I was searching for images of the turntable at Exmouth junction to get an idea of the vacuum op detail & stumbled upon this conversation.
Turntables on the SR in the west of England were as far as I am aware were as follows:- ( I’m open to correction!)
Exmouth Junc 65’
Okehampton 65’? (1947?)
Plymouth Friary 50’
Ilfracombe 65’ (1946?)
Barnstaple 55’
Wadebridge 55’?
Padstow 65’ (1947?)
Bude 55’
I grew up in Plymouth & can remember seeing engines turning on the Cattewater triangle & Laira/ Mount Gould triangle circa 63/64.
Images exist of West Country’s , Woolworths etc being turned in this way.
65’ tables were necessary to accomodate the wheelbase of Bulleids Pacific’s on the routes where they frequented.
We were remember a nation recovering from war so I would imagine the push to get families to the beaches again was an immense & time & £ consuming operation, materially.
Images exist of WC’s at Bude running back to Oke tender first.
Tender first running at Wadebridge with a WC & a single coach occurred most days & was the result of engine coming off train at Padstow, stabling stock & then run back light to Wadebridge. A set of Wadebridge men took on engine & coupled to single coach worked back to Padstow. Then they worked back to Wadebridge hooked off, stabled engine, watered, coaler & fire cleaned.
In a m engine was prepped & worked down l/e to Padstow, turned & hooked onto up train.
I have seen images of tender first workings on the Plymouth Rd also when Oke table was out of action.
At Exmouth Junc when their table was down they had to use the western one at St David’s & that’s another story!
