14th AUGUST 1975.THE BAY CITY ROLLERS had just had 3 weeks at number 1, the Ford Cortina ruled the roads and a cloudburst deposited 17.5cm of rain on Hampstead in 3hours. (Flooding 100 homes in 5 minutes-who says the weather's odd now?). None of this mattered to me-I was 14 years old & spending several hours on Bodmin Road station,Cornwall. We were on our annual pilgrimage to the West,staying on the same farm near St.Austell that we always had done. In between tractor driving,Kellys ice cream & getting squidgy white clay between our toes on Par beach, my aim was chasing Class 52 'Westerns'. By 1975 the numbers were fading fast; within 18 months the locos would be history & a little of what made the West Country special would be gone forever.
I took a few photos,but my trusty 'Bush' cassette recorder often came along to capture the scene as a Maybach engine on full chat was (almost!) more stirring than the handsome outline of the locos...
Here then is a snippet of the trains I saw during that visit. I spent most of the time on the Down platform,nestled under the footbridge by the signal box. Thankfully the 'box survives(still?)as a cafe-but alas the sounds of bell codes & the 'road' being set no longer sing out from within.
I have taken the liberty of 'borrowing' a few period photos to add atmosphere to the piece & hope I dont upset anyone-but hereby give credit to (among others) the following for capturing & showing their work for others to enjoy: Mark Harrington,Dave Ashurst,'rugd1022',Mark Koch,Forest Pines,'Fray Bentos'.
Big thanks also to the WLA for looking after D1013/D1062 so well,the Williton crew for their hydraulic efforts and the amazing D1015 for enabling us to enjoy pleasures past.
Lastly, many thanks to my son Olly, for painstakingly converting 35 year-old 'Soundhog' tapes to 21st century format on his studio equipment! www.ontrackstudio.co.uk