Steam Dreams to Cornwall. Day 4: 1st October 2021
After the atrocious conditions suffered by all in the Southwest for the down leg of this 4 day tour from Victoria to Penzance we looked forward to a colourful pass on the sea wall at Teignmouth in the glorious early autumn sunshine which welcomed us as we set up at the Station and Sprey Point, half way along the sea wall. Everything was bang on time and no danger of being “bowled” by a “down” Service train. What could possibly go wrong??? A distinctive LMS hooter is heard up the long cutting on the approach to the station, the “record” button is pressed and then……….
……an almighty squall springs up from nowhere, heavy rain swirls around driven by a mini-tornado which picks up the tripod bag from the back of the platform and dumps it purposefully onto the track. Rain fills the lens making the viewfinder virtually useless but the pass is captured.
Out on the sea wall under the cliffs I am sheltered from the wind but the rain, although not as biblical as for the “down” leg, is still heavy as 45596, once more piloting 61306 rush by out of the “murk” and eventually disappears into Parsons Tunnel.
Of course, the rain and wind disappeared as quickly as it had arrived after 5 minutes and the sun came out for the rest of the day, proving that not only is mother nature big but she also has a wicked sense of humour!!
And the tripod bag? …… the “pieces” were kindly retrieved by station staff after two "down" service trains had done their worst!
