Midland Intruder

On a crisp summer’s eve, a Class 45 diesel heads a cross-country service south past Horse Cove between Dawlish and Teignmouth on a section of the magnificent Sea Wall, an eternal testament to Victorian engineering.

Class 45’s were regular performers on the South Devon Mainline to Plymouth and Penzance, working cross-country express trains from Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. The Peaks, however, were specifically built for the Midland Region, working top-line expresses out of London St. Pancras to Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby, which made their appearance on the Western Region an interesting difference.

These locomotives worked this task until replaced by Class 47’s and HST’s in around 1988.

Dawlish, England.