Totnes Motorail

[crosscity]

I took a few photos at Totnes in June 1976, and am now intrigued as to when the Motorail service to/from Totnes ended and how and by whom cars were picked up and set down at Totnes.

It's only now I realised that Totnes was served by Motorail, and browsing the 75/76 WTT it looks as though the terminal was discarded only a few weeks before I was there. Totnes is mentioned a few times to cover the different days and dates, but I'll just share this one as it mentions Totnes in 1976:
MO 14JUL-25AUG, TThFO 20MAY-09SEP, Fri 26SEP, WO 16JUL-10SEP, SO 11OCT and from 17APR76, also Wed 14APR76 to Tue 20APR76 and Fri 23APR76
1V34 07:45 Kensington-St Austell – Totnes 11:38/11:50 ‘Unload carflats’
1M01 16:00 St Austell-Kensington – Totnes 17:31/17:42 ‘Load carflats’

So, the trains called at Totnes for 11 or 12 minutes. Just what happened in that time? For instance:
- was there any shunting of the Totnes car flats into the sidings on each side of the station, or did the trains just stop in the through platforms with the cars driven along the main platforms?
- I presume the boards in the photo were used to drive the cars on to the train. Did station or Motorail staff put them in place?
- Who drove the cars on to or off the car-flats: the owners, Totnes station staff or Motorail staff on the train?
- Did anyone witness the operation at Totnes in April 76? (the last day of the 75/76 timetable was Sat 2nd May76, so presumably the last train would have been the 'Up' train to collect cars on 2nd May).

I would have loved to have seen and recorded this operation - if only I'd have known about it at the time!
I look forward to your responses.


04Jun76. Totnes. 'Peak' Class 45 45074 (Ex D131). [Slide_1405-TPZ] by Ray Honke, on Flickr

 

[Gloster]

Working from memory of odd bits I have read:

The cars were side-loaded and probably driven by the owners. I suspect that it was a fairly small scale operation, probably just one or two staff for marshalling, so there wouldn’t be the time for a drive to load a car, collect the next, load it, etc. I don’t think there were many Motorail staff on the train either.

Did the train run in April 1976? It might have been programmed to run (and continue through the summer) when the WTT was printed, but by the time the 1976 Motorail workings were finalised they might have decided to drop the service for the summer and so cancelled it during the period before the timetable change.

 

[D6130]

Seems strange that there were two Motorail terminals so close together at Totnes and Newton Abbot.

 

[gg1]

Seems strange that there were two Motorail terminals so close together at Totnes and Newton Abbot.

I've thought that too (always had a fascination with motorail even though it's a little before my time), possibly there was originally just the one terminal for that part of Devon but it was unable to cope with the number of services and wasn't possible to expand so the second was opened to take some of the pressure?

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Newton Abbot used the former Moretonhampstead bay platform which had road access (unlike the main platforms) - it would not have been suitable for a train continuing to St. Austell without a lot of shunting. Totnes came first, with Newton Abbot being developed later for the Stiriing service using closed vans.

 

[Gloster]

Newton Abbot used the former Moretonhampstead bay platform which had road access (unlike the main platforms) - it would not have been suitable for a train continuing to St. Austell without a lot of shunting. Totnes came first, with Newton Abbot being developed later for the Stiriing service using closed vans.

In the 1972 Motorail timetable Newton Abbot was only served on Saturday, but Totnes was also served on weekdays. To have shunted a section off or on the St Austell at Newton Abbot would have been possible on a weekday, but disruptive in a busy yard, while on a Saturday it wouldn’t have been nearly such a problem. The number of cars being unloaded/loaded at Totnes off/on the St Austell would not have been large on a weekday, but a full trainload on a Saturday would have been a serious problem. As mentioned above, I suspect that Newton Abbot was developed as a Saturday relief for Totnes, but gradually took over as blocking the platforms at the latter, particularly on a summer Saturday, could lead to serious disruption.

 

[Lucan]

I don't know about Totnes, but I used Motorail from Euston to Inverness once. The cars were end-loaded into covered bogie wagons (three? of them at the rear of the train) by staff; the owners left and picked their cars up from special parking areas. One car on my train was a veteran (c1900 I guess) so goodness knows how the staff handled that one.

I think it highly unlikely that Motorail staff would have travelled with the train (an over-night in my case) and I guess loading would be done by any station staff who could drive after a few minutes training. I would think that side-loading would be quite tricky and require a very long bridging ramp - why do that when there were still goods bays around which had always been intended for manhandling vehicles and machinery onto rail wagons? If Totnes was an intermediate stop for the train, I expect the car wagons would have been uncoupled from the rear and shunted into the loading bay after the train had left.

 

[zwk500]

I don't know about Totnes, but I used Motorail from Euston to Inverness once. The cars were end-loaded into covered bogie wagons (three? of them at the rear of the train) by staff; the owners left and picked their cars up from special parking areas. One car on my train was a veteran (c1900 I guess) so goodness knows how the staff handled that one.

I think it highly unlikely that Motorail staff would have travelled with the train (an over-night in my case) and I guess loading would be done by any station staff who could drive after a few minutes training. I would think that side-loading would be quite tricky and require a very long bridging ramp - why do that when there were still goods bays around which had always been intended for manhandling vehicles and machinery onto rail wagons? If Totnes was an intermediate stop for the train, I expect the car wagons would have been uncoupled from the rear and shunted into the loading bay after the train had left.

This excellent period film shows both Motorail staff end-loading at Kensington, and side-unloading (I think by passengers) at the far end.

 

[Rescars]

I did travel by Motorail to both Totnes and St Austell in the very late 1960s. These were the two destinations from Kensington. As noted above, Newton Abbott services originated from further north. This was long before my driving days and the trains were much more interesting! From what I recall, Motorail staff loaded and unloaded the cars at Olympia, but it was self driving in the West. I have a recollection of a set of carflats being shunted into a dock by an 08 shunter, but I can't recall if that was at Totnes or St Austell. It may well have been at both. I don't recall any side loading, but it was a long time ago. Even in pre health and safety days, expecting passengers to sideload onto carflats stopped on a running line would look to be tempting fate. Endloading in the dock only called for the car drivers to go straight ahead!

 

[Gloster]

I do think that I have read that cars were loaded over the side at Totnes and this might have been a reason for closure of the terminal. Diagramming a loco and crew to do the shunt, particularly on a summer Saturday, would not have been easy or popular. At St Austell the carflats were shunted to and from the terminal, which was alongside the station; passengers used the normal platforms. Again, I suspect that other than the buffet/restauant car staff there were probably only one or two Motorail staff on the train, who were likely to be concerned with passengers on the train. (Particularly having them ready to get off the Down at Totnes: ”Oh, here’s Totnes. Is this where we get off? Oh, Jimmy, yes, mummy’ll take you to the toilet…Now, I had better pack everything up. Yes, Tommy, mummy’ll take you to the toilet…Why is that man shouting?)

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

St Austell had dock sidings behind the main up platform with a Portakabin as the reception and waiting area. The goods yard to the east of the station had a resident 08 shunter when the service started, but latterly the train loco was used to perform the marshalling.

Totnes was definitely side-loading, there were (still are) approach roads leading directly to the platforms on both sides of the station. HSE would have a fit today, with cars being driven along the platforms.

 

[Hadrian]

During the period when I was involved with Motorail (as a member of staff with duties including Kensington Olympia and also as an occasional customer, latterly to and from Euston) I am fairly sure that motorail trains did not carry any dedicated Motorail staff. Staff on the train would have been the driver (and often secondman), guard and, on many services, the restaurant car crew. Motorail staff were based at the various terminals. Often at the less busy locations only part of their duties related to motorail. All staff who drove road vehicles as part of their duties, including those who loaded or unloaded motorail trains, were supposed to be subject to a rather rudimentary driving test.