It's become almost traditional that I take a break at this time of year. Mostly it's to do with using up days of leave before the end of March deadline, but this time it also coincided with last weekend's Scotland trip. Taking some extra days I'd hatched a half formed plan to get a three-day Freedom of the South West Rover ticket and revisit lines I'd not done since a similar trip a decade or so back. I figured that given the amount of track I've covered in recent years, I needed to get used to a little repetition. Having had a couple of days travel earlier in the week, today was a chance to push west into Cornwall and visit some branch lines. Mr Spinks needed the track and had decided to come along, so the plan was to hit the first train south and cover most of the branches in a single hit. Equipped with coffee and a vague order of play concocted the previous evening, we set off in the dark.
Nearly four hours later we disembarked at Truro, watching our train head off into the distance for Penzance. A few minutes here to head for the Falmouth Docks train. The weather had stayed dry and cloudy, and there were some impressive views as we headed down to the coast. Aside from the work to install a passing loop at Penryn, little had changed since my last visit - although the area around the station at the Docks was much tidier, and the area had been quite heavily developed. No time to hang around, as we retraced our steps on the same unit back to Truro and a quick coffee break. Back onto the platform just in time to catch a fairly packed unit into Penzance. I'd made several trips here over the years, sometimes just for a bit of a spin and a spot of lunch in fact! The station was strangely quiet, and hadn't change a bit - still dark and unsuitable for photography, and still sporting an excellent little independent buffet bar. After a short layover, back out on the same unit as far as St. Erth.
I had reservations about changing here after a long wait with little happening a long time back. However things had changed a lot. Always a photogenic little station, we made our down the steps to the bay platforms to find a small cafe and shop staffed by perhaps the politest people I've ever met. Grabbed an excellent coffee and waited to get a picture of the arriving unit. This time it was a 153 which arrived and turned around swiftly in the bay. When I first made the trip it was in a mixture of heritage DMU vehicles which ran through to Penzance - so the bays were a little new track if my memory serves me correctly. Still impressed by the great curved sweep of the bay as the line snakes around the hill and into St. Ives. Some fine properties overlooking the sea here too, which prompted a discussion about where the ideal home would be. I ended up with three or four possible locations, none of them particularly practical!
Back at St Erth we had a short wait for the next unit which left us out in a brief shower. Eventually the train arrived, formed of former Silverlink unit 150121. Found a seat on the busy unit and settled in for the trip to Liskeard and our last branch of the day. A quick walk to the platofrm for Looe, at right-angles to the mainline and apparently recently restored. Onto the fairly busy unit and off, curving sharply and steeply to pass under the mainline and the impressive Moorswater Viaduct. Sadly, this train wasn't one of the PSUL listed trips which reverse in Coombe Station rather than at the ground frame a little to the south. Reversing here, the line is surrounded by water - following the course of both the East Looe River and the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal. Enjoyed the truly amazing scenery here, as the estuary opened up beside the line and we pulled into Looe. Here, on my original trip, I'd broken for lunch and a chance to send a postcard back to the office! No time for that this time however, and we were soon climbing back up to Liskeard station and a quick change onto a Plymouth bound HST.
After a longer break at Plymouth we boarded one of Crosscountry's recently refurbished HST sets for the trip back as far as Taunton. Having done a fair few miles on these this week, I'm fairly impressed. They're comfortable and have plenty of capacity for the routes they operate - a rare luxury on the Crosscountry network. Having done a fair few miles in the south west over the last week, it's interesting to compare notes with my previous travels. Certainly, a lot has stayed the same, and these lines continue to be a fantastic way of seeing the countryside from a new angle. However, the trains are busier and the lines feel a little more vibrant and well-used. The presence of refurbished units, frequent services and evidence of expansion of the network in places would have been unthinkable back in 1998, and the figures for increased patronage are quite remarkable. It's been good to be back on these very special bits of the network which aren't really so far from home. I'll try not to leave it another decade before visiting again.
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
