Bodmin And Wenford Railway
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The Bodmin Railway is a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
at
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
in Cornwall, England. Its headquarters are at
Bodmin General railway station Bodmin General railway station, located in Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom, was the terminus of the Great Western Railway's Bodmin branch line, and is now the principal railway station of the heritage Bodmin & Wenford Railway. History The G ...
and it connects with the
national rail network In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. F ...
at . The original line was opened in 1887 and 1888. Passenger trains were withdrawn in 1967 and freight traffic in 1983. Heritage trains started to operate in 1990. Most of the trains are typical of those that have operated in Cornwall and west Devon.


History

The
Cornwall Railway The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construct ...
was authorised to construct a branch from its
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
to Falmouth main line but lack of funds prevented this. When the main line did open in 1859 the town of
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
was only served by Bodmin Road station which was nearly away. An independent Bodmin and Cornwall Junction Railway was authorised in 1864 to construct the branch but again, a lack of funds prevented the work. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
(GWR) opened a branch line from Bodmin Road as far as its Bodmin station on 27 May 1887 and completed it on 3 September 1888 to where it connected with the
Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was a railway line opened in 1834 in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It linked the quays at Wadebridge with the town of Bodmin and also to quarries at Wenfordbridge.Sources use Wenfordbridge and Wenford Bridg ...
(B&WR). This had opened a line from its own Bodmin station to in 1834, although by 1888 it was operated by the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...
(LSWR). This gave Wadebridge access to the main line for the first time as the LSWR's own route from
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
through did not open until 1895. Boscarne Junction gave the GWR access to the mineral branch line to Wenford. The principal traffic in later years was
china clay Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedron, tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen ...
which was mostly shipped out through south coast ports such as
Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...
and
Par Par may refer to: Finance * Par value, stated value or face value in finance and accounting * Par yield or par rate, in finance Games * Par (score), the number of strokes a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, round or tournament ...
, even though this required three reversals (at Boscarne, Bodmin and Bodmin Road). Passenger services were withdrawn by
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
(BR) on 30 January 1967 but freight continued to Wadebridge until 2 September 1978 and to Wenford until 3 October 1983. Before that happened, a siding had been opened at the Walker Lines Industrial Estate (near Bodmin General on the line to Bodmin Road) for Fulford Trumps who suppliers of agricultural equipment.


As a heritage railway

The Great Western Society leased the
engine shed A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilit ...
at Bodmin General from 1969. Its
GWR 1361 Class The 1361 Class were small steam locomotives built by the Great Western Railway at their Swindon Works, England, mainly for shunting in docks and other sidings where track curvature was too tight for large locomotives. History The 1361 Class w ...
locomotive 1363 was kept there and sometimes gave trips around the station area but was moved to their headquarters at
Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backers ...
in 1982. After freight traffic ceased a Bodmin Railway Preservation Society was formed in 1984, their aim being to reopen the whole of the GWR line to Boscarne Junction.
Shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...
were issued by the Bodmin and Wenford Railway plc in 1985 to finance the purchase and restoration of the line. The Cornish Steam Locomotive Society moved their trains from the Imperial Dry at
Bugle The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
to Bodmin in 1987. The North Devon Diesel Group brought their locomotives in 1988 but relocated to in 2008. A
Light Railway Order The Light Railways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the act each new railway line built in the country required a specific act of Parliament to ...
was granted in 1989. Services started on 17 June 1990 between Bodmin General and Bodmin Parkway (the new name of Bodmin Road since 1983) and a new station was opened at on 17 April 1992. The line to Boscarne Junction reopened on 14 August 1996. A workshop was erected at Bodmin General in 1987 using a structure moved from
St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...
. A replica of the original
signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...
was built in 1997 and a two-road engine shed built in 1999 where the original one-road shed had been. A new shed was erected at Bodmin Parkway in 2007 to provide more under-cover storage for rolling stock. The siding at Walker Lines was used from December 1989 until July 1991 for freight traffic dispatched by the Fitzgerald Lighting Company. Trains were worked to Bodmin Parkway by Bodmin and Wenford Railway diesel locomotives where they were handed over to British Rail. Traffic was resumed in September 1996 with
English, Welsh and Scottish Railway DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway) is a British rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Doncaster, England. The company was established by Wisconsin Central in early 1995 ...
providing the main line haulage but ceased in July 2001 when EWS closed their wagonload network.


Proposed extensions

The Bodmin and Wenford Railway wanted to reopen the Wenford branch so that china clay could be moved from Wenfordbridge by rail. A separate company, Bodmin and Wenford Rail Freight Limited, was set up in 1992 but the line was not reopened. There were objections from cyclists as the route was now the
Camel Trail The Camel Trail is a permissive cycleway in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, that provides a recreational route for walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders. As a rail trail, the route has only a slight incline following the River Camel fr ...
cycle route and the china clay drier closed in 2002. Attention has since changed to the route from Boscarne Junction towards
Wadebridge Wadebridge (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The pe ...
, although this is also alongside the Camel Trail. The Bodmin and Wenford Rail Freight company was renamed as the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway Company Limited in 2004 to facilitate this scheme. Initially referred to as 'The Wadebridge Trailway' it became the 'RailTrail' project in 2008. It was supported by the
North Cornwall District Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
but only by a single casting vote. There were objections from cyclists, environmentalists and some residents of Wadebridge. A bid for government funding was made in 2020. £54,000 funding was secured from the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
in 2019 to build a second platform at Bodmin General. This would allow the railway to operate additional trains.


Route

The railway is long and climbs about on gradients as steep as 1 in 37.


Located at , from Bodmin General. Opened by the
Cornwall Railway The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construct ...
in 1859 as 'Bodmin Road', it was rebuilt when the Bodmin line opened in 1887. It was renamed 'Bodmin Parkway' in 1983. Trains to Bodmin depart from their own platform on the north side of the station. A siding at the west end connects the Bodmin line with the main line, movements being controlled from a ground frame. Just outside the station the Bodmin line crosses the
River Fowey The River Fowey ( ; ) is a river in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its source (river), source is at Fowey Well (originally , meaning ''spring of the river Fowey'') about north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, not far from one of its trib ...
on a viaduct.


Located at , from Bodmin General. This platform, on the east side of the line, was opened in 1992 to serve Bodmin Farm Park which has since closed but it also gives access to Cardinham Woods.


Located at . This is the headquarters of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway. The original platform is on the west side of the line with the station buildings at the end beyond the
buffer stop A buffer stop, bumper, bumping post, bumper block or stopblock (US), is a device to prevent Railroad car, railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of Track (rail transport), track. The design of the buffer stop is dependen ...
. The Great Western Railway engine shed and
signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...
were demolished in the late 1970s but replacements have been built, the signal box being a replica of the original. A workshop has also been built on the site once occupied by the
goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before, after, and during loading to and unloading from a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, althou ...
.


Located at , from Bodmin General. The junction was the site of exchange sidings from 1888. A small wooden platform was provided from 1964 to allow passengers to connect with a shuttle service to . A new stone platform was built for the heritage trains in 1996. The
Camel Trail The Camel Trail is a permissive cycleway in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, that provides a recreational route for walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders. As a rail trail, the route has only a slight incline following the River Camel fr ...
runs along the north side of the site.


Rolling Stock

Most of the locomotives operating on the Bodmin and Wenford Railway are
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
steam locomotives and
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
diesels typical of those that have operated in Cornwall and west Devon. There are also shunting locomotives typical of military and industrial sites in the area including ''Alfred'' and ''Judy'', two low height s which were specially constructed by
W. G. Bagnall W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England which was founded in 1875 and operated until it was taken over in 1962 by English Electric. History The company was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall. The majority of ...
for the Port of Par. Passenger trains are mostly formed from
British Rail Mark 1 British Rail Mark 1 is the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways (BR) from 1951 until 1974, now used only for charter services on the main lines or on preserved railways. Followin ...
coaches but some Great Western Railway coaches are also used. Heritage goods wagons include several examples of open wagons that had been built by British Rail to carry china clay in Cornwall. Other wagons are used to maintain the railway and its equipment. The oldest item is a ganger's
pump trolley A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such ...
dating from when the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...
owned the Bodmin and Wadebridge line. It used to be kept in a shed at Dunmere Junction.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Heritage railways in Cornwall Standard gauge railways in England