2. Penzance to Plymouth-21.06.17

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2017 > 39. Trip to Cornwall & Devon-20-23.06.17 > 2. Penzance to Plymouth-21.06.17

After an early morning arrival into a sunbathed Penzance on the sleeper, Andy and I hired our natty little Fiat 500 and set off on our tour of Cornish stations. We actually managed to visit all but two of them having to miss out Gunnislake and Calstock, being forced to do them next day. The weather stayed gloriously hot and sunny all day. I managed to do all the remaining signalboxes except for Goonbarrow Junction that proved impossible to get to! We both got some lovely photographs on this hot and sunny day that was the summer equinox. Even the evening was not immune from trains, after our curry in Plymouth we had half an hour or so at the station doing time exposures!

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Images 1-41 of 41 displayed.

57602, GW 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper (1C99, 2E), Royal Albert Bridge
I was awoken from my slumber as we paused at Plymouth station. This was the longest day and a glorious morning so I decided to enjoy the journey through Cornwall from the comfort of the day coach whilst appreciating some complimentary refreshments! 57602 'Restormel Castle' leads the train as we cross from Devon into Cornwall over the Royal Albert Bridge.
Keywords: 57602 Sleeper 1C99 Royal Albert Bridge

23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper (1C99, 2E), Royal Albert Bridge
After crossing the Royal Albert Bridge I turned the camera back towards Devon. I love the lighting in this particular shot. The absolutely still water of the River Tamar reflects Brunel's impressive 2000 foot long structure that was opened in 1859 really clearly. Some fifteen hours later Andy were back at Saltash station having visited all the Cornish stations bar two! I took a very similar image when I last crossed this amazing structure back in 2015 on an HST and tool a very similar photograph, see...... https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/29042983604/x43133-10-06-london-paddington-penzance
Keywords: 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper 1C99 Royal Albert Bridge

Par signal box (GW, c.1879) & station
A deserted Par station taken from the train as we paused our journey. It shows the signal box situated on the platform end. The box is actually double the length from when it was originally constructed and opened in about 1879. It is built to the Great Western's first standardised design that utilised a hipped roof arrangement. The line off to the right controlled by the small bracket is the Newquay branch.
Keywords: Par signal box station

From 1st class coach, GW 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper (1C99, 2E), St Austell station
As our train paused at St. Austell station I took this picture from the comfort of the First Class day coach whilst enjoying a breakfast courtesy of Great Western Railways. The buildings and footbridge that remain at St. Austell station, opened in 1859, are grade II listed. The buildings seen in this image is all that remains of that original structure as the down side buildings were demolished in 1999.
Keywords: 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper 1C99 St Austell station

153382 & 153361, GW 06.37 Falmouth Docks-Truro (2T65, RT), Truro station
A busy early morning scene at Truro station as the 06.37 from Falmouth Docks sits in platform one composed of 153382 and 153361. As it turned out later, this would be the only access that we were afforded to St. Austell station. On visiting later in the day, staff would not allow us access through he gate line as the station was 'too busy'. This was later taken up with GWR and an apology was received for their actions.
Keywords: 153382 153361 2T65 Truro station

Andy, on-board the 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper
My travelling companion, Andy, sits in the first class day coach enjoying his GWR breakfast coffee whilst travelling through the glorious Cornwall countryside.
Keywords: Andy on-board the 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance Sleeper

Cabin, 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance sleeper
The first class cabin on the Night Riviera was spacious and well equipped. I had a smashing night's sleep! Notice my trusty ladder to the right. This has accompanied me on many trips and has proved useful for peering over walls and fences to get 'that shot'!
Keywords: Cabin 23.45 London Paddington-Penzance sleeper

Class 150, 07.59 St. Erth-St.Ives (2A05, RT), St
On arrival at St. Erth station an unidentified class 150 is seen waiting in the bay platform This 150 connects with the Sleeper, that we are on, and will then work the 2A05 07.59 to St. Ives.
Keywords: Class 150, 07.59 St. Erth-St.Ives 2A05 St. Erth station

57602, 08.22 Penzance-Penzance MPD ECS (5C99), Penzance station
Having arrived at Penzance, the Night Riviera Sleeper has been emptied of its passengers and is now waiting to be towed the short distance to Penzance MPD at Long Rock to be cleaned and serviced before working back to London the coming night. 57602 'Restormel Castle' did a good job the previous night working down from Paddington arriving two minutes early into a gloriously sunny Penzance!
Keywords: 57602 08.22 Penzance-Penzance MPD ECS 5C99 Penzance station

57602, 08.22 Penzance-Penzance MPD ECS (5C99) & 150106, GW 08.57 Penzance-St.Ives (2A07, RT), Penzance station
Under the lovely train shed at Penzance, 57602 is waiting to be towed out to the MPD for the Sleeper that is hauled from Paddington to be serviced. Meanwhile, 150106 waits to work the 08.57 to St. Ives. The station was opened in 1852 by the West Cornwall Railway and is 327 miles from Paddington.
Keywords: 57602 08.22 Penzance-Penzance MPD ECS 5C99 150106 2A07 Penzance station

Penzance signal box (GW, 1938)
Penzance signal box stands just east of the station facing the glorious Mounts Bay; what a place to be a signalman! This is the second box at Penzance, this one, a 1938 GWR Type 12B replaced an earlier structure. In recent years it has undergone a full refurbishment in some part to make it a little more weather-proof. In winter, when a storm is blowing in off the Atlantic, it would somewhat different to a mid summer's day as shown here!
Keywords: Penzance signal box GW 1938

43030, GW 08.44 Penzance-London Paddington (1A81, 27L), Penzance station
43030 'Christian Lewis Trust' leads the 1A81 08.44 Penzance to London Paddington HST working waiting to leave the Cornish town. 43030 was an early Western Region power car that was part of 253015 that must have done this amazing journey thousands of times in its forty year career.
Keywords: 43030 1A81 Penzance station

221134, XC 09.35 Penzance-Manchester Piccadilly (1M49, RT), Penzance station
221134 basks in the sun at Penzance station. It is going to work the 09.35 to Manchester Piccadilly. Not so long ago, this train would have been formed of a set of comfortable coaching stock with a locomotive up front. I am not sure that a class 221 is an improvement upon this, maybe cost wise for the TOC it works but, for the passenger?
Keywords: 221134 1M49 Penzance station

150121 & 150106 GW 08.57 Penzance-St.Ives (2A07, RT), Carbis Bay
We saw this train at Penzance earlier. Whilst we took the more direct route to St. Ives and Carbis bay via roads, the train left later and took the more roundabout route via St. Erth. Here, 150121 & 150106 slow for the stop at Carbis Bay working the 08.57 Penzance to St. Ives service.
Keywords: 150121 150106 2A07 Carbis Bay

150106 & 150121 GW 08.57 Penzance-St. Ives (2A07, RT), Carbis Bay station
With a fair number of passengers waiting at Carbis Bay station to make the short journey to St. Ives, the 08.57 from Penzance comes to a halt. The units are still wearing their FGW livery are 150106 and 150121. It is likely that these units will be leaving the West Country soon as new units are cascaded in with the 150s moving north.
Keywords: 150106 150121 2A07 Carbis Bay station

St
The western end of St. Erth station with its down starter semaphores controlled by the signal box at the eastern end. The station retains much of it character and is well maintained. It is served by mainline trains to and from Penzance and also local services to and from St. Ives that either terminate on one of the two remaining bay platforms or work forward to Penzance. Since the creamery closed, that was located very close to the front of the station, in 1980, freight is pretty rare now.
Keywords: St.Erth up starter signals

43020, GW 10.20 Penzance-London Paddington (1A83, 24L), Camborne station
The dispatcher watches 43020 'MTU Power, Passion, Partnership' bring up the rear of the 10.20 Penzance to Paddington 1A38 service as it leaves Camborne station. This train shows the typical pick and mix arrangement of the HSTs whereby a repainted green set of stock has a older liveried FGW power car spoiling the effect. However, from a photographic point of view, I prefer the indigo neon blue colour of the power car to the green of the stock.
Keywords: 43020 1A83 Camborne station

Roskear Junction signal box (GWR, c.1895)
Roskear Junction signal box, complete with a cast plate (possibly a reproduction?), stands in the morning summer sun. The box is situated in Camborne a short distance from the station at a level crossing. The box has the later shallower roof design and was constructed in about 1895.
Keywords: Roskear Junction signal box

Roskear Junction signal box (GWR, c.1895)
The rear of Roskear Junction signal box in the Cornish town of Camborne. The box is situated at a level crossing just west of the point where the short brach to the Roskear mines diverged to the north of the line. This branch was shortened when the mines closed and continued to serve the Holmans boiler factory with the remaining stub finally shut by BR in 1987.
Keywords: Roskear Junction signal box

Frontage, Truro Station
This is a shot I am replicating from my previous visit to Truro in 1984. Then, the taxi waiting outside was a Renault 11 rather than a Toyota Prius, apart from that, the scene is essentially the same. The station shown here was rebuilt in 1897 replacing the previous one built during the broad gauge era and one that had an overall roof. Since 2011, Truro has the unfortunate accolade as being the only Cornish station to have a gate line with barriers, and boy, didn't the staff run it by the book! We were not allowed on the platform even after several polite attempts at asking. We were told that the station was too busy and it was a H & S issue; poppycock! I gave up in disgust but Andy did gain access after the supervisor disappeared and a more understanding member of staff relented. I raised this with Great Western Railway (along with two other issues encountered on our trip) on our return and they issued an apology and a travel voucher.
Keywords: Frontage Truro Station

Truro signal box (GW, 1889)
The cast plate on Truro signal box only dates from 1971 as prior to this it was named Truro East box. It's counterpart, Truro West was abolished leaving this box in control of all signalling in the Truro area. It's a Great Western Type 7A box that was opened in 1889. As well as signalling it also controls the level crossing in the foreground and the Falmouth Branch whereby trains operate under authority from tokens which are kept in interlocked machines on platform three and at Falmouth Docks station. This method of operation has been complicated in recent years following the opening of a passing loop at Penryn.
Keywords: Truro signal box

153361 & 153382, GW 12.20 Truro-Falmouth Docks (2F77, RT), Truro station
153361 and 153382 wait in the bay platform five at Truro station ready to work the 12.20 to Falmouth Docks. This eleven mile branch is busy with a regular return service throughout the day. Falmouth is famous for it docks and MOD presence but also Pendennis Castle that gave its name to the GWR 1924 built 4-6-0 number 4079.
Keywords: 153361 153382 2F77 Truro station

153382 & 153361, GW 12.20 Truro-Falmouth Docks (2F77, RT), Truro
153382 and 153361 pass the quartet of lower quadrant signals at the western end of Truro station departing with the 12.20 to Falmouth Docks. As can be seen, it was high summer (the longest day) and the sun was very bright creating problems with the camera due to its very bright and overhead position; not an ideal time to take photographs!
Keywords: 153382 153361 2F77 Truro

43162, GW 07.06 London Paddington-Penzance (1C73, 38L), Truro station
Sighting at Truro is tricky so the driver of the HST has had to leave his seat and is seen peering back down his train looking for the RA from the station dispatchers. The power car is 43162 and the working is the late running 07.06 Paddington to Penzance.
Keywords: 43162 1C73 Truro station

43139, GW 07.06 London Paddington-Penzance (1C73, 38L), Truro
43139 'Driver Stan Martin 25 June 1950 - 6 November 2004' brings up the rear of the late running 07.06 Paddington to Penzance. It is seen leaving Truro station past the quartet of semaphores that are all controlled from the signal box at the eastern end of the station. This power car that was, initially, part of set 253035 was named in commemoration of Driver Stan martin who lost his life after his train collided with a stationary car at Ufton Nervet level crossing in 2002.
Keywords: 43139 1C73 Truro

St. Austell signal box (Closed) (GW, 1906)
The former St. Austell signal box is a Great Western type 7C design that was opened in 1906. Up until when it closed in 1980, there was also a level crossing immediately beyond the box where the footbridge is constructed. This was provided for pedestrians to continue to cross the line at this point. Considering that it has been out of use for nearly thirty years, it is not in a too bad a condition!
Keywords: St. Austell signal box

St. Austell signal box (Closed) (GW, 1906)
There are plans afoot to renovate and put the old St. Austell signal box and to put it to new use. Since it closed in 1980 it has seen little use and is in need of some love, care and attention. A local historical society has plans to turn it into a museum with negotiations currently ongoing with Network Rail. I last visited this location some twenty-six years previously and took a photograph from an identical angle with very little having changed in the intervening period.
Keywords: St. Austell signal box

Par signal box (GW, c1879)
Par signal box sits at the end of the platform at the station. It was doubled in length in 1893 and a new frame installed. It controls an extensive are of the Great Western mainline as far as Truro to the west and Lostwithial to the east. It also controls access to the Newuqay branch that can bee seen curving off to the right in this picture. It is a listed building so it should live on after re-signalling renders it redundant.
Keywords: Par signal box

St. Blazey Junction signal box (GW, 1908)
This is the closest that I could get to St. Blazey Junction signal box. Up until rampant tree growth a picture could be taken from the path by the side of the stream directly in front of the box. Built in 1908 by the Great Western, it is a type 7d box that looks to be in good condition. It controls the sidings in the area as well as access to the old depot area. It also retains its block instruments for trains heading to Newquay as far as Goonbarrow, a winding and slow five miles away. The platform of the former St. Blazey station that closed very early in 1925 can just be seen behind the box.
Keywords: St. Blazey Junction signal box

Lostwithiel Crossing signal box (GW, 1893)
Lostwithiel Crossing signal box looks absolutely stunning in the afternoon summer sun. Despite it having had some sympathetic modernisation it still retains much of it original looks. It still has its shallow-pitched roof with barge-boards and spear-point finials to the gable ends. Lostwithiel box is thought to be the earliest surviving Great Western type 5 box on the network dating from 1893. Along with a number of other boxes in Cornwall, it is grade II listed so a future is secure after closure.
Keywords: Lostwithiel Crossing signal box

Up starter, Lostwithiel station
Against a brilliant mid-summer's day sky, the up starter signal at Lostwithiel (LL5) sits proudly waiting to be pulled off in order to allow the next train to pass eastwards. This starter is at the end of Lostwithiel station platform with the level crossing immediately beyond.
Keywords: Up starter signal Lostwithiel station

150247 & 150102, GW 15.57 Plymouth-Penzance (2C48, 2E), Bodmin Parkway station
The all-stations 15.57 Plymouth to Penzance working pauses at Bodmin Parkway station in the afternoon sun. The train is composed or 150247 and 150102. Under the HST cascade plans for 2018, it is likely that these somewhat inadequate units will go elsewhere and that these services will be handled by short-set HSTs that have become available due to the introduction of the IET class 800s.
Keywords: 150247 150102 2C48 Bodmin Parkway station

Liskeard signal box (GW, 1915)
Unfortunately Liskeard signal box sits in the shade making a photograph tricky, but, appropriate use of Photoshop levels has produced a presentable shot. The box is a timber constructed type 27c dating from 1915. It oversees and controls a very complicated arrangement that links the Moorswater freight and Looe passenger branches to the mainline.
Keywords: Liskeard signal box

Centre pivot up starter & shunting signal, Liskeard station
The unusual 'gallows' type of signal bracket on the up platform at Liskeard station. It is not only underslung, for improved sighting, but also has a centre pivot wooden arm due to clearance issues. Just look at the engineering in this signal, all working exactly as it was designed to do many years ago!
Keywords: Centre pivot up starter gallows bracket shunting signal Liskeard station

153333, GW 17.15 Looe-Liskeard (2L90, RT), St
The delightfully named St. Keyne Wishing Well Halt is a tiny station on the scenic Looe branch, the second station out from Liskeard. It is one of only two stations in the country that Network Rail designate as a halt, the other one being the next station , Coombe Halt. In this picture, 153333 has been requested to stop by a passenger wishing to alight as it works the 17.17 Looe to Liskeard The next station is the afore mentioned Coombe where it will reverse and climb the steeply graded section to Liskeard to complete its journey.
Keywords: 153333 2L90 St. Keyne Wishing Well Halt

43189, GW 14.07 London Paddington-Penzance (1C84, 43L), St
43189 'Railway Heritage Trust' arrives very late into St. Germans station with the 1C84 14.07 Paddington to Penzance. The train is too long for the platform at St. Germans and so passengers have to move forward to alight. The other feature of St. Germans is the rather attractive looking camping coaches situated adjacent to the station. These can be rented for holidays throughout the year, I have yet to persuade the wife but I am working on it!
Keywords: 43189 1C84 St. Germans station

153361 & 153325, stabled, Plymouth station
In the virtual darkness at Plymouth station 153361 and 153325 await their next turn of duty the following morning sitting in platform three.
Keywords: 15336 153325 Plymouth station

150247, stabled, Plymouth station
150247 sits in one of Plymouth's centre roads awaiting its next turn of duty. It was nearly 10PM by now but as it was the longest day there was still a fair bit of light in the sky.
Keywords: 150247 Plymouth station

153325 & 153361, stabled, Plymouth station
With the 1960s brutalist Intercity House dominating the scene, 150325 and 150361 sit in one of Plymouth's bay platforms awaiting their first service next morning.
Keywords: 153325 15336 Plymouth station

150247, stabled & 220028, XC 11.00 Glasgow Central-Penzance (1V62, 69L), Plymouth station
Any passengers still aboard Cross Country's 11.00 Glasgow Central to Penzance should have already arrived at their destination! Here at Plymouth, 220028 is over an hour late and there will be passengers busy filling in their delay-repay forms! There were numerous problems with all trains heading west on this day caused, largely, by the break in the extremely hot weather that culminated in torrential rain and thunderstorms. Behind the Voyager, 150247 sits stabled ready for work next day.
Keywords: 150247 220028 1V62 Plymouth station

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