Devon lost railways
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2011
- SONG : FOR TOMORROW BY THE CHOIRGIRL ISABEL. This is a video remembering the lost railway lines that once played the biggest part of transport in Devon and the hole of the uk. showing were the railways were and were some still stand and what new industry as done to our best ways of transport . now some towns have no links to the winder parts of Devon because of the missing railway lines that once joined them up
Fantastic looking at all those old stations in Devon. In response to some of the earlier comments I think Beeching and the government of the day were very short sighted in closing down some of these branch lines. For example the Churston to Brixham line would be a god send today with all the traffic problems in Brixham in the summer. A park and ride near Churston station with frequent trains or trams into Brixham would be a great money spinner nowadays and would help cut down on the congestion in Brixham. Great video thanks for posting.
Super - love the blend of old fading into new. Great work - thank you!
Thanks for posting this vid.....breaks my heart at the amount of destruction done in the name of progress and`profit`. Im in my sixties and seeing this....Im not proud of this country,sick of watching this country going steadily down the pan,which leaves little for the next generations to admire.
Wonderful video. We live within History. My country, Brazil has collapsed most county passenger railways. Unbelievable cultural treasures losts forever. We all must engage efforts to preserve the beauty. Thanks for Your kindness sharing.
A lovely compilation of pictures, which took me back to my childhood. Especially poignant for me were the photos of Tipton St. John's, where I spent several weeks in a convalescent home in 1950, from which I could watch the trains being banked up the hill to Sidmouth. Wonderful.
It's amazing to me that there was so much infrastructure built up, and now much of it is unrecognizable. I watch those videos and I can see a thriving nation with people on the go. I see big, bustling railines. It's crazy.
The Civil Engineering alone is a tribute to the men of those times.
brought a tear to my eye thank you karis!! 🥂😔
These tributes you make, just make me want to cry. :( But still, this is really beautiful. :) x
Me too just wants to make me cry but remember the good times and it's alright to cry don't feel bad about crying even men's shed tears of Sadness
Very moving. I was in Braunton the other week comparing present day buildings etc with when the railway ran through it with its level crossing, buying an ice-cream from the old station, now a shop.
Wonderful video. Although now living in Canada I grew up in the Torbay area & have visited most of the sites shown, even when they were still being used. I remember well the famous steam trains & their histories. Many have been sold over the years & converted to houses. Dr.Beeching (?) was a crazy person. Before his ice-cold move of inconsideration It allowed city dwellers to move to the country to live & country dwellers visit the seaside resorts or larger towns like Exeter or Plymouth.
Beautiful music and a great video.
Thanks for posting this.
Beautiful compilation, Karis. I even went and bought the cd by Isabel ! I visit family friends in the west country every year and my journey follows the route of the old Taunton to Barnstaple line, and then Barnstaple to Woolacombe. Such a shame.
I lived close to Littleham station during WWII, and spent many hours as a boy of 8 to 12 in "assisting" the signalman, and once even made a trip on the footplate to Budleigh Salterton and back. I made friends with the signalmen, the one I liked best was Mr. Salway, who lived down Littleham Road by the railway bridge. . That is where I learnt all about the tablet system for single line traffic (e.g. "three pause one" meant a passenger train request), and about signals and the rodding for the points. There was a goods yard, and shunting off wagons when the engine was on the Exmouth side was quite a feat (make speed with the wagon behind, uncouple using a beam over the buffer, engine pulls ahead, flip the points before the wagon is there, and hand brake the wagon to the right stopping place). Wonderful place for a technical boy. So sad to see it derelict, though I understand the old steep line to Exmouth is now an excellent cycle path. Eric Ferguson, 3702 SB 3 Zeist, Netherlands
Very touching nearly brought me to tears shameless no branch line still left I couldn't listen to this song without shedding a tear of Sadness my heart goes out to all those who are watching this right now thanks for all the memories
Lovely video and beautiful music, very fitting. Yes there are those who say these railways were not financially viable, and part of the story is that is probably true in a lot of cases. But the greatest tragedy with these lines is that they not only closed them but they destroyed the infrastructure, all the cuttings and trackbeds that today could have been put to use for a different purpose, especially in the rural west country where catching a bus costs an absolute fortune, if one turns up at all. It's great to see a lot of these lines re-opened as cycle paths but far too many were destroyed for housing estates, car parks or industrial estates. It will be interesting to see if they eventually re-open the Okehampton via Dartmoor to Plymouth line
You've done some serious research here and put it together nicely :)!
Thank you!
Lovely video, it is such a shame we have such short sighted politicians who closed lines and continue to screw the railways, and councils who sell off the line, if the routes had been kept they could, as and when practical be brought back. Personally I would of liked it if they had been converted to walking/cycle routes. Providing gentle routes for both. But also allowing them to be 're-opened.
Robert Martindale. Yeah i agree because think of all the people that slaved away dinging the cuttings tunnels and embankments
Robert, here in Brittany France, quite a few of the old track beds have been preserved for walkers, but in Britain they have no idea how to make use of these wonderful places!
@@barleyvalengaugemodelrailw3694 And lives lost.
These are great reminders of what we have now, lost forever?
I would like to see any pictures of the North Devon Branch Line Barnstaple to Wiveliscombe. Venn Cross and Milverton etc
I remember the Beeching cuts.
Not ashamed to say that this made me cry...
beeching closed nothing, the labour party actually and factually closed 99% of the lines
Karis, my Dad was a 'drop-in' Station Master for Ide Halt and Longdown - must have been in the early or mid 50's. We always ate well when he 'dropped-in' to those Stations - he'd always bring home a couple of fresh-killed Rabbits. As kids (66 now) we’d walk along the rail bed from Alphington to Ide, eating blackberries and bird-nesting - the (steam) trains weren’t exactly fast! - 'ear 'em miles away. His 'real job' was looking after St Thomas in Exeter. Thanks great entertainment, enjoyed it!
Longdown station is still in an amazing state of preservation as is the little footpath leading to it from the top of the hill.
Another reminder of the short-sightedness of UK planners and politicians.
It’s a shame to see the railway lines like this one in Devon now disappeared altogether
Unfortunately, too few local used them.
Yeah Neil
@@neiloflongbeck5705 The rise of affordable cars ensured their demise. Can't exist here in Devon without a car. Public transport is at best dire. Love trains and train travel. My Dad was a Railwayman for 42 years, based in Newton Abbot.
What a lovely, well-made video!
Sad and hauntingly beautiful at the same time - and with a sweet soundtrack, too.
Thank you for giving us something to relax with, and think upon, at the same time.
Very sad but very well made.
how hauntingly beautiful, brilliant photography.
Beautiful Karis both music and content of film, excellent work.
Very interesting. Great compilation, although the some titles could do with a spelling check. I wonder how many people would have been using the lines now if they had been reprieved. A great video, and enjoyable if though a bit sad.
very informative karis thank you xx
got very emotional takes alot to do that.
train life or no life
Absolute magic... Thank you...
A very touching video.
It is worthwhile remembering that the then Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, had a vested interest in road construction and haulage. He owned and rented out slum properties. He fled the country at short notice to escape decades of tax fraud. Beeching was just his willing tool.
The problem wasn't Marples but a much earlier decision to prevent BR from putting up fares and freight charges from the mid-1950s. BR's operational costs were going up and so was car ownership, nationally, with the end of petrol rationing (an annual in rease of around 10% per year). With the pri e capping ordered by the government losses mounted, leading go BR losing aroun £100,000 per day by 1960. Marples for all his flaws had divested his shares in Matples Ridgway to his wife, as was allowed and required of him under the ministerial code of conduct. This meant he no longer had any interests in a road building company on a legal basis.
good job he did or his wife. the roads and car gave the working man the biggest freedom ever. do not forget too that when ever you hear beeching cuts it was actually the labour party that closed 99% of all the lines later on
@@neiloflongbeck5705 It is not true that he divested his shares to his wife. She denied having anything from him in two newspaper interviews in spite of being continually hassled by reporters at the time in early 1960. Equally there is no proof or evidence that they ended up with her. It is thought that they ended up in an overseas trust as he had interests in Lichtenstein, equally it is possible that he could have put them in a blind trust as cabinet ministers and above are required by Parliamentary law to do so today.
Firstly, yes Marples was a director of Marples Ridgeway, with a controlling interest in that company. In October 1951 he resigned as a director when he became a junior cabinet minister, as he was required to do so by Parliamentary law, as ministers and above a legally required to do so today. From that moment on-wards he had no involvement in the day to day running of his former company and was not a party to any contract negotiations. Similar arguments could be made against him as he was involved in housing in the mid 1950s again as a junior cabinet minister, but people choose to ignore that fact. He was also required under that same parliamentary law to divest himself of his shareholding. This he did not do and was reported in the papers in 1960, just after he was made Minister of Transport. His shares were not passed onto his wife as there is no proof or evidence that such a transaction happened. The only reason why we assume that this was because he made a statement recorded in Hansard: Perhaps I should sell the shares to my wife. Now it depends how much weight one puts on this statement. Perhaps does not mean he did equally it does not mean he did not. Equally you don't sell the shares to your wife but you transfer them. This transaction can only be done if ones wife is a Director, some are some are not. It is assumed that they went into n Overseas trust or a blind trust, as cabinet ministers are required by law to do so today. His rental business started after he was out of office in 1964.
@@michaelhearn3052 got a source for this? No source that I've ever seen says this.
Great just great. The music is so fitting and sad
A lovely video Karis. What's happened to our trains rather reminds me of war... when will we ever learn? Thankfully a few routes being brought back, but most never will be.
Didn't see Bideford or Westward Ho! maybe in a future edition? 😉 But we used to travel from Barnstaple to Bideford on the train when I was small in the 1960's and Bideford station was still there East of the water back in the 1970's, although I think housing has replaced it now? And the station and level crossing in Westward Ho! was also still there in the 1970's, although a bus station replaced the line leaving just the level crossing in place. As an adult I used to get the train up from Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple, but the tunnel onwards to Instow and Bideford had been blocked by then, shame so much was lost to the Beeching cuts! But thank you so much for sharing, so many memories! 🙏🏽👍🏼😊
very well put together and interesting little film - thanks :)
We have lost far too much to "modernisation".
Who's got a tear in Their Eyes just let your emotions out don't feel bad about crying it's the right thing to do just let all your Sadness rest in peace to all those branch lines that didn't make into presentation you really touched me you just make me want to cry😢 good tribute to all the lost Lines
The blood sweat and tears of the constructors, all for a short-lived spree!
Great vid, if you visit Exmouth railway station today, you can still clearly see the white line of the second platform, which has been made into a car park :(
The music certainly blends well with the film. Disused lines are somehow fascinating are they not and CZcams is a great way to remember them. Thanks for taking the trouble.
beautiful singing used here! love it
Sad but beautiful. I walked a lot of the Ilfracombe line with my dad in the summer of 1972, two years after closure, and all intact but not a train in sight. The tracks were red rust and grass growing over. As a young kid I was enchanted by the ghost railway. It was as if all the people had suddenly disappeared along with the trains. It was a warm summer in 1972 but the holiday trains were only memories. My dad recovered a cast iron sign with the permission of a local official, and I still have that sign in my lounge.
Thanks for sharing.
Very Moving. Thanks for the Pics!
Excellent ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Great Work. Thank you
Here where the rails once went to places far away, now only the ballast lies while ancient railwaymen watch ghosts of trains pass by... nice to see some of my pictures in the video - an acknowledgement would have been nice!
Future generations may bring them back as high speed rail.We cannot preserve those times except as old photographs.Those fine people are gone forever and with them their quaint view of life
When you think Beeching, think also of Ernest Marples, who was minister of transport at the time & who I believe had something of a private interest in road haulage !
True - Beeching was just the scapegoat.......the real villain and person who pulled the strings and said what went and what stayed was Ernest Marples.
Marples was Transport Secretary at the time of the so called 'Beeching Cuts' announced in 1963. He also had a vested interest in roads and was a self-made man through (wait for it) his road building schemes.
This is how he made his money and he was a multi millionaire by the time he became Transport Secretary. You couldn't make it up really. How you could make someone who made their fortune through road building, the Transport Secretary beggars belief.
He even led the PM astray by saying that the railways were losing more money than they actually were losing. By doing this he could justify his decisions all the while signing off documents to build more roads. He effectively convinced people to buy cars and use the new roads he had given the green light to the construction of.
This chain of events, once in motion proved catastrophic for the railways, and his false information led to a dramatic decline in passenger numbers on Britain's railways between 1964 and 1969.
He was a crook through and through and one of the most villainous British politicians of the 20th century. Years later he went bankrupt apparently. Karma doing its job.
Ernest Marples should never have been Transport Minister since he held 80% shares in Marples Ridgeway which created a conflict of interest.
@@robtyman4281 what rubbish
beeching closed nothing or marples, it was actually the labour party that closed 99% of the lines. this is fact
@@bobtudbury8505 ...oh really? ....Explain
Just shows how short sighted Doctor Beeching was as we need all of them these days 😂
So shortsighted, given the population explosions of our rural areas now, it would obviously help ease the horrendous congestion in many of our areas.
Me ( + two friends ) were the last members of the public to walk the disused track ( Tiverton to Tiverton Junction , now Tiverton Parkway ) , the next day they ripped it all up ! the scrap value was higher as the sleepers were pressed steel ( unusual ? ) ...
Times change, but not always for the better.
i love this song very much
I love steam railways and am a member of The Great Western Society. It should be remembered that Dr. Beeching swung his axe because most people had simply stopped using most of the minor railways and they were heammoraging money. Rural bus services were usually faster and ran to town centres whilst road freight hauliers could out compete the railways on both speed and price.
Local steam railways were a lovely thing a seemingly permanent fixture in the landscape and run by people. No computers no automation just lost of elbow grease and pen and paper.
I have though that the attraction to riding on steam hauled services is that it is almost like a return to the womb. You are in a warm safe place with the gentle swaying motion of the carriages on their soft springing and the beats of the wheels over the rail joints and the exhaust beat of the locomotive akin to a mother's heartbeat and breathing.
On the whole sadly Dr. Beeching was right. Some lines were kept going for a while being run more economically with less staff and diesel traction. Many still succumbed.
A few closures were mistaken and some would not have happened if Dr. Beeching had a crystal ball such as the Fairford branch in Oxfordshire.
I have on a number of ocassions used preserved steam railways as a mode of transport and I can assure you that the glacial progress is tortuous.
The above video is a very good effort and has clearly taken much time to compile. Thank you for it.
Killing off 'uneconomic' branch lines had the knock on effect of cutting off the supply of passengers to the main lines, thus pushing THEM towards uneconomic status. And the idiot Beeching could not see that? I'm sure Maples did and equally sure he didn't point it out. A pox on them all.
Since the branch lines passenger numbers were very low the contribution that they made economically to the mainlines was negligible. It is sad to have lost so many lines but if you don't use it you lose it. A few lines that Beeching axed are missed now such as the Witney branch in Oxon. or the Brixham branch in Devon. It is a shame that more could not have retained their trackbeds intact for re-use should the need have arisen later as in some cases like Witney it has..
Not sure I agree about the levels of traffic on the feeder lines but then I don't have the figures, so you may be right. BUT by then the railways were nationalized and so, in theory at least, were a Public Service and should have been treated as such. Much like the Fire Brigade or NHS. And I second Jack's comment about the video.
Right. The road lobby and Tory Govt of the day killed these branch lines off with no regard to social need . As for the low patronage it is a known fact that these figures were deliberately taken when the school holidays were in force and during the winter. Do you think that was made blatantly clear to the general public? No. Instead we got all these lies to justify closure and cause hardship to the folk who didn’t own a car and the job losses to railwaymen. Crooks the lot of them this will never be forgotten
thank beeching for all of that i live in north devon and only 1line is in service today
beeching closed nothing
Nice montage ...sad wen you see them neglected though
Such a shame that Devon's beautiful railway's have either shrunk or disappeared all together, the thing being with the current state of government it's going to take them long enough just to reinstall the old Southern main line from Exeter to Plymouth, currently they (and Network Rail) recon that it will begin in 2020 which is crazy considering their throwing money away on their HS2 failing project
its unfortunate to see a historic railway site turn into a highway
My great grand father John Pooke was the second station master at East Budleigh station in 1910
so so sad
Great engineers built the system, qualified and loyal railwaymen kept it running - management and politicians came along and ruined it. Shame on Beeching!
And what blame do you put on the locals who chose the local bus from the village over the train which might require a long walk out of the village? Or those business that chose road over rail because roads were more reliable and/or faster? Beeching was the fall guy. The Conservatives in the 1950s caused BR's deficit by preventing them from raising their fares and freight charges in a failed attempt to control inflation. The result was that by 1960 BR was losing £100,000 per day
@@neiloflongbeck5705 And what documentation do you have that there a) was a local bus from "the village" and b) if this abstract villiage or generic "bus service" was even relevant or existant for these former railroads to which you refer?
@@organisten let's take as an example the village of Sandsend on the line between Loftus and Whitby West Cliff which closed 5/5/1958. At this time there were 4 trains each way serving this station, but the United Automobile Service ran buses every 30 minutes. In this case both the road the bus travelled on and the station were close together. Then there is Castleton Moor station which lies half a mile from the village and was also served by United (I don't have access to the timetables for that route, but Castleton is the largest village in the Esk Valley). The distance from station to village it was name after wasn't unusual, Levisham station was closer to Newton-on-Rawcliffe than Levisham.
Had to watch with the mute on as the music creeped me out. Otherwise awesome photographs of then and now.
What and the wholesale rape and pillaging of the station that was replaced by a trunk road and junction didn't have the same effect?
There is a sequence of photos of Barnstaple Town station. Is there a date known please for the second picture in the sequence, at 2:57-2:59 running time?
this was happen also...somewhere in germany, that do put the rails away...and thats is now a road or something for bikes or relaxing in the nature, on the road..that was before a railroad..;)
From Keith Jones Christian drummer Bude Cornwall. Drummer with Flying Fortress, Saltpeter, Mission New Start, Oggle Band, recordings with various members of Hawkwind and Spirogyra (with Barbara Gaskin). Sad to see railways that brought people together, lost in time. For tomorrow we look for a new day, like the lost railways, God our Father (Jesus) wants to bring lost souls unto him, come all who are heavy laden for tomorrow all will be well. PSALM 23 (K.J)
@dalekvoyager thanks so much jack ! I have a bit of a obsession for trains :P ...and please dont cry x
@XRawrXRarrXRawrX its by The Choirgirl Isabel and its called for to tomorrow. thanks for watching :)
my great granddad worked on the line untill it was taken away and your granddad was right about Beecham . thanks so much for your comment .
why what did beecham do?
Lovely video sand track excellent for what they have done to the Railway's it's very sad all that expense to do them all gone to waste.and now with all the traffic if they left the lines they could have brought the trains back.what a lovely sight it would have been.But unfortunately this shortsighted politicians have destroyed the heritage of this country.All those lovely stations gone and for what the Greedy bastards .
I no because i live in exmouth , its sad because the railway would have been very useful now and i just hate it when railways are taken over by things like car parks or housing estates . thanks or watching :)
Very, very well made. Really sad too. So called 'Progress' I suppose.
It’s like watching a funeral
Haunting
Was seaton junction in there?
well said !
now it's made me cry ='/
۱Letty۱ i don’t even know how I got here lol
@dalekvoyager yeah it is abit sad cos all those great railways were wipes out and now look really grubby cos most haven't been preserved . those trains would have been so good for now a days cos no one can get around to these places easily any more . i see the two budleigh railways alot and there is some things from it still there
About the most poignant tribute to bygone days.
Nice pics, shame they not moving....
THAT ALL MAKES ME VERY SAD IN FRANCE WILL HAD BE THE SAME BIG MISTAKES TO THROW RAILWAYS DOWN
so sad - never again
So sad, cursed Beaching
Very, very sad! To lose your history like that for "progress" is a sad testament! Nothing like pavement to take the place of nature...
I like your film, my dad used to work on the blue bail line (kingsbridge). I am also dislexic and i also enjoy art and i grew up in kingsbridge. I've gone into filmaking. Send me a Pm if you wish.
where can you find this old stations? england ?
Yes, South West England
+Erik Nieuwenhuijzen Won`t find many now .Most are lost under new houses or supermarkets ,new roads etc etc ! The odd one is still around !
+Sam Green oright thnks for the info :)
If we, as a country, are actual serious about climate change (instead of just acting smug about buying an electric car), then the railways and ‘mass transit’ has to be the option going forward. So links back to these places would actually make sense
How can they do that to railways
indeed! just indeed :S :(
Now Park and Ride and Heritage like NNR and Swanage Railway NYMoors packed and major holiday aset.
Think if sone now open and linked
Less Holiday Jams I these Holiday at Home Times.
But be thou of good cheer. They shall return. Read about Peak Oil. It's deadly to the motor car:)
I spent 2 years surveying the old Somerset and Dorset and so much track and bridges are left it would be easy to reopen it, the same for the beautiful Devon lines 😢 So sad, i was born in the 50’s i hate the modern world they can stick it! I would be happy without internet, mobiles, electronic gizmos and crap music! Trains now are just boxes on wheels 🤷🏼♂️
Very sad, looking at all those closed stations, very surprised that Barnstaple has been closed, I used to deliver pharmaceutical products to North Devon during the early 1990,s and the line was open from Exeter to Barnstaple, but again consecutive Conservative governments, with no imagination whatsoever, have destroyed these wonderful tourist attractions, Margaret Thatcher hated the railways apparently, but before her time, in the early 1960,s the then Tory government appointed Dr Beeching to destroy most of the branch lines in England and Wales, oh well, when it's gone its gone!
Why did are century do this
What folk forget is the tremendous cost of these unprofitable railways. Yes very nostalgic, but taxpayers were footing bill for a few country folk. Most ha cars 60s anyway.
I can see where you are coming from and it was unlikely that anyone would have thought ahead 50 years to today's overcrowded breaking down roads. It can now take 90 minutes to do a 20 mile journey. If they had remained, it would have been another option to have kept them open and perhaps made them into tramlines, especially the ones closer to cities. Just so amazing to see what was thrown away. Hopefully the same mistakes will not be repeated.
Lots have been restored for nostalgia, making a fortune from it. Trams are in big Citys now as well, BUT, they are overcrowded as Trains & roads are. Sign of times, too many folk on a small Island UK.
Yes and what folk don’t forget is the lies. Cost to the poor sods who weren’t included in the passenger surveys taken off peak. Ah yes most had cars. Yes the road lobby saw to that . Social need can also be ignored too, but let’s just stick with what we were told at the time only .
Why did they have to sell the land. Take the rails up demolish the buildings but they never should have sold the land
Spot on. Determined to kill any idea of potential re opening . Makes my blood boil
The "Beeching Axe," I presume...
You also forgot Seaton Junction, Colyton, Colyford and Seaton
Very poignant and well compiled, but the grammar needs checking!
Sorry but how can you run a railway where barely anybody uses with rising cost etc some of these had to go sad but thats how it is
Oh yes we could trust a government that took passenger surveys off peak and employed a government minister of transport who owned a road building company to justify all this couldn’t we ?
This is a lovely little video but it's a massive shame that your high standard sound and video work is spoilt by the most appalling spelling in the titles. There are no less than 5 mistakes in the opening title frame alone as well as the insult of not giving Devon its capital D. As a result, instead of really enjoying this video in the way that I would have liked, I found it intensely annoying. Sorry but I was one of the down voters as a result.