| Re: Historical Record Perception - Correction / Confirmation Required Posted by JohnM at 11:59, 27th October 2026 |     |
AI can be pretty good at this sort of thing, although it's not easy to tell whether it's correct or not:
Phil's historical recollection contains a mix of accurate details and a few misconceptions regarding the administration and operational changes of the line:
- The Regional Transfer (Incorrect): Phil suggests that control of the Salisbury to Exeter route was transferred from the Southern Region (BR(S)) to the Western Region (BR(W)) in the early 1960s, and that Western Region management deliberately throttled the Atlantic Coast Express (ACE) because they didn't want a competing fast route into the West Country. In reality, the entire line from Salisbury to Exeter remained under the management and control of British Railways' Southern Region right up until the major singling and rationalisation carried out in 1967 (well after the Beeching Report and after steam had ended on the route). Management control didn't shift to the Western Region until even later (the line was formally transferred to the Western Region in the 1970s, long after the singling cuts took place).
- The Beeching Cuts & Singling (Partially Correct): The reduction of the Wilton-Pinhoe section to predominantly single track was part of the wider post-Beeching rationalisation implemented in June 1967, rather than an immediate result of Beeching's original 1963 report itself. While local intermediate stations and branches (like Lyme Regis, Sidmouth, and Chard) were indeed closed under the Beeching axe, the decision to single the core line was driven by British Railways' financial and traffic-reduction policies of that era to save on maintenance costs, rather than an inter-regional conspiracy by Western Region management to handicap the ACE.
- The Atlantic Coast Express (Contextual Accuracy): The ACE was indeed a premier express service, and its timings and fortunes degraded sharply in the final years of steam and early dieselization due to general network economies, falling passenger numbers with the rise of private cars, and eventual rerouting/withdrawal, but this happened under Southern Region stewardship prior to the route's major truncation.
| Re: Historical Record Perception - Correction / Confirmation Required Posted by ChrisB at 11:53, 27th October 2026 | |
I have loved alongside the Waterloo to Exeter line in or near Pinhoe for all bar three years of my Seventy years
Love this! too much info maybe?
| Re: Historical Record Perception - Correction / Confirmation Required Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 11:53, 27th October 2026 | |
I'll try and find my copy later but Gerry Fiennes' "I Tried to Run a Railway" is very good on the decisions behind retention of the line. He was not impressed with the support forthcoming, or not, from local politicians.
| Historical Record Perception - Correction / Confirmation Required Posted by PhilWakely at 11:36, 27th October 2026 | |
I have lived alongside the Waterloo to Exeter line in or near Pinhoe for all bar three years of my Seventy years and have always been interested in the fortunes of the line. My A-Level Statistics project, which gained an A grade was on the subject of 'Re-doubling the railway between Wilton and Pinhoe'.
However, one significant event in the history of the line puzzles me and I'd like confirmation or correction of my memory please.
Every article I read on the reasons for reducing Wilton South to Pinhoe to mainly single track and thus the route to Secondary status, was down entirely to Dr Beeching. However, my recollection is that was only the beginning - with the closure of several intermediate stations. My recollection is that control of the Salisbury to Exeter route was transferred from BR(S) to BR(W) in the early 60s and that Senior Management of BR(W) did not want two fast routes into the westcountry (the ACE was faster to Exeter than the Cornish Riviera at the time). So, BR(W) throttled the ACE in the timetable and made the decision to reduce the route to Secondary status.
Can somebody confirm / correct my perception please?
*** Correction of unfortunate typo in the first sentence ***
