Dawlish reopened!

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Here's a selection of pictures taken in Dawlish, by myself and bobm on the morning of Friday 4th April 2014.






The members of the Orange Army were given goodie bags from local businesses.












The boss heading home.

[bobm]

There is also a display at Paddington heralding the return of through services to Plymouth and Cornwall including a sand sculpture




That tunnel mouth looks suspiciously like the west portal of Box Tunnel - although at a push it could be Whiteball I suppose!

[Red Squirrel]

There is also a display at Paddington heralding the return of through services to Plymouth and Cornwall including a sand sculpture

(images omitted for brevity)

That tunnel mouth looks suspiciously like the west portal of Box Tunnel - although at a push it could be Whiteball I suppose!

It can only be Box Tunnel. Surely this is linked with this campaign; it's just a coincidence that it's appeared at the same time as the patch repair (  ) at Dawlish

[BerkshireBugsy]

Many thanks for sharing the pictures with us

[JayMac]

The sand sculpture was commissioned both to celebrate the reopening of the line through Dawlish and to tie-in with the 'Building a Greater West' publicity.

[bobm]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) - video available in the link

Steam returns to reopened Dawlish track

The age of steam has returned to the coastal rail line at Dawlish.

Less than a week after the route reopened following the damage caused by February's storms, rail enthusiasts were out in force to welcome one of the best known steam locomotives.

The Sir Nigel Gresley travelled along the newly repaired track taking passengers down to Kingswear.

The line at Dawlish was left hanging in mid-air after severe storms ripped away supporting ballast.

[PhilWakely]

Steam returns to reopened Dawlish track

The age of steam has returned to the coastal rail line at Dawlish.

Not sure how to embed an image from my own PC, but attached picture of Sir Nigel passing Cockwood on its return journey

[Cynthia]

Many thanks for sharing the pictures with us

Yes, thanks from me, too.  Great stuff!

[bobm]

Certainly Dawlish was open for business in the sunshine today.

Plenty on the beach


..and plenty waiting for trains in both directions

[Pb_devon]

Don't want to worry you, bnm, but that looks suspiciously like Dave's PPO giving you the evil eye in your photo of him.

PPO (not in the acronyms) = Personal Protection Officer aka "heavy" 

[JayMac]

I'm not worried Pb_devon. I didn't take the picture of Dave, that one was taken by a friend of a friend. 

[bobm]

Steam ran along the seawall again today but with much of the footpath still closed for repair, it gave the opportunity to find some different vantage points.

60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' hauls an excursion from Guildford to Kingswear.



Alongside the River Teign at Ware Barton



On the outskirts of Newton Abbot at Hackney Lane bridge

There were later reports of a small lineside fire near Torre after the train passed.

Edited to add: Also reports of a lineside fire in a similar location on the return trip.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... that looks suspiciously like Dave's PPO ...

PPO (not in the acronyms) = Personal Protection Officer aka "heavy" 

It appears the Prime Minister's personal protection officer was doing a textbook job, standing just behind his principal and watching very carefully what was being pointed towards him ...

For those interested in reading about the world of personal protection and bodyguards, I can heartily recommend 'The Bullet Catchers', by Tony Gerraghty - I used to have a copy, but unfortunately I can't find it now. 

[Cynthia]

60007: Oooh, a proper job train!  Thank you for posting these photos, bobm!