46 years on ...

DAWLISH WARREN

(All 1.12.2017 and 2.12.2017 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

FACEBOOK - RAIL THING ROUTES - TRAINS ON THE DAWLISH & TEIGNMOUTH SEA WALL

I took my first ever railway (or indeed any sort of photo) on 9 July 1971, just south of Dawlish Warren station, on our first summer holiday to Devon. 

Last weekend I revisited the area for a weekend and took loads more!

The trip included the classic walk along the sea wall and it was good to see the work done where it was breached. The line seemed pretty busy with a succession of trains in both directions, including plenty of HSTs. I even manged to catch a surprise whilst waiting for the train back to Dawlish Warren at Dawlish station, when a couple of class 66s came through on an RHTT.

It was this area which really got me into running railways, up until then I'd really been into disused lines, and it's ironic that this may be one of the few railways that close in the future, thanks to sinking land, rising sea levels and a deteriorating climate with more storms, but for now it's all still there, a free work of art for anybody that appreciates such things!

Bristol Temple Meads 1.6.2015

Surviving tram tracks at the station approach.

66 507

 

150 123

150 123

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(All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 1.6.2015)

FACEBOOK - BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS STATION

Another hour or so at Bristol Temple Meads on the 1st of June, an hour or so later than I'm usually there. Took the opportunity to snap the surviving tram tracks on the station approach as whispers and buzzes about trams for Bristol are getting louder!

There was a class 66 parked nicely at the north end of the station so I got some shots of that - first time there's been a light engine around whilst I've been later. Had the added bonus of another 66 on a Freightliner heading north - and as it just got out of a shot a second freight was also heading north behind a class 70. Had I not been feeling rough, and/or a bit more sprightly, I could have raced along the platform a bit and got a shot of 3 locos in frame - but it was not to be!

So Temple Meads is still in a state of pre-change, no sign of electrification yet.

As an aside after meeting my son on the station we went into town not by bus or taxi (or on foot) but by boat courtesy of the brilliant Bristol Ferry Company which offer a commuter service right into the heart of the city which at £2 must be one of the best transport bargains in the UK - highly recommended!