HOLIDAYS IN THE WEST COUNTRY - CORNWALL
36 members and friends were lucky enough to welcome Stuart Warr as our speaker to tell us all about his holidays in Cornwall between 1974 and 2018, which somehow managed to incorporate some railway photography. Stuart is a good friend and former secretary of the branch and is renowned for his railway photography, being a regular contributor to the Railway Observer and having the occasional article published in national magazines.
After a short tribute to the late HM Queen Elizabeth II, in the form of a series of images of the Royal Train through her reign, Stuart started his journey on the Gunnislake branch with a stunning view of the Calstock viaduct, having carefully ascertained that he was actually in Cornwall and not across the River Tamar in Devon! We then proceeded up the branch to its destination then embarked on a westbound journey through Cornwall, from Saltash to Penzance, visiting all the major towns, as well as the Looe, Newquay, Falmouth and St Ives branches. As well as the many and varied trains themselves, including some steam locomotives, we were treated to views of the Cornish railway architecture and the mechanical signalling at St Erth, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Par and Truro. The latter three are slated for closure by 2024 and Stuart urged any self-respecting railway enthusiast to appreciate them before it is too late.
As well as the obvious locations, Stuart took us to some of the more remote and less salubrious parts of the Duchy, particularly some of the freight branches where were were introduced to mysterious locations such as Parkandillack clay dries and Moorswater sidings, which had seen a transition from a clay forwarding point to a cement terminal during the period under review. We also saw images of St Columb Road on the Newquay branch, the closed station at Chacewater and Lelant Saltings on the St Ives branch, which illustrated Stuart’s attention to detail and determination to seek out some of the more esoteric locations in Cornwall.
Stuart peppered the show with engaging and humorous tales of his railway related adventures during his holidays, including the times when he got carried away and received a frosty reception from his patient and long suffering wife on his return. It was clear that Stuart is a fan of the Western diesels, which featured in several images, notably D1015 Western Champion, which operated the East Lancashire Champion railtour over two days in Cornwall in May 2010, along with 40145. On another occasion to mark the 175th anniversary of the GWR, Stuart was in attendance on the Looe branch with one of the biggest galleries he has ever seen to photograph an 0-6-0 pannier tank crossing the East Looe River at Terras Bridge. Conditions were ideal – a beautiful Cornish day crying out to produce the ideal railway photograph in the perfect setting but just before the train came, a man in a small bright red dinghy arrived and placed himself right in the centre of the picture, much to the anger and disgust of the assembled photographers. Stuart’s reaction was initial disappointment but over the years he become more philosophical and actually likes the image and maybe, just maybe, the red boat enhances it. Such are the fortunes and perils of railway photography.