A view looking south from the bufferstops at Bodmin General on September 1, 2023 showing the ‘quintessential’ GWR branch line terminus layout. The line’s ‘Small Prairie’ No. 5552 is in the main platform about to run round its train. The rebuilt signalbox is at the far end, with the two-road engine shed beyond that on the right, while the workshops are to the left of the water tower.
PAUL BICKERDYKE
THERE’S a very friendly feel to the Bodmin Railway – from the ticket office to the cafe and on-train staff, you are sure to receive a warm welcome and a great day out. The BR is not alone in this amongst heritage railways, but what does add up to make it a unique offering is the combination of a main line connection, ‘ Y ’-shaped layout, testing 1-in-40 gradients in both directions, a quintessential GWR branch line terminus, the collection of authentic Cornish locomotives and wagons, and – last but not least – the stunning scenery it passes through. Or, as the line’s publicity officer Jimmy James succinctly puts it: “We’re not like other railways.”
There is a rich railway history in this part of Cornwall. First to open in 1834 was the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway, an initially isolated system that linked the quays at Wadebridge to Bodmin (with the station known later as Bodmin North in the British Railways era) and the quarries at Wenford Bridge. The LSWR acquired the B&WR in 1847, but it remained isolated until the LWSR extended the North Cornwall line to Wadebridge in 1895 (then later to Padstow in 1899).