Branch Line Britain: Local Passenger Trains in the Diesel Era

By Paul D. Shannon

This book examines in words and pictures the network of British branch lines and other secondary routes that survived the mass closures of the 1960s. While nearly 4,000 route miles were lost between 1963 and 1970, the cuts were less severe than they might have been. Some lines were reprieved because of their social importance, even though they would never pay their way in purely commercial terms. They included some lengthy rural routes, such as those serving the Far North of Scotland, Central Wales and the Cumbrian Coast, as well as some urban backwaters such as Romford to Upminster and the St Albans Abbey branch. As the 1970s progressed, closures became scarce, but cost-cutting measures included the singling of some lines as well as scaled-down stations and simplified signalling. Yet even today, some pockets of traditional operation survive. Mechanical signal boxes still control many hundreds of miles across the network, in areas as diverse as West Cornwall, East Lincolnshire and South West Scotland. This book also celebrates several reopened and new lines, ranging from the major Borders Railway project in Scotland to the Stansted Airport and Barking Riverside branches in South East England - making the point that the branch line concept is far from dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Dec 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781399089913

Paul D. Shannon

Paul Shannon has been a keen follower of the railway scene since the early 1970s. Alongside his career in education he developed particular interests in railway infrastructure and rail freight. He has visited most parts of the railway network and photographed the lines, stations, depots, yards, freight terminals and signalling that make it possible to run trains from A to B. He has written many magazine articles and video scripts as well as compiling over 30 books on varied railway topics.

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INTRODUCTION

This book takes a detailed look at how Britain’s branch lines and other secondary routes have evolved over the last half century. The starting point is the immediate aftermath of Dr Richard Beeching’s infamous 1963 report ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’, usually referred to simply as the ‘Beeching Report’ even though its author was not actually named. While that report proposed the closure of some main lines, its main targets were branch lines and other secondary routes where traffic levels were low and operating costs disproportionately high.

Between 1963 and 1970, nearly 4,000 route miles were lost from the British network. Some rural districts were deprived of railways altogether, including parts of Lincolnshire, North Cornwall, parts of Mid-Wales and the Scottish Borders. But some of the remotest parts of the country had their rail connection reprieved, such as the Cumbrian Coast and the Far North of Scotland. Social as well as economic factors were increasingly taken into account when the fate of threatened lines was being determined. After 1970, the closures were few and far between. The high-profile reprieve of the Settle to Carlisle and Kyle of Lochalsh lines heralded a change in policy, as the emphasis switched from wholesale closure to less drastic cost-cutting measures such as track rationalisation and reductions in station staff.

At the same time, BR began to realise the potential to open or reopen small stations as a means of attracting extra business. With Paytrain operation, the running costs of additional stations were relatively low. Local authorities often contributed to the capital expenditure, notably in South and West Yorkshire but also in some more rural areas. The number of stations added to the national network rose from about 50 in the 1970s to more than 100 in the 1980s; these figures included some main-line rail-heads such as Alfreton & Mansfield Parkway, but most were essentially local facilities. The reopening trend continued into the early 1990s. More than seventy stations joined the national network between 1990 and 1994. They included a good number in Scotland and South Wales, plus the Robin Hood Line in Nottinghamshire.

Electrification projects gathered pace in the 1980s. While many schemes focused on long-distance main lines, a number of branch lines and other secondary routes were wired, such as Wickford-Southminster, Watford Junction-St Albans Abbey and Ardrossan-Largs. Moving into the 1990s, overhead electrification was extended to branches such as North Berwick and Ilkley, while third-rail electrification schemes were completed on the Wirral as well as on the former Southern Region. Electrification often brought an increase in service quality and frequency, even if the trains themselves were not brand new.

As British Rail gave way to the era of private operators, so the rate of station openings and re-openings slowed. This was partly because of the huge cost increase caused by the need to make stations safer, more secure and more accessible. However, the re-openings did not stop altogether. Among the major schemes were the return of passenger trains to two former freight-only lines in South Wales – Barry-Bridgend in 2005 and the Ebbw Vale branch in 2008 – and the revival of the mothballed Stirling-Alloa line in 2008. But by far the most ambitious and ground-breaking scheme was the return of trains to 30 miles of the former Waverley route in 2015, despite parts of the trackbed having been blocked by development. Scotland has also led the way in terms of electrification, with several extensions in and around the Central Belt completed in recent decades.

Not surprisingly, the rolling stock fleet used on local lines has been completely replaced in the last 50 years. The oldest photographs in this book show a wide variety of first-generation DMUs and EMUs, introduced in the 1950s and 1960s to replace costly and cumbersome steam-hauled operations. Sprinters and other types of second-generation unit began to take over in the 1980s and there has also been more than one experiment with low-cost traction, notably the four-wheel Pacers that could still be seen until recently and the Vivarail D-Train that is lurching into service on a few rural routes. But locomotive haulage is represented in these pages as well. Some lines retained their Mark 1 stock for a long time, notably the various branches in the North and North West of Scotland. Some routes elsewhere reverted to locomotive haulage because of a shortage of suitable units, such as Trans-Pennine services in the 1980s and East Anglian branches and the Cumbrian Coast in more recent times.

CHAPTER 1

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

The physical geography of Cornwall with its long spine and deeply indented coastline lent itself to the building of branch lines. By the early 1960s none of the Cornish branches were carrying more than 5,000 passengers a week and most were proposed for closure in the Beeching Report. Only Falmouth and Newquay were expected to escape the axe. As things turned out, the branches to St Ives and Looe also survived, together with part of the former Callington branch as far as Gunnislake.

The Helston branch was already under threat when the Report was published and it closed to passengers in November 1962. It was a similar story for the meandering Chacewater-Newquay line, which closed in February 1963. The demise of Lostwithiel-Fowey passenger services followed in January 1965, although the single track winding its way alongside the Fowey estuary still carries trainloads of china clay for export today. The former Southern branches to Bude and Padstow via Launceston closed in October 1966 and the remaining route to Padstow via Bodmin succumbed three months later. The Callington branch was cut back to Gunnislake in November 1966. Alongside the various Cornish branch line closures, six intermediate stations on the Plymouth-Penzance main line lost their passenger services in 1964.

Passenger carryings on the St Ives branch increased rapidly after the opening of Lelant Saltings in 1978 and a single carriage was inadequate in the summer months. Arriving in the bay platform at St Erth on 27 July 1983 is a four-car formation comprising Class 121 car W55025 and Class 118 cars W51323, W59475 and W51308. (Paul Shannon)

The St Ives branch was effectively reduced to a long siding from St Erth in the 1960s and its terminus was relocated in 1971 to make way for a car park. Class 118 car W51308 is closest to the camera in this view of St Ives dated 27 July 1983. This vehicle and its two partners were no strangers to the South West, having been allocated new to Plymouth Laira in 1960; however they moved between several different Western Region depots from 1962 before returning eventually to their home ground. (Paul Shannon)

The combination of Network SouthEast red, white and blue and Great Western style chocolate and cream makes a curious sight as Class 117 cars 51361 and 51368 prepare to depart from St Ives with the 1435 to St Erth on 17 July 1996. Car 51361 had spent most of its life working commuter trains in the Thames Valley but had been reallocated to the South West in 1994. Both vehicles were retired from service in 1997. (David J. Hayes)

The 4¼-mile branch from St Erth to St Ives was listed for closure in 1963 but later saved because of its social importance. The route was always single-track and, following the withdrawal of goods facilities, became in effect a long siding from St Erth. The track was shortened by 200 yards in 1971 when the ex-GWR terminus was replaced by a simpler facility to make way for a car park. At that time, BR served St Ives with a shuttle service of thirteen trains each way on weekdays, mostly to and from St Erth but with one through working to and from Penzance. In May 1978 the branch gained an enhanced role with the opening of Lelant Saltings halt, promoted as a ‘park and ride’ location so that motorists could avoid the congested streets of St Ives. That facility switched to St Erth in 2019, leaving Lelant Saltings with just one call each way on weekdays. However, the branch as a whole still thrives and currently boasts a weekday service of twenty-eight trains each way.

The Falmouth branch lost both its intermediate passing loops in the 1960s and its passenger terminus was relocated to a new site just over 900 yards up the line in 1970. However, the original terminus reopened in 1975; the 1970 platform then became The Dell and, from 1989, Falmouth Town. The service in 1973 comprised just twelve trains each way on weekdays, all running to or from Truro. An improvement came in 2009 when Penryn gained a new passing loop, funded jointly by the European Union, Cornwall County Council and Network Rail. Today’s train service amounts to thirty out and back journeys each weekday.

Newquay has always been the most important of the Cornish branch termini. Although it was listed in the Beeching Report, this was for closure of the five intermediate stations rather than wholesale service withdrawal. As it happened, the intermediate stations remained open, but the number of passing loops was reduced to two and the terminus eventually cut back to a single platform. In 1973, Newquay had just six all-stations services to and from Par each weekday, but it also welcomed a number of dated locomotive-hauled holiday trains; there were departures to Sheffield and Liverpool on Fridays and to Manchester, Newcastle, London and Nottingham on Saturdays. Today’s timetable has slightly more local trains to and from Par but fewer summer-only long-distance services, the latter taking the place of local trains in the timetable.

Class 121 car W55033 approaches Truro with a relief working on the Cornish main line on 5 August 1982. The ‘Avon Link’ sticker provides a clue that this vehicle’s home depot was Bristol Bath Road. Centre stage is Truro signal box, dating back to 1899 but with an enlarged frame installed in 1971. Mechanical signalling is still in charge at this location today. (Paul Shannon)

The Looe branch must rank as one of the most curious survivors on the British network, the route starting from Liskeard with a sharply curved descent to Coombe where all trains reverse. It was earmarked for closure by Dr Beeching but ultimately retained on grounds of social need. The line was always single-track and there was only ever one platform at Looe, which was relocated about 100 yards up the line in 1968. Coombe Junction lost its signal box in favour of a ground frame in 1981. The train service between Liskeard and Looe has grown from nine trains each way in 1973 to fifteen today, but only two are booked to call at Coombe Junction Halt, as it is now called.

The 9½-mile branch from Bere Alston to Callington, straddling the Devon-Cornwall boundary, was an easy target for Beeching era cuts as its patronage was well below 5,000 passengers a week. However, the section between Bere Alston and Gunnislake was retained because it provided an important link to Plymouth for communities poorly served by road. After Okehampton-Plymouth trains were withdrawn in May 1968, the Bere Alston-Plymouth line was combined with the remaining branch to Gunnislake, with a reversal at Bere Alston. BR ran nine trains each weekday