Hemerdon Bank
In one of the fastest ascents of Hemerdon Bank I have witnessed with steam, SR Battle of Britain 7P5F 4-6-2 34052 Lord Dowding (34046 Braunton) and LMS Class 6P 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot absolutely flatten the
1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Incline as they reach Hemerdon Summit working the 1Z46 0853 Penzance - Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads 'Great Britain X' on 7th May 2017.
1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Incline as they reach Hemerdon Summit working the 1Z46 0853 Penzance - Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads 'Great Britain X' on 7th May 2017.
LMS Pacific action in the West! Making only her second visit to the West Country in recent years, LMS Class 8P Duchess 4-6-2 46233 Duchess of Sutherland made only her second visit to Plymouth in about 15 years as she headed the 'Royal Duchy' from Bristol to Plymouth, and we see her storming Dainton and Hemerdon Banks. The 'Duchy' was then taken on to Par by 47580 County of Essex, after the 'Duchess' had only just managed to squeeze onto the St Blazey turntable three weeks ago! www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlTB44rwxCo
A rare occasion of a GWR 'Castle' conquering the South Devon banks single-handed as 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe climbs the 1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Bank with the 1Z48 1510 Plymouth - Oxford 'Zulu 48' railtour on 10th May 2014. This tour commemorated the 50th anniversary of the original '1Z48' railtour of 9th May 1964, which commemorated the withdrawal of the 'Castle' class in 1964. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOhtHXdcd6U
In a curious combination, we see GWR 'Castle' 4-6-0 5029 Nunney Castle + LNER A4 Pacific 60019 Bittern double-head as they climb Hemerdon Bank working the 1Z30 1615 Plymouth - Paddington 'Mayflower' charter on 11th September 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDIcto3Q8gM
Filmed when the banks were alot clearer than they are today, we see a traditional GWR 'King' and 'Castle' pairing as 5029 Nunney Castle & 6024 King Edward I climb the 1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Bank as they work the 0907 Penzance - Paddington 'Cornish Riviera' charter on 28th June 2010. A classic GWR pairing, it is hard to believe that this was filmed almost 7 years ago! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydV3Aoj1u1U
LNER A1 Peppercorn 4-6-2 Pacific 60163 Tornado climbs the 1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Bank on 8th August 2009 with the 1Z63 1607 Plymouth - Birmingham International 'Tamar Tornado.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-aoKEgpxoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-aoKEgpxoc
Hemerdon Summit Bridge
A very unusual combination, and possibly the first time ever an A4 and 'Brit' have double-headed, well certainly in the far west anyway! LNER A4 Pacific 4464 Bittern + BR Standard 7MT 4-6-2 'Britannia' Pacific 70000 Britannia absolutely storm Hemerdon Bank with the 1Z28 1611 Plymouth - Paddington 'Mayflower' on 15th September 2012. This was definitely one of the fastest ascents of Hemerdon Incline I have witnessed to date with a 7MT & 8P/6F combination, making the power equilivent to a class 15! Wow!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRdUXaPnm8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRdUXaPnm8g
The very first VTEC / Virgin Trains liveried HST in the Far West! (albeit one power car!). Deputizing for a failed XC power car, VTEC Class 43 43305 and XC 43207 climb Hemerdon Bank at Hemerdon Summit working the 1S51 1225 Plymouth - Glasgow Central on 13th August 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VEEevsz_Y
Celebrity Class 43 HST power cars W43002 Sir Kenneth Grange & 43185 Great Western climb Hemerdon Bank at Hemerdon Summit with the 1A28 1512 Plymouth - Paddington on 13th August 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2u6V5YRN0s
A pair of GWR 'Castles' - diesel style! GWR Class 57/6s 57604 Pendennis Castle + 57602 Restormel Castle (having earlier failed) climb Hemerdon Bank working the 5Z70 1011 Penzance - Paddington sleeper ECS working on 17th December 2017. This working was required following the failure of the 'up' train on Friday night (15/12/17) resulting in Penzance having both sets of sleeper stock and three Class 57s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTaKq8hAQeY
Taking 1000 tons of clay in one train load, EWS Class 66/0 66037 climbs the tortous 1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Bank at Hemerdon Summit with the 6C53 1506 St Blazey - Exeter Riverside Yard freight of china clay on 19th April 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdMigd1fJB8
Two of Scotrail's newly refurbished HST power cars, 43140 + 43149 pass Hemerdon Summit with the 0V84 1230 Loughborough Brush Works - Laira Depot 'light engine' move on 10th August 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXl-0GzI7kA
Midland Glint! LMS Class 8P 'Duchess' 4-6-2 6233 Duchess of Sutherland storms Hemerdon Bank with the return 1Z85 1740 Par - Bristol TM 'Royal Duchy' on 1st September 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cAl_TFGEjc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cAl_TFGEjc
Hemerdon Summit
DBS Class 66/0 66115 tops the 1 in 42 gradient of Hemerdon Bank at Hemerdon Summit working the 6C53 1506 St Blazey - Exeter Riverside Yard China Clay freight on 7th June 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubHPZdx0-54
LMS Class 8P 'Duchess' 4-6-2 6233 Duchess of Sutherland slips, stalls and finally slogs up Hemerdon Bank taking around 10 minutes to finally clear the summit as she worked the 1Z25 0945 Plymouth-Minehead 'Great Britain XII' railtour on 29th April 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGuW9ff17o8
Hemerdon Loops
Filmed from the 'forbidden bridge' at Hemerdon, LMS Class 7P 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot passes Hemerdon Loops with the 1Z37 0852 Bristol Temple Meads - Par 'Royal Duchy' on 30th July 2017.
Filmed from the 'Forbidden Bridge' at Hemerdon, 37558 Avro Vulcan XH558 (aka 37424) + 975025 Caroline pass Hemerdon Loops working the 2Z02 0759 Exeter St Davids - Exeter St Davids via Penzance Inspection circular on 25th July 2018. This view has recently seen much vegetation clearance resulting in views that have not been possible since the early 1990s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4zEIWDM27A
Hemerdon Signal Box
A view long since gone! (at least the signal box and 'down' loop), we see Hemerdon Signal Box and loops during July 1973. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjX1pYCzgBc