Campaign for Tavistock reopening

[whole diary]

[Plymboi]

Amy update on tavistock then? Seems very quiet since the start of the year. I assume the public consultation will still go ahead in 2014 with building starting in 2016/17 which is such a long way off, initial plans would have seen the building and track laying at this time for a 2014 opening. Oh in a perfect world.

I really want this link reestablished. But it's a shame the old tavistock north couldn't be turned back into its former glory and instead we have a modern new build but better then no link at all .

How far would the new station be from tavistock north?. I assume that would mean an altered route to the old line, meaning a new route would be needed in order to extend towards okehampton ( which I don't think will ever happen in near future, that's more of an issue when we actually have a link to tavistock, then we can talk about that link)

[34104]

Amy update on tavistock then? Seems very quiet since the start of the year. I assume the public consultation will still go ahead in 2014 with building starting in 2016/17 which is such a long way off, initial plans would have seen the building and track laying at this time for a 2014 opening. Oh in a perfect world.

I really want this link reestablished. But it's a shame the old tavistock north couldn't be turned back into its former glory and instead we have a modern new build but better then no link at all .

How far would the new station be from tavistock north?. I assume that would mean an altered route to the old line, meaning a new route would be needed in order to extend towards okehampton ( which I don't think will ever happen in near future, that's more of an issue when we actually have a link to tavistock, then we can talk about that link)

Pretty quiet ATM^‡(resolve) as you say.I believe the GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) report was due to be completed by November 2012,don't know if this has been achieved.The new station would be about three quarters of a mile from the old Tavistock North station.Should the line to Okehampton ever be reopened,then i don't think the line would have to be re-routed.Quite a lot of the old trackbed is used as a cycle/footpath,the main obstacles would be bridging the Tavistock to Callington road,moving a couple of houses from the end of Bannawell Street viaduct [near to Tavistock North],making enough room for the line through the WDBC offices at Kilworthy park and removing some infill from cuttings on the Lydford side of the line.There is a small bridge missing at Sourton but aside from that,the line is totally clear through to Okehampton and  Meldon viaduct [which could prove to be a major problem as regards its ability to take the starin of the train].The works would be trivial compared to those carried out on the soon to be reopened Waverley route,it depends if the political will and funding are there.We shall see.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Cornish Guardian:

Nature had final say on axed railway line

Fifty years ago tomorrow the last train was due to run from Launceston to Plymouth ^ but it never arrived at its destination.

It was a night to remember and I know because I was there.

The Launceston to Plymouth branch line, via Tavistock, was being closed due to the cuts recommended by Dr Beeching, who had been called in by the Government to make the railways, which had been haemorrhaging money, profitable. Its fate was similar to branch rail lines throughout Cornwall and the rest of the country in the early 1960s.

December 29, 1962, was the date for the end of the Launceston service which had been operating for 97 years ^ but in the end nature, not Dr Beeching, closed the line.

As a young trainee reporter I was detailed to travel out of Launceston's old Southern Railways station at 5.40pm and return on the final train from Plymouth, arriving at Launceston at 10.10pm where it was due to be met by a reception party including early television cameras with BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) presenter Joe Pengelly.

However, my journey proved to be one which a keen railway enthusiast on the train likened to the Trans-Siberian Express. As we left Launceston with about 40 passengers and a wreath on the front of the tank engine to mark the solemn occasion, there was only a light fall of snow and none of the passengers could have known what was in store.

After passing through Lifton and Coryton we got our first sight of the blizzard at Lidaton Halt. Two passengers stepped out of their carriage to find themselves knee deep in snow and the nameboard barely visible.

The real snowstorm began at Lydford, and the station at Mary Tavy was covered. Tavistock was blanketed in snow, and myself and a friend, Mike 'Chico' Davey, decided to stay there and catch the last train, due to leave at 9.30pm, back.

We had a few hours to sample the hostelries of Tavistock (despite being under age at the time) then returned to the station where two buglers from the Army Cadet Force were waiting to give us a rousing send-off.

Their bugles were never blown, as they left long before a train arrived at 12.15 ^ and that was what was supposed to be an earlier one which left Plymouth at 6.20pm and was five and a half hours late on a journey of less than 20 miles.

We had been in the waiting room, warmed by a blazing coal fire, with a mixture of railway enthusiasts and one person who was returning from a holiday in Plymouth, and as the train arrived we ran across the bridge and into a carriage, closing the doors on the blinding snow and howling gale outside.

Once inside we expected to be moving, but it was not to be. There was a signalling failure near Lydford, and as we waited the snow piled up on the line. The stationmaster made calls to find out if the train could get through to Launceston, but at 3.30am he came to the carriages to tell us we would be there until daylight.

We sang, ate nuts and smoked cigarettes until falling asleep. At about 7.30am I awoke to see the blizzard still raging outside and the snow piling higher, and 25 of us made our way to the stationmaster's office, where we huddled around the fire as the engine's fire had gone out although it kept us warm through the night.

The radio was on, which told us on the national news that the Civil Defence was attempting to reach a train and its passengers stuck in snow at Tavistock. We sat around thinking of ways to go home when in walked a Civil Defence worker.

He said they and the Women's Voluntary Service had organised food and somewhere for us to stay in a nearby church hall, where we were given breakfast and cups of tea. It was said to be impossible to get back to Launceston that day, so we were given a hot lunch and Chico kept spirits up by playing the hits of the day on the piano.

Later we heard that an ambulance had got through to Launceston so we got hold of a Tavistock taxi driver who said he would attempt it for twice the normal fee.

Poet and teacher Charles Causley, Chico and I slowly got to Launceston over the narrow winding roads, through drifts higher than the hedges.

Many others were not so lucky. Enthusiasts who had travelled to Plymouth earlier on the Saturday spent the night in a freezing station, and with no trains or buses on the road they hitch-hiked the 30 miles home, some of them walking all the way.

Those waiting to greet the last train at Launceston eventually gave up and went home, but those who had tickets to Plymouth were put up at the White Hart Hotel by British Rail.

It was the end of the line, one of the first of many closures in Cornwall, and I was one of the last passengers. But it was almost another week before the trains got to their intended destinations.

One aspect of the trip always makes me smile, especially when thinking of the recent criticism of huge expenses claimed by some of our politicians.

I had bought a train ticket, for 1/6d or 7.5p I think, had a meal in Tavistock, been stuck out all night and paid double the normal fare for a taxi home to Launceston. I wrote out my expense sheet, with a total of ^1.8s.6d ^1.42.5p in today's money.

The owner of the paper, Mr Venning senior, looked at it and said: "Are you sure this is enough?"

I replied that this was all I had spent, but he increased it to a magnificent '30 bob' ^1.50p.

My first scoop, my first newspaper byline and all that cash ^ a night to remember.

[macbrains]

What a great story!

rgds
macbrains

[34104]

That was the winter of a series of major blizzards,i can vaguely remember it [only 3 years old at the time].The Southern mainline was closed for some time because of drifting near Okehampton-it was theorised by some people that this was another nail in the coffin of the SR^‡(resolve) line as it demonstrated that it was not 100% reliable as a secondary route to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) main line.Always regretted not having the chance to traverse the Plymouth-Launceston branch,it must have been a very picturesque and beautiful line,much of it can be walked/cycled now between Tavistock and Plymouth.If a bit of imagination had been shown,then maybe the Tavistock-Plymouth section could have been retained as a very useful commuter line taking in Whitchurch,Horrabridge and Yelverton and the Launceston-Lydford section developed to connect with the SR mainline,closing Launceston-Halwill junction and Lydford-Tavistock [GWR] but also developing the North Cornwall line to Wadebridge and Padstow.A pipe dream but very stupid to leave a reasonable sized town like Launceston without a railway IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).

[34104]

Apparently there has been an item on the local BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news this am about a planning application being submitted soon-whether this is from Bovis or connected with the TWO,i'm not sure but i will keep lugholes akimbo and post further updates as and when.

[ACE]

Apparently there has been an item on the local BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news this am about a planning application being submitted soon-whether this is from Bovis or connected with the TWO,i'm not sure but i will keep lugholes akimbo and post further updates as and when.

Saw it on BBC local news this morning, basically along the lines of 'it should now proceed soon', we had the traditional 'due to the economic downturn there has been delays' and showed pictures of Bere Alston station. Quite probably be on 'Spotlight' tonight at 630pm??

[34104]

It was indeed on Spotlight tonight.No definite dates,just "Spotlight has learned" that Bovis are in the process of formulating the application for planning permission for the start of the housebuilding programme at Monksmead,hopefully triggering the rebuilding of the railway.Didn't specify where they learned this from but i guess something must be happening behind the scenes.Various experts talked about how the recession has led to the delay of the project but were generally quite positive about the prospects for the sale of the houses to be built by Bovis,so hopefully things will move forward from here.

[Plymboi]

Awww I missed the news bulletin! I tried to find it online but doesn't seem to be available on catch up!

This is good news hopefully that things are starting to move along. How long would the building of the line actually take? Surely it's not more then 12 months.

[JayMac]

Awww I missed the news bulletin! I tried to find it online but doesn't seem to be available on catch up!

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s regional evening news programmes tend to take a day or two to show up on BBC iPlayer.

[Plymboi]

Awww I missed the news bulletin! I tried to find it online but doesn't seem to be available on catch up!

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s regional evening news programmes tend to take a day or two to show up on BBC iPlayer.

Ah-ha thanks for that

[DavidBrown]

Awww I missed the news bulletin! I tried to find it online but doesn't seem to be available on catch up!

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s regional evening news programmes tend to take a day or two to show up on BBC iPlayer.

See I thought that they were online fairly quickly, but were only online for 24 hours? You'll probably have about 3 hours left until today's lunchtime bulletin takes its place.

[woody]

It was indeed on Spotlight tonight.No definite dates,just "Spotlight has learned" that Bovis are in the process of formulating the application for planning permission for the start of the housebuilding programme at Monksmead,hopefully triggering the rebuilding of the railway.Didn't specify where they learned this from but i guess something must be happening behind the scenes.Various experts talked about how the recession has led to the delay of the project but were generally quite positive about the prospects for the sale of the houses to be built by Bovis,so hopefully things will move forward from here.

I too saw the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) spotlight report as well and disappointingly as you say no definite time scale yet given the still uncertain state of the property market upon which the whole scheme depends but when the BBC's local business correspondent was asked what he thought would be a likely start date for resumption of a rail service to Tavistock assuming Bovis get their planning permission he cautiously speculated another 5 or 6 years yet and even that he said depended on no further economic shocks to the fragile property market so don't hold your breath just yet.

[TonyK]

Here is the report. Not sure how long it will be available, so fill your boots now! It follows an interesting report on beer.

Edit: I've watched it myself now. A few points come to mind.
1) The housebuilders are looking to the beauty of the area, which will be severely diminished by building the houses.
2) The people interviewed seem keen on the railway (although one does say "We have buses" Ugh!) but not keen on the houses that will pay for it.
3) There will be an application to build 750 houses. Bovis will want to make a profit. If the reinstatement of the railway costs, say ^20 million, the railway premium per house will be ^26,666.67, or over 10% on a ^250,000 home. SUrely the s106 payments will not be the only source of funding?

[Plymboi]

6 years away wow, that's so long. It could be done sooner could it not.


2019