Class 117 front seat ride on the Looe Branch July 1994

Here is a rare piece of video my dad took when we used to regularly visit Looe on our summer holidays in the 90's.

This video includes much of the former GWR branch from Liskeard to Looe from the front and then rear seat of 117 305,a DMU class that actually has some character unlike todays modern muck.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• class
• 117
• ride
• on
• the
• Looe
• branch
• july
• 1994
• cornwall
• liskeard
• 305
• 117305
• dmu
• 1st
• generation
• chocolate
• and
• cream
• front
• seat
• cab

[LeamingtonSteve]

How did Beeching miss this one?!

[alberta45562]

@LeamingtonSteve

Because its a v popular tourist line in the summer i assume.

[mostlyrailways]

You were just as ugly when you were a baby!

[alberta45562]

Thats not me ;)

[colliecandle]

Who cares how ugly you are? The video is great! Seriously, a valuable piece of heritage footage from our once great railway network.

[dajwilkinson]

Great video!

That awkward reversing section (Coombe) might be why everyone has to squash into little DMUs. Remodelling to eliminate the reversal would be prohibitively expensive for a small branch. Practical problems like that caused closure of many other lines (in Lincs/East Anglia the problem was often too many level crossings) so the survival of this one was miraculous.

[JohnPW22]

Posted you a vid of my old model of the line - now dismantled sadly. Thanks for posting this - great footage!

[FonteDeiMarmi]

@Isidore98 I would like nothing more than to see a "real" railway running to looe instead of little breadvans masquerading as trains! Of course the government wont pay for any such thing so we all have to squash in to one carriage on a first great western unit.

If you want to go to Plymouth wouldnt you rather have a service that goes direct? Perhaps your local MP and councillors can help or do they use cars?

[Isidore98]

@FonteDeiMarmi Heritage line? No way - the people of Looe deserve a real railway!

[JohnnyTheWolfLupino]

What a superb video, brings back so many memories. I had just left school in 1993 and spent some time touring the Cornish branchlines before these vehicles were replaced with the awful sprinter type units, just wish I had a video camera at the time. I miss the sound of the vacuum brake!

[60103Henry]

Great Video, 5 Stars! Check out my drivers eye view of the Bekonscot Model Railway!

[LeamingtonSteve]

but I heard that Ilfracombe was too, but that went, as did the Minehead branch, and Padstow and Fowey, Bude etc