More of the Mule: the West of England Line

On Saturday 25th April, I had further reason to be in Exeter and once again used the West of England Line for my travel. The former London & South Western Railway mainline, connecting London Waterloo with Exeter and the west, is one of my favourite train rides - and good value, once again!

I boarded the 0747 service starting in Salisbury, heading down to the west in the morning, and caught the 1625 departure from Exeter Central home. With engineering works closing the line between Basingstoke and Woking, 159015 and 159105 were in 6-car formation and operated both of my trips, with journeys terminating at Basingstoke. The 'short' Waterloos from Salisbury were heading up to Reading for the day. Again, I booked advanced First Class, which, although restricting your choice of when to return, actually worked out not-much-more-expensive than a walk-on fare. Of course - I could've used a SWR weekend upgrade too - £10 across two 'zones' for each trip. 

Today's blog is meant as a 'B-side' album to my first blog entry on 10th April, featuring some of the other sights and delights. 

The start of my journey - Salisbury. Go South Coast fleet no. 1789 (HJ24 RCX) stands at the recently-constructed bus interchange at Salisbury railway station, with the connection to Ringwood and on to Bournemouth on Morebus route X3.

The opposite end of the line: Stagecoach South West 36242 (WA11 CGV) is pictured outside the station building at Exeter Central. The station was Southern's base in Exeter, formerly named as Exeter Queen St. The Enviro was operating route H, which connects Exeter city centre with St. David's station. 

Exeter Central, looking west and towards Exeter St. David's

I always find Exeter Central a rather curious station. Whilst certainly not as grand as its heyday, featuring two through lines, a further bay line, and freight facilities behind the present-day platform 3, it has turned in to a busy hub on the Devon Metro, with regular departures to Exmouth, Barnstaple, Okehampton and Paignton, along with the hourly service up to Honiton, Axminster, Salisbury and on to Waterloo. At times, it can feel a little empty - but when a train comes in, it returns to the bustling hub it once was in Southern days. 

158951 stands ready to operate the 2B81 to Barnstaple. 

Just outside Exeter is Exmouth Junction - once the most important site for the Southern Railway in the west, with one of the largest engine sheds, a vital marshalling yard and the concrete casting factory - products of which are still found all over the former Southern Railway region. Now, operationally at least, one siding remains for Barnstaple and Okehampton trains to turn back, with a mixture of the rest of the site derelict or being repurposed for housing development. 

The vast majority of West of England services appear to be two Class 159s together - therefore, there are two First Class sections (one in each of the 159s). Both were quiet during my journey - as illustrated here - but the seats were extremely comfortable and the journey very ambient! 

The countryside west of Salisbury is varied and enchanting throughout, whether in Wiltshire, Dorset or Devon. Here, the line down to Yeovil Pen Mill is shown, branching off north. A brief count of departures provided by South Western Railway gives six northbound service to Westbury and London Waterloo, with a further evening depature terminating at Salisbury. 

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, Templecombe railway station is beautifully preserved by the Friends of Templecombe railway station, including the former signal box, featuring restored Southern board. Templecombe is at the end of one of the longest double-line sections from Yeovil Junction on the West of England line. It was a shame that both platforms were not re-introduced back in 2012 for operational flexibility - with the line extended the short way in to the station - but I assume the finances / demand did not warrant the investment. 

Other sites along the line include various closed railway stations - my personal favourite being the remains of Seaton Junction, some beautifully preserved Southern Railway relics, including various station goods sheds and a gatekeepers' hut between Tisbury and Gillingham (I think) and, of course, Exeter St. David's at the end of the line - a busy interchange and on to the Dawlish wall, Plymouth and Cornwall. 

That's probably it from the Mule for now - more railway-related posts occasionally in the future. 

Taunton Time

In early April, I travelled down to the Somerset town of Taunton to sample the new arrivals. First have introduced twenty-five electric vehicles to the fleet, in partnership with BSIP funding. With their introduction, the local Buses of Somerset livery has also largely disappeared, with just six buses now wearing Buses of Somerset colours, along with a further six former Arriva London Enviro400s in the curious Buses of Somerset Green livery. 

The most prominent introductions are twelve Yutong U11DD buses - eleven brand new and a further example that was formerly a demonstrator. This batch are usually found on the 21 / 21A to Bridgewater and Burnham-on-Sea, the 22 to Tonedale and Tiverton (X22) and the 30 to Axminster.

The Yutong U11DDs in the fleet are re-using former First fleet numbers - this is fleet no. 30006 (YK25 OHR), which was previously used on a First PMT / First Manchester Leyland Olympian. 

First fleet no. 30009 (YK25 OHU) departs from the stops on Fore St en-route for Axminster on route 30.

The double decks are joined by nine full-length Wright GB Kite Electroliners. These have replaced former Glasgow ADL Enviro300s on route 28 out to Minehead. The frequency remains at a rather awkward 45 minutes for most of the day - it was half-hourly until recently, and, with Webberbus competition, I remember a time there were four buses an hour along the corridor. 

Fleet no. 63698 (BN75 NWF) sets off north for Minehead, pictured heading along Corporation St.

Most longer distance services terminate along Castle Way - such as the 21, 22 and 28 - although significant others, such as the 30 (Axminster), 54 (Yeovil) and 374 (from Wells & Bristol) terminate in the town centre. Here is fleet no. 63702 (BN75 NWK) arriving - with the Grade 2 listed 1953-build structure behind. 

Finally, four small Yutongs operate on what remains of the Taunton town service network. Once a busy hive of Mercedes-Benz minibuses and later a multitude of Enviro200s, now just four services remain. Route 1, heading out to the railway station and Ladymead Road, operates half hourly and takes up two of the buses. One buses operates route 4 (Lane Estate) and 6 (Juniper Road), with a further bus on the 7 to Galmington. 

Fleet no. 48502 (YK25 OHY) heads back to the town centre on route 1. This type are still relatively rare with First - the first of the type that I've photographed.

On route 7, fleet no. 48504 (YK25 OHA) arrives back in the town centre on route 7. This is another route operating at roughly a bus every 40 minutes. 

Further changes are expected soon to the infrastructure at Taunton. The bus station site, closed by First in March 2020 as the Covid Pandemic hit, has removed a central base for the interurban services in Taunton. The stops are Castle Way cope with the majority of services, but, regularly during my visit, I noted the stops having three or four buses deep, causing some congestion. Furthermore, as stated previously, a number of the longer distance services pick up from the town.

(c) Somerset Council

As pictured in the background of vehicles arriving along Tower St, the former bus station site is now being redeveloped in a £3.2m investment. It is suggested that, in this joint project, Somerset Council, Taunton Town Council and its partners are developinng a 'vital hub for bus services'. 

There will be eight new bus stops, plus two refurbished stops in Castle Way, with real-time information, a waiting room, toilet, cycle shelters and a cycle repair stand, along with environmental benefits such as 'rain gardens with attractive planting to manage rainwater run off". 

From the image above, it looks like a drive in, loop round and drive out facility - it will certainly be welcome for the town and I look forward to seeing it in place. It is due for completion by the end of 2026. 

Finally - a brief plug - please click here for all of my photos from Taunton, including the other operators in the town.