A day’s run for a rail test train.
On Friday 20th Nov 2020 the regular 4 weekly Network Rail HST powered test train was unavailable and the stand-in locomotives on a 4 coach replacement set were Colas 37254 "Cardiff Canton" and 37099 "Merl Evans". The two locomotives are a credit to English Electric as...
Gunnislake branchline Infrastructure train
On Sunday 15th evening the Westbury to St. Budeaux Network Rail Infrastructure train could be seen passing through Dawlish and Teignmouth top and tailed by GBRf's 66790 & 66789. Somewhat unusual was that the consist was made up with rail, sleepers and...
Black swan deaths attributed to bird flu
Defra has confirmed today (Wednesday 11 November) that the deaths of several black swans, including five cygnets, in Dawlish this week is due to a strain of avian flu. On Monday this week (9 November), the death of one adult black swan and five cygnets was confirmed...
Nuclear Flask collection 2nd&3rd November 2020
DRS 66301 "Kingmoor TMD" and 66304 travelled down from Crewe to Devonport to collect a nuclear flask and returned the next day to take it as far as Crewe. The video shows them sauntering along the Dawlish sea wall after being held in Dawlish Warren station for a...
The Worlds’ First Ever Live Streaming, Black Swan Camera Debuts in Dawlish, UK.
Black Swan Cam is a joint venture by Dawlish Beach Cams and Dawlish Town Council to provide worldwide coverage of the famous, Dawlish black swans. The state of the art camera located on Sea Breeze Cafe roof can focus on the black swans and their nest or can be moved...
Rail News- Rare Visitor.
On a very infrequent working from Crewe to Devonport and return brought two ex Fastline Class 66 locos now branded in the Direct Rail Services compass livery. It is believed to be the first occasion when 66303 and 66304 have been down to Plymouth. The consist of the...
Rail News 6th September 2020
A busy Saturday for trains on the sea wall. Main interest was the passing of the luxurious Northern Belle Pullman train which was on a day tour from Swansea to Torquay. Headed by 57316 now unnamed, but called FAB1 (which was Lady Penelope's 6 wheeled Rolls Royce) when...
100,000 Followers and counting – Competition time for around £600 worth of prizes
We would like to thank everyone that follows us on social media as we have reached 100,000 followers this month which is incredible. We are close to 60k on Facebook, 30k on YouTube, 8k on Instagram and nearly 6k on Twitter. That's an increase of 40,000 followers for...
Rail News 22-08-2020
The next and last steam train special to pass through Dawlish and Teignmouth this year, according to the Railway Touring Company, will be LMS Stanier Class 5 44871 in place of the previously advertised 6233 Duchess of Sutherland. This is the Royal Duchy from Bristol...
Brunel Holiday Park Cam
For close to a year now we've all been enjoying our latest camera, Brunel Holiday Park cam. Unfortunately, since lockdown was lifted, the camera has become very temperamental as a result of the sheer number of people at Dawlish Warren. We've had a meeting with Brunel...
Rail News 14-08-2020
Events featuring a Class 37 National Rail test train and a wrong line working by the cement train. The test trains to the South West seem to have been plagued with problems resulting in cancellations and curtailments but on 5th August a successful run by Colas 37219...
Freight train freight train going so fast!
A round up of some of this weeks freight trains seen on the sea walls of Dawlish and Teignmouth. For those of tender years the title comes from a song sung by Nancy Whiskey with the Chas McDevitt Skittle group which was a hit when I was a youth in 1962. You can hear...
Changes to our YouTube Channel from 1st August 2020
When lockdown happened in early 2020 we put all of our live cameras on YouTube to help people through this tough time. During this time we have been listening to our subscribers as a lot of people found it difficult to watch our live streams from our website on their...
English Riviera Statesman Rail Tour
On Saturday 18th July a welcome sight on the sea wall was the first rail charter excursion this year which ran from Peterborough to Paignton. The locomotive and coaches were a credit to Statesman Rail Tours who had organised the tour. It was intended to use two locos...
Weedkiller & High Output Ballast Cleaner trains.
First up last night was the weedkiller Windhoff Multi Purpose Vehicle top and tailed by DB Cargo 66107 & 66015 seen in the video from the San Remo and Blenheim cameras and by Nick at Teignmouth as it entered the station. There has been a change in the HOBC train...
The Mask, Thank you Key Workers, a Castle class and Sleeper ECS
Plenty to see on a lovely sunny morning on the Dawlish and Teignmouth sea walls.The video starts with a Castle set racing along the Teignmouth sea wall passing Sprey Point and will be seen again as it reaches Dawlish. On its first time of running over the wall in its...
Recent Rail Non-Passenger Movements
There has been plenty of interesting loco hauled trains this week. The HOBC, High Output Ballast Cleaner has been working from Monday to Thursday travelling along the sea wall en route to Totnes where it reverses and sets off on the up line to the worksite between...
The HOBC………..High Output Ballast Cleaner Train
This behemoth of a train passed along the sea walls and through Dawlish and Teignmouth last night, Monday 22nd June. It is impressively lengthy and much longer than any other train that we see here. It is currently based in Fairwater yard in Taunton and will be coming...
Two Top & Tail Trains
On Friday 19th June, seen as they travelled from the Penzance Long Rock Depot to the Reading Traincare depot where the two sleeper trains of the Night Riviera service are based. GWR 57603 Tintagel Castle leading and 57605 Totnes Castle bringing up the rear of the five...
Shortage of Social Media
Apologies for the shortage of social media posts recently, unfortunately, I became unwell on Monday 15th June and have been on bed rest ever since.
Weekend Infrastructure trains to Cornwall
Track was being renewed near Lostwithiel in Cornwall by using two Infrastructure trains. The first through was on Friday evening when 66024 headed the Balfour Beatty rail laying train which had been seen replacing track at Teignmouth Station back in February. The...
Busy Day at Dawlish with non passenger trains. June 5th 2020
The day saw two track machines, an empty coaching stock sleeper train and the stand-in for the usual Network Rail HST test train pass through Dawlish. The stone blower is a machine that levels trackwork in situ to make the riding qualities more comfortable and safer....
Cement powder bound for Cornwall.
This is the third week since restarting the regular weekly delivery of cement powder to the Tarmac Works at Moorswater near Liskeard, so it looks like the building trade is getting back to normal and let's hope the rest of our lives do as well before too long. This...
More information on the Provisional Dates for 2020 Special trains through Dawlish & Teignmouth
Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus all of the originally planned excursions have been postponed since March. There are hopes or expectations of the tour companies that there will be a loosening of the regulations in the movement allowed by the population to edge the...
Dawlish 1850’s
One of the earliest photos I have seen of Dawlish, I reckon it’s late 1850’s, before William Chapman opened his photography business (1863). A great view of the original station with a wide gauge steam locomotive. Brunel’s Atmospheric Pumping Tower is in the...
Double Vision!
The previous video showed DB Cargo's 66082 and 66074 taking empty JNA Falcon wagons down to Burngullow in Cornwall where the Railvac 3 had been replacing spent ballast. Over the weekend this was loaded into the first 5 wagons of the set and returned to Westbury...
DB Cargo Infrastructure train service.
On service 675V from Westbury to Burngullow, DB Cargo 66074 and 66082 top and tailed the first ten empty JNA double bogie box wagons which will be filled over the weekend and return early on Monday morning. It certainly added a bit of colour to a dull day with the...
Plenty of interest for the Rail fans.
Plenty of action this week. First up on a test train was Colas 37219 named "Jonty Jarvis" in memory of a 6 year old boy who contracted Meningitus and passed away back in 2005. The video was taken as it passed through Teignmouth station late on Tuesday evening....
Return run of the Railvac 3 Vacuum machine.
On Monday morning 20th April 2020,running three and a half hours late, due to a staffing problem, saw DB Cargo 66082 returning to Westbury from Cornwall towing the Railvac 3 vacuum machine passing Teignmouth and Dawlish in lovely warm Spring sunshine. The Railvac is...
More rail moves of interest.
The rail fans had been waiting for the return run for freight locomotive DB Cargo's 66047 in the blue Maritime livery, this one named "Maritime Intermodal Two" which has been moving china clay tank wagons around Cornwall for a fortnight since it came down from Bescot....
Two Daytime Sleepers!
It's not everyday we get to see both sleeper trains running along the sea wall. Great Western Railway normally run a 6 night a week sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance, therefore in normal use they pass Dawlish in the hours of darkness. Currently...
Recent freight trains passing through Dawlish.
On Saturday 4th April Freightliner's 66522 and 66532 top and tailed a CWR (continuous welded rail) train from Westbury to Lostwithiel via Penzance returning on the Sunday morning. Nick recorded them passing through Teignmouth station where there has recently been a...
Freight trains passing over the sea wall April 1& 2 2020
A surprise this week was a Colas Class 70 coming light engine from Cardiff to Hackney Yard sidings at Newton Abbot to collect a loaded cement tank wagon which had been removed from a trainload bound for Moorswater several months ago and been languishing in the yard...
Stock Move Long Marston to Laira & Return.
Nice to see two excellent locomotives in pristine colourful livery doing another stock movement of Class 43 power car 43091 from storage at Long Marston near Stratford on Avon and returning with Power car 43086 using Mk3 HST coach 12161 as a barrier car. Locomotives...
DB Maritime Intermodal One on China Clay Slurry
DB 66005 with a part load of China Clay slurry seen in the video as it headed through the deep cutting on the western end of Teignmouth station. Nick could have done without the DMU coming out the station and blocking the view but that's life! Next the train is seen...
Rail news. Major Infrastructure movements.
The last few days has seen a glut of engineering movements from Westbury to the far west of Cornwall between Truro and Penzance. The first train was on Thursday 13th with Colas 70805 heading a consist of box wagons with a Rail Vac machine in the centre. The train...