Summer specials in the South-West

SIX MONTHS before nationalisation threatens to cost me my FirstGroup employee travel concessions on GWR, as has already happened on SWR, and the promise of fine weather tempts me to take a couple of rail trips to the South-West on consecutive Saturdays (20/27 June 2026) to photograph special workings heading to Devon and Cornwall.

First up was a trip to the famous sea wall at Dawlish on 20 June, where in the space of less than five minutes there was the sight of two special workings bound for Torbay, with LNER B1 Mayflower (61306) heading to Kingswear, closely followed by Hastings units 1001/1013 on an epic run from Hastings to Paignton.

Then, just a week later (27 September), it was back to Cornwall and to Liskeard, for a fourth consecutive year of capturing the brace of special trains heading for Penzance to mark its famous Mazey Day celebrations, the culmination of the two-week Midsummer celebrations in Cornwall known as Golowan.

Last year’s Mazey Day duo had featured D1015 Western Champion and the Midland Pullman HST set, but this time it was back to all locomotive haulage, with a pair of Class 37s on the Statesman Rail working (1Z51) from Derby, followed an hour later by another pair of Class 37 locos with Rail Touring Company’s 1Z36 from Dorridge.

Beginning the first of my two summer Saturdays with a trip from Haslemere to Dawlish Warren, with changes en route (and no delays) at Guildford, Reading and Exeter St David’s, I then took the famous (and slightly perilous) walk along the sea wall to the footbridge midway between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish stations to join a number of other photographers already waiting there.

Steam Dreams’ special train 1Z27 was Class 47-powered from London Waterloo (06.40) to Taunton via Salisbury and Westbury, from where Mayflower (61306) took over for the punctual trip to Kingswear, with BR green-liveried Class 47 D1924 (47810) Crewe Diesel Depot attached to the rear and seemingly helping power the train.

Minutes later the Hastings Diesels Limited special appeared, a ten-coach combination of preserved Hastings units 1001 and 1013, that are among the last surviving vehicles of what was once a 23-strong fleet of six-car units with slab-sided coaches that were built (1957/8) with narrow bodies that enabled them to fit through unusually narrow tunnels on the Tonbridge-Hastings line.

For my second South-west trip I opted for GWR First Class, and travelled from Reading aboard 1C70 from London Paddington (07.03), which arrived in Liskeard 36 minutes late, having been delayed near Pewsey and had no on-board catering until we reached Exeter.

Along the way we overtook the first of the two Mazey Day specials at Dawlish Warren. This was the “Cornish Riviera and Mazey Day Statesman” (1Z51) that had left Derby at 04.50 and was formed of chocolate and cream liveried coaches and powered by 37521/667 in the attractive Locomotive Services Limited black livery.

After capturing it passing Liskeard Signal Box I then took a 25-minute walk down past Combe Junction Halt and up a narrow late to a footbridge over the line, from where there is a great view of the magnificent eight-arch Moorswater Viaduct, which enjoys a Grade II Listing and regarded as the finest of Cornwall’s many viaducts.

Last year I had been in the company of many youthful enthusiasts on the footbridge, but this time there was just me to photograph the second of the day’s specials, the “Mazey Day Cornishman” (1Z36) from Dorridge (06.31) and powered by 37668/669 in West Coast Railways’ maroon livery and with WCR 47832, also in maroon livery, at the rear.

To complete a circular walk and find some refreshment in the town centre I followed a path down to the former cement terminal then up into the town, where I paid a return visit to the Wetherspoon-owned King Doniert and enjoyed an excellent pint of Sharp’s Sea Fury (5.0%/£2.30) from the doomed Rock brewery.

Besides the quartet of summer specials, the trips to Dawlish and Liskeard were also an opportunity to capture some of the troublesome Class 175 units in action for GWR, their delayed introduction having been beset by repeated breakdowns that make you wonder why the Castle HST sets were disposed of before reliable replacements had been found.

The Saturday diagrams for Class 175 units sees only one working into Devon, so while waiting for the two special workings on 20 June, I was able to photograph 175011 departing from Dawlish 21 minutes late with 2E12 from Penzance (08.50) to Exeter St. David’s.

Travelling down to Liskeard on 27 June, there were a number of Class 175 units at Laira, but the day also saw various cancelled workings and what appeared to be just three of the units in service – 175001/007/111 – with the first of this trio seen at Liskeard with 2C51 from Exeter St David’s (12.19) to Penzance.