Train Trip

I like travelling on railways, and especially  old railways with steam engines at the front. So now does Max as we took a trip on the South Devon Railway from Paignton (on the coast near Torquay) to Kingswear at the mouth of the River Dart (opposite to Dartmouth) - a location I reported on this time last year. There we caught a river cruise up past the Greenway estate owned by Agatha Christie and down to the river entrance.

Here I simply focus on the train trip itself. Here are the start and finish stations at Paignton and Kingswear, and the former has part of its coffee shop on the platform!

The second thing to note is that all the carriages were named and two stood out in particular. One was Emily and the other Rebecca. What a coincidence! And here they are for verification:

The train was hauled in both directions by a beautifully restored locomotive - Kinlet Hall, shown here at Paignton at the start of the journey:

For part of the journey, the line ran right along the coast - as shown here at Paignton. The first photo looks southwest and the second southeast across Torbay.

After we passed the small halt at Greenway (for Agatha Christie's home - what a way to arrive there, and I kept a look out for Hercule Poirot on the platform but as you can see he wasn't there!), the train plunged into a tunnel to emerge a minute or two later on the banks of the Dart. The second image below was taken shortly after exiting the tunnel.

Altogether, this was a highly scenic trip and one taken in some comfort amidst an atmosphere of nostalgia. It's highly recommended.

AS