Devon Belle

The Southern Railway was eager to resume normal leisure activities after the war years, and it commenced operation of the train on 20 June 1947.

Two unusual features of the train were that all seats were reservable (not a common facility at the time) and the observation car, attached at the rear for the benefit of passengers to and from Ilfracombe.

To enable the non-stop run, the train made an unadvertised stop at Wilton, a small station two miles west of Salisbury, for an engine change.

Following the war, Britain was in a state of economic austerity for several years, and a luxury train service involving a supplementary fare was a difficult concept to sell.

For the eastbound departure from Ilfracombe, it was usually necessary for assistance to be provided by a bank engine for the 1 in 36 climb from the terminus to Mortehoe & Woolacombe station.

After use on the Devon Belle the cars were transferred to the London Midland Region, repainted and renumbered 280 and 281, curiously with an 'M' suffix, despite their origins.

[citation needed] In 1961 the cars were transferred to the Scottish Region for use on the lines between Inverness and the Kyle of Lochalsh, and from Glasgow to Oban.

Due to financial difficulties, the carriage could not be shipped home immediately, and it remained in America and was attached to an office building in San Francisco.

14 arrived in the UK at Southampton Docks on 26 February 2007, having travelled by ship via the Panama Canal,[8] and was then immediately transported by road to Ramparts railway workshops at Derby where restoration work was carried out, including the refitting of the interior, retaining the Watneys pub modelled 'The Firemans Rest' bar from the USA tour.

(The journey time from Waterloo to Exeter St Davids was 15 minutes longer than the Atlantic Coast Express required, stopping only at Salisbury.)