main line and seaside terminus is what I'm trying to say, or at least I think so.

Newquay.

 

A busy junction at Par, loco shed and shunting yards at St Blazey, 4-6-0s hauling double-headed holiday expresses on a single line up fierce climbs through the Luxulyan Valley, the other-worldly landscape of the china-clay area between Goonbarrow Junction and St Dennis Junction, and finally the Atlantic coast at Newquay itself.

 

With a nod to the Tokyo Olympics, here's a haiku to sum it all up;

 

"From Par to Newquay:

Sandy beaches, sunny skies -

Summer in the West".

 

If I were to nominate just one feature, it would be the sight of Roche Rock and its ruined chapel - knowing then that within the hour I would be on the beach with a Cornish ice cream in my hand.

[BMacdermott]

Hello Gilbert

 

St Ives branch for me please.

 

In the 1950s, an uncle and aunt owned a hotel near Lelant, the gardens of which backed onto the line - separated only by a rough rear access road. I well remember playing in the games room above the hotel's garage as there was a clear view to the line and the water.

 

Seeing the 45xxs go by was a dream come true for this lad from back-to-back terraced house Tottenham!

 

The hotel has now gone and has been replaced by 'desirable residences'.

 

Brian

[Clive Mortimore]

Does it have to be a seaside resort? What about us jolly hikers who enjoy nothing more than rambling across a farmer's field just before he harvests it with the battle cry of the"Wearthefucrwee" tribe.

 

If that is allowed then Moretonhampsted.

 

But if it has to be a bucket and spade holiday, sorry not a terminus,  Parrenporth on the Newquay to Truro line.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Clive Mortimore

[great northern]

And so, with some trepidation, I ascended to the railway room. The coal train that fell off on Monday was still in its fiddle yard road. I ran it. Did it fall off? It did not. I put Thane of Fife on track. Round it went, smooth as silk, forwards and in reverse. Ran the fish. Did the B1's bogie derail coming back into the fiddle yard?  It did not. In summary, none of the things that went wrong on Monday did so today, and everything else that I ran behaved perfectly as well. Geoff must have taken his gremlins with him when he left, for which I am duly grateful.

[Bogie]

I have no idea who Geoff is, but based on the current medical advice we are getting down here in Brisbane, I suggest you not invite him back to your place!

[jazzer]

5 hours ago, great northern said:

It has come to my attention that a number of people have been stranded in Exeter for weeks, as the poll in which they were involved was put on hold while we took part in Brian's excellent series. That has now sadly concluded, and though Exeter has many attractions, they can begin to pall over time.

 

So, the journey will now continue. We were looking for the feature you would most want to see on a particular stretch of line, and we are now going on from Exeter to Penzance via the coastal route. As it is August, you might be wanting to go somewhere on holiday, so please consider your preferred destination which both gives you a good seaside holiday and the opportunity to go back up the branch to the junction station to see what is going on there. Best combination of main line and seaside terminus is what I'm trying to say, or at least I think so.

I spent a week in Brixham in June. The weather was fantastic and I took the train from Paignton to Teignmouth then walked the SW coastal path from Teignmouth to Dawlish and back with brilliant views from up on the cliffs out to sea and down to Dawlish station and back ( you can see where we are going with this ).    It was all supplemented by a trip to Kingswear and a ride on the River Dart on the Paddle Steamer “Kingswear Castle ( built 1924, ).

 

So on a strict interpretation of the Rules ( best combination of mainline and seaside terminus) I have to say the Kingswear branch , from Newton Abbott 1958-60 , Kings and Castles still supreme, a few Warships creeping in, almost every other class being pressed into service including 28xx 2-8-0’s on ECS work and 47xx’s on the 1.30 pm Paddington - Kingswear via Bristol. Then Newton Abbot a hive of activity with 4 or more Panniers on station pilot duty,  Down trains being split, Up,trains having branch coaches added, double headers over the gradients between Paignton and Kingswear, Panniers banking trains out of Torquay, and probably Bert Weedon or Max Bygraves at the Princess Theatre , Torquay . What’s not to like ? ( except Bert Weedon or Max Bygraves ). Unfortunately it was all a part of train spotting history I was too late for, mores the pity .

 

Oh for that time machine.

 

[geoff west]

4 hours ago, great northern said:

And so, with some trepidation, I ascended to the railway room. The coal train that fell off on Monday was still in its fiddle yard road. I ran it. Did it fall off? It did not. I put Thane of Fife on track. Round it went, smooth as silk, forwards and in reverse. Ran the fish. Did the B1's bogie derail coming back into the fiddle yard?  It did not. In summary, none of the things that went wrong on Monday did so today, and everything else that I ran behaved perfectly as well. Geoff must have taken his gremlins with him when he left, for which I am duly grateful.

Clearly my fault entirely then Gilbert.

Did Thane of Fife not make that strange sound either?

I'll leave me gremlins at ome next time.

[Mallard60022]

8 hours ago, great northern said:

It has come to my attention that a number of people have been stranded in Exeter for weeks, as the poll in which they were involved was put on hold while we took part in Brian's excellent series. That has now sadly concluded, and though Exeter has many attractions, they can begin to pall over time.

 

So, the journey will now continue. We were looking for the feature you would most want to see on a particular stretch of line, and we are now going on from Exeter to Penzance via the coastal route. As it is August, you might be wanting to go somewhere on holiday, so please consider your preferred destination which both gives you a good seaside holiday and the opportunity to go back up the branch to the junction station to see what is going on there. Best combination of main line and seaside terminus is what I'm trying to say, or at least I think so.

Par and Newquay please.

[great northern]

4 hours ago, geoff west said:

Clearly my fault entirely then Gilbert.

Did Thane of Fife not make that strange sound either?

I'll leave me gremlins at ome next time.

Not your fault at all. It was them others wot did it. Thane of Fife is the inexplicable one. It didn't make that sound, and it ran perfectly both forward and in reverse. I had wondered if there was a decoder problem, but it seems not, and whether I might have managed to somehow squeeze the valve gear while picking up the loco lift, but unless it miraculously cured itself it wasn't that either. Very strange, but all's well that ends well.

 

The derailments might be explained by something having been jolted while in the fiddle yard before the stock ran, and of course "cured" when I put things back on properly, but I'm not at all sure.

[great northern]

Our last look at Milton is the classic view at the south end.

 

 

all nicely framed without my having to do anything to achieve it.

[great northern]

KX A3 Melton appears with the 1040 Grantham stopper.

 

 

Got the angles all wrong, but never mind.

[Mallard60022]

12 hours ago, great northern said:

Not your fault at all. It was them others wot did it. Thane of Fife is the inexplicable one. It didn't make that sound, and it ran perfectly both forward and in reverse. I had wondered if there was a decoder problem, but it seems not, and whether I might have managed to somehow squeeze the valve gear while picking up the loco lift, but unless it miraculously cured itself it wasn't that either. Very strange, but all's well that ends well.

 

The derailments might be explained by something having been jolted while in the fiddle yard before the stock ran, and of course "cured" when I put things back on properly, but I'm not at all sure.

I have found that with a couple of my engines G. If you have had a quick short circuit somewhere and maybe even didn't notice, it can confuse the engine!!! I just reprogramme its' address or just reentered the address and it has worked. Might not have been the cause, but....... Some decoders worse than others for that problem.

P

[Oldddudders]

I really feel that having Milton and Melton in adjacent pics is tough on dyslexics. 

[great northern]

13 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I really feel that having Milton and Melton in adjacent pics is tough on dyslexics. 

But it were inadvertent guv, honest.

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

I really feel that having Milton and Melton in adjacent pics is tough on dyslexics. 

Hi Ian

 

As someone blessed with dyslexia I can assure you their they're there was no problem as they were going in opposite directions.

[great northern]

The last of the Pullmans now. Kittiwake rolls through with the Yorkshire.

 

 

[great northern]

Melton is now having a rest at Platform 6.

 

 

It's a good job I don't model Malton really. A double headed excursion hauled by Melton and Milton could cause even more confusion.

[jwealleans]

The prospect of an A3/B17 pairing might leave some more excitable readers molten....

[great northern]

Attention now switches back to the Yorkshire Pullman.

 

 

I'm not sure whether I like this or not.

 

 

 

[great northern]

What old fool told you that was the last of the Pullmans? Here is 60148 Aboyeur with the Queen of Scots.

 

 

[great northern]

23 hours ago, jwealleans said:

The prospect of an A3/B17 pairing might leave some more excitable readers molten....

I do wonder if that ever happened. If it did, I suspect it would have been on one of those trains out of KX which split at Hitchin for Peterborough and Cambridge. There is a shot of a B1 and A4 double heading in Peter Coster's first Book of the Great Northern, but I've never seen any suggestion, let alone photo, of a Pacific and B17 pairing.

[great northern]

I have at long last, with considerable help from my IT capable neighbour, got a Powerpoint programme set up for the Saturday sequence. It is already proving to be very "interesting". More of that later, but first a query on which I would be very grateful for help. There is a train from Gainsborough Lea Road to KX early on Saturday morning, which is noted as Q, and defined as "runs only when required". I have always thought Q trains were to give a path for extra reliefs in times of high demand, and indeed that seems to be borne out by my WTT, which shows nearly all of them to be to or from the West Riding. However, I cannot think why Gainsborough should require a relief train. Peter Coster often refers to the second, or even the third part of an express, so could that be the answer?

 

The brains trust on my support group with Steve Clive and Phil have suggested, instigated by Phil, that the purpose may be for works outings to London for the considerable number of people employed in heavy industry both in Gainsborough and Lincoln in those days, but those excursions were usually planned and advertised well in advance. Steve makes the very good point though that a loco and crew would have had to be arranged in advance if a Q train was to be run, so could one have been put on on the day itself? And of course back then extra coaches could, up to a point, be added to existing services if more room was needed.

 

Can anyone, perhaps our former railwaymen, enlighten me on this please?

[Mallard60022]

41 minutes ago, great northern said:

I have at long last, with considerable help from my IT capable neighbour, got a Powerpoint programme set up for the Saturday sequence. It is already proving to be very "interesting". More of that later, but first a query on which I would be very grateful for help. There is a train from Gainsborough Lea Road to KX early on Saturday morning, which is noted as Q, and defined as "runs only when required". I have always thought Q trains were to give a path for extra reliefs in times of high demand, and indeed that seems to be borne out by my WTT, which shows nearly all of them to be to or from the West Riding. However, I cannot think why Gainsborough should require a relief train. Peter Coster often refers to the second, or even the third part of an express, so could that be the answer?

 

The brains trust on my support group with Steve Clive and Phil have suggested, instigated by Phil, that the purpose may be for works outings to London for the considerable number of people employed in heavy industry both in Gainsborough and Lincoln in those days, but those excursions were usually planned and advertised well in advance. Steve makes the very good point though that a loco and crew would have had to be arranged in advance if a Q train was to be run, so could one have been put on on the day itself? And of course back then extra coaches could, up to a point, be added to existing services if more room was needed.

 

Can anyone, perhaps our former railwaymen, enlighten me on this please?

G, I have no idea if today's situation was the case in 1958. Q Trains today are there on Real Time Trains as a Path. Often they never run, as the 'Coal' paths through Retford on the Lincoln Line. I think a Q is just a reserved path? That would/could have been the case in '58 I presume. In the case of Passenger Trains it could have been a Temporary path provided at certain prospective busy times during the holiday seasons?

 A Train would run if required in that path, special or not. The plan would probably be to provide a Q Path for a follow up Extra to a service known historically to be busy. All sorts of reasons back then even to drop off folk at Spalding for example?

[thegreenhowards]

1 hour ago, great northern said:

I have at long last, with considerable help from my IT capable neighbour, got a Powerpoint programme set up for the Saturday sequence. It is already proving to be very "interesting". More of that later, but first a query on which I would be very grateful for help. There is a train from Gainsborough Lea Road to KX early on Saturday morning, which is noted as Q, and defined as "runs only when required". I have always thought Q trains were to give a path for extra reliefs in times of high demand, and indeed that seems to be borne out by my WTT, which shows nearly all of them to be to or from the West Riding. However, I cannot think why Gainsborough should require a relief train. Peter Coster often refers to the second, or even the third part of an express, so could that be the answer?

 

The brains trust on my support group with Steve Clive and Phil have suggested, instigated by Phil, that the purpose may be for works outings to London for the considerable number of people employed in heavy industry both in Gainsborough and Lincoln in those days, but those excursions were usually planned and advertised well in advance. Steve makes the very good point though that a loco and crew would have had to be arranged in advance if a Q train was to be run, so could one have been put on on the day itself? And of course back then extra coaches could, up to a point, be added to existing services if more room was needed.

 

Can anyone, perhaps our former railwaymen, enlighten me on this please?

Could it be a path available for when the mainline was blocked for engineering?