Disappearing Down GWR's Strangely Unique and Quirky Looe Valley Line!

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2 жыл бұрын

Hi guys and welcome to this, the final Cornish branch line in this series: Disappearing Down GWR's Strangely Unique and Quirky Looe Valley Line!
I was intrigued by the Looe Valley Line with it’s weird ‘half station’ at Liskeard and reversing requirements down at Coombe Junction. I also wanted to check out some of the tiny model-railwayesque halts along the line. It’s a fascinating little trip and it really feels like you’re disappearing into the middle of nowhere before finally emerging out of the valley and into Looe Station itself.
Have a watch if you get the time and let me know what you think. Is there a quirkier branch line in the UK than this? Well let me know if you know, as I’d love to try it out.
Thanks very much for giving this content a go. As always, any likes, comments and subs are greatly appreciated.
I hope you enjoy the video.
Mark
If you'd like to buy me a coffee I have a Ko-fi page and shop here: ko-fi.com/letsmakeatrip
I post regular photos of my trips on Instagram: / markswaintransport
I also comment post too much for my own good on Twitter: / lets_makeatrip
And here's my Facebook Page Link: / letsmakeatripwithms
/ jtsjourneys
#letsmakeatrip
Picture Credits:
Looe Valley Line Map: Rcsprinter123 (no changes made)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Sandplace Station: roger geach (no changes made)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Looe Town: roger geach (no changes made)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Link to the Looe Valley Line and the token explanation for Coombe Junction:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looe_Va...

Пікірлер: 50

@rolandharmer6402 2 ай бұрын

Another quirky and beautiful line with a reversal is from Plymouth to Gunnislake. The trains change directions at Bere Alston. There are hopes to open the line from Bere Alston to Tavistock. I travelled on the Looe line in the 1960s and it didn’t seem that it would survive very long - but it is still with us, hurrah! Great video.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 ай бұрын

Cheers Roland! I haven’t done the Gunnislake branch yet. It’s definitely on there for next time though 😊👍

@paulaj2829 7 ай бұрын

We were up in Whitby back in the summer & they used to have the lIne from Scarborough to Whitby which used to have a switch back line to get down to the station at Whitby after going over Larpool Viaduct & this line used to go back under the Larpool Viaduct back down to Whitby & the mainline used to carry on to Middlesbrough as far as I know.

@anianoenrique2115 2 жыл бұрын

This area looks absolutely gorgeous. I keep coming back to this video every couple of days, wishing I was there.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

It is! I’d always wanted to travel down it and was glad I made the effort. Wish I could have spent more time in Looe tbh, but it took so long to get there I had to start back as soon as I’d arrived. A very quirky branch line 👍😊

@DaveSuperThomas 2 жыл бұрын

This lossmaking rural branch line was scheduled for closure in 1967 but the Labour Transport Minister, Barbara Castle - who never learned to drive and liked to spend her Summer holidays in Looe - reprieved it at the last minute. During the late 19th Century the area around Liskeard (or, if you prefer the Cornish language version, Lyskerrys) was a centre of the lucrative copper mining industry based at - or beneath - Caradon Hill. Looe (Cornish version - Loh) is an attractive fishing village with some lovely old pubs and restaurants and just offshore is the fascinating St. George's Island, home to a Romano-British temple! You can walk from Looe/Loh along the spectacular South Cornwall Coast Path all the way to Plymouth, if the weather's nice and you've got a day to spare! Coombe Junction is 150 feet lower than Liskeard so the little Diesel train has to slog up the 1:40 gradient for over a mile in order to reach the Penzance to London Main Line!

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

@@DaveSuperThomas I last went to Looe sometime in the late 90’s I think. It was when we had the eclipse and I remember sitting on the wall watching it and all the seagulls going crazy. It was a very surreal experience! Unlike Barbara Castle, I drove down that day but kind of wish I’d taken he train now. Lovely place though 😊

@richardhutton2089 Ай бұрын

I was down there last week on a weed spraying train ...I know the video is 2 years old . It was my first time down the line and even at night it was beautiful

@LetsMakeaTrip Ай бұрын

It is a wonderful line Richard. So quirky too!

@johncarr712 2 жыл бұрын

This branch line is only 20 mins walks from my house currently until move to Plymouth. It's a shame you couldn't explore Looe. It is a lovely town. I love how you walked to St Keyne. I did this with a mate about a decade ago. We aimed to get to Looe but ended up taking the wrong fork at a junction and it took us full circle back to St Keyne. Took the train then. Great video Mark.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Hi John, yes St Keyne was a fantastic little halt. I thought I might as well walk it when the train was going to be another hour! I spent a bit of time in Looe a few years back - it was the eclipse if you remember I think it was around 1999 and the seagulls all went crazy! Would love to go back but actually next time I’m down that way I may try one a bit closer to your new home which would be the Gunnislake branch.

@DaveSuperThomas 2 жыл бұрын

Plymouth to Gunnislake is pretty quirky. You start off following the magnificently-engineered Southern Railway main line, which now terminates abruptly at Bere Alston, where the GWR Class 150 DMU reverses onto what was once the Callington branch. The single track line descends steeply to the magnificent viaduct over the River Tamar at Calstock, followed by the twisting, turning climb through the woods to the terminus in the middle of the former copper mining capital of Drakewalls. With the open level crossings over country lanes at which train drivers have to stop, whistle and proceed with caution, a day trip to Gunnislake is an almost surreal experience, as far removed from 125mph Class 802 IET's on the GWR main line as it is possible to get!

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Dave, this line sounds fantastic! I didn’t quite have enough time on this trip but I’ll definitely get around to it sometime - hopefully next year. Cheers for all the info too, much appreciated.

@NonstopEurotrip 2 жыл бұрын

What a mega faff and for the time it takes I bet this line won't last too much longer especially considering the passenger numbers... Absolutely beautiful though, good job Mark 😎

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate. Yes if it wasn’t such a climb back into Liskeard, I’d have got off at Coombe Junction on the way back and walked the last bit 😂 Do you think these lines are subsidised much?

@johncarr712 2 жыл бұрын

@@LetsMakeaTrip This line will stay. Between April and October, this train is packed more often than not which helps it get through the winter. Having said that, it ran a train every hour during lockdown with nobody on board though this was subsidised by the govt.

@DaveSuperThomas 2 жыл бұрын

The Labour Transport Minister Barbara Castle reprieved this little-used branch line at the last minute in 1967 - allegedly because she always spent her Summer holidays in Looe - and it survives to this day mainly because the road network in this part of south Cornwall is so poor. The Great Western Railway franchise is itself profitable so the money made on the main intercity route from Paddington to Plymouth subsidises everything else, including the lossmaking Cornish branches.

@MattsPlanet 2 жыл бұрын

A train video without trains is certainly a niche you can make your own!

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Haha, I could, but it’s not really smashing the view counts tbh 🤣

@melglobus 2 жыл бұрын

I loved this video. Felt like I was riding (and walking!) the line myself! Great details

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks melglobus, I’m kind of glad I walked a bit of it. I think if you spent the day there you could do a bit of both just getting on and off the train at various halts/stations.

@DVWNatSecResearcher 2 жыл бұрын

I loved this video. Thank you for your thorough explanations of the train lines.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Debra, glad you enjoyed it 😊

@simonwhitlock9189 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark , another most enjoyable journey that I look forward to doing myself one day, take care and stay safe. cheers.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Simon yes tbh there’s so many great branch lines down there I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface really. Maybe I’ll go back one day and do a part two!

@Timstravels01 2 жыл бұрын

This is a fabulous video. Such a quaint branch line and you really brought it to life.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Tim and thanks (as always) for the comment 👍 Yes quaint is probably the best word for it actually - I wish I’d have thought of that! You do need a bit more time on it though I would say. I had a date with the pub back in Lostwithiel so you can see where my priorities lie! 🤣

@Brettski_1234 2 жыл бұрын

I almost thought I was watching Geoff Marshall's least used stations haha

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Haha, if only I had his knowledge (and sub count!) 😂

@alanbrown3015 Жыл бұрын

Are any other branch lines operated like this? I travelled berween Morecambe and Heysham and the guard operated a ground frame to take the train towards Heysham after leaving Morecambe.

@lynnzarina7294 Жыл бұрын

lovely places to get lost to hahaha ..i like this video so much.

@LetsMakeaTrip Жыл бұрын

Thanks Lynn. I really enjoyed it - proper branch line stuff really 😊👍

@joesheppard9571 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Mark my names Joe and iam a big trains fan witch was your favourite station. You visited combe junition halt or St Keyne wishing well halt? I like St keyne because I did look pretty. I love your video kind regards Joe

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Joe! My favourite station was St Keyne Wishing Well Halt (which of course is a halt, not a station!). I walked from Coombe Junction Halt down the lane to here which was a nice trip and the views from the bridge towards the platform at St Keyne were lovely. I would definitely recommend this line and thanks for the lovely comment 😊👍

@joeturner1920 2 жыл бұрын

Another great video. You can forget lines like this still operate some days. There’s some great scenery on these lines. Thanks for the video.

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Joe. Yes tbh, there was quite a bit of glare on the windows so I wasn’t that happy with the filming (I almost didn’t upload it). And I reckon a different time of day and if the tide had been in it would have been a lot better. 😊

@DaveSuperThomas 2 жыл бұрын

@@LetsMakeaTrip - I did Liskeard/Lyskerrys to Looe/Loh in late November, 2019, when I had a whole carriage of the Class 150 DMU to myself throughout the outward journey. The train windows were so badly encrusted with grime that I could hardly see out of them, leave alone capture video footage! It was the same sad story on the Gunnislake branch the next day - dirty windows making it difficult to see the lovely scenery of the lower Tamar Valley! For the return journey to Liskeard, five people boarded the train at Looe!

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

@@DaveSuperThomas Dirty Windows - I’ve had this a few times, most notably when I travelled The Kyle Line last year which was a real shame because there is some beautiful scenery on that one. Since then (and if practically possible) I’ll clean a patch of the window myself once I know where I’m sitting. I do get a few strange looks but, you know, they should go through the wash more imo

@KILKennyLaDa9898-js2nr 4 ай бұрын

@ 3-47...you mention you just missed the train, so was it four minutes early departure for some odd reason?

@the1abhishek 2 жыл бұрын

Mark - so, I need a new plan today. Birds(start chirping) - nooooooo...we need trains Mark- hold your nests, I am going to hop on a train soon. Birds - okay cool.. Hahaha. I am really liking the branch lines and the countryside, keep them coming 😊👌

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Nice one Abhishek. This is the last of the branch lines so far (unfortunately) but I’ve got loads of other stuff coming up with a real mixture of transport modes. Not much birdsong involved though 🤣

@the1abhishek 2 жыл бұрын

@@LetsMakeaTripEh. No birdsong 😂 I can watch any of the trip reports here. Old and the upcoming ones...

@derisleybrittain 2 жыл бұрын

Superb footage 👍👍👍👍💖💖💖💖💖🥳🥳🥳🥳😍😍😍👊👊👊👊

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Derisley - man of few words but many emojis😊👍

@DaveSuperThomas 2 жыл бұрын

It's rumoured that the Labour Transport Minister, Barbara Castle - who never learned to drive - reprieved this unusual rural branch line a week before it was due to close, because she liked to spend her Summer holidays on the Cornish coast at Looe/Loh! Fun fact - the Class 150 GWR DMU's which operate over this route have to climb 150 feet between Coombe Junction and the main line at Liskeard/Lyskerrys in less than a mile!

@LetsMakeaTrip 2 жыл бұрын

@@DaveSuperThomas I can believe that first bit. I quite enjoyed the walk down to Coombe Junction but not so sure I would in the other direction!