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Devon Diesel Era Photo Record


Garry Morris
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The Class 31

 

Having had a look at the Class 25 in Devon I thought the 31 ought to have it's turn. Possibly even less pictured on the mainline than the 25s were, their only defined role seems to have been on the Barnstaple line. Were they all Bath Road allocated? Hardly ever straying into Cornwall but by default encouraging exotic pairs into the area on the Saturday dated Liverpool to Paignton as crews were familiar with them. 

This one I have no record of the number, but it's ready for snow. It is at Newton Abbot on the Royal Train. I can't fathom what's going on or why someone is confidently standing in the four foot with his back to oncoming traffic holding a spanner! It's a visit of Charles and Diana to Tavistock in 1983. I would guess that they have overnighted up the Heathfield line. 

I think Bath Road allocated class 31s were the most common visitors.

The 1975 Exeter local trip booklet shows one class 31 turn, trip No. 9 (extract of Bath Road 80) working between 11.00 and 15.00 SX

including assisting  trip 4 with the 11.05 Exeter Riverside to Exmouth Junction, (which was booked for a Laira class 25), and working a trip to Newcourt,

before working the 15.58 passenger to Barnstaple,

 

Old Oak Common class 31s appeared on parcels trains and sometimes on the empty news vans to Old Oak Common.

Stratford class 31s worked the Ripple Lane to Exeter City Basin bitumen traffic

 

cheers

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I think Bath Road allocated class 31s were the most common visitors.

The 1975 Exeter local trip booklet shows one class 31 turn, trip No. 9 (extract of Bath Road 80) working between 11.00 and 15.00 SX

including assisting trip 4 with the 11.05 Exeter Riverside to Exmouth Junction, (which was booked for a Laira class 25), and working a trip to Newcourt,

before working the 15.58 passenger to Barnstaple,

 

Old Oak Common class 31s appeared on parcels trains and sometimes on the empty news vans to Old Oak Common.

Stratford class 31s worked the Ripple Lane to Exeter City Basin bitumen traffic

 

cheers

Interesting you quote the Newcourt turn. My second day as a Secondman (upgraded Traction Trainee) at Exeter 24/9/74 saw me booked on Turn 109 12.15 Riverside yard,7B71 Riverside to Newcourt also shunt Central yard then as said 15.58 to Barnstaple and 17.55 return with driver Bob Dak who I remember was very accomodating of this rookie. A further note off the information board in the movements supervisors office is...Engine then either left for Basingstoke or take to shed. We had 31110 that day. Edited by Garry Morris
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I do not have very many photos of class 31s in Devon, but here is one at Plymouth, whether it got any further west that day I do  not know 

 

post-7081-0-92889200-1485616716_thumb.jpg

One of Bath Roads class 31 allocation 31230 on the Down Through Road at Plymouth with inspection saloon KDW150266 21/4/82

 

cheers 

Edited by Rivercider
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On a visit to Newton Abbot in November 1981 I was lucky enough to see three eth fitted class 31/4s at work,

Old Oak allocated 31415, and 31419 and 31424 both of Bath Road, a couple of photos have been posted in other thread but not, I think, these two.

 

post-7081-0-73216800-1485629101_thumb.jpg

31419, is seen in the former carriage sidings at Newton Abbot assembling an engineers train, 5/11/81

 

post-7081-0-91992000-1485629318_thumb.jpg

White stripe 31424 takes the 11.25 departure for Paignton under the impressive signal gantry at Newton Abbot West, 5/11/81

 

cheers

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The Class 31

 

Having had a look at the Class 25 in Devon I thought the 31 ought to have it's turn. Possibly even less pictured on the mainline than the 25s were, their only defined role seems to have been on the Barnstaple line. Were they all Bath Road allocated? Hardly ever straying into Cornwall but by default encouraging exotic pairs into the area on the Saturday dated Liverpool to Paignton as crews were familiar with them.

This one I have no record of the number, but it's ready for snow. It is at Newton Abbot on the Royal Train. I can't fathom what's going on or why someone is confidently standing in the four foot with his back to oncoming traffic holding a spanner! It's a visit of Charles and Diana to Tavistock 9/3/83. I would guess that they have overnighted up the Heathfield line.

 

Looks very scruffy for a loco on Royal duties.

 

Late replacement?

 

Regards

 

Ian

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I do not have very many photos of class 31s in Devon, but here is one at Plymouth, whether it got any further west that day I do  not know 

 

attachicon.gifscan0040.jpg

One of Bath Roads class 31 allocation 31230 on the Down Through Road at Plymouth with inspection saloon KDW150266 21/4/82

 

cheers 

Bet that cab was draughty with no headcode box glass in place.

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Here is a faded instamatic photo of a pair of Stratford allocated class 31s with the discharged bitumen tanks from Exeter City Basin to Ripple Lane

 

post-7081-0-69589000-1485707087.jpg

31112 and 31107 pass through platform 5 at Exeter St Davids, 15/5/79

 

Another view of the Ripple Lane tanks in the 1980s

post-7081-0-60622900-1485707462_thumb.jpg

31138 and 31123 approach Exeter St Davids with discharged tanks from City Basin, 24/7/80

 

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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Looks very scruffy for a loco on Royal duties.

 

Late replacement?

 

Regards

 

Ian

The 31 in the photo has been used to return the train to Newton Abbot from Teigngrace, where it was stabled. The "pretty" train engine would of been on the other end. Top and tail operation was always used on these workings as there was no run round facilities at Teigngrace.

31's were quite common working out of Exeter in the 1970/80's with at least 3 or 4 stabled at Exeter on most days. regular workings were the daily Barnstaple Goods, the Heathfield trip working, and local stopping trains to Paignton & Barnstaple.

They also were booked to work the 02.56 Taunton to Paignton Newspaper train, the 06.15 Plymouth to Old Oak Common Empty Newspaper train and the 05.20 Paddington to Plymouth parcel train in the week as well as the workings already mentioned.

I must admit to having a soft spot for the 31's as they were ideal on these workings. They didn't like the South Devon banks though. I booked on spare at Exeter one day and was asked to work the 07.30 Paddington down to Plymouth as Old Oak had nothing better than a 31/4 to work the train and Laira men didn't know them. With 10 coaches on the speedo was barely at 10mph going over the top. Happy days...

 

Please keep posting these lovely photographs. Marvellous stuff.

 

Regards

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July 1988 ( I think based on my recollection of holidays) and an immaculate Windsor Castle passes Dawlish Warren with the royal train. HRH Lizzie is on board for an event in Torquay if memory serves me correctly. Note all the white shirts in the cab.

 

post-12189-0-95042500-1485869080_thumb.jpg

Edited by Chris M
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July 1988 ( I think based on my recollection of holidays) and an immaculate Windsor Castle passes Dawlish Warren with the royal train. HRH Lizzie is on board for an event in Torquay if memory serves me correctly. Note all the white shirts in the cab.

 

 

The Queen visited Torquay by train on July 21st 1988 to mark the 300th anniversary of the landing of William the Orange.

 

She left the train at Torquay at which point the train moved to Paignton where it sat for an extended period of time at platform 1 with the crossing gates on Torbay road down (which didn't inconvenience anyone as Paignton was a ghost town).

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This is not my own picture but it has no acknowledgement of who's it is on the back. The 02.56 Taunton to Paignton with 33049 on. 30.10.86 at Paignton. This train always arrived on the Down side to gain direct access to road vehicles. In the 1970's one single van would come off the down papers at Exeter and work to Newton Abbot where it was routed on the Down Relief and over the scissors crossover into the Paignton platform. It was then backed onto a couple of vans positioned in the platform with other parcels, coupled up and away to Paignton often chasing the tail of the main train down to Aller Junction. There can't be many shots of this train which is why I bought the picture. Possibly Peter Gray? . 

post-12275-0-35806500-1485882434_thumb.jpg

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Exeter St David's 30.6.73 5823 having been removed from the Paddington to Barnstaple service (in platform 3). 4158 had dragged the train in from Cowley Bridge Junction where it may have run out of fuel. it was then positioned on the through road to await a passage to the stabling point. Not easy on a Summer Saturday! Green 31's weren't too common in Devon.

post-12275-0-55901900-1485884050_thumb.jpg

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The 31 in the photo has been used to return the train to Newton Abbot from Teigngrace, where it was stabled. The "pretty" train engine would of been on the other end. Top and tail operation was always used on these workings as there was no run round facilities at Teigngrace.

31's were quite common working out of Exeter in the 1970/80's with at least 3 or 4 stabled at Exeter on most days. regular workings were the daily Barnstaple Goods, the Heathfield trip working, and local stopping trains to Paignton & Barnstaple.

They also were booked to work the 02.56 Taunton to Paignton Newspaper train, the 06.15 Plymouth to Old Oak Common Empty Newspaper train and the 05.20 Paddington to Plymouth parcel train in the week as well as the workings already mentioned.

I must admit to having a soft spot for the 31's as they were ideal on these workings. They didn't like the South Devon banks though. I booked on spare at Exeter one day and was asked to work the 07.30 Paddington down to Plymouth as Old Oak had nothing better than a 31/4 to work the train and Laira men didn't know them. With 10 coaches on the speedo was barely at 10mph going over the top. Happy days...

 

Please keep posting these lovely photographs. Marvellous stuff.

 

Regards

Interesting that a class 31 often worked 5A06 the empty news vans to Old Oak Common, I photographed the train at Exeter in 1985.

post-7081-0-14026200-1485901767_thumb.jpg

31260 is shunting an empty news van that it just collected from either platform 1 or the dock siding. 50017 Royal Oak stands in platform 3 having arrived

at Exeter St Davids on the 06.41 from Salisbury, 9/7/85

 

cheers 

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This would seem to be a good occasion to share this:

10067983165_65ffd9b059_z.jpgMAY 74 36. Exeter St Davids, April 22 1974 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

 

This was on April 22 1974 and I think I was travelling on the 14:00 Penzance-Birmingham, which must have stopped to swap a Western for a Peak before departing Exeter at 17:39. The timetable shows that no other direct passenger train departed Exeter for Bristol between 17:39 and 21:29.

 

There has been a suggestion that the 31 is 31258. Would anyone care to speculate on the working it is in charge of?

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Exeter St David's 30.6.73 5823 having been removed from the Paddington to Barnstaple service (in platform 3). 4158 had dragged the train in from Cowley Bridge Junction where it may have run out of fuel. it was then positioned on the through road to await a passage to the stabling point. Not easy on a Summer Saturday! Green 31's weren't too common in Devon.

 

I do admire your assumption that the 31 has run out of fuel rather than the more likely mechanical failure.

Edited by brushman47544
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Here are some more class 31s at Exeter in the 1980s.

 

post-7081-0-07445900-1486051852_thumb.jpg

31118 of Old Oak Common stands in platform 4 at Exeter St Davids with the stock of a recently arrived service from Waterloo

which it will shortly work ecs to Newton Abbot, 16/7/80.

 

 

post-7081-0-42299600-1486052092_thumb.jpg

Bath Road's 31424 stands in the yard at Exeter St Davids with a set of mk1 stock alongside 50038 Formidable with a set of Waterloo stock, 5/11/81

 

cheers

 

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