The Torbay Express is a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom.
The Torbay Express departs from Bristol Temple Meads railway station on summer Sundays at approximately 09:15 with arrival back in Bristol at about 20:10 (depending on the route).
The Torbay Express was a named train run by the Great Western Railway between Paddington and Kingswear, with a departure time from Paddington of 11:50. Originally the down train also included a slip portion for Ilfracombe, this being detached at Taunton. [1] The departure time from London was changed to 12 noon before the First World War and continued at the same time until after World War II although the slip portion had ceased by 1918. [2]
From 1961 the train, now the 12:30 from Paddington, split at Exeter St Davids with the other portion continuing to Plymouth, and in 1967 the name was dropped from the daily service and applied to a separate train running on Saturdays only and departing from Paddington at 10:50. [2] In 1983 the name was again applied to a daily service when, in the summer timetable, the 9:20 Paddington to Paignton and 12:55 return had the name applied. [2]
In addition to the Torbay Express, in the summer of 1929 the GWR introduced an all-Pullman train leaving Paddington at 11:00 and arriving at Paignton at 12:25. The eight coach formation was then prepared for the return departure at 16:30. The service was not a commercial success and ceased in 1930. [2]
The Torbay Express name is also used by Great Western Railway (train operating company) for its 10:35 service from London Paddington to Paignton (via Castle Cary), and the 13:55 return (via Castle Cary and the Reading to Taunton Line).
From 2003, Past-Time Rail revived the Torbay Express as a passenger charter steam locomotive service, to run on certain summer Sundays and some Saturdays, from: Bristol Temple Meads via stops at Weston-Super-Mare and Taunton; to Paignton and onwards via the Dartmouth Steam Railway to Kingswear. For the 2014 season, two of the booked railtours ran via Westbury instead of Weston-super-Mare, calling at Bath Spa, Trowbridge, Westbury and Taunton, then picking up the normal route. At first, this was done because of engineering works. However, thanks to its success, the same concept was repeated with two trains for the 2015 season.
After Past-Time Rail went bankrupt in June 2009, the service obligation has been taken over by Torbay Express Ltd. This company was formed as a subsidiary of booking agent Pathfinder Tours, itself a subsidiary of Riviera Trains. As well as taking direct bookings, the company also takes bookings through Pathfinder Tours, who advertise the service as part of their tour programme, and also supply their own volunteers to steward the trains.
Since being taken over by Pathfinder Tours/Riviera Trains, the British Railways Mark 1 coaching stock has been supplied in historic cream/brown by Riviera, and staffed by Pathfinder. The back-up diesel locomotive is supplied and operated by DB Schenker Rail (UK), sourced from a varying number of spot-hire companies, mainly West Coast Railways. During the operating season, the coaching stock is stabled in a spare covered road under the engine shed of Bristol Temple Meads, whilst the steam locomotive is stabled at a temporary operating base at Bristol Barton Hill MPD.
Initial steam power was supplied by GWR 7800 Class 7802 Bradley Manor and GWR 4073 Class 5051 Earl Bathurst, but has varied since by season, latterly supplied from the Jeremy Hosking-backed Locomotive Services Ltd. Motive power has included: GWR 6000 Class 6024 King Edward I; LNER Class A4 60009 Union of South Africa; LNER Class A1 60163 Tornado; SR Battle of Britain Class 34067 Tangmere; BR Class 8P 71000 Duke of Gloucester; BR Britannia Class 7MT 70000 Britannia; LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern; SR West Country Class 34046 Braunton; GWR 4073 Class 5029 Nunney Castle; LMS Royal Scot Class 46100 Royal Scot; SR Merchant Navy Class 35028 Clan Line.
Torbay Express LTD was liquidated in 2020. A replacement service by Locomotive Services Limited runs on Saturdays as the “English Riviera Express”.
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).
Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that provides services in the Greater Western franchise area. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city services along the Great Western Main Line to and from the West of England and South Wales, inter-city services from London to the West Country via the Reading–Taunton line, and the Night Riviera sleeper service between London and Penzance. It provides outer-suburban services in West London; commuter services from its London terminus at London Paddington to the Thames Valley region, including parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire; and regional services throughout the West of England and South Wales to the South coast of England. Great Western Railway also operates the Heathrow Express service.
The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a 6.7-mile (10.8 km) heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tourists from the resorts of Torbay, who travel to Kingswear, where the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry takes them across the River Dart to Dartmouth.
5051 Drysllwyn Castle is a Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1936 and named after Dryslwyn Castle. It is owned by the Didcot Railway Centre.
GWR 4073 "Castle" Class No. 4079 Pendennis Castle is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built in 1924 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works to a design of Charles Collett. It was employed on long-distance express passenger trains on the GWR and its successor, British Railways' Western Region.
Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance, 163 miles 12 chains (263 km) west of London Paddington station, measured via Box. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, and is operated by Great Western Railway. The station is also served by CrossCountry trains and by the West Somerset Railway on special event days and by mainline steam excursions.
Swindon railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in South West England, serving the town of Swindon, Wiltshire. The station is 77 miles 23 chains down the line from the zero point at London Paddington and lies between Didcot Parkway and Chippenham. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates all of the services from the station. It is the busiest station in Wiltshire, and the fifth busiest station in South West England.
Paignton railway station serves the town and seaside resort of Paignton in Devon, England. It is 222 miles 12 chains (358 km) from London Paddington, via Box. It opened in 1859 and is now the terminus of Riviera Line services from Exeter and heritage services on the Dartmouth Steam Railway from Kingswear.
Torquay railway station is on the Riviera Line and serves the seaside resort of Torquay, Devon, England. It is 219 miles 79 chains (354 km) from London Paddington.
Torre railway station is a stop on the Riviera Line in Torquay, Devon, England. It is 219 miles 12 chains (353 km) down the line from London Paddington, via Box. The station is managed by Great Western Railway but is not staffed. The station buildings are Grade II listed.
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.
Goodrington Sands railway station is on the Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage railway in Devon, England. It is close to Goodrington Sands beach and the Splashdown Quaywest water park in Paignton. There has been no scheduled service at the station since 2020.
Churston railway station is on the Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage railway in Torbay, Devon, England. It is situated beside the main road to Brixham and close to the villages of Churston Ferrers and Galmpton. There has been no scheduled service at the station since 2020.
The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway was a broad gauge railway linking the South Devon Railway branch at Torquay with Kingswear in Devon, England. It was operated from the outset by the South Devon Railway.
The Torbay and Brixham Railway was a 7 ft broad gauge railway in England which linked the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway at Churston railway station, Devon with the important fishing port of Brixham. It was a little over two miles long. Never more than a local branch line, it closed in 1963.
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 Cornishman is 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. In 2006, First Great Western, now Great Western Railway, reintroduced the named service which now runs once per day from Monday to Saturday in both directions.
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.
| Main routes |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Related companies | ||
| Locomotives | ||
| Works and depots | ||
| Train services | ||
| Rolling stock | ||
| People | ||
| Canals | ||
| Other | ||