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Falmouth Branch Line OLE

The Falmouth Branch Line OLE

History:



The Maritime Line as it is also some times referred to, is a railway line that runs in the valley of the River Fal from Truro to Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom.



Built by the Cornwall Railway company, it consisted of a broad gauge railway 7' 0 1/4" from Plymouth to Falmouth. The purpose of the scheme was to link London with Falmouth, from where packet ships sailed to destinations in Europe, Africa, and America. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened on 4 May 1859, and the inhabitants of Falmouth soon put pressure on the company to extend the line to their town as originally intended. The extension opened on 24 August 1863 though sadly by which time the packet ships had been diverted elsewhere. After much of the West Cornwall Railway was converted to standard gauge in 1867 the Truro to Falmouth line tended to be operated as a branch, with the trains from London Paddington operating to Penzance instead.



The original stations on the line were at Truro, Perranwell (known as Perran until 19 February 1864), Penryn, and Falmouth (Falmouth Docks circa. 2010). Penmere was added on 1 July 1925, and Falmouth Town (originally known as The Dell) opened on 7 December 1970. The line terminated at The Dell for five years before reopening to the original terminus.



The branch remained roughly the same until a modernisation programme in the 1920s began some upgrades, including a new station at Penmere, a realigned station at Penryn and a few slight tweaks to the route. Four of the timber viaducts were replaced with stone ones, while the other four were replaced with embankments. Curiously, two of the new viaducts were built for double track.



The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. Following the amalgamation, plans were put in place for conversion to standard gauge, which took place over the weekend of 21 May 1892. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948.



Britain's railways were privatised in the 1990s. At privatisation, the line was operated by Wales and West Train operating company for a few years until the company split. From 14 October 2001, the Maritime Line became the responsibility of Wessex Trains. When the franchise became due for renewal, the tender was won by First Great Western and the company took over the operation on 1 April 2006.



The Maritime Line is one of the railway lines supported by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, an organisation formed in 1991 to promote railway services in the area. The line is promoted by many means such as regular timetable and scenic line guides, as well as leaflets highlighting leisure opportunities such as walking, birdwatching, and visiting country pubs.



The Maritime Line rail ale trail was launched in 2003 to encourage rail travellers to visit pubs near the line. Of the 14 participating pubs, four are in Truro, one in Perranwell, three in Penryn, and six in Falmouth. 5, 10 or 14 stamps collected in the Rail Ale Trail leaflet entitle the participant to claim special Maritime Line Rail Trail souvenir merchandise.



Wessex Trains painted a Class 150 two-car DMU (number 150265) in coloured pictures promoting the line and named it The Falmouth Flyer. The unit continued in service with First Great Western when the company won the franchise but it has now been repainted in the standard fleet colours. While in the pictorial livery the worked throughout the southwest, not just on its named line.



The branch was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in September 2006. This aims to increase the number of passengers and reduce costs. Strategies for investigation include more effective revenue collection, a passing loop, improved bus links, and working with ferry operators and colleges in the area.



This is set after Network Rail electrified the with 25 kv ac OLE and line speed increase.



Incudes Scenarios



*First train of the day,



*Fishy Falmouth Rail Tour Part 1,



*Fishy Falmouth Rail Tour Part 2,


*Fishy Falmouth Rail Tour Part 3,



*Last train of the Day


and



*Quick Drives.