KERNOW TODAY

[MarcD]

Just had what I would say is one of the best if not the best GF pasty. Barnecutts bakery in Bodmin.  The other half had one of their normal pastys which she also said was very good. She can also recommend their saffron buns.

 

Marc

[KeithMacdonald]

On 05/05/2022 at 11:08, MarcD said:

trains don't stop

 

At Cambourne?

[boxbrownie]

6 minutes ago, MarcD said:

Just had what I would say is one of the best if not the best GF pasty. Barnecutts bakery in Bodmin.  The other half had one of their normal pastys which she also said was very good. She can also recommend their saffron buns.

 

Marc

Not had theirs, we normally stock up on Mary’s pastys at Truro for our visitors, I shall keep the peepers peeled.

[rab]

1 hour ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

At Cambourne?

Probably because there's no such place.

They do stop at Camborne, except on Wednesdays.

 

:)

[alexross42]

Recent railtour activity to the Duchy has produced two pairs of 47's, one top and tailed and the other double-headed:

 

47826 leads West Coast Railway's 'Northern Belle' railtour from Bristol to Par with 47804 tailing, 8th July:

 

 

D1944 'Craftsman' & D1935 'Roger Hosking MA 1925-2013' lead the return leg of the 'Cornish Riveria Statesman' tour from Penzance to Derby, through a grey and mizzling Saltash station, 23rd July:

 

The next scheduled railtour for the county is this Sunday (31st July) when 'Duchess of Sutherland' returns once more with 'The Royal Duchy' from Bristol Temple Meads to Par along with a tailing Class 47.

 

All the best,

Ross.

Edited July 27, 2022 by alexross42

[Helstonnorthroad]

A picture of 6C53 at Burngullow last Thursday working back up to Exeter.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Helstonnorthroad
Picture didn’t load

[rab]

1 hour ago, Helstonnorthroad said:

A picture of 6C53 at Burngullow last Thursday working back up to Exeter.

Night time working??? :)

[Devonbelle]

Was at Par last Wednesday lunchtime (31-8-22) and captured the lunchtime Goonbarrow to Fowey clay train - 38 CDA wagons and running 30 early at Par. Photographed the signals and box too with resignalling set to happen soon. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Devonbelle
Additional photo

[GWRPhil]

A few pictures from near respryn bridge bodmin

802108 on the way to Penzance running front doors open

 

 

 

XC PENZANCE TO Plymouth running about an hour late. Seems to be something going on in Penzance today as many trains today seem to be leaving Penzance and hour to an hour and a half late. 

 

 

[GWRPhil]

 

 

Just found these I took last year I didn’t post. It was whilst track replacement work was being conducted near bodmin parkway station. this was the 20th November 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GWRPhil]

And a rail tour lead Plymouth bound on 11th sept 2022 led by west coast 47813

 

 

[GWRPhil]

Finally from last year a visit to lostwithiel to document the fowey clay train. This was 28th July 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

[St. Simon]

Hi All,

 

I have just received a video showing the second train over the new Automatic Open Crossing Locally Monitored (AOCL) Level Crossing at Sandways on the Gunnislake Branch that was commissioning into service this morning (19th June 2023).

 

Unfortunately I can't share the video, but it is immensely satisfying to watch as I did all the schemes design for this and Okeltor AOCL on the branch, including all the strike-in calculations. My calculations said the train show arrive within 27s of strike-in and the train in the video did just that, so I'm quite happy that my maths worked!

 

Simon

[Kris]

Is this the busiest that Perrenwell station has been for a very long time? Everyone waiting to get into Falmouth this morning for Armed Forces Day. 

 

 

Then 150247 arriving at Falmouth Docks about 17:20 this evening. Far more waiting to get the train than could get on (probably many more waiting than could get on the following train as well.)

 

[Gwiwer]

Older and newer at the end of the line.  A view still available daily but not for much longer
 

 

Today being Mazey Day in Penzance two specials arrived for the that event. 2x47 came from Solihull followed soon afterwards by 2x69 from Tame Bridge. 
 

[Halvarras]

On 14th September 1987 I called into St Blazey for the first time in 10 years and perfect timing caught a brand new CDA 375000 in the yard. 36 years later it is still there, within a rake of others which have been idle for at least the last 3 years.

 

But for how much longer.......?

 

There is no doubt that the CDAs, direct descendents of the far more numerous but now network-extinct HAA MGR coal hoppers, are looking increasingly anachronistic on the modern railway, even if used on just one short local working and I have been wondering how much longer they can last. One consideration must be the unloading facilities at Fowey Docks - would their replacement require another upgrade there.........and would the overall cost be prohibitive?

 

A couple of months ago a trial run with 5 empty JIA 'Polybulk' wagons was conducted to Fowey Docks, and this Friday (30th June) saw the first loaded run from Rocks Driers at Goonbarrow. Exactly how these would have been unloaded at Fowey is not yet known, but if successful are the CDAs about to follow the 'Castle' HSTs and semaphore signals at Lostwithiel, Par and Truro into history?

 

The irony is that the JIAs are even older than the CDAs! (And look it!!)

 

Although the HSTs have had a year's extension to the end of 2024, when all significant mainline passenger workings use one type of train and both surviving Cornish freight flows use one type of wagon, my very limited interest in the current scene will evaporate. In the meantime perhaps I should make more of an effort to record this rapidly changing scene! (The signals go in November I believe.)

 

It's all so different from the late 1960s Cornish railway environment I fondly remember - Westerns, Warships, NBL Type 2s (sometimes in pairs), Brush Type 4s on the 'Clayfreighter' slurry tanks and Par Freightliner as well as passenger workings from 1967, Hymeks (rare!), 08s here and there, parcels, milk tanks, turnips in 16-ton mineral wagons (!!), general freight including coal, rakes of clay opens (there were 875 of them after all!), oil tanks to Penzance, Holman compressors on flat wagons from Camborne, Summer Saturday traffic, Peaks from the very end of 1969........oh, and DMUs, although when I'd seen all of the local ones I ignored them.

 

Now pretty much all that one sees lineside is.......DMUs. Sigh.

[Steadfast]

On 02/07/2023 at 13:14, Halvarras said:

The irony is that the JIAs are even older than the CDAs! (And look it!!)

The JIAs are newer than the CDAs, built 2001. They replaced the earlier 'Clay Tigers'.

 

Word is get the CDAs while you can.

 

Jo

[Halvarras]

11 hours ago, Steadfast said:

The JIAs are newer than the CDAs, built 2001. They replaced the earlier 'Clay Tigers'.

 

Word is get the CDAs while you can.

 

Jo

 

Just checked John Vaughan's 'Illustrated History of West Country China Clay Trains' (first published 1987) - the Traffic Services 'Polybulk' wagon shown on the wagon spread is not the same as the JIAs currently in service so I stand corrected.

 

They still look older than the CDAs though, not helped by those expansive smooth sides proving irresistible to graffiti "artists" 😕.......

[Halvarras]

Time is very nearly up for the long-time stored CDAs in St Blazey Yard - a clear sign that those in operation won't last much longer either - but there's hope that a dozen of them will live on not that far away. Scroll down through 27th July (the Western at Redruth is D1070 btw) to find the article posted on the 26th:

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/latest-input--news--old-pictures-etc

 

I must get my new phone sorted, get lineside and take some CDA pictures* sooner rather than later. As mentioned above the first one 375000 is still amongst those stored, as are 375001/2, the latter currently in full view of the yard's main gate. At this time of the year the vegetation along the road makes identifying individual wagons parked on the nearest siding difficult if not impossible but many of those stored are the earliest ones - a while back it looked like only 375004 was missing from the first 20 or so, and it may just be one of those out of sight behind buildings.

 

* Back in the days of the diesel-hydraulics this statement would have made no sense! I still remember first reading about the Japanese having mobile phones with built-in cameras, and thinking that was a bit OTT!! Now I wish I had such a thing back then.........but hey, don't we all, wherever we lived 🤔😁

[Steadfast]

Only a couple of weeks left for the CDAs if the rumours going round at work are correct. Get you photos while you can!

 

Jo

[Halvarras]

4 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Only a couple of weeks left for the CDAs if the rumours going round at work are correct. Get you photos while you can!

 

Jo

 

Oooh 'eck! End of an era looming fast (and leap-frogging over the local semaphores and 'Castle' HSTs, never saw that coming 😲!) 

I wonder what the chances are of getting all three - CDAs, semaphores and HST -  into one photo........Lostwithiel probably the best bet 🤔. I was only there 2 days ago, but not on my own (if you know what I mean......🥴)

Edited July 28, 2023 by Halvarras
Further thought....

[GWRPhil]

The only train moving in Cornwall today. The return trip of the 1030 westbury to westbury via par. Just taken at respryn bridge near Bodmin. 

 

 

 

 

[Halvarras]

On 27/07/2023 at 20:25, Steadfast said:

Only a couple of weeks left for the CDAs if the rumours going round at work are correct. Get you photos while you can!

 

Jo

 

It appears to be official - this is the last week of CDA operation in Cornwall, meaning that this coming Friday 11th August will mark the final working*. Since I believe the first working occurred on 11th February 1988 that will mean exactly 35 and a half years of faithful service. 

I intend to get some final photos myself and I'm hoping last Friday's loco, 66199 which I planned to record but something else came up, will stick around as it's still in full EWS livery!

Word of warning to anyone else intending to record the final week, the loaded train from Goonbarrow appears to be consistently departing around 30 minutes early these days (as I found out last Monday 🥴)

 

*It also marks 55 years since the end of BR steam but I concede that that event was of somewhat greater historical significance 😊!

 

[Halvarras]

Latest info received since last post is that the Rocks/Goonbarrow - Fowey CDAs will run Monday/Tuesday/Thursday with the last run from Parkandillick to Fowey on Friday (interesting, I saw 66150 pass Carlyon Bay Golf Course* one Friday afternoon two years ago on CDAs but didn't realise they were still used from that location........). I've been warned trains from there can run early too - eek! Trouble is, when one is close to the start point Realtimetrains doesn't get updated fast enough (hence Monday's missed opportunity).

No service scheduled for Wednesday then, but non-activations or cancellations are not unusual, a cancellation happened last Thursday.

 

Presumably one day soon we'll find out how the bogie JIAs are being uploaded at Fowey using discharge equipment designed for 4-wheel CDAs. However it's being achieved it's a good job that it can, as I wasn't the only one concerned that the cost of rebuilding the discharge facilities to take a different wagon type may have ended this traffic. Mind you there's a lot of china clay in 38 CDAs, the usual formation up 'til now, and moving that lot in lorries on Cornish roads would have been a total non-starter.

 

*I happened to be crossing the Merthen Farm overbridge at just the right moment, not playing golf - tried it once, definitely not my thing!

 

[Chris M]

Thanks for posting, I've got a bit of inspiration from this. When running my Devon based layout in late 1980s mode I run clayhoods east on the basis that they are being taken for scrap and almost pristine CDAs west on the grounds they are new wagons heading towards a lifetime in Cornwall. I often use William Cookworthy for these duties (yes in the Cornish livery which is not right for 1988).  Maybe that should be an entry on the cliche thread. I also have the GBRf class 50 twins that I use when running my contemporary set of stock but I haven't got a suitable scrap items train for them yet. It has just occurred to me I could maybe use the 50s to haul an eastbound train of CDAs going for scrap. The only problem with this is that my CDAs are clean ECC livery so I would need another rake to make a reasonably believable train of CDAs going for scrap today. Its still a thought though.