St Ives branch line - engineering work, closures, incidents (merged topics)

[whole diary]

[vacman]

If you think most people drive from St Ives then you really know nothing about the town and the branch! the reason why the St Ives branch is so busy in the summer is because people physicly can't drive into the town after about 1000! it would be better to run more trains to Penzance in winter, but not summer as any less than half hourly on the branch would not cope, and before anyone says about half hourly St Ives to Penzance, then yes, great idea, but we'll need another 2x150's to do it as any less than 4 car won't cope in summer.

[Btline]

If you think most people drive from St Ives then you really know nothing about the town and the branch! the reason why the St Ives branch is so busy in the summer is because people physicly can't drive into the town after about 1000! it would be better to run more trains to Penzance in winter, but not summer as any less than half hourly on the branch would not cope, and before anyone says about half hourly St Ives to Penzance, then yes, great idea, but we'll need another 2x150's to do it as any less than 4 car won't cope in summer.

I don't think anyone in this thread so far has thought that.

But you are right, I have seen the huge queues at St Ives as well. That is why the P&R^▸ (Park and Ride) is so well used. Some people whp never use the railway, use it then!

It is a shame they knocked down the station and cut it back to make way for a car park...

[Karl]

Morning

According to some info I've got, the buildings at
St. Ives were made history circa 23rd May 1971.

The station composed of a single line with double
platform's (as per PLT 1 at Horstead Keynes "Bluebell
Railway"), with the middle platform having another
line, making that one assesable both sides.  The
station also had a goods shed with sidings (behind the
platforms), plus a single road engine shed beyond the
low viaduct at the St. Erth end; all these obviously on
the land side of the bay.

Also this line was intially part of Beechings Axe,
but lets not forget Barbara Castle as well.  I
think it did acually close for a couple/few years
but 100% sure?

Also I believe there is a 'heritge scheme' involving
St. Erth station, as per whats happened recently at
Penmere.

Regards

karl.

[Karl]

Found a pic of the old station, bay I mentioned as
per 'Hostead Keynes', isn't quite as long as I intially
thought.  Its adjacent to the coaches in the bacground.

Link:

http://www.urban75.org/photos/stives/st-ives-station.html

Regards

Karl. 

[Timmer]

Many thanks for finding the picture of St Ives station as it was Karl. Wow it was quite a station once upon a time to what it is now.

[Lee]

Also this line was intially part of Beechings Axe,
but lets not forget Barbara Castle as well.  I
think it did acually close for a couple/few years
but 100% sure?

I believe that St Ives survived without a "closure break" (correct me if I am wrong) but I am reminded of your neck of woods and Falmouth Docks station, which was closed on 7 December 1970 when Falmouth Town station was opened.

Falmouth Docks station was reopened on 5 May 1975.

[John R]

There was a temporary closure for 3 months in early 73 between St Ives and Carbis Bay, which may have been whilst they vandalised the station at St Ives as shown in the pictures below. No complete closure though.

[Btline]

I can understand the track rationalisation. I think it was the right thing to do, to keep costs down and preserve the branch's future.

But to cut the station back further away from the town, and to take the building down was bad.

The car park is not even "for BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) passengers only," it is public.

Any car parking created by track rationalisation should have been for the exclusive use for BR passengers, thereby attracting more.

But I suppose BR made a bomb from what they did! And arguably, the branch is as busy as ever now.

Does anyone have a timetable for St Ives in the past (perhaps the 30s, or 50s)? How long has it had 2tph? i think the Cornish Riviera had a few coaches coming to St Ives.

[Lee]

Wessex Trains Press Release on the introduction of a half-hourly train service on the St Ives Bay Line (21/03/2005, link below.)
http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/toc-press-story/124454/Trains-every-half-hour-to-st-ives

SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) archive link (20 January 2005, last updated 26 July 2005)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/strategyfinance/strategy/community/pilot/stivestosterth

[Btline]

Wessex Trains Press Release on the introduction of a half-hourly train service on the St Ives Bay Line (21/03/2005, link below.)
http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/toc-press-story/124454/Trains-every-half-hour-to-st-ives

SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) archive link (20 January 2005, last updated 26 July 2005)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/strategyfinance/strategy/community/pilot/stivestosterth

Thanks, v interesting.

[John R]

Summer of 69 it had 13 trains on a weekday including a 2hr+ gap in the middle of the day. 8 trains on summer sundays.

[Andy]

In Summer 1957, there were 17 trains to St Ives, 16 to St Erth; on Saturdays that increased to 21 & 17.

[Btline]

So even before the mothballing/axing of the railways, St Ives did not have the service it has today!

[vacman]

St Ives was due to close in 1966 or 67 (after the initial Beeching wave), I'm led to believe it was meant to close at the same time as Wadebridge, Padstow, Tavvy and Looe but St Ives and Looe were reprieved at the last minute, i.e. only a couple of weeks before scheduled closure, Barbera Castle reprived the line. The line was shut partly in 73 I believe whilst a new pipeline was built under the line near St Ives, although, I cannot be sure of any of the above but i've heard about it from many people.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that useful background information, vacman.

(Like me, you're probably too young to remember the 1960's  )

Seriously, though: what would Wadebridge, Padstow and Tavistock be like now, with the benefit of rail links that hadn't been ripped up??  As we've seen, it's far easier to close a branch line than it is to reopen it. 

Talking of Cornwall branch lines closed in the Beeching era, I see that the restoration of the branch line to Helston is doing well: see http://thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144143&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144131&contentPK=20734573&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch