PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SITE IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED AND IS HERE FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES ONLY.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE AVOCET LINE RAIL USERS GROUP PLEASE VISIT TO www.avocetline.org.uk.
For press and other coverage of May 1st – see ‘Press and Praise‘, for pictures, see choices in ‘Gallery’. ALRUG is making a film of the day’s events which should shortly be available on our videos page.
Other film makers were out in force – see this first offering on YouTube.
For 150 years the railway we now call the Avocet Line has served towns and villages from Exeter to Exmouth. It has carried tens of millions of passengers, especially commuters to Exeter, students to schools and colleges, and marines to the Commando Training Centre, as well as horses, fish and even munitions for D-Day.
1st May 2011 – exactly 150 years since the grand opening of the line and we have been planning for 18 months our own grand celebration up and down the line. This site guides you to a wide range of events, history and photos – we hope you can come and join in.
11.45, May 1st: The special train has come … and gone. Hundreds of people turned out at Topsham, Lympstone and Exmouth to see the (immaculate) HST125 bring hundreds more down the line. Adults and children alike dressed in Victorian finery. A great day all round. But there’s more still to be enjoyed. Events continue in May and even June and exhibitions in Exmouth and Topsham continue through the summer – see our calendar of events.
13.00, May 1st: Sadly, heavy squally showers sent the crowds in Exmouth’s Strand Gardens scurrying. However, a reasonable number returned to visit the stalls at the Sustainable Transport Fayre, listen to the music, and watch the Morris Dancers.
The events have been coordinated by the Avocet 150 Steering Group. This comprises local councils and organisations along the line and was set up and is serviced by the Avocet Line Rail Users Group (ALRUG) which exists to ensure the line serves passengers and local communities for very many more years ahead.
The line has an interesting history. Although now operated by First Great Western, it was for many years part of the London and South Western Railway and a few features from that time remain.
Today the line is one of the busiest local railways outside London – the timetable has up to 33 trains in each direction each day.
ALRUG encourages users of the line to join the Group: the larger our membership the more significant we can be in influencing those who provide and plan our local transport. For information on how you can become a member of ALRUG please click here for the section on “ALRUG and its role”.
