Because of heavy usage by holiday trains in the Summer each year, Penzance was one of the earliest places to receive comprehensive dieselisation, being closed to steam in 1962. The two types of power ran side by side from 1959, and diesel hydraulics (lighter and quicker starting) rather than diesel electrics (the standard type elsewhere) predominated until 1977. Locomotives were differentiated by their power class, which ranged from diesel shunters (starting from ’01’) to main line expresses (ending during my years of particular interest with ’55’), and several different types could be seen at Penzance, in varying appearance, which provided much diverse interest. It was the 1969-77 part of this period that I was particularly interested in, and fuller representation of that period can be found on the ‘Beginnings’ pages of this website.
M24899, bearing a “PENZANCE – MANCHESTER” carriage board, is pictured below Ruberry’s Garage in a rake of maroon carriages at Platform 1 of Penzance Station. The spear point railings on the wall behind from WCR days only stretch this far. 6####FR01-PNZ-COACH-PARKD
As depicted by the open flaps on its nose, D600 heads an ‘up’ express at Platform 2 on 20th August 1963. The Warship has received warning panels and overhead wires insignia – it has also had horizontal grilles replaced by vertical ones to improve engine room ventilation. 630820A01-PNZ–D600-PAS_U
D601 “ARK ROYAL” is the new face of rail travel, waiting to depart Penzance Platform 4 in 1958 with a passenger service. The cab is empty and its door open – surely an invitation to risk “cabbing” it. Behind is a Syphon G ventilated van and Penzance scenery. 58###BG01-PNZ–D601-GDS_U
Passengers return to their carriage having looked at a new locomotive for their train, D824 “HIGHFLYER”, in immaculate condition, but minus the small yellow warning panel it will soon be carrying. A carriage destination board is still being used on the coach opposite. © G T Slides 600821A01-PNZ–D824-PAS_U
A train of milk tanks trundles into Platform 3 of Penzance Station, headed by D6324 and D6317 – the leading loco in fine condition with it’s horn mountings still in pristine grey, but its headcode discs unusually closed – though lamps shining through nonetheless. 60###AI01-PNZ-D6324-PAS_D
A crew member of NBL-built D851 “TEMERAIRE” leaves the cab, now it has coupled to its outgoing carriages. The loco is in original green livery with bright red buffer beam, and it has an ’83D’ (Laira, as so denoted then) shedplate at the front corner. 620723A01-PNZ–D851-PAS_U
Displaying ‘express’ headcodes, D801 “VANGUARD” heads the up mail train at Penzance Station on 15th June 1959. Although the tracks before it are empty, those behind include a couple of small bromine tanks and a larger milk tank. The quay line is still in situ but truncated where a few buildings are seen, and which are soon to be demolished in redevelopment. 590615A01-PNZ–D801-R_MAL
Alderman Beckerleg, the Mayor of Penzance, greets the cabin staff of the first non-stop train from Paddington to Penzance upon its arrival on 7th May 1966, along with members of the public, station inspector, other counsellors and passengers. D1010 “WESTERN CAMPAIGNER” headed the train and it and its coaches were resplendent in shiny maroon. 660507A08-PNZ-CROWD-GREET
A D8XX ‘Warship’ awaits departure from Platform 3 as crowds, dressed very respectably, “see off” what looks like a return Royal Visit. The prominent building above the Goods Platforms awning is the retort house of the gasworks on the harbour side. 660507A07-PNZ-D10##-PAS_U
D808 “CENTAUR” runs light engine from the Sheds on a warm day in 1969 to pick up a train from Penzance Station. The tatty water tank is flanked by an impressive array of semaphores, and beyond lie the trees screening Ponsandane House. 6####BH01-PNZ–D845-LIG_U
Passage of locomotives back and forth for refueling kept the stretch of the line to Long Rock busy, and my walk to the Sheds a zig-zag from the shoreline to the railway line. D845 “SPRIGHTLY” arrives at Platform 3 in the same poor external state I saw her years later. 69###BG01-PNZ–D808-LIG_D
A crewman watches the coupling of D828 “MAGNIFICENT”; another leaves the opposite cab; and an engine turns over and exhaust rises. An engineman’s bag and tea flask are on the control panel inside the windscreen, and it seems the totem signs are being removed from the lamp posts, too. 69###AV01-PNZ–D828-PAS_U
The driver strides towards the front cab of D816 “ECLIPSE”, heading the 4.20pm Penzance to Plymouth passenger on 12th July 1966. The coaches are stil all entirely maroon, apart from the rake of Royal Mail vehicles in pillar-box red. In the yard on the left, behind the two vans, are buildings that were demolished before my days of interest began. 660712A03-PNZ–D816-PAS_U
D860 ‘VICTORIOUS’ trundles into the terminus with a train of goods vans on a calm Summer evening in commendable-condition green livery. The seaward side break in the sea wall shows where the money ran out for development back in the 1930s/1940s. 660707A01-PNZ–D860-GDS_D
Rail blue D868 “ZEPHYR” moves away from maroon-finished D805 “BENBOW” for new duties at the end of Penzance Station’s No. 3 platform, watched from a small boy in the shade of the running-in board on 11th June 1970. To minimise occupation of the running lines, locos frequently ran light together, separating at the station or sheds. 700611A01-PNZ–D8XX-LIG_U
Something catches the attention of a man and boy as they stand by two-tone green 1729 awaiting departure time with an outbound express passenger service. Its cab number without a ‘D’ prefix has been replaced, and a ‘W’ painted below denoting Western Region ownership. 6####ED01-PNZ-d1729-PAS_U
4181, pictured here on the points near the sea wall to the various bay sidings at the station, was probably the Class 08 shunter I saw most often at Penzance – and certainly the first indicator I had that the ‘D’ prefix to loco numbers was being removed. Coupled to it is a Mk1 brake coach from platform 4, with a telephone point and concrete lamp post to its left. 73###AF01-PNZ-d4181-PARKD
The crew of 47316, a Sheffield-allocated loco, relax awaiting departure time at the head of an up service at Penzance station’s goods platform in 1979. John Vaughan has captured perfectly its conjuncture with St Michael’s Mount, behind, in composition, sharpness and exposure, and even the “pranged” station furniture on platform 4 before it is also in focus. 79####A01-PNZ-47316-PARKD
The red tinge to the sky empasises the drizzy day at Penzance Station as 855 “TRIUMPH” awaits departure with an up service. An 08 shunter is parked opposite the signal box as Station Pilot, and all signals are set ‘on’. Sloper’s Siding and the Sea Siding hold stock awaiting reuse, and everything glints through reflected water. 710610A01-PNZ—d855-PAS_U
Fitted with ballast ploughs, Class 25 D7577 waits at the end of Platform 3 at Penzance beside an unidentified Western on a passenger service. To the left, the track of the sea wall siding has been torn up and left awaiting reclamation, and on the opposite side, buddleia outcrops mar the granite wall. Photo: James Burns. 7####FW01-PNZ-D7577-GDS_U
Seabirds scavage for food as waves lap in on the tide while D1033 “WESTERN TROOPER” smokes away, waiting to proceed to shed at Penzance in 1967. The locomotive is in poor external condition, and it is obvious from the bleached roof panels that all is not well with the exhaust. The state of the platform surface requires some significant rectification as well! 67####A01-PNZ-D1033-LIG_U
D1023 “WESTERN FUSILIER” – the only class member to acquire a domino headcode – trundles before packed Sea Sidings at Penzance towards the end of its service life. The mis-match of the new sea wall with the old one is clear here – the more distant one never widened as originally planned because of the incursion of World War 2 and a shortage of funds. 7####GB01-PNZ-D1023-LIG_D
Having recently brought in a service to Penzance, doors to the compartments of DMU set P556 hang open, although the roof is covered with frost, suggesting a cold day. Beside it, a first class carriage is wearing one of the yellow destination boards in use at this time, in this instance for ‘The Golden Hind’. 720529A01-PNZ–P556-PAS_D
25236 enters Penzance with a couple of tanks and a brake van in 1974, passing a Western in the Sea Siding and a rake of Mk2 coaches. The wall by the signal never had its capstones in the days I train-spotted there – they can be seen among the track detritus nearby – which was very useful in making the climb onto the wall from track level easier. 74###AO01-PNZ-25326-GDS_D
Between platforms wet from a shower, 08840 – with shunter’s pole across its buffers – rests against carriages it will shortly remove from an inbound train at Platform 2. A shunter awaits the all clear from further down the platform before coupling up and moving off. 75###AO01-PNZ-d4181-SHU_S
With ‘Zeros’ wound up in its headcode, 47050 runs towards the Sea Siding for a short layover, opposite Penzance Signal Box in the Summer of 1976. The terrace of houses behind have spectacular sea views, but doubtless few appreciate the railway. 7607#AB01-PNZ-47050-LIGHT
45077 is about to depart Penzance, Platform 2, with the 14.30 to Paddington on 2nd October 1976, while 47149 – having arrived earlier with a service from Worcester Shrub Hill – throbs as it waits to travel to Long Rock for refueling, at Platform 3 beside it. 761002A01-PNZ-LOCOS-PAS_U
Drizzle dampens the outlook from the platforms of Penzance Station eastwards, adding a haze to the pine trees, holiday chalets and heliport beyond. 46007 looks weather-worn, too, as it waits for the signal to drop at the end of Platform 3. 8012#AA01-PNZ-46007-PAS_U
Fog blanks out all beyond the station wall as 45111 “GRENADIER GUARDSMAN” waits by empty platforms towards the outward ends of Penzance Station. An 08 unofficially named “RUSTY” along its top bonnet edge is parked behind. 8509#AA03-PNZ-45111-GOODU
Station pilot 08840 hauls Mk II carriages away from the station as a Class 50 loco waits in the Sea Siding. In the foreground is the roof of the mess for station staff and beyond a calm sea, with views across to Godolphin and Tregonning hills. 770827A01-PNZ-08880-SHU_S
Waiting at the head of stock to form the Cornish Riviera at Platform 2 of a fairly deserted Penzance Station is 50034. On the closest side of its buffer beam a couple of hoses hang, one of which is connected to a recently painted rectangle beside the orange square coupling code – possibly a recent addition. 770411A01-PNZ-50034-PAS_U
Good weather basks this Royal Mail Mk I Stowage Van that forms part of the Traveling Post Office (TPO) parked in the Station Yard at Penzance. GWR trolleys await use nearby, and boys with rucsacs, stripped to the waist, apparently await their train. 7###EQ01-PNZ-COACH-MAI_U
On a bit of a dull day, 08644 is buffered up against the vans at Platform 3. Her paintwork is a bit ‘tired’, with parts worn back to bare metal, and someone has unofficially named her “DEBBIE” with ‘Letrasign’ lettering in two locations on her sides. 7####CB01-PNZ-08644-SHU_S
The retaining wall between the railway and the sea swings around the coast as a 50XXX heading a train of Mk 1 carriages crosses the three tunnels on its way out of Penzance. The rock armour pile below the loco were placed there a few years earlier. 7####BD01-PNZ-500##-PAS_U
A year after I left to live in London, 08643 rests on a feeder road to the goods platfoms at Penzance Station. A man with a pipe stands on the wall, surveying the scene, which is tranquil and beautiful – though the weather could change very quickly! 78###AC01-PNZ-08643-PARKD
25207 is parked between duties at the end of the line in Penzance Station yard, the weak sunshine casting indefinite shadows. It has lost a bodyside grille and its sides and apron look battered. Behind it is the concrete beam wall separating it from the Bus Station, and to the left the 1930s sea wall, with the remnants of the former one below it. 7####GF01-PNZ-25207-PARKD
The roofline of 47507 suggest that it might have been located to Stratford in East London in recent times as it seems to have a silver painted roof – that depot’s hallmark – though now heavily grime covered. It waits with an ACS up passenger service. 78###AA01-PNZ-47507-PAS_U
Cool sunshine bathes 50020 ‘Revenge’ as it rests, parked against the end of the loading bay in Penzance Station yard on 3rd April 1980. The shadow of a lamp post crosses the cab and GUVs behind are half-hidden by BRUTE trolleys. 800403A01-PNZ-50020-PARKD
As the sun sets over the beach at Chyandour, gentle waves ripple in and the seagulls peck for ragworm. Lit by the dying sun are the rock armour boulders before the railway line and Eastern Green beach. The bulk of the trees behind have sadly now been removed as the by-pass rises there now, but otherwise the view is still substantially unchanged. Photo: B Lewis. 8####AB01-CHY-BEACH-VIS_N
It looks as if 552 – a Class 120 DMU – is entering Penzance wrong line on this rather gloomy day in 1976 – judging by the signal at ‘on’ and the lack of a red light at this end of the unit. Large chunks of limestone are piled on the seaward side of the wall for protection from the sea, and beyond the ‘National Speed Limit Applies’ signs are trees of Ponsandane Estate. 76###AK01-PNZ–P552-PAS_U
A passenger leans from a window of 3-car Class 120 DMU headed by 51578 as it rolls into Penzance Station in 1979. Behind it a Class 50 and 47 are parked up awaiting movement, and the scene is also dominated by the bright red of the semaphores in the foreground and the granite station wall – its continuity broken by the unusual white memorial in the distance. 79####B01-PNZ-51578-PAS_U
You can sense the cold in the air as 50049 “Defiance” waits with an early morning service on Penzance’s Platform 3 in the early 80s. To the right is a GUV from another train; further back down the platform are NCL trailers; and a motorail wagon is at the back end of another down service, on Platform 4. NCL vans are parked haphazardly near the train shed’s left wall. 7####GP01-PNZ-50049-GDS_U
08644 is captured at Chyandour bridges on the outskirts of Penzance Station, passing a rake of goods vans in the Sea Siding. The two dumps of less-weathered rocks piled against the wall on the other side were added in the autumn of 1973 to help break the force of strong waves, and the ballast before it is where I rescued a milepost from a refuse fire. 800426A01-PNZ-08644-LIG_U
Captured on film by John Vaughan, long term allocation 08641 rests in the sunshine on the short loop opposite Penzance Signal Box in 1979: in the background another 08 is coupled to the Royal Mail set in Sloper’s Siding. The gap between the older and newer walls is clearly seen – the missing capstone of the former made it easier to clamber on to from track level. 1979####A01-PNZ-08641-PILOT
Slow-starting diesel electric 47512, with only one of her front cab marker lights shining, steps up the power as it pulls away from Penzance before the Signal Box. A High Speed Train is also caught on Platform 2, waiting to take a later service. 8####AQ01-PNZ-47512-PAS_U
As part of a line of parked up locos using the station goods area for stabling, 45135 is parked nearest the buffers, with its front end showing a bit of collision damage. The engine’s marker lights are shut down, and it waits, dormant, until required again. 8307#AA01-PNZ-45135-PARKD
Excess steam heat from 50035 “Tiger” pervades the area before the stop blocks at journey’s end into Platform 2 at Penzance – the formation of GUV and Mk1s still common in the 80s. The levers for the nearby pointwork for releasing locos from Platform 3, and the railhead gleam of the track itself beyond the AWS ramp, show that such operation was still in use then. 8####BQ01-PNZ-50035-PAS_D
Under a comprehensively cleaned and repainted train shed, 50046 “Ajax” rests from its journey, carriage doors open and water bowser in attendance. There were several attempts of major renovation to this building: expensive, but certainly impressive! 8504#AC01-PNZ-50046-PAS_D
Dead flies and air-bourne dirt mar the bright yellow front end of a large-logo liveried Class 50 parked at Platform 1 of Penzance Station. The orange squares by the buffer beam denoted which locos could be connected to it for multiple working – in this case only other Class 50s. 8####AW01-PNZ-500##-PAS_U
A HST set powers out of Penzance with an up service in the 1980s, as a Class 50 and 08 shunter wait nearby. The track beside the seawall has been completely lifted, half the covered goods area is now parking, and electric signalling has replaced the semaphores. 8####BE01-PNZ-253XX-PAS_U
Well-run-in HST set 253007 is at Penzance, Platform 1, awaiting departure on a grey afternoon, where only its yellow front brightens the scene. The granite wall sprouts buddleia that is reflected in the grime on the locomotive’s front end – the raised curved panel behind the cab roof was an experiment to try to minimise exhaust stains from obscuring the windscreen. 8####BW01-PNZ-2~007-PAS_U
Sleek and “dashing”, 43055 – the leading car of an out-bound High Speed Train set from Penzance Station – awaits departure time in 1981. Exhaust streaks and a sun-caught front corner help emphasise that ‘The wave of the future’ has arrived. 8109#BA01-PNZ-43055-PAS_U
The Eric Curnow Collection 