Great Western Railway and CrossCountry Trains at Saltash on July 29th 2022

1st visit to Saltash Station on the Cornish Main Line featuring services from Great Western Railway and the one of a few trains a day from CrossCountry Trains service from Penzance. On that morning there was significant between Newton Abbot and Totnes due to a Cow on the line which resulted in certain services being cancelled and some trains running with 45 minute delays. Saltash station first opened on May 4th 1859 on the original Cornwall Railway In fact it was opened 2 days after the nearby Royal Albert Bridge opened which the Cornish Main Line crosses over the River Tamar before passing over Coombe Viaduct which crosses over the Tamar Valley Line to Gunnislake via Bere Alston The Royal Albert Bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel however he died 4 months later on September 15th 1859 at the age of 53 after suffering a stroke 10 days earlier and well as being diagnosed with Bright's disease or Nephritis. The original Cornwall Railway was merged into the former GWR in 1889 The other bridge that crosses over the River Tamar is the Tamar Road Bridge which was constructed between 1959 and 1961 which carries the A38 Trunk Road although it wasn't opened until April 1962 however it's recent rebuild dates from 1999 - 2001. As for Today's station itself it's unstaffed so purchasing tickets can only be done either in advanced or onboard the train via the train conductor. The building on the Up Platform was purchased by Saltash Town Council in 2017 as part of a plan with Cornwall Council, Great Western Railway, Network Rail, Heritage County Trust to renovate the building providing facilities such as a waiting room, refreshments, toilets as well as being used as a business hub and a community centre which was Reopened in November 2021. Most trains that serve nowadays are the local services mostly originate from Plymouth operated by a mixture of Castle HSTs, Class 158s and Occasionally Class 150s although certain services can also originate from Exeter St Davids, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central and at least one train a day to and from Gloucester. As for passengers wanting to go to and from London Paddington most have to change at Plymouth although a few trains nowadays operated by Class 800 and 802 IETs do call here although only a few services a day with a similar pattern at both St Germans or the first station up from Plymouth at Ivybridge. CrossCountry Trains services nowadays most start or terminate at Plymouth however only 2 trains a day operate to and from Penzance with one train in the morning and one in the evening. Although a lot has changed over the years however the iconic Royal Albert Bridge still reflects the originality to the architect of Brunel himself. Music used: JJD - Adventure Music provided by NCS Video link: NoCopyrightSounds    • JJD - Adventure | Glitch Hop | NCS - Copyr...   Filmed on Friday July 29th 2022 on iPhone 12 Pro and edited on iMovie #greatwesternrailway #cornwall #hitachi #class158 #class43 #class800 #class802