Something about steam engines never ceases to capture the imagination. Perhaps it is the solidly straightforward technology and engineering that they represent, or the way they impinge on all our senses. Among both young and old, few are not enchanted by the sight of a locomotive racing through the countryside with steam flowing above and behind, the unmistakable sound of its whistle and the lingering smell of burning coal.
The popular Bodmin and Wenford Railway with its steadily growing numbers of activities and passengers preserves an authentic experience of steam-powered travel, connecting two of Cornwall's most beautiful river valleys, the Fowey and Camel. As one of the county's best-known tourist destinations, the "Bodmin and Wenford" attracts keen railway buffs as well as families and other visitors who want a taste of life as it was 60 years ago.
A Restored Heritage Railway
When the railway opened in 1887, then known as the Bodmin branch, it was the final link in a network, joining the main London-Penzance route with a secondary line through North Cornwall to the capital, a line to the edge of Bodmin Moor and a line to Wadebridge that had already been operating for fifty years. Services on most of the network ended during the 1960s although the Bodmin and Wenford section survived till 1983.
In 1986 the Bodmin Railway Preservation Society was formed and started the long process of repairing the line and rescuing and restoring engines and coaches from scrap-yards around the country.
In 1990 passenger services recommenced from Bodmin General on the edge of the town of Bodmin, through 3.5 miles of beautiful Cornish countryside and across a stone viaduct over the River Fowey to the main London-Penzance line at Bodmin Parkway. In 1996 services started in the other direction, adding a three-mile section from Bodmin General to Boscarne Junction at the head of the estuary of the River Camel.
Cornish Walking Trails
At both ends, the railway connects with some excellent walking country. From Bodmin Parkway, woodland trails lead down the river valley to Respryn Bridge and the magnificent Lanhydrock House. Boscarne Junction is immediately adjacent to the Camel Trail on which walkers and cyclists follow the line of the original railway down to Wadebridge and on to the north Cornwall coast at Padstow, or up-river to Wenford Bridge on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
At Bodmin General the standard gauge track, restoration work under way in the adjoining engine shed, water towers and original rolling stock and station fittings create a sense of a real, functioning station. Aside from its regular summertime schedule of seven round trips each day, the railway offers a variety of special events including dining trains, "Steam, Beer and Jazz" trips, murder mysteries and "Steam Gala" weekends with intensive programmes of trips making use of visiting engines as well as the local regulars.
The really keen can sign up for a full day's practical course on driving a steam engine.
The Future of the Heritage Railway
Buying, restoring and maintaining old engines is expensive and staying afloat financially has been an achievement in itself. But heritage railways are popular. Britain has about 100 of them, about half with steam engines, though not all run on standard gauge track or offer the range of services available at Bodmin and Wenford.
The Society, supported by a charitable Trust and its commercial arm the Bodmin and Wenford Railway PLC, has ambitions for the future. It regularly appraises equipment for restoration, to add to its present fleet of ten steam engines, 11 diesel locomotives and an impressive list of related rolling stock.
An upgraded signalling system would allow more than one engine to operate on the line at one time. It supports the "Pit to Port" initiative jointly with the Cornwall Steam Locomotive Preservation Society and a local school, to restore steam engines that worked the china clay line to the port of Par, near St Austell.
Perhaps most exciting, consultations are under way that might lead to extending the line to Wadebridge. It would take several years, but that development would lift the Bodmin and Wenford Railway to a new level of usefulness above and beyond the steam enthusiasts' community and the tourist trade.
Paul Lightfoot - I lived and worked in Asia for many years, managing and monitoring rural development projects for a living and using that experience to ...
