PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
|||||
 |
||||||
|
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
The Southern Railway was formed by the amalgamation of London and South Western Railway with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, and the South Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The new Company began operating on January 1st 1923. In the Plymouth area, this meant that it took over the running of the old London and South Western Railway Company's lines. In 1925 the Southern Railway held a competition amongst staff to bestow a suitable name of the 11am service from London Waterloo to the West of England. The winning name was the "Atlantic Coast Express". It was destined to become the country's most multi-portioned passenger train. The first run of the new Express took place on Monday July 19th 1926.
Plymouth's Friary Station in Southern Railway days. Competition from motor buses became stronger after the end of the First World War, when many soldiers used their wartime service money to buy old lorries and convert them into passenger carrying vehicles. Then, in 1929, came the formation of the businesses like the Western National Omnibus Company, which was set up to run bus services within the Great Western Railway's area. One of the first branch lines to succumb to this competition from road vehicles was the Plymouth to Yealmpton one. This closed from July 7th 1930, along with Laira Halt on the main line. Lipson Vale Halt was used by Southern Railway trains only after the withdrawal of the Great Western's suburban service to Plympton. The Southern Railway's locomotive number 859, "Lord Hood", visited the area during Navy Week 1934. It travelled down and back via the GWR main line as the class were prohibited from the Southern's own main line and was exhibited at Devonport King's Road Station from August 7th to the 9th. The engine returned to London Waterloo on August 10th, when it hauled a portion of the Atlantic Coast Express eastwards from Exeter.
Anticipating the declaration of War that was about to come, the railways were once again brought under Government control by The Railway Control Order (Statutory Rules and Orders 1939 No. 1197). This was operational from September 1st. Wartime activity was frantic, of course, and there were many changes put into operation locally. The first, in 1940, was the addition of a munitions siding adjacent to Friary "A" Signal Box. During the Blitz on Plymouth in March and April 1941 Plymstock Signal Box was destroyed and replaced with a new one within the booking office. Also in March (on the 2nd or 21st depending on which source you read) came the link between the Southern and the Great Western at St Budeaux, talked about as far back as 1919. On November 3rd that year the branch line to Yealmpton was re-opened and although operated by the Great Western the trains ran from Plymouth Friary Station and called additionally at Lucas Terrace Halt. Turnchapel Signal Box had been destroyed when enemy aircraft set fire to an adjoining fuel depot. A new box was opened on March 8th 1942. Camel's Head Halt was closed from May 4th 1942 and dismantled because it was built of timber and was thus a fire hazard. Some locomotive exchange workings between Plymouth and Exeter were noted in 1942. GWR 7321 worked the 2.25pm from Plymouth Friary to Exeter and returned on the 7.05pm from Exeter Central while number 6385 had also been noted on the 4.40pm from Friary. The latter ran light back to Exeter Saint David's Station rather than working a train back. Southern Railway number 1408 worked the 11.25am from Exeter Saint David's Station on Friday June 19th 1942. [TRO161] With the introduction of the winter timetable for 1943-44 the method of working the Plymouth to Brighton and Portsmouth trains was altered. Previously the two portions had split at Fareham, Hampshire, and joined together again there in the Down direction but now only the Up train did that. In the reverse direction the portion from Brighton, depart 11.45am, ran via Southampton to Romsey, at which station it was joined by the Portsmouth portion that had run via Eastleigh. Neither trains had called at Romsey previously. [TRO180] During the period between December 23rd 1943 and January 1st 1944 the 10.25am from Bristol reverted from running over the Southern main line from Exeter to Plymouth to the Great Western Railway one. It was said that this was because the load was too heavy for the Southern locomotives available at the time. It was also recorded that locomotives of the 83XX class were being used on the 2.35pm Plymouth Friary to Exeter Central train, Laira Shed's only daily turn over Southern metals. [TRO180] After the end of the War, the Southern Railway introduced a new class of locomotive for passenger and freight work in the Westcountry. Weighing some 128 tons, this Pacific type had a tractive effort of 31,000lbs. It was aptly named the Westcountry Class and on the evening of Wednesday July 11th 1945 the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman H G Mason, named the third locomotive in the Class as "Plymouth". The ceremony took place at Friary Station and was watched by hundreds of schoolboys, who were eager to climb up into the driving cab afterwards. Representing the Southern Railway were the chairman, Colonel Eric Gore Brown; the general manager, Sir Eustace Missenden; and the chief mechanical engineer, Mr O V Bulleid. The locomotive was put to work between Exeter and Ilfracombe on Friday July 13th 1945. [1] But if the newly-named "Plymouth" thought it was to have a life of glory that was soon extinguished when, on July 14th 1945, it was seen hauling 'an ignominious little train of 5 wagons' through Exeter Saint David's and up the incline to Exeter Central Station. Needless to say it didn't need a banking engine. [TRO198] Southern Railway locomotive number 1871 was noted working the 11.25am from Exeter St David's to Plymouth exchange working on Saturday August 4th 1945, piloted from Newton Abbot to Plymouth by GWR 3446. [TRO200] 1871 was noted on the 4.35pm Plymouth North road to Exeter Saint David's on Wednesday August 8th 1945. [TRO199] A London, Midland & Scottish Railway locomotive, number 8433, was an unusual visitor to Plymouth on the August Bank Holiday Monday, when it brought the first part of the down North Mail into Plymouth North Road Station. [TRO200] The 8.25am from Plymouth Friary to London Waterloo was worked for a week in August or September 1945 by the brand new "West Country" class number 21C107, subsequently named "Okehampton" [TRO199]. It had only made its first trial run on August 8th 1945 and at that time it was painted grey, as was one side of its tender, which had white lettering shaded in black and white horizontal lines. The remainder of the tender was painted the usual green, with standard lettering and yellow lines. [TRO199] On January 13th 1947 the Halt at Albert Road was closed and on March 2nd the signal box at Ford Station, with its siding, was also closed and dismantled. On Friday June 20th 1947 the Southern Railway introduced a Pullman Car train named the "Devon Belle". This ran from London's Waterloo Station to Ilfracombe in north Devon, with the front portion of the train going to Plymouth. The Southern Railway ceased to exist from Midnight on December 31st 1947, following which its system became the Southern Region of British Railways, under the terms set out in the Transport Act of August 6th 1947. Sources (incomplete):
|
||||||
