The southernmost 3 miles of the Seaton Branch, from Colyton to Seaton (with a new spur to the town centre) was repurposed for use after1970 by the 2'9" gauge Seaton Tramway, and has become a very popular tourist attraction.
I have some sympathy with its retention. In the holiday season Lyme Regis is full of cars and parking is really difficult. Trouble is station was on a hill some distance from the coast and getting motorists to take car would be a challenge unless there was a park and ride near Axminster.
Wow nice to see some film of the branch I'm now coming up to 77 years young. My mum bless her took me there on the train. I must have been about 10 so a long time.
Enjoyable to watch. Interesting to see that much of it was evidently shot on colour film - although presumably it would have been ‘telecined’ for broadcast in black & white at one time. Always nice to come across old films with proper sound tracks on the film as well.
Wonderful bit of film. As usual lots of comments re the Beeching 'cuts' but, this was 60 or so years ago and hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it...🤔🤔
It wasn't hindsight though, there were many people around at the time who warned of the long term damage that the man was inflicting. The Looe and St Ives branches which Beeching wanted to close are doing very well and there is no reason why the Lyme Regis, Seaton and Sidmouth branches shouldn't have been the same.
The Beeching cuts were of that time, and have been widely discussed. What is seldom if ever mentioned, however, is the far greater crime of the Thatcher years, where the land was sold off. Had this not been done throughout the UK then many lines would be able to be reformed both today and over the coming years.
The branch lines may have long gone but Axminster now has two platforms again, the "up" one having been closed for many years as part of the "rationalisation."
Take the kids for a ride on the footplate, those were the days and if you were lucky and I was, you got taught how to stoke the firebox. What happened to such joy and kingness?
I agree Leroy. When I was a volunteer fireman there were so many kids that wanted to "come up". I fear a casualty of the Elf & Safety people. Anyway what lovely engines these Radials were - they had style !
They kept the Adams radial tanks going, because of the tight curves on the branch line. They then spent a fortune straightening the line, costing a load of money, and then closed it. Typical waste and scrap of the Beeching/BR logic. Btw, number 488 - the only one remaining - is preserved on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.
I was once told a story, whilst at work on the railway, it went....... Axminster, over the bridge for Lyme. But porter, I have a tin trunk. My Dear, I dont care if you've got a tin arse-hole, over the bridge for Lyme.
