It's a bit wet down here..

Had a look at work today, Totnes was totally devoid of trains, as was Newton Abbot - Paignton as the weather has taken a liking to the signalling equipment. FGW/XC operating Penzance - Plymouth & v.v.

" said:

Had a look at work today, Totnes was totally devoid of trains, as was Newton Abbot - Paignton as the weather has taken a liking to the signalling equipment. FGW/XC operating Penzance - Plymouth & v.v.

FGW JourneyCheck is reporting that trains are running from Newton Abbot to Paignton now. Still nothing bewteen Newton Abbot and Plymouth though.

" said:

" said:

Paignton is a seperate Box, as for NTA and TOT services are currently running, albeit severely disrupted so presumably the signalling isn't too badly affected

Are you sure? RTT for Totnes today shows everything caped.

So it begins to look as if there's no local panels. I'm pretty certain the cables will have been wiped out along with the railway, so Exeter can no longer control the remote interlockings at Newton Abbot & Totnes and there's no other way for anyone to take control. So if they want to run anything at all it will have to be done by winding points and emergency absolute block working. And where are all the MOMs whose job it would presumably be to do that? Well there's probably not enough of them anyway and those there are (who aren't cut off by the weather) are presumably desperately working on all the various other weather issues down there.

Today's Guardian suggested emergency bus services Exeter - Plymouth; what's the odds that's how it'll be until they get something open at Dawlish (and I reckon the estimated 6 weeks will be a gross underestimate, particularly with another couple of storms coming in over the next few days to wash away a bit more)? Not good!

We could, in fact, start a creation of Niche timetables


South Humberside with the landslip although with that one you could route round
Exeter with the washout

We could, in fact, start a creation of Niche timetables


South Humberside with the landslip although with that one you could route round
Exeter with the washout

At work, just been told that there is a landslip at Yeovil, so thats the diversionary route gone now, sheesh!

High Tide at Bridgwater

Grandfather who lives in a converted train station closed by Beeching in 1968 can't sell his home because ministers may reopen the railway after storms destroyed coast route

A grandfather who lives in a former train station says he can't sell up because of plans to reopen a disused railway following the major collapse at Dawlish.

Eric Rhodes, 67, lives in a former station master's house which is still flanked by the old railway platform. Pretty Brentor Railway Station was transformed into a three-bedroom dwelling and garden when the Southwestern Junction Line was closed in 1968 under the Beeching cuts. Eric has been trying to sell the property for £600,000 - but says the sale could now be knocked off track after the seaside line at nearby Dawlish collapsed.

Ministers are considering plans to bypass the storm-smashed stretch of track that fell into the sea - which would lead right next to Eric's home. Mr Rhodes says reopening the line after 50 years would see trains once again travel alongside his living room. He fears the prospect of high speed trains once again thundering past his home will put off prospective buyers.

He said: 'Having been told over many years they would not use this section again it did come as a shock to us. I suspect it would run through the old line which is just metres from where our living room and dining room currently is. This is a beautiful place to live with the canopy and the waiting room - a real piece of social history. But I'm not sure how potential buyers are going to feel about the prospect of actual trains going past.'

Eric snapped up the Victorian station house near Tavistock, Devon, 19 years ago to realise a lifelong dream of living beside a railway track. The waiting room, dating back to 1890, is now a sitting room, while other rooms have been converted into a kitchen and bedrooms. The ticket office is fully preserved, as is the original platform and ornate station canopy, though the train tracks that once crossed Eric's 4.5-acre garden were removed years ago.

Former railway worker Eric and his wife Sue, 62, decided to sell up to move closer to their two grandchildren and put the place on the market for £595,000. But they fear it will prove impossible to sell if Network Rail decides to resurrect the Southwestern Junction Line, which runs from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock and Dartmoor National Park.

Eric started out his career as an office boy for British Rail and went on to manage several railway stations before becoming a tour manager arranging railway holidays. He is the fifth person to own the unique property since it was closed and subsequently renovated after the major railway cuts of the 1960s.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin insisted that all options remain after a 100ft stretch of sea wall fell into the sea in Dawlish last week - taking the main line connecting Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK with it. Those options include renovating old lines and stations at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.

Eric said he would have to steam ahead with the sale regardless of the uncertainty. He added: 'We have been down this road before as it came up around 20 years ago that National Rail were thinking about putting the railway line up. They have only done a preliminary investigation so it's all up in the air at the moment. We're just going to get on with things. I'm sure will people will appreciate it's a fantastic home. We've retained as much as of the original features as possible. Who knows if I will get the price. Fortunately I don't have to move because of work, we just want to move closer to our grandchildren.'

In the unlikely event that the railway does go ahead, he would be compensated, or the land bought off him for the 'pre-blight' value.