The Cornishman was a British express passenger train to Penzance in Cornwall. From its inception in the 19th century until before World War II it originated at London Paddington. Under British Railways the name was applied to a different service, starting variously from Wolverhampton, Leeds or Bradford.
The Cornishman originates from the days of Brunel's broad gauge, first running in summer 1890 between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall. The down train left Paddington at 10:15, and called at Bristol at 12:45, Exeter at 14:20, Plymouth at 13:50, arriving Penzance at 19:50. At 8 hours and 35 minutes for the 325¼ miles, this made it the fastest train to the West of England, being 10 minutes faster than the Flying Dutchman. [1] The Cornishman was also a popular train and was unusual for an important named train in conveying third-class passengers. On 20 May 1892 The Cornishman became the last broad-gauge express to leave London for Cornwall. [2]
As a broad gauge train, the section through south Devon was typically hauled by a 3501 class locomotive and consisted of four-wheeled coaches. [3]
In 1895 the Great Western Railway (GWR),now at standard gauge, laid water troughs at Goring and Keynsham allowing The Cornishman to be the first train to run non-stop between London and Bristol. The departure time from London was altered to 10:30, and after another reduction of 15 minutes in 1903 The Cornishman became the first train to be scheduled from London to Bristol in 2 hours. [2]
The train had become so popular by 1896 that non-stop running was extended when a relief section for Newquay [lower-roman 1] was booked to travel from Paddington to Exeter non-stop, the longest non-stop journey in the world at that time, [5] although the up train still called at Bristol until 1899. [2] The train then called at Plymouth, Par and Newquay only in the down direction, with additional stops at Liskeard and Devonport in the up direction.
In July 1904, the GWR introduced a new express train to replace The Cornishman: the Cornish Riviera Limited , running non-stop from Paddington to Plymouth North Road station and then through Cornwall to Penzance. The Cornishman name was not used again until summer 1935, when it was re-introduced for the 10:35 relief to the Cornish Riviera Limited. The timetable showed the "Limited" running non-stop to Truro, although stopping to add a banker at Newton Abbot and to change engines at Devonport; The Cornishman had the Weymouth Slip coach, [6] and contained portions for Plymouth, Newquay, Helston, St Erth and Penzance. In the up direction The Cornishman started at St Erth, and served Gwinear Road, Truro, and stations from Par to Plymouth. This was, however, a brief return as in the summer 1936 timetable the same train had returned to unnamed anonymity and ran on saturdays only. [7]
In 1893 the GWR built special Brake Third coaches for The Cornishman to Diagrams D10 and D11. Ten of these coaches were built being 56 ft long with 4 compartments, clerestory roof, a lavatory and through corridor connection. [8]
Initial runs as a standard gauge train were hauled between Paddington and Exeter by 3031 class single wheelers with corridor stock, the train including a restaurant car as well from 1899, but after 1900 Atbara class locomotives started to be used. [9]
In 1903 a visit by the then Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit to Cornwall and to facilitate their travel, special coaches were attached to the first portion of The Cornishman. The first new-build City class locomotive No. 3433 City of Bath was specially prepared and a non-stop run to Plymouth achieved in 3 hours 53 minutes. [10] This non-stop run was a significant factor in setting the Cornish Riviera Limited, the successor to The Cornishman, as running non-stop to Plymouth. [11]
When the name was briefly revived in 1935 the heavy loading required a King class locomotive through to Plymouth [3] with a pilot added over the south Devon banks. As the King class were not permitted over the Royal Albert Bridge a locomotive change was carried out at Plymouth with a 4-6-0 County, [12] Hall class or Castle class the usual traction on the Cornish Main Line. As the relief to the Cornish Riviera, Centenary stock was usual on the train which included a restaurant car. [13]
In the 1952 timetable, the name The Cornishman was applied by Western Region of British Railways to a train from Wolverhampton Low Level (09:15) and Birmingham Snow Hill (09:50) to Plymouth and Penzance (17:55), travelling via Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham Malvern Road and Bristol, and conveying a slip portion for Taunton. [14] The return working left Penzance at 10:30, reaching Birmingham at 18:36 and Wolverhampton at 19:28. Catering was available throughout the journey and the train conveyed a portion for Torquay and Kingswear.
During the 1960s the northern part of The Cornishman's route underwent extensive changes. Starting from the Winter 1962 timetable, the train was diverted away from the GWR route from Honeybourne to Cheltenham and instead running via the faster ex Midland Railway route from Birmingham to Gloucester via the Lickey Incline. The train then ran not to Wolverhampton but over the former Midland line to Derby and Sheffield, and later on to Bradford Forster Square. [15] By May 1967 departure was from Bradford Exchange at 07:06, then reversing at Leeds with a departure time of 07:36. This gave arrival times at Plymouth of 15:08 and Penzance at 17:55. In the reverse direction The Cornishman left Penzance at 11:00 and Plymouth at 13:30, arriving at Bradford at 22:07. [16]
Further changes in the early 1970s saw The Cornishman start from Leeds on weekdays and Bradford on Saturdays. There were also changes to the route between Leeds and Sheffield, reverting to the former Midland lines rather than using a section of ex-Great Northern track. The additional stop at Wakefield Westgate which this had enabled was, however, retained.
When reintroduced The Cornishman was hauled on the Western Region by Castle class engines, but towards the end of steam these were supplanted by 4-6-0 Counties. [17] Initially the stock was of GWR origin, but as BR Mark 1 stock became available by the late 1950s this was used, but being a named train these were in chocolate and cream livery as opposed to the standard BR maroon. [16]
During the early 1970s The Cornishman often brought Class 45 diesels right through to Penzance, [18] while at other times a locomotive change at either Bristol or Birmingham would result in haulage by Western Region based locomotives such as the Class 52 Westerns. [19] These trains were formed of Mark 1 stock with 13 coaches being a typical load. [19] A restaurant car was included but did not operate west of Plymouth or north of Sheffield. [20]
In 2006, First Great Western, now Great Western Railway began to use the Cornishman name once again, running from London Paddington to Penzance. It departs London at 15:06 and arrives in Penzance at 20:40. An up journey is made by the 10:00 from Penzance to London, running non-stop between Taunton and Reading, arriving in London at 15:22 (Mondays to Fridays in 2019). [21]
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.
The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. They could reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h).
The Maritime Line is a railway line that runs in the valley of the River Fal from Truro, the county town, to Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall, England.
The Atlantic Coast Express (ACE) is an express passenger train in England that has operated at various times between London and seaside resorts in the South West England. It is currently operated as a summer only service by Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Newquay.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class or King Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives designed for express passenger work and introduced in 1927. They were the largest locomotives built by the GWR, apart from the unique Pacific. The class was named after kings of the United Kingdom and of England, beginning with the then reigning monarch, King George V, and going back through history. They handled the principal GWR expresses on the main line from London to the West of England and on the Chiltern line to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, until 1962 when the class was withdrawn.
Bodmin Parkway railway station is on the Cornish Main Line that serves the nearby town of Bodmin and other parts of mid-Cornwall, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of the town of Bodmin in the civil parish of St Winnow, 274 miles 3 chains from London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. Network Rail’s National Rail Timetable dated May 2023 records the distance from London Paddington to Bodmin Parkway as 252.50 miles.
Par railway station serves the villages of Par, Tywardreath and St Blazey, Cornwall, England. The station is 281 miles 66 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. It is the junction for the Atlantic Coast Line to Newquay.
Truro railway station serves the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. The station is 300 miles 63 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. It is situated on the Cornish Main Line and is the junction for the Maritime Line to Falmouth Docks.
Redruth station serves the town of Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, and is situated on the Cornish Main Line between Truro and Camborne. The station is 309 miles 68 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay.
Camborne railway station serves the town of Camborne, Cornwall, England. The station is 313 miles 40 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay.
St Erth railway station is a Grade II listed station situated at Rose-an-Grouse in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It serves the nearby village of St Erth, which is about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) away, and is the junction for the St Ives Bay Line to St Ives. The station is 320 miles 78 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay.
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance in west Cornwall, England. It is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line from Plymouth and situated 326 miles 50 chains from the zero point at London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. It is the southernmost railway station in Great Britain. The first station opened in 1852 and through travel to and from London commenced from 1859 with the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge. The station was rebuilt by the Great Western Railway in 1876 and the current layout was the result of a further rebuilding in the 1930s. As of 2023, the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Great Western Railway who also operate train services there, together with CrossCountry.
The Cornwall Railway was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construction, and was eventually forced to sell its line to the dominant Great Western Railway.
The Night Riviera is a sleeper train operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom. The Night Riviera runs six nights a week (Sunday–Friday) between London Paddington and Penzance with one train in each direction.
Penzance TMD, also known as Long Rock TMD, is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in the village of Long Rock east of Penzance, Cornwall, England, and is the most westerly and southerly rail depot in the country. The depot operator is Great Western Railway. The depot code is PZ.
The Cornish Riviera Express is a British express passenger train that has run between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name Cornish Riviera Express has been applied to the late morning express train from London to Penzance continuously through nationalisation under British Rail and privatisation under First Great Western, only ceasing briefly during the two World Wars. The name is also applied to the late morning express train running in the opposite direction from Penzance to London. Through performance and publicity the Cornish Riviera Express has become one of the most famous named trains in the United Kingdom and is particularly renowned for the publicity employed by the Great Western Railway in the 1930s which elevated it to iconic status. Today it is operated by the Great Western Railway train operating company.
The Flying Dutchman was a named passenger train service from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids. It ran from 1849 until 1892, originally over the Great Western Railway (GWR) and then the Bristol and Exeter Railway. As the GWR expanded, the destination of the train changed to Plymouth and briefly to Penzance.
The South Devon Banks are a series of steep inclines on the ex-GWR railway line linking Exeter and Plymouth in Devon, England. These two cities are separated by the rocky uplands of Dartmoor forcing the early railway surveyors to propose that the line skirt the difficult terrain of the comparatively sparsely populated moorland. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in surveying the South Devon Railway, opted to push a line along a coastal strip between the Exe and Teign valleys, and then to climb the southern outliers of Dartmoor making for the head of the Plym estuary. From Newton Abbot, the line climbs Dainton Bank, and from Totnes it climbs Rattery Bank, reaches a peak at Wrangaton summit, and then descends Hemerdon Bank to reach Plymouth. These three are collectively known as the South Devon Banks.
The Langport and Castle Cary Railway is a railway line from Castle Cary railway station to Cogload Junction near Taunton, Somerset, England, which reduced the length of the journey from London to Penzance by 20+1⁄4 miles (32.6 km).
The Bristol to Exeter line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line in the West of England and runs from Bristol, to Exeter, from where it continues as the Exeter to Plymouth line. It was one of the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now part of the Network Rail system.
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