We are being spoilt...

A few days ago I mentioned rumours that First Devon & Cornwall might not be getting new buses for the Park & Ride. Well, like many rumours, it seems that we are indeed getting new buses - and very high quality buses at that!
The Alexander dennis web site gives a run down on future orders for the Enviro 400 model and gives First Group as taking 9 buses, 10.8M long, 71 seats, 4 standees, for delivery December 2006. and I quote...

FirstGroup vehicles are to a very high specification to be operated by First
Devon & Cornwall on Park & Ride. Spec includes leather trimmed coach
seats, sophisticated passenger information system including 2 large TFT
screens in each saloon, 4 channel radio to each seat, air chill and
extraction and cab air conditioning)

I for one cant wait!

Sherford here we come...

Council chiefs today unveiled the final, environmentally-friendly, version of a new community on Plymouth's doorstep.Four years ago, the prospect of green farming land at Sherford, in the heart of the western South Hams, being dug over for a new town provoked more than 3,000 protests.Now, after prolonged consultation with community groups, the latest plans for the 'three-village' town just south of the A38 are going on public show tomorrow, with a media launch today.The plan is South Hams District Council's final version of the Sherford project.
The result is a plan, which discourages the excessive use of cars, will include a "high-quality" public transport system based on a park-and-ride system on the A38 at Deep Lane and where 80 per cent of Sherford's homes will be within a five-minute walk of the three centres.
BBC news report here.
It does appear that the transport links to this huge site have been well thought out. Lets just hope that this proves to be the case when it actually gets built as all to often grand plans get watered down - and transport is often the first area to get cut.

The Ducks are coming...

It seems like ages ago I reported on this blog that a new City Tour operation using DUKWs was due to start in Plymouth. This tour is to use the Teats Hill slipway. Well the BBC reports that the vehicle has been tested in Exmouth and is almost ready for service.
An armoured vehicle originally built during World War II is to become a permanent tourism feature in Devon. The amphibious carrier, known as a Dukw (or Duck), has been converted to take tourists around Plymouth Sound. A modern top has been put on the vehicle's original 1942 chassis after it was to taken to east Devon where it was stripped and rebuilt.
Although American designed, many of the vehicles were assembled in Plymouth, and the homecoming has not been lost on those operating it. Howard Slater of Ducks 'n' Drake said: "They were brought over by the Americans, they were assembled here, and, in fact, the slip road we are going to use is the same slipway the Americans used to launch them in the first place." Click here for the full story on BBC web site which has a few useful links to follow.

Park and Ride

At the beginning of June First Devon & Cornwall took over operation of the remaining Park and Ride services. Generally that means the ex London Tridents for the George and Milehouse run and these newer Darts on the Coypool route. While it is nice to see FDC putting their newer buses on the run I am surprised that no attempt has yet been made to paint any into a proper dedicated livery. This is a service which really does need a special eye catching livery. Maybe they are waiting until the new buses arrive later this year and then re-launch the service with a new livery? Mind you there are rumours that we wont actually be getting new buses after all - Let just hope that these rumours are unfounded!

City Centre Company

The City Centre Company which seems to be a division of the City Council set up to run the City Centre has its own small fleet of vehicles and up until recently operated one or two LDV Convoy refuse trucks. Now this anonymous plain white Ford Transit is in use. It is seen here sitting in the sun at Bretonside Bus Station. I am not sure if this is a change of policy for council vehicle operation as they do not seem to be buying many new vans at the moment at all, instead there seems to be an increase in hired in vans like this one.

Totnes Castle

Looking very smart sitting on at Plymouth Railway Station a couple of weeks ago. I dont really know what this is - I really must get up to date speed on trains in the area!
EXTRA:
Thanks to regular reader Phil Pullen for pointing me in the right direction with these. There are in fact 4 of them based at Laira - 57602-5, Restormel castle, Tintagel Castle, Pendennis Castel and Totnes Castle. For excellent up to date information on these and other locos visit The Junction

Soapbox Sunday - The Stagecoach approaches?

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

This year has seen an increase in bus companies changing hands with Stagecoach in particular being involved in a few deals to buy out a few smaller companies and two major companies. Go Ahead and Arriva have also made a few purchases over the past year, Arriva mostly buying in Europe. First have been a bit quiet on the bus front but have taken on a lot more rail work One or two overseas groups are also taking more of an interest in bus operation in this country at the moment with Transdev taking Bournemouth being the most interesting.

In most of these cases the takeovers were either open secrets - or at least strong rumours well before the events. With the growth of the email groups news gets out almost instantly these days and it can be quite hard for companies to keep things quiet as just one careless manager or staff member letting something out in a conversation can be all over the internet within a few hours!

This last week has seen a major announcement though that seems to have caught everyone by surprise. Stagecoach has just sold its London buses operations to an Australian Bank:

Stagecoach yesterday sold its London bus operations for £263.6m to Australian bank Macquarie, telling shareholders it could generate higher revenues away from the capital's tightly regulated
franchises. The bus, coach and rail group said funds from the deal could be better used developing services in deregulated markets in the north of the England.

Stagecoach will look for further organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions for its remaining British bus business, where it has expanded in Merseyside, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Tayside over the past year, chief executive Brian Souter said.

and of Macquarie...

Like the Australian football team, Macquarie is nothing if not tenacious. It looks possible it will lose out on its bid for AB Ports much as it lost out last year on a bid for the London Stock Exchange, but it has jumped up the international league with recent deals. Macquarie is one of the banks involved in Eurotunnel and own Bristol and Birmingham airports. The bank has 8,000 staff in 24 countries and runs the gas pipelines in Wales and the west of England. Macquarie can trace its roots to the defunct Hill Samuel City investment bank. It became Macquarie in 1985.

Above copyright www.Guardian.co.uk

So far so good, but what does this have to do with Plymouth? Well, in the short term maybe not a lot, but Stagecoach is knocking on the door of Plymouth. It has a very sucessful operation based in Exeter and Torquay where it has really turned the business around over the past few years and is now the envy of many other parts of Devon and Cornwall and especially Plymouth. The company has shown just what can be achieved by working well with local authorities and has built up an impressive modern fleet of low floor double deckers on services which a few years ago were all run by minibuses.

With Stagecoach publically anouncing its looking for expansion of its bus operation, and having the spare cash to do it operators in Plymouth will be keeping a much closer eye on activities up the road. The Devon team have shown their Stagecoach bosses that if they are given new buses then they can use them to generate growth. I think its only fair to say that Stagecoach Devon probably find it easier to argue for new stock than the First Devon & Cornwall management. It does appear that things may be turning around for First D&C but years of problems are not going to be sorted overnight and having a much more sucessful operation on the doorstep, and Stagecoach not being afraid to go head to head with First Group elsewhere in the country can not make life any easier for them

Of course the easiest way into the Plymouth bus market is Plymouth Citybus. This is one of just a few survivors of what used to be many local authority owned bus companies. With the City Council under financial strain like any other council the sale of Plymouth Citybus must be an option at the back of councillors minds. First have made no secret that they would be interested. I cant imagine Stagecoach sitting back and letting that happen!

There is an excellent article on the Omnibuses blog about the history of Stagecoach which is well worth a read. I end with a quote from the Omnibus Blog from 24th June on the anouncment of the sale of Stagecoach London:

Another implication is that Stagecoach has signalled to the remaining independents and municipals that it is ready and waiting with its cheque book, pen poised. It wouldnÂ’t be too inaccurate to say that the sale proceeds are enough to buy outright just about all the remaining municipals, for example, or others. More on this again, next week, when we reveal our Top 40 Best Buys.

This will make interesting reading - Plymouth Citybus will certainly be there somewhere - my guess in the top ten?

New ambulance

I have been trying to get this one on camera for a few days since it appeared parked at the Derriford Ambulance Station just recently. Bit of a change for WAS as its based on Mercedes Sprinter chassis unlike the more recent mainly Renault based purchases, although Mercedes have featured in the fleet since the mid 1980's.

Its Pink - but is it a Taxi?

Taxi firms are in uproar over a new women-only service which has set up in Plymouth without being licensed.Plymouth City Council officers met the Pink Ladies firm yesterday, and said it may take legal advice. The company only started operating in Plymouth this month, using women drivers to ferry female passengers and their children.Estover-based Pink Ladies, running six distinctive pink Renault Kangoos, insists it is neither a hackney carriage outfit nor a private hire company.It claims to exist as a members- only 'travel club' under an exemption under Section 75 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976.Full story here

Landslide

It seems that the land slide that caused us problems on Sunday was a bigger problem than was first thought.
This is Plymouth: 11:50 - 19 June 2006
A landslide in South East Cornwall has covered rail tracks and halted train travel to Plymouth.About 100 tonnes of earth slipped on to the tracks between Bere Alston and Bere Ferrers at about 11.30am yesterday.Trains on the branch line between Gunnislake and Plymouth are not running and buses are being provided for travellers.The landslide, which Network Rail describe as a 'serious landslip', was reported to the rail service providers by track control staff.Network Rail have said ground engineers are at the site assessing how unstable the area is and when the line will be back in use.A spokesperson for Network Rail said trains would not be back in service for at least six days.A First Great Western spokesperson said: "The lines will be closed for a week while the tracks are cleared."We are working hard to ensure that our customers are inconvenienced as little as possible, which is why we put buses into service immediately. They will be running all week."

When is the next train?

Well we started off with good intentions of exploring the Tamar Valley Line today but all did not go to plan!
We decided against the Dartmoor Explorer ticket as we didnt think our son was up to long bus journeys just yet. Instead we purchased standard return tickets from St Budeaux Station to Gunnislake which came to just under £7 for three adults and gave us unlimited travel on the line between these two points. The Dartmoor ticker would have worked out at £15 - itself a bargain!

We got off at Bere Alston first and had a walk about for about 40 mins and then caught the return train to Bere ferrers where we decided on a longer break of about an hour. Long walk down into the village and a quick picnic by the river and then the long walk up the hill. After waiting a good ten mins past the time the train was due someone phoned through and was told the train had been cancelled due to a small land slip on the line. The train had returned to Plymouth. We were promised a taxi would be dispatched - but up to an hours wait. There are no toilets at Bere Ferrers station! After a while searching a local was found who allowed the ladies to use their facillities. then after almost exactly one hour the taxi arrived and 5 of us set of the Calstock.
A good few hours were spent at Calstock including an excellent Fathers Day pub lunch. Quite a bit of exploring and many photos taken. Then the long walk up the hill to see if the trains were running again.
We tried the message point and got a really confusing message to say that the the 16:18 train to Plymouth had been cancelled. The next train at Calstock would be the 16:18 train to Plymouth! I have recorded the message which you can here on the link below.
Click here to hear the message 'Train-Message' [Link no longer works!]
Just after 16:20 a taxi arrived to pick up Plymouth passengers - there were about 8 of us. He then said he would pick us up from down the path - when a bus arrived and said he was picking us up instead. Confusion all round for a few mins but we all piled into the bus and set off on the long journey home - via all stations on route - but picking up no more passengers. The driver wasnt really sure of the way but didn't get lost although it was a real squeeze with his big Mercedes 'bread van' down some very narrow country lanes - he managed some impressive reversing when we met some large tractors in small spaces.
We arrived back about an hour behind schedule and my son managed brilliantly and really enjoyed the bus journey - he was very disappointed not to get another train ride though.
Great day out for £7! Must have cost the train company a lot more than that though.

Plymothian Transit

Just a quick note to say thankyou to all who visit this site - I know that I have quite a few regular visitors who leave comments too - they are always welcome! As you can see I have spent the last hour or so catching up with the postings from the last week. I do try to have something to post for most days - even if at the moment I am not always finding the time to get them on line. I have just noticed today that I have now passed the 3000 mark for visitors to this site. Thank you!
I am off down to the Railway Station shortly to meet a friend - and to have a bit of trains spotting with my son Zak (age 3) then tomorrow its out and about on the Moors using the Dartmoor Explorer ticket. so I am sure there will be plenty more posts to come this weekend!

Another good news story about First!

Wow - this is the second positive item I have posted today on First. Must be some kind of record. I am not anti-First in anyway - I really want them to do a good job - its just that all to often they shoot themselves in the foot!
Anyway this story from this is Plymouth (full story click here)

Rail operator First has thought again about proposed cuts to services in Ivybridge and South East Cornwall in response to passionate local protests. First Great Western and the Department for Transport have said the December timetable will include four additional services in each direction at Ivybridge - still a reduction on the current service, but not as severe as was originally proposed. There will also be an additional early- morning service from Calstock into Plymouth.
Secretary of the Ivybridge Rail Users' Group Phil Dredge, who had been protesting since FGW originally published a timetable which would have cut services across the region, said: "It's people power, isn't it? We've been fighting cuts for 15 months now and it's been a hard-fought campaign."The timetable will give us 18 trains instead of the 24 we have now, but I see that as very positive compared to how it could have been.
Valley Rail Partnership Ian Kirk said: "I think this is brilliant news, I really do. If it gives people an opportunity to use the train for work that makes a tremendous difference."The Rail Partnership has been fighting for an early morning train ever since it was cut years ago so this is a real triumph.

Most people were expecting First to just stick to their guns and provide the levels of service they said they would. so its good to see that they have listened and responded to some of the requests. Of course it is still a reduction for Ivybridge but at least its not as bad as it could have been. I am also pleased with Phil Dredge's comment
"Our next campaign will be to encourage people to use the railway and keep an eye on future cuts." All to often campaigners against cuts in services forget this vital bit. Surely the best way to stop your service getting reduced is to get more people to use it more often.

Megaride

11:50 - 16 June 2006
It is a motorbike more associated with outlaws like Hell's Angels, but now Plymouth police are driving around on Harley Davidsons.Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's new Harley Davidson is set to lead a procession of around 8,000 motorcyclists at the annual Plymouth Megaride on Sunday, June 18.The force is one of six in the country trialling the Harley Davidson Road King 1510cc motorbike. It is being used for traffic policing and to help promote road safety in the biking community. Full story here
I don't normally mention motorbikes here on Plymothian Transit but thought this is interesting. Also as it promotes the Megaride. The Megaride will see the bikers riding in convoy along the A38 from Lee Mill to the Hoe, raising cash for charity. I used to live in a flat down at Marsh Mills - and the sight and sound of thousands of motorbikes going past in convoy towards the City Centre has to be seen to be believed. I am sure they will raise a lot of money in this increasingly popular event. If you are free on Sunday then a visit to the Hoe - or better still get a good spot on the main road and watch (and hear) them coming in.

The wheels on the bus...

11:50 - 15 June 2006
The front wheel of a Plymouth Citybus fell off in Southway as the driver negotiated speed ramps. Citybus said the number 47, headed for the city centre, was travelling along Dunnet Road at about 10am yesterday when the accident happened.The vehicle was travelling uphill over speed ramps when it lost its front left wheel. No injuries were reported. The bus was to be inspected by a Citybus vehicle inspector today.

First Transforming Football?

I took this photo on the way home from work when England were already well into their game against Trinidad and Tobago. I am not a football fan and wasnt in a rush to get home. I did notice though that First have become football fans! I had seen a few reports on the internet that England flags had been appearing on First buses across the country - but this was my first sighting on one down here. Just for the record of course - England won. With many companies, including the City Council trying their best to either ban or at least restrict the use of England flags on their vehicles this seems to be a good move by First. "Well done First" - its not often you will see that in my blog! I guess they dont use these flags in Scotland?

Essential shopping

A story I missed earlier on in the month:
One of Plymouth's longest serving retailers has retired after spending 37 years in business at a city centre newsagents. Brian Mardon, 60, retired from Hooper's, in Cornwall Street, earlier this month and has been given a fond farewell by fellow West End retailers and city centre boss David Draffan. For the last 37 years, Brian has been opening the shop at 7.30am every morning. As well as selling the usual range of confectionery, newspapers and magazines, it has also carved out a reputation as a stockist of model kits and specialist military books and magazines.

The reason I post this here is to pay tribute to Brian and his little shop. The last line above (from This is Plymouth) is the reason why. As well as specialist military books - Hoopers was, and probably still is, just about the only bookshop in Plymouth where you could get specialist transport books and magazines. WH Smiths might pick a few titles it considered as regional - but more often than not the only place I could buy the books I wanted was Hoopers.

Of course these days the internet gives many of us full access to books that not even a specialist retailer could possibly stock but it remains the case that often you want to see a book before you decide to purchase it. Places like Hoopers are essential! I hope the new owners carry on the tradition. I dont suppose it is easy - especially down that part of town. Lets hope that Brian enjoys a long and happy retirement.

China Garden

Plymouth Citybus continue to pump out new advert buses with this one being one of the better, more eyecatching versions to appear. Thanks to Nick Rice for the photo


This particular bus used to be an advert for MiTrem as seen below.

This is the second bus that The China Garden has used. Bus 123 below was also a smart advert. I can recomend the restaurant as well as the bus!

Plymouth bus models

A while back I posted a picture of a new model of one a Dennis Trident in Tamar Link livery and then on the 5th May I pictured a few models representing the Plymouth Citybus fleet. Well news has come through of more new models available soon:

CREATIVE MASTER NORTHCORD LTD PRESS
UKBUS4008 Alexander Royale-bodied Volvo Olympian
First Devon & Cornwall
Since the operation of London’s Airbus routes ceased a couple years ago, the new lives of the ex-Airbus Volvo Olympian / Alexander Royale's have been of interest to British enthusiasts. Creative Master Northcord Limited is releasing the third livery on the Airbus / ex-Airbus replica – UKBUS4008, in First Devon & Cornwall “X80 take it easy” colours.
UKBUS4008 represents fleet number 34200 (V00 273). 34200 was delivered new to London United in the spring of 1996 for London Airbus services. National Express purchased the Airbus operation from London United in 1999 along with the 19 Olympians which operated it. These vehicles were unusual in having Air Conditioning, only 9 seats in the lower saloon, luggage racks and a wheelchair space & lift.
Following the reduction of Airbus services, First acquired many Olympians from the dealer Ensignbus. The Olympian / Royale was introduced into First Devon & Cornwall fleet on 29th October 2004, and they were dedicated vehicles on the X80 route from Plymouth to Torquay. The vehicles can seat 43 people on the top deck and 22 on the lower deck plus one wheelchair. They are still fitted with air-conditioning, which comes in very useful during the summer months for visitors and residents alike who enjoy the warm climate of the Devon Riviera.
Similar to those Airbus / ex-Airbus replicas, UKBUS4008 has a new combination of the UKBUS4000 series casting, with a single door, front staircase and bonded windows, as well as chair lift poles at the entrance, brand new seats and luggage rack in the lower saloon and ventilation windows on the roof.
UKBUS4008 is a one-piece casting whose clean lines accentuate the bonded windows and livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible. The headlight and indicator units at the front are made of individual components to look more realistic.
The brand new single-door Alexander Royale Volvo Olympian double-deck bus models will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK), Porte Publishing Company (Japan) and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively. The UKBUS4008 model is limited to 1700 pieces worldwide.



CREATIVE MASTER NORTHCORD - PRESS RELEASE
Plaxton Mini Pointer-bodied Dennis Dart UKBUS3023 First Devon & Cornwall
Further to the previous successful release of the Mini Pointer Dart replicas with other operators’ colours, CMNL is releasing a further MPD model. This is UKBUS3023 carrying the eye-catching Tamar Link colours.
The UKBUS3023 First Devon & Cornwall MPD replica carries the fleet number 40002 and registration number S764 RNE.
This Plaxton Pointer-bodied Super Low Floor Dennis Dart was registered on 15th December 1998 and was fully operational on First’s Torpoint service 80/81 in March 2005. The vehicle re-branding was the result of a successful Urban Bus Challenge bid submitted by Plymouth City Council, supported by Cornwall County Council and was jointly funded by the Department for Transport and FirstGroup plc.
The bus provides an enhanced service for commuters travelling from South East Cornwall to Plymouth across the Torpoint Ferry. The striking design was the result of extensive market research carried out by First Group and has been well received by regular customers on the service.
The bus was named by local youngster Jack Jerrard, after birds which can been seen in the Tamar Estuary; Spoonbill, Egret, Cormorant, Swan & Heron are Trident deckers with this Mini Pointer Dart being named Kingfisher.
This is a one-piece casting whose clean lines accentuate the gasket windows and livery application on which all logos and lettering are clearly legible. The model also features excellent detailing, inside and out, including an opening engine door, showing the detailed, environmentally friendly engine. All grab rails feature inside the replica and in their correct positions. The construction method of this replica permits realistic-looking front and rear lights – in particular the front headlamp / indicator assembly whose headlamp is transparent and indicator is translucent.
The brand new UKBUS3023 Tamar Link bus models are limited to 1400 pieces produced. It will be distributed by John Ayrey Die-Casts Limited (UK), Porte Publishing Company (Japan) and Concorde Hobby Shop (HK) respectively.

To keep up with all bus model news then just about the best site to visit is British Model Buses which as all the up to date news and press releases.

Fergusons Parade

11:50 - 07 June 2006
The Lord Mayor's parade should be moved to later in the summer and become more like London's world- famous Notting Hill Carnival - says the new Lord Mayor.

Dont worry - neither will ever happen!

This odd little story from This is Plymouth does give me a good opportunity to post a few more photos from the parade where, as usual Fergusons Transport provided the power behind quite a few of the floats:

Ski Plymouth

Having posted the Olympian from back in the late 1980's here is an up to date photo of one of the sisters. A752VAF currently carries this all over advert for Plymouth Ski Centre. Well, its almost an all over advert - notice the panel around the front wheel arch in base coat white!
It is noted that First usually keep the front of their advert buses in Barbie colours whereas Citybus are quite happy to plaster the advert all over - including the windows!
Previous blog entry

Unwanted Bus Station

This is Plymouth:11:50 - 05 June 2006
The £25million plan to redevelop Bretonside bus station with a hotel, apartments, shops and a car park is on the brink of collapse.The city council has given an ultimatum to the Henry Boot, the developer in line to transform Bretonside, to use the site or lose it. And the council has said if Henry Boot, which was awarded the remit to redesign Bretonside in 2002, does nothing by August, they will pull the plug.Henry Boot Developments has £25million plans for a seven-storey 120-bedroom hotel, retail units, 120 residential units, a 150-space car park, and a pedestrianised piazza with a footbridge across Bretonside to How Street. Henry Boot's brief had originally envisaged that a bus and coach station would remain on the site, but this was not in line with the far-reaching vision for Plymouth by architect David Mackay.Mr Mackay instead suggested creating a combined bus and rail terminus on the site of the city's railway station.A report to a council scrutiny panel reads: "Consequently a number of discussions with Henry Boot Developments centred around exploring these further options.
Last August, the Evening Herald revealed how Henry Boot had slammed the council for causing "embarrassing" delays on the project. Mr Painter told the Herald then that the firm was losing out on deals with potential investors because of the delays, with talks about where the city's new coach station should go proving "the main stumbling block"

The site at Bretonside badly needs to be sorted out. It is a very unwelcoming place and really bady run down. It is a real shame that the City has so little pride that it has let the bus station become such a mess. Of course the real issue is that they dont want a bus station there. You sometimes get the feeling that the council would rather not have a bus station at all.
The Mckay plan for the City suggests a a bus station at the Railway station. In some ways this would make sense having a proper transport interchange although this is not a convenient location for the City Centre. There does not seem to be a lot of spare space available there either. I hoep that the City gets something sorted for this space, and that the bus travelling public get a fair deal out of it. Sadly I fear they will fairly low down the list of priorities.

Cornwall Express - in Devon

Thanks to Jeff Lloyd who sent this photo from his collection of one of Plymouth's long serving Leyland Olympians in one of the many liveries carried by this batch of buses. A750VAF is in the colourful Cornwall Express livery from around 1986/1987 known by many as the Captain Birdseye livery. These were always comfortable buses and worked well on the longer runs like the X80. The livery carried was for the excellent Cornwall Express services which meant a ride on one of these fine buses all the way down into deepest Cornwall. Sadly its less easy these days.
[Copyright unknown - no details written on back of photo purchased by Jeff Lloyd. If its yours then please let me know!)

Fowey Steam Pony

Just catching up with events over the passed few days which may be of interest to the Plymothian Transit readers.

11:50 - 30 May 2006
The Fowey Pony steamed into Plymouth yesterday on a whistle stop tour of Devon and Cornwall. The BR Standard Four steam locomotive, number 76079, got train spotters excited as it chugged into Plymouth Station in the afternoon and then left for Fowey in Cornwall. Andy State, director of the company behind the tour, Pastime Rail, said: "The locomotive went from Plymouth, over the River Tamar and took the highly scenic Fowey branch yesterday. It's all part of a programme to bring steam trains to parts of Devon and Cornwall which haven't seen them for a long time."

It sounds like a great trip and I wished I had known about it at the time as I know my young son would have loved to have seen it. Whilst searching for info about this trip I cam across UKSteam.Info which gives all known details of steam train trips on mainline tracks so maybe now I will find out in advance!

A search on Fotopic gives plenty of photos of the train as various locations so for your viewing pleasure try these links

Forder, Hemerdon Bank,
Excellent shot of the train at Crewe back in May.