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Last Days of Steam in Plymouth and Cornwall
Last Days Of Steam In Plymouth And Cornwall By Maurice Dart SIGNED
Hardbound With Dustjacket
Copyright 1990
136 Pages
INTRODUCTION
Journeying westwards by either Great Western Railway or Southern Railway routes one was never afraid of being caught asleep at Plymouth, as on the GWR route the descent of Hemerdon bank, with brake applications after the mid point, and on the SR route the downhill curving run from Shillamill tunnel, with the rumble and vibration when crossing the Tavy viaduct, were sure to make one stir from deepest slumbers. Hemerdon is still with us, although less dramatic, and the SR route is reduced to branch line status from Bere Alston only. This, to me, typifies the entry to the area covered by this book.
Plymouth's suburban services and branch lines have all but disappeared with station and route closures; the 'Saltash Motors' are a memory of the past. No longer do double-headed express trains slog up Hemerdon, and on the SR the memory of 'The Brighton' is becoming dim. The magic of the roundhouse at Laira has past, although there is a diesel maintenance depot there, and perhaps the ghost of a B4 tank haunts the warehouse on the site of Friary shed.
Once past Laira the banks become frequent, and called for a special breed of footplate crew to handle the engines with heavy trains, braking on the downgrades and standing starts to the climbs, such as out of Par on the main line west. The GW Cornish main line abounds in sharp curves in addition to heavy gradients, and the branch lines presented even more fearsome problems with gradients of 1:40 commonplace. Many branches have been closed, together with some main-line stations. The SR route passed through more isolated districts with, in some cases, the station and village or town being a considerable distance apart. The sparse service on the fingers of the Withered Arm fell victim to Beeching's ruthless pruning, although small portions are coming to life again at Launceston and possibly in the distant future even Wenford. A small section in Cornwall, from Calstock to Gunnislake, retains a passenger service.
The Southern was virtually annihilated overnight in Cornwall, and again the magic of the Beattie Well tanks at Wadebridge, a T9 on the turntable at Padstow and Ns and T9s simmering away at Bude are but memories.
Examples of many of the loco types which worked the area have been preserved, but sadly no 'Grange' was saved. These, together with 'Halls' and 'Moguls', were the workhorses of the GWR main line to Penzance. Apparently it was quite an experience to hit the curve leading onto Moorswater viaduct on an 'Up' train on the footplate of a 'Mogul'! Another nightmare for footplate crews was Pinnock tunnel - 1173 yds long and full of bends on a 1:50 incline against the load - referred to by St Blazey drivers as 'The nearest place to hell you could get in Cornwall'.
By 1958 the diesels had started to appear on the main line and branches, and steam began to disappear. Working conditions on the diesel locos, HSTs and DMUs are better and less arduous than on steam locos with, for example, no more cab tarpaulins. What was fun, exhilaration and manna to the railway enthusiast was hard graft for the railwaymen.
Even though large tracts of Cornwall are now without a railway, that which survives presents a better, faster service than years ago, and further improvements with a route diversion are to come. In the Plymouth area the line between Bere Alston and Tavistock and possibly even to Meldon may re-open, to give a diversionary route for use when weather problems are encountered in the Dawlish area.
This book depicts the days when steam reigned supreme in this area and all routes and branch lines were operating, together with a few industrial lines. I hope it awakens fond memories.
Maurice Dart
This unique collection of over two hundred photographs of the railway scene in Plymouth and Cornwall provides a fascinating record of the heyday and the last days of steam in the region.
The period between 1948 and 1964 witnessed many changes in the railways serving the West Country. The ex-GWR lines in Cornwall saw their first main-line diesel on 21 April 1958, with steam disappearing by late 1963. Steam survived on the ex-SR lines in the county for a further year, but the withdrawal of passenger services and later the complete closure of many routes left vast areas, particularly in the North, without rail links. On the ex-GWR route at Plymouth steam had largely disappeared by late 1963 but survived on the ex-SR route until the end of 1964.
The magic and wonder of the days of steam is present in this book as Maurice Dart brings the era alive through his illuminating tour of the area. Fond memories will be awoken of the 'Grange' in Cornwall, Pannier tanks around St Blazey, 'Beattie Well' tanks at Wadebridge, 'The Ace' on the SR, as well as 45s, 64s, B4s, M7s, 02s, and some industrial locos, to name but a few.
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