News Archive for February 2020

End of the Line - Goodbye David Jones

by Jeff Treece & Brian Garrett

Published on 24th February 2020

It is with great sadness that we report the loss of one of Taunton’s rail enthusiast community as David Jones passed away at home on Tuesday, 18th February 2020.

Dave was a rail enthusiast through and through having been brought up in a family with a history of working on the railway. His father, Mervyn Jones, was a driver based at Taunton and Dave was proud to see that his son, Rodney, has continued the family tradition by becoming a Driver with GWR.

Like many enthusiasts, Dave started by observing train movements at Taunton, and taking a keen interest in his Father's driving turns through the town (even having the odd cab ride). Over the years David moved into photography. Some of his excellent local pictures can be viewed on this website.

He liked nothing more than being at the ‘lineside’ at a quiet countryside location observing passing trains and also enjoyed travelling on rail tours around the country, as well as attending model railway exhibitions. Dave was a meticulous ‘note taker’ with each picture he took being recorded in detail as were all his rail journeys.

He liked the company of fellow enthusiasts and had a keen sense of humour. We will miss the often lively discussions we had on railways (of course) and many other topics while stood on Taunton Station platforms and elsewhere. David was a good and loyal friend and very generous – for example, often finding or even acquiring railway items he knew his friends were looking for. That gave him great satisfaction.

Dave will be much missed by his Taunton railway friends but not forgotten. We will continue to remember and talk about the good times. We will also ensure some more of his superb and historical Taunton railway pictures are made available for others to see and enjoy.

We send our deepest sympathy and support to Kerrie, Rod and the Family at this very difficult time.

(Photo: David Jones)

(Photo: Nathan Williamson)

(Photo: David Jones)

(Photo: Brian Garrett)

(Photo: David Jones)

47840 to leave WSR after 13 years

DEPG Class 47/8 No. 47840 'North Star' stands in the Williton maintenance shed in early 2020 having been repainted into BR Blue livery and renumbered as No.47077 over the winter period. The locomotive is expected to leave the line in the Spring of 2020 for a hire period on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

(Photo: Thomas Courtney)

BR Two Tone Green Class 47/8 No.D1661 (47840) stands at Minehead on the 28th May 2007 having been handed over to the Diesel Electric Preservation Group at Minehead.

(Photo: Brian Garrett)

Published on 21st February 2020

The Diesel and Electric Preservation Group has announced this week that, by the kind invitation of the North York Moors Railway, Class 47 locomotive No. 47840 'North Star' (recently re-numbered back to No.47077) is expected to leave West Somerset Railway metals for the first time in 13 years since arriving in 2007.

Over the course of 2019/2020 the locomotive has received some considerable bodywork and mechanical repairs, along with a repaint into original British Railways Blue livery. The loco is expected to travel to North Yorkshire during the Spring.

Currently the locomotive is unable to run on the West Somerset Railway due to the imposed axle weight restrictions. Sending the locomotive to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway will at least see the locomotive able to operate on a regular basis over the length of the line while on hire to the railway. It's expected the initial hire will be for a 12 month period.

The locomotive currently has operational AWS systems on board, with TPWS isolated. It was never fitted with OTMR equipment as it the loco was retired from mainline duties before OTMR became a requirement for daily operation.

We hope to be able to feature images of No. 47840 'North Star' in action on the North York Moors over the course of the next year.

Genesee and Wyoming Colours

(Photo: Simon Harling)

Published on 17th February 2020

Wearing the most recent Genesee and Wyoming Freightliner colours Class 66/6 No.66623 climbs Whiteball Bank on the 17th February 2020 hauling the 6C28 15:42 Exeter Riverside - Whatley Quarry aggregate empties.

On the 30th December, Genesee & Wyoming announced the completion of the sale to Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC. It's not currently knowing if this will affect the current operating livery policy of the company.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Coaches replace Trains - 16th February 2020

(Photo: Adam Hiscock)

Published on 17th February 2020

Coaches replaced trains between Taunton and Exeter St Davids on Sunday 16th February 2020 when the mainline was closed at Cowley Bridge Junction over fears the flood water levels would overspill reaching vital electrical equipment.

Trains terminated at Taunton with passengers transferred on coaches (some of which were hired in from as far away as Coventry). Powells Vanhool Volvo B12M prepares to depart Taunton for Exeter.

New Lighting at Taunton Station

Published on 16th February 2020

Over the years Taunton Station (along with many other stations on the UK network) has taken advantage of technology advances in lighting.

Up until the late 2000s, Taunton Station still had the traditional orange sodium lighting which gave an orange tint to images taken on film and digital. Digital camera technology later assisted this problem with in-camera white balance adjustment which allowed photographers to compensate for the amount of warmth the finished image would display. In recent years the amazing development of low power white LED lighting has transformed the station environment for passengers using trains in the dark. Up until 2020 Taunton has had mainly circular white LED lights at intervals along with the platform which gave good even lighting at night, however, the station is now being refitted with two rows (per platform) of the latest intelligent LED strip lights, this has improved the light levels further. The new lights are also able to detect if there are any areas of the platform not in use, automatically turning the lighting down to save on power consumption. Platform 5 has now been converted and Platform 2 is midway through its conversation. The new lighting has been improved so much that only a couple of seconds is required for any night exposure on a tripod at around 400 ISO. Compare this to the days of 35mm film under the sodium lights which would have required around eight to ten seconds to make a decent exposure at Taunton. We have provided a couple of comparison images below from 2004 and 2020 to show the amazing difference the standard white LED lighting now makes at Taunton Station.

(Photo: Brian Garrett)

STORM DENNIS - Taunton to Exeter line CLOSED - Sunday 16th Feb

(Photo: Network Rail)

Published on 15th February 2020

Network Rail, Great Western Railway and CrossCountry are urging passengers in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to check before they travel on Sunday, 16 February as flooding will mean the closure of the lines between Exeter St Davids and Taunton and Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple.

The lines are expected to flood overnight, which would cause damage to a specialist building that houses safety-critical signalling equipment.

To prevent this from happening, Network Rail is installing a temporary flood barrier to protect the building, which has to be installed across the railway track. As a result no train services will be able to run on this section of the rail network. The flood barrier takes around six hours to put in place and work to install it will begin after the last train service tonight (Saturday, 15 February 2020.)

Network Rail, Great Western Railway and CrossCountry are urging passengers planning to travel in this area on Sunday, 16 February 2020 to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries or by visiting www.gwr.com or www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk. Great Western Railway and CrossCountry are working to source bus replacement services where possible.

Great Western is advising its customers to only travel if necessary. A diversionary route via Yeovil is expected to be in operation, alongside alternative road transport. This will be a reduced service: trains will be busier and take longer than usual. Customers choosing not to travel on Sunday can use their tickets on Monday 17 or Tuesday 18 February or claim their money back if they do not travel at all.

The flood barrier is expected to be removed on Sunday night, which should allow a full train service to operate on Monday morning.

Network Rail, Great Western Railway and CrossCountry would like to reassure passengers that we are working closely together to keep train services moving and apologise for any disruption to journeys.

Engineers head to Cornwall for Valentine's Day

Published on 15th February 2020

On a very wet Valentines' Day evening the railways have no time for romance as the relentless task of maintaining the railway never stops.

A planned week-long blockade of the mainline in Cornwall between Truro and Penzance saw a large amount of infrastructure renewal trains heading south through Taunton. With storm Dennis on the horizon for the weekend, heavy rain had already set in for the night as the various trainloads headed south.

Freightliner 'Powerhaul' liveried Class 66/5 No. 66528 'Madge Elliot MBE Borders Railway Opening 2015' pauses in Platform 3 at Taunton for a pathing stop on the 14th of February 2019. The locomotive was hauling 6Y55 18:24 Westbury - Hayle formed of Network Rail JNA 'Falcons' loaded with fresh ballast.

Freightliner Class 66/5 No.66562 arrives at Taunton Station for a crew change on the 14th February 2020 while hauling 6Y43 21:24 Westbury - Penwithers Junction. The train was formed of Network Rail JNA 'Falcons' ready for loading with spoil at the Cornish work site.

To view the gallery, please click here.

(Photo: Brian Garrett)

Valentine's Engineers at Taunton

Published on 14th February 2020

The 14th February 2020 provided a large selection of engineers trains heading to Cornwall for a week-long engineering blockade between Truro and Penzance to replace track and infrastructure. With storm Dennis on the horizon for the weekend, the rain had already set in on Friday evening. The various engineers trains were hauled by DB Cargo, Freightliner, Colas Rail Freight and GBRf, with most of the services passing through Taunton between 20:00 and 00:30. Some of the services captured in our video from the evening are as follows:

37219: 3Q62 21:20 Exeter Riverside - Derby RTC (Network Rail Test Train)
66197: 6W10 19:38 Westbury - Penwithers Junction
No.668476C22 20:45 Westbury - Penwithers Junction
66562: 6Y43 21:24 Westbury - Penwithers Junction
66111: 6W11 21:59 Westbury - Penwithers Junction

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Stock Moves Galore

Published on 12th February 2020

Wednesday 12th February provided two further stock movements through Taunton transferring redundant GWR Mk3 HST stock away from Laira for storage.

First Great Western blue liveried HST Power Cars No.43009 and No.43010 pass Norton Fitzwarren working 5D81 09:46 Laira to St Philips Marsh with an empty coaching stock working on Wednesday 12th February 2020. No.43010 had not been in passenger traffic since December 2019 and No.43009 hasn't been seen since September 2019.

Rail Operations Group (ROG) No.57312 plus barriers pass Norton Fitzwarren & Cogload Junction on Wednesday 12th February 2020 with five off-lease GWR trailers destined for storage at Long Marston. Running as the 5D94 11:00 Laira to Long Marston, with a motley selection of coaching stock in tow. This was the second such working for No.57312 having previously carried out an identical move two days before on Monday 10th February.

To view the gallery, please click here.

(Photo: S A Ginn)

(Photo: Paul Wilkins)

Powercars head to Doncaster Works

(Photo: Russell Ayre)

Published on 10th February 2020

Having been stored since December 2019, First Great Western blue powercars No.43156 and No.43162 pass Norton Fitzwarren on the 10th February 2020 operating 0E23 09:43 Laira - Doncaster Works.

The pair are believed to be two of four Porterbook powercars which will be retained by GWR for use on Castle sets and were being sent to Doncaster for modifications and repaints. 43162 was previously named 'Exeter Power Signal Box', but the plates appear to have been removed ready for new Castle plates to be applied in due course.

Both 43162 and 43156 both last operated in passenger service for GWR in December 2019, their last workings can be viewed in our Workings Database

More HST Mk3 Coaches for Storage

(Photo: Russell Ayre)

Published on 10th February 2020

Rail Operations Group (ROG) moved a rake of redundant GWR HST Mk3 coaches for storage on the 10th of February 2020.

The recently liveried locomotive, hauled the following coaches: 6338 (Barrier), 42167, 42582, 42563, 42176, 42095, 43304, 41166, & 6330 (Barrier) away for storage. No.57312 passes Norton Fitzwarren in a short period of good light operating 5D94 11:00 Laira - Long Marston.

To view the gallery, please click here.

Network Rail Test Unit

(Photo: Somerset Trucking & Transport)

Published on 9th February 2020

The unique Network Rail Class 150 No.950001 made a rare visit to Platform 1 at Taunton on the 8th of February 2020.

Having completed operating 03:49 Exeter Riverside - Bristol High-Level Siding (via Exmouth and Barnstaple) the unit then returned to Taunton from Bristol rather than stabling at its booked location. The track testing unit arrived just after 12:30 and is pictured stabled in Platform 1.

Cross Country cancels all trains through Taunton!

Cross Country Voyager No.221128 passes Cogload Junction on the 23rd June 2018 operating 1S41 07:25 Plymouth - Edinburgh service.

(Photo: Brian Garrett)

Published on 8th February 2020

Cross Country has decided to cancel all trains on its network on Sunday 9th February 2020 due to the high winds expected.

With 'Storm Ciara' due to arrive in the UK on Saturday evening Cross Country has decided to shut down the majority of its passenger network leaving pre-booked passengers trying to find alternative means of travel. While other passenger services will operate. Cross County will shut down its network running no trains at all between Reading and Bournemouth, Birmingham New Street and Cardiff, Bristol to Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance, York and Scotland, Coleshill Parkway and Nottingham. Passengers are advised to check their journey planners before they travel. Network Rail are expecting large amounts of disruption across the UK and the official advice is not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

The decision to cancel all train services comes just days after Cross Country announced that their Class 220 and 221 Voyagers are now 'Dawlish Proof' but were yet to trial operating in rough sea wall conditions to trial the modifications. After twenty years of Voyagers being unable to operate in rough conditions along with the famous sea wall, we await with avid interest if an improvement in passenger transport can be achieved by operating a train fleet which is able to cope with seawater and inclement weather. This will improve the years of misery suffered by passengers inconvenienced when Cross Country cancel trains at Bristol and Exeter during rough seas and poor weather.

Colas 'Bulk' Cement

Published on 6th February 2020

The Colas Rail Freight powered cement flow from Aberthaw to Moorswater is one of the last booked 'bulk' flows which still operate in the South West.

Colas Class 70/8 No.70812 made an appearance on the Moorswater cement flow on Thursday 6th February 2020, the locomotive is pictured with the 24 empty PCA cement tanks in tow at Norton Fitzwarren, the 6C36 06:25 Moorswater to Aberthaw. The train passed Taunton running a mere 62 minutes behind schedule in the winter sunlight.

To view the gallery, please click here.

(Photo: S A Ginn)

Powercars head for Doncaster

(Photo: Adam Hiscock)

Published on 5th February 2020

GWR powercars No.43187 and No.43122 worked a special 'back to back' move on Wednesday 5th February 2020.

Forming 0E23 08:55 Laira - Doncaster Works the pair are pictured passing over the former Silk Mills road crossing, heading to Doncaster to collect the latest rake of converted sliding door HST coaches.

Incident at Wellington (Updated)

Published on 5th February 2020

An incident involving a GWR IET passenger train at Wellington occurred shortly before 17:30 on Monday 3rd February 2020, GWR train service 1A92 14:15 Penzance - London Paddington formed of No.802009 and No.802020 which were involved in a fatality in the town.

The line between Taunton and Exeter was closed from 17:30 through to 23:45 while scenes of crime officers investigated. Passenger services were thrown into chaos as trains were terminated at Taunton and Exeter with some alternative transport arranged between the two stations, while other trains were diverted via alternative routes. Please refer to our Workings Log for more details for the service disruption. Passengers who were on board the train were transferred to another IET set which was sent from Taunton for a cross train transfer near Wellington once the investigations were complete. They finally arrived into Taunton some time after 21:00 some three and a half hours after the initial incident had occurred. Some other services next made their destinations and others arrived several hours late. The disruption continued into Tuesday after many trains were out of position, which resulted in cancelled services and shortened trains operating.

January Statistics

by Sclub

Published on 3rd February 2020

The Winter months in Taunton are generally quiet for locomotives passing Taunton, however, January 2020 bucked the trend with a total of 38 locomotives passing Taunton hauling various services.

Our Database is now able to keep track of the monthly fluctuations, so for a more detailed look please do visit our Taunton Locomotive Database

The fleet of locomotive types having passed Taunton during January 2020 reads:
1 x Class 37, 2 x Class 50, 4 x Class 57, 2 x Class 59, 10 x DB Class 66, 6 x Freightliner Class 66/5, 2 x Freightliner Class 66/6, 1 x Freightliner Class 66/9, 1 x GB Class 66/7, 4 x Colas Class 66/8 and 5 x Class 70.

GWR Class 57 No. 57604 'Pendennis Castle' has worked the most days on sleepers at 17 with No. 57605 'Totnes Castle' the least on just five appearances.

Class 70 No.70807 has appeared on 10 days (1 in every 3!)

The Exeter Riverside Aggregate operated 9 times with Freightliner Class 66 No.66610 appearing 5 times with Class 59s having only worked the service on 3 occasions.

The Colas cement ran once........and failed!!

To view news stories from January 2020 click here, or for news from March 2020, click here.