Barnstaple to Ilfracombe - From the Cab in 1898
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2023
- Taken from the footplate, so not technically 'from the cab', this footage was taken from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe in 1898. Unfortunately, some of the stations are missing, like Wrafton and Braunton, but the rest of the journey speaks for itself.
The original footage was found by Vitor Thompson of the BFI.
This clip is taken from a full video about the line from Exeter to Barnstaple and on to Ilfracombe, Back Along North Devon's Lines: • Back Along North Devon...
Canon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
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I travelled this line once in 1965. Diesel hauled Birmingham to Exeter, then steam to Woolacombe. It was a week's summer holiday organised by our Sunday School. We went by train to Ilfracombe on Sunday evening for the church service. Honestly I don't remember a great deal except the famous curved bridge over the river, painted green at the time; an airfield and greystone church; and the school building at Woolacombe, with a toilet block across the playground, and the backdrop of Lundy Island. Happy days . . . . 🌞😀🌞😀🌞
Good memory.
The line closed because the entire Southern system west of Salisbury was transferred to the Western Region at the beginning of 1963. The Western Region was hell bent on getting rid of the lines it inherited. After the 1964 summer, all trains from Waterloo to Devon and Cornwall terminated at Exeter St David's, and passengers had to make do with high-density diesel multiple units for the rest of their journey. Ilfracombe is over 50 miles further on. Other termini were even further. British Rail then ran a through train from Paddington to Ilfracombe, but I think that ceased after the Taunton to Barnstaple line closed in 1966. If it continued, it had to reverse at Exeter. The next stage was to single the branch, and reduce it to "one engine in steam" in 1967, and the freight service had gone by then. The Western Region had an obsession to reduce lines to single track, even main lines. The end for the branch came in October 1970. Although an enthusiasts' society tried to buy the line, they had insufficient funds. Admittedly, Ilfracombe Station was high above the town, even after the railway descended at 1 in 36 for about three miles. It is nevertheless significant that almost all the surviving branch lines in Devon and Cornwall are ex Great Western.
@@andrewtaylor5984 Great, thanks for that. I don't remember much of the journey, just odd bits. One other that did stand out was a train climbing to Central with a pair of bankers!! 👍👍
The famous curved bridge over the river (the River Taw at Barnstaple) linked Barnstaple Junction and Barnstaple Town stations. It became unsafe and was demolished in about 1977.
@@robertbate5790 The climb out of Ilfracombe was 1 in 36 for some distance, and the descent to Mortehoe was 1 in 40 in places. Trains over a certain weight had to be banked, depending on the loco. Two bankers could mean that either the train was exceptionally heavy, or that a banker was needed at Mortehoe. Attaching an extra banker in the case of the latter would save an engine path. There could be congestion at Ilfracombe, especially in summer; one platform was longer than the other, and I think that I am right in saying that a train had to be held well back when the longer platform was occupied, as it may have blocked access to the shorter. In any case, holding a train on a 1 in 36 gradient would be a risk. There could so easily have been a runaway if regulations were not observed, but, so far as I am aware, this never happened at Ilfracombe.
Excellent archive footage - thank you for sharing! 👍
*Fifty-five years ago, as a student on my way to a kitchen porter's job in a restaurant on the High Street, Ilfracombe, I took this very trip having come down from Bristol Temple Meads. I fell in love with the countryside.*
I had read about the Ilfracombe line, but this footage really shows the challenges of gradient and curvature.
125 years ago.. not only 58 years before I was born but a completely different time...
Stuff like this must be preserved. Maybe get it cleaned up a bit. So good to see this.
👍
How on earth this line was proposed for closure when serving a town like Ilfracombe beats me. I know the station was a incoveniently situated being at the top of a steep hill but really not a lot different to somewhere like Oakhampton. I still despair at the decisions made in the 60's. There was a move to press for reinstatement some time ago now, but never got off the ground. Portishead still await their connection. Calls for action on this line go back to the early 70's when the the infrastructure was in place.
In common with the entire Southern Railway system west of Salisbury, the line was transferred to the Western Region at the beginning of 1963. That region had no use for the lines it acquired, and did its best to deter people from using them. (See also my other comment.) It also never occurred to Beeching that people bought return tickets; he was only interested in receipts from the station. Holiday resorts, such as those in Devon and Cornwall, would not have sold all that many long-distance tickets, even in summer. The descent into Ilfracombe was 1 in 36, so the station could hardly have been at a lower level.
Richard Beeching was killer of the British Railways!
Why was this line closed? Was it on the mad doctors close it down cos I've got shares in the road transport out fit or part of the planned closure.
Absolutely superb! Would the camera have been mounted to the loco or was it on a wagon being propelled? And - what is the music please? Sounds like a Frank Bridge arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon so it might even be by my grandpa who was a musician and professional filmmaker. He was taught by Bridge.
I think it was mounted somehow, since it is very steady. The music is from UA-cam's catalogue, because they are very particular about what music can and cannot be used on videos. There is a link in the description.
Evil gradient ilfracombe to mortehoe
1898 or 1989? lol
I have been double/triple checking that all morning and that one slipped through. It was 1898, about 125 years ago.