Devon Transition from Steam Preview

Devon Transition from Steam

Compiled by Andrew Fox

Images from the Transport Treasury Archive

Devon Transition from Steam

Compiled by Andrew Fox

The Western Region Main Line

Opposite Top: Carrying mixed traffic lined black livery, No 4955 Plaspower Hall, allocated to Exeter shed, bustles its sevencoach train past Britannia Crossing beside the River Dart on Sunday 19 May 1957, a few minutes after departing Kingswear. Ahead lies the challenging climb at 1 in 66 through the woods to Greenway Tunnel, a gentler 1 in 100 through the tunnel, followed by a short distance at 1 in 75, then easing off before reaching Churston, junction for the Brixham branch. The first coach in the train is a post-war Hawksworth corridor third, whilst the third vehicle is a brake third from the 9ft 7in wide ‘Centenary stock’ built for the relaunched ‘Cornish Riviera Limited’ in 1935. Having entered service in August 1929, No 4955 would achieve a working life of 34 years before being withdrawn from Pontypool Road shed on 21 October 1963.

Peter Gray PG1038

Opposite Bottom: The down ‘Cornish Riviera Express’ behind ‘King’ class No 6003 King George IV is seen departing Newton Abbot at 2.15pm on Saturday 18 February 1956. No 6003 is still running with a single chimney; it would not be fitted with a double blastpipe and chimney until July 1958, fewer than four years before it was withdrawn, in June 1962. The newlybuilt No 6003 was involved in an incident at Midgham on 10 August 1927, when its bogie derailed at speed, leading to the redesign of bogie springing arrangements for the ‘Kings’. Peter Gray PG0751

Below: Photographed from Langford’s Bridge at 7.15pm on the evening of Thursday 30 May 1957, ‘Castle’ class No 4082 Windsor Castle pulls away from Aller Junction and starts the climb to Dainton with the 3.30pm Paddington - Penzance. No 4082 is in fact not quite what it seems, having originally entered service on 2 July 1948 as No 7013 Bristol Castle. The original No 4082 Windsor Castle was for many years the GWR’s designated Royal engine, but unfortunately, when King George VI died suddenly in February 1952, No 4082 was in Swindon works. To maintain the tradition of Windsor Castle operating Royal duties, No 4082 exchanged its name and number with No 7013 Bristol Castle, with the new Windsor Castle hauling the funeral train. The two locomotives would retain their exchanged identities until withdrawal. Peter Gray PG1047

‘4575’ class No 5541 of Laira stands at Tavistock South with a train for Plymouth on Tuesday 2 May 1961. No 5541 entered traffic in August 1928, and was taken out of service 10 July 1962, a little less than six months before the PlymouthTavistock - Launceston line closed. After many years based at Machynlleth, No 5541 had moved to Laira in January 1960 and was a regular on the Launceston line. Services on the line remained steam-hauled until the end, and were never turned over to diesel multiple-units. Following withdrawal, No 5541 would be another locomotive to find its way to Woodham’s scrapyard at Barry, from where it would be purchased for preservation in 1972. R.C.

Riley RCR15715

Station Closures

A number of stations on the South Devon main line would lose their passenger services several years before the ‘Beeching Report’ saw the light of day. Notable early casualties were several stations between Brent and Plymouth. Wrangaton, Bittaford, Ivybridge, Cornwood and Plympton all closed to passengers from 2 March 1959, although Wrangaton, Ivybridge and Plympton would retain goods services into the 1960s. To the east of Exeter, Stoke Canon would close on 13 June 1960.

In an understandable piece of rationalisation, Barnstaple Victoria Road, the terminus of the former GWR line from Taunton, closed to passenger traffic in June 1960, with trains subsequently running through to Barnstaple Junction, the former Southern Railway station.

The Southern Lines

The Turnchapel branch

Although the Southern lines generally escaped major closures in the 1950s, the branch from Plymouth Friary station to Turnchapel was an early casualty. Already in 1947, the Western Morning News newspaper had highlighted the decline in use of the line, and questioned its future. Competition from bus services, and the growth in private car ownership, led to a severe slump in passenger numbers, and services were withdrawn on 10 September 1951, although goods services would continue until 30 October 1961.

To enable services to be centralised on North Road station, Plymouth Friary closed to passengers in September 1958, although it continued in use as a goods depot.

Sub-sheds

All of the following were small, single-road sheds, responsible for servicing the locomotives of the branches concerned. Most closed with the closure or dieselisation of the lines which they served.

Ashburton was a sub-shed of Newton Abbot. It closed in 1958.

Kingsbridge was also a sub-shed of Newton Abbot. It closed in 1961.

Moretonhampstead was a sub-shed of Newton Abbot. It had closed in November 1947, with the locomotive for the first train in the morning from Moretonhampstead subsequently being stabled overnight at Newton Abbot, but remained in use for servicing locomotives until the end of regular services.

Princetown was a sub-shed of Laira. It closed in 1956.

Tiverton Junction was a sub-shed of Exeter until 1963, then Newton Abbot. It closed in 1964.

Exmouth Junction (72A)

The heart of steam operations on the former Southern lines in the West Country, Exmouth Junction shed was located beside the main line east of Exeter Central, and boasted an extensive allocation of locomotives from smaller tank classes to Bulleid Pacifics.

An enlarged locomotive shed of concrete construction had been built in the late 1920s, the main structure spanning no fewer than 13 tracks - 12 in the running shed and one in the repair shop on the north side of the shed. There was a large mechanical coaling tower with a capacity of 300 tons, also built in concrete, and a new 70ft turntable had been installed in 1947. It was the primary locomotive servicing and repair centre in the south-west for the Southern Railway and subsequently the Southern Region of British Railways, and until 1960 it typically had an allocation of more than 120 engines, belonging to a wide range of classes. More than 400 staff were based at the depot, including 240 locomotive crew.

Under the British Railways shed code system, Exmouth Junction was given the code 72A, but in 1963 it was transferred to the Western Region and the code was changed to 83D, which had formerly been assigned to Laira.

Exmouth Junction formally closed to steam on 1 June 1965, and staff were transferred elsewhere, although for a while diesel locomotives and multiple-units continued to be stabled there, until final closure on 6 March 1967.

Opposite Top: The new reinforced concrete diesel depot at Laira is seen under construction on 9 July 1961 on the site of the former Laira yard. In the foreground, on the eastern side of the site, the least complete part of the depot is a three-road servicing shed, with roads 7 - 9. The scene is dominated by the central element - the heavy maintenance shed - with roads 5 and 6. On the western side of the site is a second servicing and maintenance shed with roads 1 - 4. R.C. Riley RCR16051

Opposite Bottom: This view inside the pristine new diesel shed at Laira on 27 August 1961 illustrates how the design of the building facilitated access to diesel locomotives at different levels. Visible in the background is a three-car Birmingham RC&W diesel multiple-unit, delivered new to Laira in May 1960. R.C. Riley RCR16169

Below: Exmouth Junction (72A), the principal shed for the Southern lines in the south-west, was situated on the north side of the main line at Exeter, at the point where the Exmouth branch diverged to the south-east. Unrebuilt Bulleid ‘Battle of Britain’ Pacifics Nos 34061 73 Squadron and 34060 25 Squadron stand outside their home shed on Tuesday 7 June 1955, alongside ‘T9’ No 30717, also allocated to 72A. No 34061 remained in original unrebuilt condition until withdrawal from Eastleigh shed in August 1964. No 34060, in contrast, would be rebuilt at Eastleigh works in November 1960, and withdrawn from Eastleigh shed at the end of Southern Region steam in July 1967. The ‘T9’, built by Dübs & Co in 1899, would survive to be one of the last examples of this long-lived class, being condemned from Eastleigh in July 1961.

David Anderson DA25423

Passing the distinctive form of Exeter Middle box, ‘Castle’ class No 5005 Manorbier Castle of Newton Abbot shed passes over Red Cow crossing at the east end of Exeter St David’s, running on the down through line with the heavily loaded 8.17am Carmarthen - Penzance on Saturday 3 August 1957. In the headshunt, Class E1/R No 32124 waits for the next train requiring banking assistance up the 1 in 37 to Exeter Central. No 5005, which had entered service in June 1927, and was still giving good service after 30 years, would survive for a further two years and six months, being withdrawn on 29 February 1960. Peter Gray PG1141

‘4300’ class No 6371 stands at platform 4 at Exeter St David’s on a damp Saturday 20 December 1958 with the 1pm Saturdays only Exeter - Kingswear, formed of seven coaches. No 6371 was the second of the 35 members of Class 4300 which were built by Robert Stephenson (Nos 6370-99 and 7300-04). It would spend just a matter of weeks as an Exeter locomotive between November 1958 and January 1959 before the call of the Dyfi (Dovey) estuary would take it back to its former home at Machynlleth shed (89C), where it would be withdrawn less than two years later, on 21 September 1960.

Peter Gray PG1704

The Twilight of Steam

Operational Challenges and the Decline of Steam at Exeter

In the final days of steam, especially following the Southern Region lines in the West Country being transferred to the Western Region in 1963, the previous distinction between the Western and Southern Region operations at Exeter was largely eliminated. The Western Region shed at Exeter St David’s closed in April 1964, and subsequently a number of former Great Western classes could be seen working from Exmouth Junction. This included a trio of ‘5700’ class Panniers, Nos 4655, 4666 and 4694, which all moved to Exmouth Junction from Wadebridge in early 1963. The trio were put to good use around the Exeter area on shunting and local freight duties as well as banking trains from St David’s to Central. With the end of steam operations at Exeter all three would be condemned on 16 June 1965, as the last three former GWR locomotives in regular use in Devon. At about the same time, a fourth ‘5700’ class Pannier, No 9647, was transferred from Exmouth Junction to Templecombe. The three ‘6400’ class Panniers, Nos 6400, 6412 and 6430, which had briefly featured on the Seaton branch following the end of the ‘M7’ tanks, had all departed Exmouth Junction for Yeovil town shed in November 1963 when the Seaton branch had gone over to diesel multiple-unit operation.

Amongst the other last ex-GWR locomotives to be based at Exmouth Junction were Collett ‘1400’ class 0-4-2Ts Nos 1442 and 1450, which were both withdrawn on 7 May 1965 as the last two examples of their type, and ‘2251’ class 0-6-0s Nos 2214 and 3205. Also resident at Exmouth Junction in the final weeks of steam operations in May / June 1965 were Ivatt ‘2MT’ tanks Nos 41206, 41216 and 41291, Standard ‘4MT’ 4-6-0s Nos 75005, 75008 and 75025, Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4Ts Nos 80037, 80041 and 80064 and Standard ‘3MT’ 2-6-2Ts Nos 82030, 82039, 82040 and 82042. This list reveals just how much the profile of the greatly diminished steam fleet had changed in its last few months since the previous domination by former LSWR and Southern Railway classes. By the last few weeks of steam there were no regular main line turns for steam, just shunting, trip works and banking duties. Exmouth Junction formally closed to steam on 1 June 1965 and staff were transferred elsewhere, although for a while diesel locomotives (mainly North British Type 2s and ‘Warships’) and diesel multipleunits continued to be stabled there, until closure on 6 March 1967.

Opposite Top: A fine panned view shows ‘5700’ class Pannier No 4673 near Cadeleigh on the Exe Valley line with a single British Railways era auto-coach forming the 5.15pm from Dulverton on Saturday 14 September 1963. Passenger services on the line would end three weeks later, on 7 October 1963. No 4673, allocated at the time to Exeter shed, had entered service in March 1944, a product of Swindon works. It would leave Devon in November 1963, and be withdrawn from Templecombe shed in June 1965. Peter Gray PG3554

Opposite Bottom: On Saturday 8 June 1963, ‘5700’ class No 3659 departs Thorverton station, eight miles south of Tiverton and just under three miles north of the junction with the main line at Stoke Canon, with the 3.20pm Bampton - Exeter, formed of two auto-coaches. There is a line of nine open wagons in the goods yard, but it is likely that the elderly, wooden-bodied wagons are no longer in use but instead are awaiting scrapping. In the background a siding curves round to Thorverton mill, with six grain hoppers standing inside the gate. After nearly 13 years as a Newton Abbot locomotive, from April 1949 until March 1962, No 3659 spent 18 months based at Exeter before moving to Bristol, Barrow Road shed in September 1963. Although passenger services on the Exe Valley line would end on 7 October 1963, goods trains continued to run to Thorverton until 4 May 1964. Peter Gray PG3258

Below: In the last year of services on the Exe Valley line, northbound and southbound auto-trains hauled and propelled by ‘1400’ class 0-4-2Ts Nos 1450 and 1451 of Exeter shed cross at Thorverton on Easter Saturday, 13 April 1963. No 1451 is coupled to W 244 W, one of a batch of 10 Hawksworth-design auto-trailers built as late as 1954 to diagram A43. Whilst No 1451 would be withdrawn from Gloucester Horton Road shed in July 1964, No 1450 would survive at Exmouth Junction until May 1965, and would be saved for preservation at the Dart Valley Railway. Peter Gray PG3129

Chapter 10: The Devonport Dockyard Railway

Although little seen by the public, and relatively rarely photographed, Plymouth contained a significant and interesting railway system beyond that of the main line network, namely the Devonport Dockyard Railway. The Royal Dockyard at Devonport had an extensive standard gauge railway network, serving both the North and South yards, which was connected to the main line network for incoming deliveries. The networks in the two yards were joined by a tunnel of limited dimensions, necessitating the use of a restricted profile for locomotives’ cabs. In January 1955 the system extended to a total length of just over 23 miles of track, of which the majority was in the North yard. Each yard had its own locomotive shed. Developments on the Dockyard Railway during the 1950s and 1960s reflected those on the British Railways system, both in the introduction of diesels and the withdrawal of passenger services. Until 1956 motive power consisted entirely of steam locomotives from a number of builders, in particular Andrew Barclay, as well as Hawthorn Leslie, Avonside and Bagnall. In 1955, however, the Admiralty placed an order for 28 Hibberd Planet 4-wheel diesels, fitted with Foden engines and fluid drive couplings, for use at various locations around the country, with 10 examples being delivered to Devonport between 1955 and 1957. In a parallel to

events on the main line, steam on the Dockyard Railway would be finished within 10 years. There was also a sizeable fleet of self-propelled shunting cranes; until the 1950s these were steampowered, but in 1954 and 1956 a large number of new dieselpowered cranes was acquired.

The principal purpose of the Dockyard Railway was conveying assorted freight traffic, together with passenger trains operated for transporting naval personnel and contractors, using peculiar 4-wheel coaches with an elaborate system of classes, based on passengers’ ranks. Passenger services operated until May 1966, at which time steam operations also ended.

The final steam locomotive to work on the Dockyard system was Bagnall 14in 0-4-0ST No 2962 of 1950 Devonport Dockyard No 19, which operated on the Devonport system until 1965, and was then utilised as a mobile boiler in the docks until final withdrawal in 1968. It would subsequently be acquired by the Cornish Steam Locomotive Preservation Society, leaving the dockyard for preservation in February 1969.

Devonport Dockyard No 18, Andrew Barclay works number 2137 of 1942, is seen in steam at the dockyard on Saturday 26 January 1963. Because of the restricted-height tunnel between Yards 1 and 2, it features a reduced profile cab compared with the standard Barclay design. No 18 had been supplied to Devonport in March 1942 to provide support for an ageing locomotive fleet. It would be sold in 1966, and subsequently scrapped. The dockyard system was entirely steam-powered until 1955, when the first of 10 Hibberd Planet diesel locomotives were acquired. Peter Gray PG3100

Devon is a county where the railway network changed more than most in the Beeching era. A county which had previously been well served by both the Great Western and Southern railways now presented an amount of duplication added to which quaint branch lines served areas of limited population, the latter financially viable for just a few months of the year and associated with tourism. Peak and flows of traffic were not something to be tolerated by Dr Beeching, but the resultant pruning of the network had other unforeseen and less welcome effects that reduced the traffic flow onto the main lines. Add to this the move away from steam and the continual advent of the motor car and the result was a local rail map altered beyond what might anyone could ever likely have perceived. True, some passenger services had already been culled in the 1950s prior to Beeching, Princetown and Ashburton two examples, but when the unthinkable, Padstow, Kingswear, Ilfracombe and then even almost the whole of the Okehampton line was closed, it is small wonder there were those who may have had doubts about where it all might have ended. Within these pages we are delighted to present an exercise in pure nostalgia; an opportunity to sit back and enjoy Devon at its BR peak – a railway network in the early throws of transition.

ISBN 978-1-913251-43-7

£14.95

Compiled by Andrew Fox