{"id":12135,"date":"2025-09-06T17:37:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teignrail.co.uk\/scouting\/?p=12135"},"modified":"2025-10-13T00:15:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T23:15:00","slug":"dartmoor-circular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teignrail.co.uk\/scouting\/dartmoor-circular\/","title":{"rendered":"125 Dartmoor Circular"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Covering Mary Tavy to Bere Alston for the scout’s Okehampton to Friary refresher gave the opportunity for a round trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This he chose to do clockwise on the map and so he went to St. David’s on a Saturday to catch the 0919 to Plymouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scout could once have circled the moor by train from home using five, or possibly four, trains. Now he was to catch three and find a 22\u00bc-mile gap in what had once been a circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The station was busy when 1C70, the 0703 Paddington to Penzance, a 9-car E.D.M.U., pulled into St. David’s two minutes late.
The chap with the other bicycle turned out to be one of three wanting the two spaces in the carriage which was to stop in this “Zone,” marked boldly on the platform. He let the scout enter before him but a member of platform staff quickly pounced and ordered the one without a reservation to go to the rear of the train, where there was another compartment. The scout owned up and hurried along the platform to where the Guard was standing at an open door.
The scout was ready to abort the plan, as he knew that if he missed the connection to Bere Alston, there would not be another for two hours.
But the cycle space was empty and the scare turned out well. The Guard from the sub-continent could not have been friendlier. He told the scout that he never used his travel concession, preferring to drive to Cornwall with his family. His 11 years’ service was beaten by the scout telling him that he had joined B.R. 51 years ago. The cycle space was in a First Class carriage and the Guard promptly ushered the scout into its luxurious confines, adding: “I’m on until Plymouth.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On a 9-car unit, there are several more places where bicycles can be stowed but the platform information screen only advised of two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make matters worse, on top of the spaces being scattered, there is no means of knowing whether they have been reserved. The cubicles are poorly designed and even a passenger who has reserved a space may find it occupied by luggage or passengers, either standing or sitting on the racks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diesel powered H.S.T’s. were supposed to pave the way for the electric trains which were to follow. Yet, fifty years later, their successors have to haul around tanks of gasoil and less powerful diesel engines because the country has singularly failed to complete main line electrification. In fact, the so called “bi-mode” train is being used as the reason not to go any further with the catenary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inadequate bicycle stowage is just a minor part of a major failure. Hitachis <\/em>almost symbolize the fragmented railway which gave birth to them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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On a previous trip, even two bikes were a problem.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The train passed Moretonhampstead Junction and the East Dartmoor line that a Teign Valley man would once have used when travelling west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newton Abbot’s old Moreton Bay, No. 9 platform, remains at right. From here, the Teign Valley man would once have gone to the front of the building and up the stairs to the bridge to catch his connection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Guard made several announcements, warning that the train would not be stopping at Totnes, so the scout was surprised to see on the approach that the “feathers” (route indicator) were set for the platform line. The resultant speed restriction caused a leisurely climb of Rattery bank. When he returned home, the scout found that the train had been booked via the loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n