Just a quick post today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I seem to be a bit lacking in the 'Christmas blog post photo' department so here's another shot from the Great Central Railway winter steam gala in January 2013, this time of Great Western Railway 2884 class 2-8-0 no.3803 (visiting from the South Devon Railway) running around its train at Leicester North in the snow…
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge spans the River Tamar and the border between Cornwall and Devon and even partially shrouded in scaffolding it's still a magnificent sight!
Here 43151 leads* the 14.00 First Great Western service from Penzance to London Paddington 'The Royal Duchy' across the bridge and into Devon on 6 August signifying the end of my trip to Cornwall… Trains slow considerably along the single track section across the bridge and that, coupled with the tight curve leaving Saltash station make such images possible.
Built for the Cornwall Railway's 7ft ¼in broad gauge line from Truro to Plymouth the bridge was opened in May 1859, four months before Brunel's death and the lettering 'I.K.BRUNEL ENGINEER 1859' was added as a memorial by the directors of the Cornwall Railway Company.
In 1889 the Cornwall Railway became part of the Great Western Railway, a company that had operated the line since 1877 who converted the track gauge on the bridge from 7ft ¼in to 4ft 8½in in one single weekend in May 1892! A feat hard to imagine these days…
*For the record 43195 was on the rear of the train.
You may remember that last year I photographed the First Great Western 'Night Riviera' service as it passed through Exeter St Davids on its way to London Paddington.
Last year 57602 Restormel Castle was in charge of the train, wearing the First Group dark blue livery that I thought was applied to all of FGW's locomotives and HST power cars…
So I was pleasantly surprised when this turned up!
57604 PENDENNIS CASTLE (converted from Class 47, 47209 in 2004) wearing Great Western Railway lined green complete with the GWR coat-of-arms on the cabside, a much more attractive and 'railway-like' livery than those applied to the rest of FGW's fleet in my opinion.
31 years after I last stood on Truro station during my first visit to Cornwall on a family holiday I made a return visit a few weeks ago while travelling on a Freedom of Devon & Cornwall (3 in 7 days) Rover ticket.
I'd wanted to travel on the Falmouth branch train (marketed as the 'Maritime Line') that begins its 12 mile journey at Truro and just had time to do so before continuing my journey down to Penzance.
I made the return trip to Falmouth Docks on 150238, passing 153373 and 153329 at Penryn travelling in the opposite direction on both the outward and return journeys.
Upon arriving back at Truro I had time to take a few photographs before catching 'The Royal Duchy' for the short hop to Penzance, Truro still being blessed with a traditional Great Western Railway signalbox and semaphore signals not to mention some lovely GWR platform benches (although these are more than likely reproductions), now if only First Great Western would adopt a more traditional GWR-style 'chocolate and cream' paint scheme!
