Description from Lineside Video Productions

Run-time 1hr 52 mins approx.

We continue our British Rail Classic Traction series with a focus on the Westcountry with visits to Wellington in Somerset, on the main line between Taunton and Exeter part-way up the famous Whiteball bank; a visit to the Westbury area to witness stone and passenger trains - including 59 003 before its trip to Germany and its subsequent return to the UK; a look at traffic through Bristol Parkway and Temple Meads stations, and finally a trip to Cornwall where we look workings between Lostwithiel and Par as well as on the branch to Newquay.

Our Wellington feature takes a detailed look at the passenger and freight traffic on this busy main line: motive power featured includes Classes 31, 33, 37, 47, 50 and HST. We see Intercity, parcels, engineers, ballast, speedlink, coal and oil trains in May and June 1988.

We then travel to the Westbury area where stone traffic dominates the scene with class 56s and class 59s in charge. We also see 47 901 on stone as well as a blue-liveried class 121 railcar and a GWR-liveried DMU. Class 33s are seen on Mk1 stock on Bristol to Portsmouth services and a class 08 on the mainline on a speedlink trip working. 59 003 in Yeoman livery is seen in action, well before its extended visit to Germany. All scenes were shot in 1986.

Bristol Parkway and Temple Meads are visited in 1987, 1989, 1991 & 1994 with class 08, 31, 33, 37, 47, 50, 56 and HSTs. Stone traffic to Tytherington Quarry and HSTs dominate our visit to Parkway as well as speedlink, parcels and freightliner services, all filmed from locations that are hardly recognisable on today’s railway. In our final visit we travel to Cornwall where we see class 47s and 50s on the Newquay branch including the short-lived class 142 ‘Skipper’ units in action.

We visit Lostwithiel at the height of the class 37 presence in the county with a number of locomotives at work on China-clay traffic, including 37 357, 273, 669, 671 and 414. We include the Newquay branch with views of 47 482 at the terminus during run-round as well as 47 549, 50 021 and 50 034: filmed in 1987 & 1989.