CORNISH CIRCULAR – LOSTWITHIEL TO ST BLAZEY
November 2020 | £4.80
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INTER-REGIONAL TRAINS OF KENT AND SUSSEX CINOLFOUULLR
NOVEMBER 2020 £4.80
PLUS THE 1948 LOCOMOTIVE EXCHANGES THE EXPRESS CLASSES
HEST BANK – WEST COAST BY THE BAY
PETERHEAD HARBOUR OF REFUGE RAILWAY
No 375
November 2020
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Offering cross-platform interchange, an up main line train and a down Newquay service occupy the flanks of the island platform at Par in June 1960. A junction at the London end of the station offers a direct line onto the Newquay route, allowing through workings, but in this instance it is Collett ‘4575’ class 2-6-2T No 5557 at the head of a three-coach Par to Newquay local service. The pictured ‘Small Prairie’ had been transferred to the nearby St Blazey shed in the four weeks to 8 October 1955. Keith Pirt, courtesy Book Law Publications EDITORIAL & DESIGN Rex Kennedy, Andrew Kennedy, Andrew Wilson, Roger Smith and Ian Kennedy 64 Littledown Drive, Bournemouth BH7 7AH 01202 304849 red.gauntlett@gmail.com ADVERTISING Craig Amess 01507 529537 camess@mortons.co.uk Fiona Leak 01507 529573 fleak@mortons.co.uk Group advertising manager: Sue Keily skeily@mortons.co.uk Publisher: Tim Hartley Publishing director: Dan Savage
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Trains of thought
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Hest Bank: Where the West Coast main line meets the sea Situated on Morecambe Bay just three miles north of Lancaster, Barry C Lane recalls happy visits to this station.
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‘Black Five’ No 45025 comes off the troughs just north of Hest Bank station with the 09.58 Wigan to Barrow parcels train on 27 July 1968. Les Nixon
11 Lostwithiel to St Blazey and back: A branch and main line ‘circular’ Stanley C Jenkins MA provides an account of the trip from Lostwithiel that traversed the branch lines of Fowey and the southern section of the Newquay line, returning from St Blazey station via Par. 26 Steam Days subscriptions www.steamdaysmag.co.uk
TRAINS of thought
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28 STEAM DAYS in Colour 191: Inter-regional trains to and from Kent and Sussex BR revived long-distance cross-country passenger trains as inter-regional duties in 1949. The core routes to the Eastern and Central districts of the Southern Region being through Reading and Kensington Olympia. 39
The 1948 Locomotive Exchanges – The express classes A process of evaluation through ten weeks across four regions, Andrew Wilson examines the tests and outcome of the five passenger designs used in the 1948 exchanges.
54 The Peterhead Harbour of Refuge Railway Keith Jones reveals the railway story behind the construction of a Harbour of Refuge, a project that included the use of hard labour at a prison yard and quarry and a passenger service for convicts. 66
Tail Lamp – readers’ letters
Next month... Wigan’s LMS lines 1948 Locomotive Exchanges – Mixed-traffic engines Life as an Eastleigh Works apprentice Moving the goods – All change in Scotland Great Western engine sheds in in full colour On sale Thursday, 19 November 2020 NOVEMBER 2020
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his issue of Steam Days sees us enter a new and exciting era, as from now on our magazine will by published by Mortons Media Group Ltd, who already publish three excellent railway magazines – Railway Magazine, Heritage Railways and Rail Express. Railway Magazine has a long history of covering the general railway scene, as it was first published in 1897, Heritage Railways covers current preservation operations, and Rail Express takes a look at the modern day scene, so Steam Days will fill the historical slot covering the steam era from its early days through to 1968, with lots of nostalgia and photographs for those who remember those days, and much for those wanting to know more about such times. My knowledgeable team of my two sons, Ian and Andrew, Roger Smith and Andrew Wilson will continue to compile and produce each issue of Steam Days and we aim to continue to include the diversity of features as we have regularly done in the past. For those wishing to purchase back issues of Steam Days they should refer to pages 26/27 of this issue. In past issues in Trains of Thought I have generally made a connection with articles within each issue of the magazine with my own experiences, having been a railway enthusiast since 1942 at the age of eight. Now some 78 years later I have never lost that enthusiasm for the railway scene. One particular thing that comes to mind is the long-lasting friendships among fellow enthusiasts that we travelled around Great Britain with, visiting locomotive depots, spending time by the lineside, going on rail tours together, and standing with groups of others on station platforms such as the London termini, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manchester (London Road), Cardiff, Exeter, and the three stations in Birmingham, or in lineside fields with crowds of other enthusiasts, such as at Tamworth where the Midland main line from Derby to Bristol passed over the West Coast main line, with trains seen virtually every three minutes – happy days. Although we are now getting older, I am still regularly in touch with friends from those days, exchanging memories and recalling amusing incidents, including the occasions when we were thrown out of engine sheds as we did not have a permit! Many took the photographs that now give us so much pleasure in each issue of Steam Days, but sadly, with steam on British Railways ending in August 1968, some of those well-known photographers are no longer with us. I can recall particular weekends with enthusiast friends, when on I drove over 600 miles a day over a weekend in my Morris 1000 Traveller, and once over 800 miles in a 23-hour day. I will never forget those happy times as a member of the Worcester Locomotive Society with coach trips to a huge number of engine sheds in a day – all with fellow enthusiasts that will be friends for life. Enjoy your read and recollecting your own days with friends chasing steam.
Cover: Decked out with a traditional GWR headcode frame, a Churchward ‘4300’ Mogul has relieved an incoming Southern engine during Redhill reversal. Here it breasts the summit at Crowthorne with the 12.20pm Hastings to Birmingham (Snow Hill) service in 1962/63. Seen about ten miles from Western Region territory, the Reading Spur Junction to New Junction link provides the path into Reading (General). K W Wightman
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