The ''Torbay Express'' is a named passenger train operating in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The Torbay Express departs from Bristol Temple Meads railway station on summer Sundays at approximately 09:15 with arrival back in Bristol at about 20:10 (depending on the route).

Great Western Railway

The ''Torbay Express'' was a named train run by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

between

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

and

Kingswear Kingswear is a village and civil parish in the South Hams area of the English county of Devon. The village is located on the east bank of the tidal River Dart, close to the river's mouth and opposite the small town of Dartmouth. It lies within ...

, with a departure time from Paddington of 11:50. Originally the down train also included a slip portion for Ilfracombe, this being detached at

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

. The departure time from London was changed to 12 noon before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and continued at the same time until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

although the slip portion had ceased by 1918. From 1961 the train, now the 12:30 from Paddington, split at with the other portion continuing to , and in 1967 the name was dropped from the daily service and applied to a separate train running on Saturdays only and departing from Paddington at 10:50. In 1983 the name was again applied to a daily service when, in the summer timetable, the 9:20 Paddington to and 12:55 return had the name applied. Torbay Express at Kingswear 2

Torbay Pullman

In addition to the Torbay Express, in the summer of 1929 the GWR introduced an all- Pullman train leaving Paddington at 11:00 and arriving at Paignton at 12:25. The eight coach formation was then prepared for the return departure at 16:30. The service was not a commercial success and ceased in 1930.

Revival

Great Western Railway (TOC)

The ''Torbay Express'' name is also used by

Great Western Railway (train operating company) First Greater Western, trading name, trading as Great Western Railway (GWR), is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that provides services in the Greater Western franchise, Greater Western franchise area. It manages 197 stati ...

for its 10:35 service from London Paddington to

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...

(via

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives ...

), and the 13:55 return (via

and the

Reading to Taunton Line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word r ...

Summer steam excursion

6024 King Edward 1 heads the Torbay Express - geograph

From 2003, Past-Time Rail revived the ''Torbay Express'' as a passenger charter

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

service, to run on certain summer Sundays and some Saturdays, from: Bristol Temple Meads via stops at

Weston-Super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

and

; to

and onwards via the Dartmouth Steam Railway to

. For the 2014 season, two of the booked railtours ran via Westbury instead of Weston-super-Mare, calling at Bath Spa,

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

, Westbury and Taunton, then picking up the normal route. At first, this was done because of engineering works. However, thanks to its success, the same concept was repeated with two trains for the 2015 season. After Past-Time Rail went bankrupt in June 2009, the service obligation has been taken over by Torbay Express Ltd. This company was formed as a subsidiary of booking agent Pathfinder Tours, itself a subsidiary of Riviera Trains. As well as taking direct bookings, the company also takes bookings through Pathfinder Tours, who advertise the service as part of their tour programme, and also supply their own volunteers to steward the trains. Since being taken over by Pathfinder Tours/Riviera Trains, the

British Railways Mark 1 British Rail Mark 1 is the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways (BR) from 1951 until 1974, now used only for charter services on the main lines or on preserved railways. Followin ...

coaching stock has been supplied in historic cream/brown by Riviera, and staffed by Pathfinder. The back-up diesel locomotive is supplied and operated by

DB Schenker Rail (UK) DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway) is a British rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Doncaster, England. The company was established by Wisconsin Central in early 1995 ...

, sourced from a varying number of spot-hire companies, mainly West Coast Railways. During the operating season, the coaching stock is stabled in a spare covered road under the engine shed of Bristol Temple Meads, whilst the steam locomotive is stabled at a temporary operating base at Bristol Barton Hill MPD. Initial steam power was supplied by GWR 7800 Class 7802 ''Bradley Manor'' and GWR 4073 Class 5051 ''Earl Bathurst'', but has varied since by season, latterly supplied from the

Jeremy Hosking Jeremy John Hosking (born 20 July 1958) is a British businessman and political donor. Ranked number 351 in the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List, with a net worth of £375 million, he is a shareholder in Crystal Palace and a noted railway enthus ...

-backed Locomotive Services Ltd. Motive power has included: GWR 6000 Class 6024 ''King Edward I''; LNER Class A4 60009 ''Union of South Africa''; LNER Class A1 60163 ''Tornado''; SR Battle of Britain Class 34067 ''Tangmere''; BR Class 8P 71000 ''Duke of Gloucester''; BR Britannia Class 7MT 70000 ''Britannia''; LNER Class A4 4464 ''Bittern''; SR West Country Class 34046 ''Braunton''; GWR 4073 Class 5029 ''Nunney Castle''; LMS Royal Scot Class 46100 ''Royal Scot''; SR Merchant Navy Class 35028 ''Clan Line''. Torbay Express Ltd was liquidated in 2022. A replacement service by Locomotive Services Limited runs on Saturdays as the "English Riviera Express".

References

Citations

References

External links

Company website

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