Three days before Christmas, on Saturday 22 December 1962, Joe Kent photographed modified West Country 4-6-2 34012 Launceston leaving Brighton station on the 11.30am to Plymouth North Road.

The locomotive was working Brighton Duty 728, despite it still displaying a Bricklayers Arms (73B) shedplate. It had been allocated to ‘The Brick’ since being rebuilt in early 1958 but was transferred to Brighton shed (75A) in July 1962. The duty started that morning with 34012 working the 3.20am passenger and van train from London Bridge to Brighton. After turning it took the Plymouth train as far as Salisbury where an Exmouth Junction (72A) Bulleid light pacific took over for the remainder of the journey westwards. After turning at Salisbury shed (72B) it left Salisbury station at 2.55 pm after replacing another Exmouth Junction allocated Bulleid on the 11.10am Plymouth North Road to Brighton.

34012 was built at Brighton Works and entered service in October 1945 and was originally allocated to Exmouth Junction. It was withdrawn from Bournemouth shed (70F) in December 1966 with an estimated final mileage of 847,523 miles.

The through return service between Brighton and Plymouth dated back to 1907 when a LSWR coach was attached to the 11.20am LBSCR train from Brighton and detached at Salisbury to be coupled to the 1.00pm Waterloo-Plymouth Friary service. During the late 1920s and 1930s the service gradually developed into two trains, one from Brighton with a second one from Portsmouth & Southsea with corresponding return services.

By 1962, except on Summer Saturdays, the Brighton and Portsmouth service to Plymouth, now to North Road, Friary station having closed in 1958, ran as one train, the portions combining or separating at Fareham. The service survived the demise of Waterloo services to destinations west of Exeter in September 1964 but only continued until March 1967 following which, in 1968, the line between Okehampton and Bere Alston was closed for passenger use.

Photo: Joe Kent [079021]