GWR ‘14XX’ AND THOMPSON BRAKE TO HEMYOCK

The service

The Culm Valley Light Railway ran for 7½ miles, from Tiverton Junction to Hemyock. A creamery at the terminus provided milk traffic until 1975, but the passenger service ended in September 1963. Trains were normally a single coach, to which several six-wheeled milk tanks would be added when necessary.

The trains

Due to light railway engineering and sharp curves, only the lightest locomotives could be used. ‘ 14XX’ 0-4-2Ts were used almost exclusively until displaced on milk trains by Class 22 diesel-hydraulics. The passenger service was never dieselised. A pair of gas-lit ex-barry Railway coaches were used (the last gas-lit vehicles on BR) because the speeds were too slow to recharge batteries and the curves were so tight that the dynamo belts came off. When the Barry coaches reached the end of their lifespans they were replaced by Thompson non-gangwayed brake thirds from the Eastern Region, which were run to Exeter periodically to charge the batteries.

The models

The only ‘ 14XX’ available in 4mm:1ft scale is the elderly Hornby (ex-airfix) model, though a new model is under development by DJM as a Hatton’s exclusive. There’s an ‘N’ gauge model by Dapol and an ‘O’ gauge model by Tower Brass.

Best atmosphere

It’s a tough choice. Uffculme and Culmstock stations were both delightful, as was Hemyock, beautifully modelled by Eric Hines and Ian Hayes in MR218, and by Allan Downes in MR122.

Present status

Parts of the line survive as a riverside walk, but all the stations have gone. A ‘ 14XX’ 0-4-2T and other relics from the line are preserved in Tiverton Museum.