FOLLOWING my trip along the Exe Valley line on Saturday, February 2, 1963, the snow returned again during the next week, again stranding trains and their passengers in snowdrifts around the northern edge on Dartmoor.

Trains became stuck in snowdrifts at Meldon Junction, Ashbury and at Sampford Courtenay, blocking all the three lines approaching Okehampton.

It took all of Wednesday, February 6, to dig them out, assisted by several contingents from the local army depots.

The Western Region lines through South Devon remained largely unaffected, so the Southern Region services between Brighton and Plymouth could be, and were, diverted along the seawall route.

Although this was not the end of the snowfall, indeed my notebook records 'snow again' for Monday, February 11, it was the end of the disabling blizzards that had caused the railway, and the Southern Region especially, so much trouble.

On Saturday, February 9, 1963, I ventured as far as Newton Abbot for a short while in the afternoon, observing that 4-6-0 No.4087 Cardigan Castle had been taken out of store, 'bulled-up' and was working an up parcels service, while 2-8-0 No.3832 was working a down goods train.

On the following Monday, February 11, as already mentioned, it was snowing again, and it was tiny grains of blizzard snow which partially obscured the Warship class diesel-hydraulic, which was heading the up Devonian express as it pulled into Torre station.

I had a meeting to attend in Exeter later that morning and travelled up on the Devonian, which was then the daily Paignton to Bradford service.

Until recently, it had been the only daily through train from the west of England over the old Midland Railway route to Birmingham New Street, Derby and Sheffield.

But it had in 1963 recently been joined by the Cornishman express, from Penzance to Sheffield.

Previously, the Cornishman had used the old GWR route to Birmingham (Snow Hill) through Stratford-upon-Avon, and terminated at Wolverhampton (Low Level). One of the first fruits of the new diesel revolution.

On the way up to Exeter, I noticed that the down platform at Dawlish was covered in about two inches of fresh snow — as yet untrodden.

Except for one spot, where I guess a guard had alighted from his train, stomped around a bit to keep warm and then flagged his train off and got back into his steam-heated van.

Saturday, February 16 was recorded as 'very dull and cold', and the next one was not much better — 'dull and very cold'.

But at least on the odd occasion when the sun did appear it melted the laid snow, just leaving the drifts under the hedgerows.

The last Sunday in February dawned dry but sunless, which was a pity, because we were all anticipating a rare visit to Devon by the world record-breaking ex-LNER 4-6-2 No.60022 Mallard.

Mallard was booked to work a Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB) special down the Southern to Exeter Central, from whence the train would continue up the Exe Valley line, hauled by two 55XX class 2-6-2Ts and across to Tiverton Junction, where Mallard would again take over for the run back to London.

Meanwhile, the tour passengers enjoyed a trip out and back along the Hemyock branch.