Tebay WCML 1984

TEBAY

(All Tebay 16.4.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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One of those 'missed opportunity' sets of pictures, in my opinion anyway! I could have made more of this location, which I passed every five weeks, but this was the only time I ever bothered. These were taken on the scenic section of the West Coast Main Line which covered similar (if less rugged) ground to its neighbour, the Settle and Carlisle, which ran about twenty miles to the east. Most of the trains were loco hauled back then of course, and I'm sure if I'd sat around for a couple of hours I'd have got a lot more!

(Interestingly ten years to the day later and not that far away my son was born four months early!)

Beddington Lane 1984

BEDDINGTON LANE

(All 18.10.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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A few shots around Beddington Lane station taken on 18 October 1984. Back in 1984 this was an odd little route in south London, single track and electrified with quaint stations and running rather against the flow of commuter traffic.

It has now all been swept away and replaced by Croydon Tramlink of course.

Isle of Grain 1984

BELUNCLE

(All pics 9.5.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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A line that rarely appears in photos or on the web is the long branch to Grain. Passenger trains vanished as long ago as 1961, but the line currently sees about one train an hour carrying freight only, a mix of Freightliner and ballast trains.

Back in 1984 most freight trains were for the oil refinery at Grain, these services finishing with the closure of the refinery in 1997. It was pure luck catching this 33 hauled one at Beluncle. I'd been driving a lorry which broke down in the area and the repair garage was just along the way from the line, so whilst I was waiting for it to be repaired I thought I'd grab a few pics, within seconds the train appeared!

Appleby 1984

APPLEBY

(All 8.8.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Despite being born in Carlisle I still haven't travelled on this line! I was due to a few years ago via a Steam Dreams railtour but it was cancelled at the last moment. In fact there are still a lot of lines in the UK I've never travelled on. Perhaps I should stop going abroad so much?

But I did stumble upon Appleby station back in 1984 and managed to get these few shots, with the incredible luck that the Warcop freight was in the platform!

We've had our eyes on the Dent station cottages for a while as a potential place to stay, I'd love to spend a day or two travelling on and photographing this route, one we almost lost in the 70s and 80s!

Millbrook 1984

MILLBROOK

33 XXX

47 XXX

73 130

73 XXX

1126

6072

(All 24.5.1984 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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An hour or so at Millbrook back in 1984 produced plenty of variety with classes 33, 47 and 73 on various trains and light engine, plus some older slam door units on stopping trains. I've never been a big fan of island platforms for photography, although their reduced cost appeals to the economist in me!

More info (from Wikipedia)

Millbrook railway station is a small station in the Millbrook area of Southampton, England.

The station is served mainly by the Salisbury to Romsey stopping service. This service runs once per hour in each direction. The station is run by South West Trains. The platforms face the slow lines only, there are no platforms for the fast lines.

Millbrook Freightliner Terminal is located next to the station on the up side. A car terminal and rail access to Southampton's Western Docks can be seen from the down side of the station.

Services

• 1 train per hour (tph) to Salisbury via Romsey
• 1 tph to Romsey via Chandler's Ford
• 2 tpd to Weymouth via all stations(mon-fri only)

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Southampton Central		South West Trains		Redbridge
	Historical railways
Southampton		London & South Western Railway Andover and Redbridge railway		Redbridge

Passing trains and freight traffic

The Freightliner Terminal at Millbrook

It is popular with railway enthusiasts due to the wide array of freight and passenger trains which stop and pass through. Services into Southampton Central which pass through Millbrook include: the Weymouth - London Waterloo services normally Class 444s, the Southampton Central - Wareham services, normally Class 450s, the First Great Western Cardiff Central - Portsmouth Harbour service normally a Class 158 but often a 150, the Westbury - Southampton shorts either a 150 or 153, the SWT local service to/from Salisbury to Romsey with a Class 158 and also the CrossCountry service to/from Bournemouth to Birmingham and beyond which are operated by the Voyager fleet.

The freight traffic is also frequent as the Millbrook Freightliner Terminal is behind the station, with frequent Freightliner Class 66s hauling containers to Leeds and Cardiff. More freight services withEWS operate daily intermodal trains into the docks and also a car/van train which operates most days. Passing though the station as well are Freightliner Class 66s on intermodal or heavy haul, EWS 66s on intermodal, petroleum or engineers; Mendip Rail's Class 59s operating stone trains and GBRf's daily gypsum service into the docks. The future of the freight looks promising with EWS and Freightliner continually increasing the freight traffic into Southampton. Soon. DRS traction may also pass through, if they win the MoD contract operating out of Marchwood.

Heritage traction are also frequent visitors to the South with occasional DRS Class 37s running on Serco test trains, and in the summer seasons diesel and steam tours pass though. Steam trains include: Tangmere, Clan Line and Lord Nelson. The latest diesel traction includes Riviera Class 47s and EWS Class 37s on Pathfinder Tours.

Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	20,937
2005/06	21,122
2006/07	21,992
2007/08	29,265
2008/09	27,422
2009/10	29,936
2010/11	33,418
2011/12	31,362
2012/13	31,850
2013/14	39,340

Early days at Launceston

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(All 13.8.1984 copyright The Rail Thing/Steve Sainsbury)

Back in pre-internet, pre-digital days it could sometimes be quite hard to get information - and photos! I knew there was some sort of narrow gauge set up at Launceston, but didn't know much else. I did know it was narrow gauge rebuild on a closed SR line that used to serve Launceston in Cornwall, but not much else.

I turned up on a drab August day, there were no trains running (I was working anyway so couldn't have travelled) and the place had a run down air about it - but isn't that one of the things we used to find interesting in the rail world? I love the advertising for the 'Launceston Steam Railway' painted on the end of an old van. There was a steam loco on view and a carriage, but there was nobody about so I couldn't find out any more. 

I know the line is still there, runs trains in the summer and is looking to extend. So this was early days for a line that is now established and one I really need to go back to when I get the chance!

Further information (via Wikipedia)

The Launceston Steam Railway is a 1 ft 11 ¹⁄₂ in (597 mm) narrow gauge railway operating from the town of Launceston in Cornwall. The railway is built on the trackbed of the North Cornwall Railway to 1 ft 11 ¹⁄₂ in (597 mm) narrow gauge and runs for 2½ miles to Newmills, where there is a farm park.

History

Standard gauge railway

The first railway to reach Launceston was the Launceston and South Devon Railway, opened in 1865 from Launceston to Plymouth, and later absorbed into the Great Western Railway. In 1886 the London and South Western Railway opened its railway from Halwill Junction, extended to Padstow in stages in the 1890s, and later part of the Southern Railway. The two Launceston stations were side by side: the Great Western closed in 1962 and the Southern in 1966.

Narrow gauge revival

In 1965, trainee teacher Nigel Bowman rescued the steam locomotive "Lilian" from the Penrhyn Slate Quarry in North Wales, and restored her to working order at his home in Surrey. He then set about looking for a site to build a railway for Lilian to run on, and settled on Launceston in 1971, after considering a stretch of trackbed from Guildford to Horsham and the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. Purchase of the trackbed took several years, and the first ½ mile of track opened on Boxing Day 1983. The railway was extended progressively, the latest opening to Newmills in 1995 bringing the line to its current 2½ mile length.

[hide] [ v t e   ] Launceston Steam Railway
Legend North Cornwall Railway to Halwill Junction Launceston Mill leat River Kensey Farm Crossing Hunt's Crossing Farm Crossing Canna Park Newmills North Cornwall Railway to Padstow

Route

The LSR starts at a new station just west of the original LSWR station, which is now an industrial estate. Launceston station is the main station on the railway, and the sheds and engineering facilities are located here. The line runs from the station through a cutting, passing under a road bridge and aqueduct carrying a mill leat, before crossing the River Kensey on a two-arch viaduct. The line is now on an embankment and crosses a bridge over a farm track before arriving at Hunt's Crossing, where it is planned to lay a passing loop. After Hunt's Crossing the line crosses two farm crossings and then reaches Canna Park which was the temporary terminus before the extension to Newmills. From Canna Park there is a fairly short run to Newmills, the terminus. Adjacent to the Newmills station is the Newmills Farm Park.

Locomotives

All public train services are operated by the steam locomotives, whilst the internal combustion locomotives are used for maintenance work.

Locomotives

All public train services are operated by the steam locomotives, whilst the internal combustion locomotives are used for maintenance work.

Steam locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Works Number	Built	Origin	Notes
	Lilian	Hunslet	0-4-0 ST	317	1883	Penrhyn Quarry	New boiler fitted in 1993 and tender added in 2008
	Covertcoat	Hunslet	0-4-0 ST	679	1898	Dinorwic Quarry	Cab and tender added at Launceston
	Velinheli	Hunslet	0-4-0 ST	409	1886	Dinorwic Quarry	Privately owned by James Evans, ex. Inny Valley Railway.
	Dorothea	Hunslet	0-4-0 ST	763	1901	Dorothea slate quarry	Restored over 22 years by Kay Bowman, first steamed in November 2011 and entered passenger service in 2012.
89	Perseverance	C. Parmenter	4wVBT		2004		Constructed on a Hudson chassis

Internal Combustion and Battery Electric[edit]

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Works Number	Built	Origin	Notes
38		English Electric	2w-2-2-2wRE	761	1930	Post Office Railway	On display in the museum
42		English Electric	2w-2-2-2wRE		1930	Post Office Railway	To be rebuilt as railcar power bogie
		Motor Rail	4wDM	5646	1933	Grove Heath, Ripley, Surrey
		N. Bowman	4wBER		1986		Inspection trolley
		Launceston SR	4wDER		2004		Inspection trolley

Launceston Steam Railway website