Bodmin & Wenford Railway - Tuesday 27th July 2010

Well this is where it all started for me! The Bodmin & Wenford Railway was the first standard guage heritage railway I ever visited, in the year of the new millenium, 2000. After going on the 15 inch Lappa Valley Steam Railway several times (of which there is a video where my mum asks 'Do you like the train?' and I say 'No', would you believe it!), my mum read an advertisement in a Thomas the Tank magazine, saying the B&W where holding a Day Out with Thomas event. So like most 5 year olds at the time who were intrested in Thomas & Friends I visited. I remember 'Thomas' was on the main train and 'Ben'/'Bill' were on brakevan rides, the loco actually being 'Alfred', which the twins are based on (along with Judy) painted in Yellow. We were on holiday for two weeks that year and I begged to go back, but then Thomas had moved on and family pictures show pannier 9682 was running, which had just entered traffic at the time and is now under overhaul, since moving away from the B&WR, most recently working at the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. So this is actually my third visit to the B&WR but the first as an enthusiast, the only one I can really remember! After the 2000 holiday my parents found out that the Dean Forest Railway held Thomas events and well the rest is history.

So after an eight year absence from holidaying in Cornwall, we returned and of coursed I had to visit the railway where it all started. The B&WR is different to most (if not all?) preserved railways as the main station, Bodmin General, is the terminus for two different branchlines. One goes to Bodmin Parkway (Bodmin Road in steam days) where the railway connects to the national network. The other goes to Boscarne Junction on the old Wadebridge line, and future plans include extending towards Wadebridge. The lines combined make 6.5 miles. Both are steeply graded and include sections as steep as 1:37 (the same as the Lickey Incline), so the locomotives are worked hard!

On my visit the railway ran their 'Red Timetable' which offers 3 return trips over each branch using one train being steam hauled all day. GWR 2-8-0T 42xx 'Heavy Freight Tank' Class number 4247 ran on the day. Sit back and enjoy the sight of the heavy freight loco working hard.

Plan my Dad, Mother, Sister and I did -

Bodmin Millitary Museum
1130 Bodmin General to Bodmin Parkway
1200 Bodmin Parkway to Bodmin General
1240 Bodmin General to Boscarne Junction
Lunch in the Borough Arms (very nice indeed!)
1515 Boscarne Junction to Bodmin General

At 09:25 I was going to swing with the locomotive but my shirt got stuck on the wire fencing so I couldn't move my arm! So sorry for that.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• B&WR
• BWR
• Bodmin
• Wenford
• Railway
• GWR
• Great
• Western
• 4247
• Heavy
• Freight
• Tank
• 2-8-0
• 42xx
• North
• Cornwall
• England
• Parkway
• Boscarne
• Junction
• Camel
• Valley
• Trail
• Steam
• Loco
• Locomotive
• Train

[RASDV]

Superb video as always. Just wondering if the location you end the video with at 8:48 is on a public footpath or not, or is it a lineside pass location.

Thanks

[JBTEvans]

@RASDV Thank you! Yes its on a footpath, a fence runs alongside the footpath and I was against this.

[JIMKUltra]

Wonderful line, can't wait to go there again.

[JBTEvans]

Yeah it is a nice railway

[ADMIRALSCORNER]

Nice to have a look around there again. At least in the rain you can get good steam effects! A fine place to visit!

[JBTEvans]

Yes true about steam effects in the rain but I would have liked it to have been sunny haha, thanks for the comment.

[60103Henry]

Great Video, 5 Stars! 

[TheSouthdevonrailway]

@JBTEvans yeah that why im getting 5550 because she is the closest thing to 5552 but anyway i can always change the numberplate finally a br green model form bachmann

[JBTEvans]

Both are nice locos but I'd say I like 5552 more too because Small Prairies are my favourite! Thanks for the comment.

[TheSouthdevonrailway]

this line is so beutiful its the nearest line to me my favorite line in cornwall out of bodmin,helston,lappa and launceston 4247 is ok but i prefer 5552 with the little noise from the pistons as it chuffs along