On Tuesday 11th I went to Balcombe at lunchtime to get a picture of the 07:54 Manchester to Brigton, which is due to be withdrawn when the timetable changes in December.

The Brighton Line was in a state of chaos on Tuesday, following signalling problems at Haywards Heath. This was a Victoria to Brighton fast running some 20 minutes late.

The previous Balcombe to Brighton train was 15 minutes late, this was running about 5 minutes behind schedule.

Getting back to Crawley involved a diversion via Gatwick. Luckily this coincided with the appearance of the 7Y36.

It sat outside Gatwick for 5 minutes owing to congestion in the station, here passed by an Ore/Littehampton to Victoria semi-fast.

And a Victoria bound Emirates-branded Gatwick Express set

The footbridge at Exeter St Davids.

The Great Western heritage of St Davids is very obvious. The company's art deco style was quite unique, and rather old fashioned when compared to similar efforts by the other major railway companies.

At Dawlish Warren our Paignton bound 159 was overtaken by a 221

The 159 leaving Dawlish.

It was followed by another Paignton bound service, this time a more utilitarian 142. It was a lovely morning for a walk along the prom, quite unlike a normal November day.

A northbound 221 on the 10:04 Plymouth to Dundee approaching Dawlish station...

...and disappearing round the corner towards Dawlish Warren

A late running 09:06 Paddington to Plymouth...

...passing a couple of people almost paddling.