Dan Griffin Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 now, at work theres this guy who is a hydraulic nutcase. me and him have been having a discussion about hymek workings. what i would like to know is did one ever work clay hoods in devon or cornwall?? he has said 'never'! but i think anything is possible has anyone out there got any pictures of such workings? ive done an extensive book and internet search but no avail. cheers, dan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cary hill Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 what i would like to know is did one ever work clay hoods in devon or cornwall?? he has said 'never'! but i think anything is possible has anyone out there got any pictures of such workings? ive done an extensive book and internet search but no avail. cheers, dan. I'll give this a "bump" as I would be interested in seeing or hearing of any photographic evidence of Hymeks on china clay workings. As far as I know Hymeks operating West of the Tamar were comparitively rare, except perhaps during the period when a small number were allocated to Laira and Newton Abbot. John Vaughan, an expert author on the area and china clay workings, claims in one of his books to have seen only one picture of a Hymek at Penzance in 40 years of viewing photographs of trains in Cornwall. This suggests to me that, although Hymeks worked "regularly" into Cornwall, they must have been either camera-shy or just missed by railway photographers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterbournecm Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hymeks were exceptionally rare due to train crew issues mainly. There were visits to Penzance during a strike in 1973, I remember from a Traction article, and St Blazey open day featured one. My dad who was a hairdresser in Hayle with a view of viaduct 1966 to recent times never saw one. The hymeks died out in 1975 and the hoods only came in around that time so clay hoods are unlikely to have been Hymek hauled. They may well have worked clay flats on the Severn Tunnel freight, Heathfield or Marsh Mills though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The 'tented' clay hoods first started to appear in 1974 but as Hymeks were getting thin on the ground by then, and even rarer anywhere west of Exeter, it's very unlikely that any appeared hauling these wagons.... unless of course someone has photographic proof! In theory,it's possible that a Hymek could have worked ball clays on the Torrington branch if one had been spare on Exeter shed, but the wagons used on this service didn't have the tented hoods, they usually had the flat variety. Possible... but unlikely, as 25s and 31s were more the usual fare on the branch in later days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Not a Hymek but fairly unusual traction....... 50043 (?) at Ivybridge on a Fowey - Heathfield train in July 1985. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold bcnPete Posted March 14, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 14, 2012 In all my books on Cornwall/China clay, I have yet to see a Hymek on clays - mostly 22's, 25's, 37's etc. That's a great shot of the 50 on the hoods though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 50043 (?) at Ivybridge on a Fowey - Heathfield train in July 1985. Possibly rare on the hoods maybe, but 50s fairly regularly worked up to Bescot and back on the St Blazey-Cliffe Vale clayliner formed of flat sheeted vaccys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted March 14, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 14, 2012 I remember finding 1 picture of a Hymek between Barnstaple and Torrington on Ken Baker's Fotopic site. Unfortunately that disappeared when Fotopic went west & I don't think the site has been revivied anywhere I think it was just a light engine movement so not even proof of clay train movement.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennine MC Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I remember finding 1 picture of a Hymek between Barnstaple and Torrington on Ken Baker's Fotopic site. Unfortunately that disappeared when Fotopic went west & I don't think the site has been revivied anywhere I think it was just a light engine movement so not even proof of clay train movement.... I know the pic Rich, a cracker, at Fremington Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 There is a picture of clayhoods at Instow in 'In the tracks of the ACE', by Jeffery Grayer, Noodle Books 2008 in 'the early 1970s', hauled by a 25. So we have a Hymek in North Devon, clayhoods in North Devon, all we need to do now is..... cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2012 You're right Kenny, clay hoods in North Devon aren't unknown, I've already noted this picture (on "cyberheritage" by Dave Vinsen) of a 31 with a train including hoods at Eggesford - which will have come from Meeth. So the ingredients are there even if we can't prove they came together.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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