The Devon Banks

I have always had an awareness of the significance of the Devon banks in the days of steam but I had never witnessed them as a spectacle. When Jubilee No. 45596 Bahamas was due to take a charter from Bristol to Plymouth on Saturday 27/5/23, my time to experience it had come at last, as we had just spent an overnight at Buckfastleigh. But, where to go? I knew the names – Whiteball, Dainton, Hemerdon, and Rattery but did not know precisely where they were or how I could access them by road to establish a suitable viewpoint. Whiteball is a long way east, in fact, where the Taunton to Exeter stretch crosses the Blackdown Hills near Wellington, so we were way past that one. Between Newton Abbott and Plymouth, however, Brunel’s main line skirts the lower slopes of Dartmoor, and this is where we found ourselves on the Saturday lunchtime.

Straight out of Totnes west-bound, trains are climbing Rattery bank and making their way to the highest point at Wrangaton. Looking at the OS map of the area, we needed a convenient overbridge where we could park the car safely and get a good view of the line. Tigley, off the A385, looked promising and it turned out to be so. We were only 3 miles or so west of Totnes but the loco’ would have been working hard all the time it took to get there. We had a good view of its approach and we could hear it well before we could see it. Many westbound trains were double-headed on this route in the past. Bahamas was tackling it alone and without a diesel at the back.

Two local ladies, who have made following steam over the banks an important part of their recreational activities, had also chosen this spot, so I thought our choice had been vindicated. One or two other enthusiasts arrived just in time, as well, as Bahamas put in her appearance a few minutes early. Chris took a video on her phone, while I tried to get some distance shots through the 300mm telephoto lens. The bridge parapet was uncomfortably high and when I closed the lens down to 55mm as Bahamas approached, I lost my final shot to a great slab of stonework which blocked off the bottom half of the photo. Must try harder.