“The Perfect Summer Trip". 5029 Nunney Castle hauls The Torbay Express, 3rd Aug. 2014

The words used by many on this now well established excursion from Bristol to Kingswear on summer Sundays courtesy of Torbay Express Ltd. with 5029 Nunney Castle, surely the most appropriate and iconic motive power for the route. South Devon in all its glory is typified by these three ‘along the water’s edge’ locations captured in wonderful summer sunshine, the colour and sounds magnified by the gleaming green, copper and brass of a Castle hard at work on the front. The Dawlish seawall still has much to be completed as 5029 rounds the bend at Dawlish Warren with Exmouth in the background on 20th July. Making a fine site as the train passes underneath us at Cowhole, recent vegetation clearance allows a pan around to the Parson & Clerk rocks at Hole Head as the train disappears on route to Teignmouth. Goodrington Sands has all the buzz of the summer holidays in full flow but all that noise is no match for a Castle working hard on the steep climb to Churston! The Dart Estuary is surely one of the most picturesque anywhere on the planet and although a fresh breeze makes using 20x zoom a challenge, excellent visibility after recent rain gives a rare opportunity to shoot from high up above Philip & Sons famous shipyard at Noss before the wrecking balls do their work at the end of this year. Famous for the construction of many vessels such as The Mersey Ferries and Chay Blyth’s round-the-world yacht “British Steel”, the yard will leave many fond memories as it is transformed into a luxury riverside complex. Appropriately another product of the yard, launched in 1924, steams by in the form of the Dart Paddle Steamer “Kingswear Castle”, still giving pleasure to passengers 90 years on as the Kingswear bound service train headed by 7827 Lydham Manor passes in the background. In glorious afternoon sunshine, Nunney lifts her load out of Kingswear with only the sound of her whistle, a full 3km (1.9 miles) away and delayed by 9 seconds! making it to the microphone. Knowing there is a long steep and twisty climb ahead, the crew gives 5029 her head and spectacular sounds echo around the estuary as she climbs up through Long Wood out of sight and with a final whistle disappears into Greenway Tunnel bound for Torbay beyond.