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Fal Vale – 00 Southern Railway in the Antipodes


KymN
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I have realised that I need to change plans slightly.  Fal Vale was built in an attic bedroom vacated when my daughter flew the nest. The ceiling was fairly low and as a consequence the baseboard height was also low.  The plan was to raise this in the fullness of time - my garage has ample height.  I have realised that once the baseboards have been joined, lengthening the legs would be very difficult.  Hence this needs to be brought forward.

In thinking through this, it occurred to me that baseboard four, which contains the valley over which the line to Truro is to be built, should also be erected and connected.  This will now include a new board about an metre or so square in the form of a bridge.  That will extend the layout with relative ease and also make the connection easier.

That just leaves a gap in the continuous run/ fiddle yard where no plan exists. However last year I built a new portable :rolleyes: board to provide a running-in track.  This was to be laid out as the Rev. Awdry's Ffarquhar Branch Mk 1 to become a layout in its own right.  But what if the standard gauge fiddle yard were retained, the oval built in dual gauge, and the station in 009? :crazy_mini:. It could fill that gap, with a couple of connecting bridge boards. I have recently found a few old Eggerbahn and Liliput H0e trains carefully packed away from my European past.

Watch this space.

But I am supposed to be organising my office this morning and most of it has gone...

 

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THE PUSH SOUTHWEST – PART #1: THE BODMIN AND WADEBRIDGE RAILWAY

 

While we all wait for some action on the model railway rebuild, I thought that we should return to the Fal Vale backstory.  As it has transpired, RMweb (or user error) has prevented me doing that which I intended.  You would have seen in earlier posts that the backstory is documented in 'The Fal Vale railway story: part history, part legend and part affirmation’.  The research for that began in 2015, focussed on a genealogy of my then (‘first’) wife Sue’s maternal family and her Adams ancestry.  The Fal Vale material grew directly from that in 2016.  Several sections of that earlier document cover the development of the London and South Western Railway and its incorporation into the Southern Railway, essentially for my benefit.  They will not be reproduced here.  It also contains a lot more detail in the form of endnotes that are not reproduced here.  You do not need that level of pedantry.

My intention for this current post was to cover here early rail development in Cornwall, including the pioneering Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway and the mooted Central Cornwall Railway leading to the point where the Fal Vale backstory departs from recorded history. This here will be the fourth attempt. Two were lost during the final formatting, and a third resulted in only a few illustrations appearing with no text.  In the hope of being able to post something that will stick, this attempt will appear as a  trilogy.

 

The Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway

 

The history of the London and South Western Railway incursion into the southern part of Cornwall naturally begins with the first steam-powered railway line in the West of England: the isolated little Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway. Its story, like so many, began as a canal project.  In 1796 the Polbrook Canal had been surveyed from near Wadebridge to the Dunmere Woods (near Boscarne), with a collateral cut from Cotton Wood (near Grogley) to Ruthern.  Nothing came of this; however in 1831 Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet of Pencarrow (then aged 22), engaged at his own expense a survey and report for a railway in the Camel Valley.

 

Sir William Molesworth

2069959297_SirwilliamMolesworth.png.cd515489aa150a79d4ba852656340840.png

 

Royal Assent was granted in May 1832 to construct the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) from metal ore mines and the slate quarries near Wenford and iron and tin mines near Ruthern to the port at Wadebridge for onward transport by coastal shipping.  Its intended traffic in the other direction was mineral-rich sand, used to improve agricultural land. This also would link the County Town of Bodmin at Bodmin Wharf (near the gaol) with the harbour at Wadebridge.  The term ‘station’ was unusual at that time and the canal term ‘wharf’ was common.  

 

The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway 1834 (Source: Afterbrunel, Wiki)

1200881549_BWRly.png.228fbd2c7c79cf085802f8d851711960.png

 

This pioneering line was opened with the locomotive Camel on 4 July 1834 to Bodmin Wharf (latterly Bodmin North) and the branch to Wenfordbridge on 1 September of that year.  Sue and I walked the a good portion of the route of the Wenfordbridge Branch out to the clay dries while on Holiday. The first run to Ruthern Bridge was made with two wagons on 6 August.

 

Locomotive ‘Camel’

Camel.jpg.b81a320b5bd95164fff9d1cb673d0f1d.jpg

 

Bodmin and Wadebridge Train

656750206_BWTrain.jpg.d8d529d2cd0c6922da34729a8432a335.jpg

 

China clay drying was later developed at Wenfordbridge.  Passengers were carried on the main line and, in April 1840, it ran what is unofficially considered to be the world's first excursion train (price 1 shilling) to one of the important entertainments of the day – a public hanging at Bodmin.  The passenger service only ever operated between Bodmin and Wadebridge, and never on the branches, at least regularly; there were no intermediate stations, but boarding at any intermediate place was semi-officially permitted.  The train service seems to have been very irregular, probably because of mechanical problems with the locomotives, and for many years (probably from 1841) the passenger service consisted of a train from Wadebridge on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, returning on the other weekdays.

Bodmin Wharf, B&W Rly.

582957553_BodminWharf.jpg.75eda0cb2b0f72af91beba307a1f3e8e.jpg

 

In the period from 1835, business interests in the Falmouth area were concerned to regenerate that town's waning importance, and railway connection to London was in their thoughts. Several proposals came forward and failed, but a scheme called the Cornwall & Devon Central Railway (C&DC) gained support for a standard gauge line following an inland route, forming an alliance with other lines to get access to London over the London & South Western Railway. The Cornwall & Devon Central company had yet to get parliamentary approval for construction, but it purchased the Bodmin & Wadebridge line for £35,000.

The C&DC lost out in its bid for approval for its line, and the London and South Western Railway purchased the Bodmin & Wadebridge line for the same £35,000 from the C&DC in 1847. This was a tactic for the L&SWR to gain access to Cornwall for its network, competing as it was against the broad gauge interests the L&SWR’s major rival, the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its collaborator the South Devon Railway

Without Parliamentary approval, the L&SWR now owned a heavily loss-making little line more than a hundred miles from its own network. The activities of companies incorporated by Act of Parliament were limited by the terms of the Act, and the L&SWR did not have the power to acquire another railway company; their action in doing so would be legally described as ultra vires, or unauthorised.. Notwithstanding the remoteness of the new owner and lack of authorisation, the LSWR brought financial resources to bear and the local line continued its operations with a little more certainty.y.

 

In the next post I will look at the Central Cornwall Railway proposal

 

899662760_Thefirstexcursiontrain.png.1bf30496f463658a61415ac6522e6d01.png

 

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5 minutes ago, KymN said:

THE PUSH SOUTHWEST – PART #1: THE BODMIN AND WADEBRIDGE RAILWAY

 

While we all wait for some action on the model railway rebuild, I thought that we should return to the Fal Vale backstory.  As it has transpired, RMweb (or user error) has prevented me doing that which I intended.  You would have seen in earlier posts that the backstory is documented in 'The Fal Vale railway story: part history, part legend and part affirmation’.  The research for that began in 2015, focussed on a genealogy of my then (‘first’) wife Sue’s maternal family and her Adams ancestry.  The Fal Vale material grew directly from that in 2016.  Several sections of that earlier document cover the development of the London and South Western Railway and its incorporation into the Southern Railway, essentially for my benefit.  They will not be reproduced here.  It also contains a lot more detail in the form of endnotes that are not reproduced here.  You do not need that level of pedantry.

My intention for this current post was to cover here early rail development in Cornwall, including the pioneering Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway and the mooted Central Cornwall Railway leading to the point where the Fal Vale backstory departs from recorded history. This here will be the fourth attempt. Two were lost during the final formatting, and a third resulted in only a few illustrations appearing with no text.  In the hope of being able to post something that will stick, this attempt will appear as a  trilogy.

 

The Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway

 

The history of the London and South Western Railway incursion into the southern part of Cornwall naturally begins with the first steam-powered railway line in the West of England: the isolated little Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway. Its story, like so many, began as a canal project.  In 1796 the Polbrook Canal had been surveyed from near Wadebridge to the Dunmere Woods (near Boscarne), with a collateral cut from Cotton Wood (near Grogley) to Ruthern.  Nothing came of this; however in 1831 Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet of Pencarrow (then aged 22), engaged at his own expense a survey and report for a railway in the Camel Valley.

 

Sir William Molesworth

2069959297_SirwilliamMolesworth.png.cd515489aa150a79d4ba852656340840.png

 

Royal Assent was granted in May 1832 to construct the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) from metal ore mines and the slate quarries near Wenford and iron and tin mines near Ruthern to the port at Wadebridge for onward transport by coastal shipping.  Its intended traffic in the other direction was mineral-rich sand, used to improve agricultural land. This also would link the County Town of Bodmin at Bodmin Wharf (near the gaol) with the harbour at Wadebridge.  The term ‘station’ was unusual at that time and the canal term ‘wharf’ was common.  

 

The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway 1834 (Source: Afterbrunel, Wiki)

1200881549_BWRly.png.228fbd2c7c79cf085802f8d851711960.png

 

This pioneering line was opened with the locomotive Camel on 4 July 1834 to Bodmin Wharf (latterly Bodmin North) and the branch to Wenfordbridge on 1 September of that year.  Sue and I walked the a good portion of the route of the Wenfordbridge Branch out to the clay dries while on Holiday. The first run to Ruthern Bridge was made with two wagons on 6 August.

 

Locomotive ‘Camel’

Camel.jpg.b81a320b5bd95164fff9d1cb673d0f1d.jpg

 

Bodmin and Wadebridge Train

656750206_BWTrain.jpg.d8d529d2cd0c6922da34729a8432a335.jpg

 

China clay drying was later developed at Wenfordbridge.  Passengers were carried on the main line and, in April 1840, it ran what is unofficially considered to be the world's first excursion train (price 1 shilling) to one of the important entertainments of the day – a public hanging at Bodmin.  The passenger service only ever operated between Bodmin and Wadebridge, and never on the branches, at least regularly; there were no intermediate stations, but boarding at any intermediate place was semi-officially permitted.  The train service seems to have been very irregular, probably because of mechanical problems with the locomotives, and for many years (probably from 1841) the passenger service consisted of a train from Wadebridge on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, returning on the other weekdays.

Bodmin Wharf, B&W Rly.

582957553_BodminWharf.jpg.75eda0cb2b0f72af91beba307a1f3e8e.jpg

 

In the period from 1835, business interests in the Falmouth area were concerned to regenerate that town's waning importance, and railway connection to London was in their thoughts. Several proposals came forward and failed, but a scheme called the Cornwall & Devon Central Railway (C&DC) gained support for a standard gauge line following an inland route, forming an alliance with other lines to get access to London over the London & South Western Railway. The Cornwall & Devon Central company had yet to get parliamentary approval for construction, but it purchased the Bodmin & Wadebridge line for £35,000.

The C&DC lost out in its bid for approval for its line, and the London and South Western Railway purchased the Bodmin & Wadebridge line for the same £35,000 from the C&DC in 1847. This was a tactic for the L&SWR to gain access to Cornwall for its network, competing as it was against the broad gauge interests the L&SWR’s major rival, the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its collaborator the South Devon Railway

Without Parliamentary approval, the L&SWR now owned a heavily loss-making little line more than a hundred miles from its own network. The activities of companies incorporated by Act of Parliament were limited by the terms of the Act, and the L&SWR did not have the power to acquire another railway company; their action in doing so would be legally described as ultra vires, or unauthorised.. Notwithstanding the remoteness of the new owner and lack of authorisation, the LSWR brought financial resources to bear and the local line continued its operations with a little more certainty.y.

 

In the next post I will look at the Central Cornwall Railway proposal

 

899662760_Thefirstexcursiontrain.png.1bf30496f463658a61415ac6522e6d01.png

 

That makes more sense. I thought you were setting a picture quiz earlier!

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17 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

That makes more sense. I thought you were setting a picture quiz earlier!

 

I was - well I was puzzled :huh: 

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THE PUSH SOUTHWEST – PART #2: THE CENTRAL CORNWALL RAILWAY AND THE EMERGENCE OF A PARALLEL UNIVERSE

 

The Bodmin and Wadebridge acquisition was the plank on which the South Western was to push into Cornwall through the Central Cornwall Railway (CCR).  This in turn is where we enter an alternative universe.  This is Part#2 of the trilogy, now in two parts.  Let us recommence, and Thanks for All the Fish.

 

Some readers will be aware of the impressive project underway by a friend and mentor in the Sydney BRMA parish - the Mid-Cornwall Lines/St Enodoc. By coincidence we both follow once-mooted Central Cornwall Railway (CCR), albeit independently.  Inevitably the outcome is different, as you will see.  All historical errors and omissions, including those intended, are mine.

 

The Central Cornwall Railway

Approvals for the Central Cornwall Railway were initiated through a series of Parliamentary Acts, the first of which was the passing of the Launceston, Bodmin & Wadebridge Junction Railway Act of 1864.  This legitimised the L&SWR ownership of the Bodmin and Wadebridge, and authorized a 21-mile 4' 8½" gauge line from Launceston to a junction with the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway's branch line at Wenfordbridge. This line was to go westward from Launceston and then south toward Bodmin, skirting Bodmin Moor. As part of the scheme, the broad gauge GWR associated South Devon and Tavistock Railway and the Launceston and South Devon Railway, latterly absorbed by the South Devon Railway, would have been forced to lay down mixed gauge between Lydford and Launceston on their line, opened in 1865. 

The proposed Central Cornwall Railway (Source: Speller D. 2015)

630232010_TheCentralCornwallRailway.png.20259aafed0e8ed567ff93aee4e105e9.png

 

 

This Northern part of the CCR line was never built.  Use of the Wenfordbridge line as a main line was hardly practical, given its rudimentary alignment. The connection between Launceston and the erstwhile Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway had to wait for the construction of the North Cornwall Railway on an alignment further west via Delabole and a spot inland from Port Isaac (Port Isaac Road), known as Port Wenn in the Doc Martin TV series.  I stumbled across Port Isaac on a visit to Cornwall and immediately recognised it. Sue had decided the lane down was too steep and remained in the car. Or perhaps she just thought that another railway lay at the bottom. The Wenfordbridge line was excessively curved, and the alternative route avoided the rises of Brown Willy (as the actress said to the Bishop), and hence was better graded.  The North Cornwall Railway, however, was not completed until 1895.

 

In the meantime, an 1867 revision of the Central Cornwall Railway Act would have taken the line further, from a junction with the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway's Ruthern Bridge branch to a junction with the GWR Cornwall Railway near Truro – the latter built to the Great Western’s broad gauge.  The full Central Cornwall scheme, were the line to have been built expeditiously, would have given the London & South Western Railway a 4' 8½" (then known as narrow gauge by GWR interests) connection from Waterloo, all the way to Bodmin and Truro and thence over mixed gauge to Penzance (the West Cornwall Railway) and Falmouth.  Mixed gauge never occurred - by the time the North Cornwall Railway was completed the broad gauge was gone. 

 

Up to this point this history is consistent with the public record.  However from here readers may find that differences emerge.  These reflect different, but plausible, outcomes of contingent decisions in this parallel universe.

 

Path Dependence and the Parallel Universe

 

We shall now make use of a theory that has become established in the disciplines of historical sociology and economic history over the past several decades. This is known as Path Dependence (Mahoney 2000).  In very simple terms, path dependence theory recognises that contingent events, or seemingly aberrant decisions, occur when several deterministic paths or vectors (sequential decisions or events) intersect and set in motion new, different, chains or vectors that then assume a more deterministic nature in that direction, in much the same way as genetic mutation.  Basically it is applied in this narrative to suppose that the contingent events took a different turn – a different scenario - to begin the creation of the parallel universe in which Fal Vale was to exist.

 

The L&SWR was at first principally interested in a connection from its network in Devon to West Cornwall.  It wished to retain the rights conferred by the Parliament under the various acts, and so was ready to build the link from Ruthern Bridge under the auspices of its Devon and Cornwall Railway.  However another opportunity was to occur. This was in connection with a railway venture that had been initiated by William Richardson Roebuck, a mining and transport entrepreneur who acquired an interest in the established tramway network of the late Joseph Treffry, the so-called Treffry Tramways.

The latter inter alia linked Newquay Harbour to East Wheal Rose, an important lead mine a short distance south-east of the village of St Newlyn East, with work in progress in connecting to St Dennis and Hendra, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Newquay.  However, the Treffry Tramways were technically obsolete – they were horse-drawn for a start -- but had very useful rights of way and infrastructure such as the Treffry Viaduct near Par, even though it was later bypassed. Roebuck concluded a 60-year lease with Treffry’s estate on 21 February 1872.

 

The Treffry Viaduct, near Par

2054987263_TreffeyViaducct.png.11022252f23cb1573b9d68d387d1a41b.png

 

The combination of Roebuck’s venture and the proposed construction of the Central Cornwall line are the path dependency vectors that gave the L&SWR useful bargaining power. This power facilitated its attempts to penetrate more deeply into the West Country, and set in motion development of its network in the mineral activity in the upper Fal River valley.   Had a more deterministic path been followed, the GWR would largely have monopolised the transport of minerals and, in later days, clay (Kaolin) from the upper Fal Valley.

The critical year was 1874.  At this point Roebuck had his parliamentary authorities, his lease of the Treffry lines and was building branches to access the mines in the area.  His Cornwall Minerals Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 21 July 1873 and opened on 1 June 1874.  During the 1860s and 70s Parliamentary Approval had been gained by the L&SWR associates for railways to Bude, Torrington and Wadebridge, However the L&SWR maintained its long-term ambition of a through route to Truro, Falmouth and even Penzance, and there was also the intensive mining activity in the Fal River valley that was now of interest.  It was also interested in the Portreath Branch, but we will come to that in later pages.

 

At this point the L&SWR acted. It convinced Roebuck of the advantages of a standard gauge link to the North – to Wadebridge and beyond.  Roebuck was shrewd.  He was concerned about committing solely to the Great Western, more so because of the GWR’s broad gauge. The South Western committed to construction of the line from near St Dennis to Ruthern Bridge by its agent the Devon and Cornwall Railway, and to other works to facilitate minerals traffic from the various mines in the Fal Valley.  This was to eventually include upgrading of some of Roebuck’s minerals lines in the area to mainline standards and ultimately to their connection with the (GWR) Cornwall Railway once that line was standardised. 

 

The network thus created – the important Contingent Event in this Path Dependence – was subject to an operating agreement between Roebuck and the L&SWR; although this did allow the passage of Great Western trains from Truro as far north as Fal Vale and LSWR trains for specified purpose over the GWR between Truro and Carn Brea for connection with the Portreath Branch.

 

Thus it happened that the London & South Western Railway entered the Fal Valley.

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1 hour ago, RodneyV said:

Hi Kym,

 

Surely this could be an article for the TCH.

You have enough words and picures for a couple of pages.

 

Regards

 

Rodney

You ain't seen nothing yet!

 

He's got enough words and pictures for a couple of complete issues!

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44 minutes ago, KymN said:

In the fullness of time Gentlemen.  The question is 'what might be of interest?'

As far as I'm concerned, all of it. however, those whose interests lie further North or East might have a different view...

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Baseboard #4

 

Baseboard #4 of the original set is now standing.  Nor a pretty one I’m afraid.  This one had to be ‘adjusted’ to get it out of the attic room via a little Juliet balcony overlooking the pool.  Essentially all scenery and structures above track level and the legs had to be removed.

 

Board #4 viewed over earlier boards

IMG_3044enhance.jpg.50b46d892df570942288c8ae1c584c00.jpg

I had built a rather nice tunnel over the track nearest to the wall. The tunnel was part of a short industrial branch, actually a hidden track leading to the fiddle yard.  This branch was originally known as the Gothers Branch.  That would make it a clay line.  I have not determined what industry it should be at this point, another candidate being a combination of treacle and tin.  The treacle would be brought to the surface already tinned. 

 

Above the tunnel was a School for Wayward Young Ladies (intended to save them from the evils of their ways) or a Hogwarts Prep School, depending on the audience or time.  Puerile jokes about saving one for me are no longer acceptable. I should add that a similar institution to the former – a maternity home - actually existed in Adelaide in less enlightened times near my parents’ house. Perhaps I should repurpose my ‘school’ as that.

The ‘Gothers’ tunnel is of some import, as it was the site of a major accident documented in the literature and/or legend.  A speeding train was diverted onto the branch and crashed, with all lives lost but that of the driver, Ben Isaacs.  Isaacs lost his mind and was seen wandering through the tunnel with his lamp and singing Rock of Ages.

Board #4 valley - site of viaduct

IMG_3038enhance.jpg.e75f137d10d48994d4034baddd931502.jpg

 

The other short length track on this board is the beginning of the mainline to Truro that, although built by the South Western, also has Great Western running rights. The major structure on that line will be a steel viaduct over the valley that can be seen in the photos and was provided for that purpose. This board will be connected to the others by a bridging piece to make better use of the bigger space that I have now.

 

Board #4 - rear

IMG_3039_enhance.jpg.52b2b0166ca487e187616ada444d8767.jpg

I have raised this board to 1200mm from the original 900mm.  It looks a bit odd – the extension at its lower end is pale and skinny. Still needs some height adjustable skids too.  All boards will now be at that height.  I could reach across the active bits of the layout before; now I can’t. I shall have to get me one of them standeroner thingummies. While I am about it, a mechanics trolley would be handy now that I have more clearance.

IMG_3028enhance.jpg.487494f9ea7a6df9833a327d885bf824.jpg

 

Don’t be concerned if a lot of this only half makes sense at the moment.  All will be revealed in due course if you can last the distance.  But then perhaps it was never meant to.

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Me and South Australia

 

Warning: Much of this post is not about model railway matters. You might choose to let this one go through to the keeper and wait until I get back on the railway track (pun intended). This then is an indulgence.  As they observed in the ancient world, ‘tough bananas Julius’.

 

I thought that it might be of interest to share something that seems to have become de rigueur in the model railway media – that is to offer a Modeller CV.  However I choose to do it differently.  My choice is to start with someone else’s observations.

The picture down the page is a superb caricature that was done by my Brother-In-Law John, as part of a conspiracy with my Brother Tony.  It was presented to me on a significant birthday a couple of years ago.  It shows me in my garden, surrounded by some of the things that have been part of my life.  I also use it as the basis of my profile picture for RMweb.  Despite the fact that John’s Sister and I have split up (she split from me), John and I remain good friends.  He loves steam and has built a steam launch that putters around the Murray River and its lakes, with another boat on the way. He has also an encyclopaedic knowledge of the South Australian Railways, every class, event, and everything.

 

John’s Steamboat: Flaming Galah

336838759_flam-claytn-2-kcropped.jpg.0f8af2cdc463a2cdbaec3030c66e9fe8.jpg

 

John’s Drawing – my Profile

1108731228_Johnspicenhance2.jpg.92eb4a12f6140117b813435abbc9a82f.jpg

 

You will see various items of railwayana in the drawing, but other things as well.  The hat of course proclaims Fal Vale, not that I have ever had one embroidered thus.  I do own such a hat – it is a Tasmanian Railways Porter’s cap, about two sizes too small. And there is a copy of Railway Modeller depicted in my pocket, plus some track (that doesn’t exist – but John keeps promoting it) in the garden. And there is my Daughter’s old cat (21 later this year) that I inherited when she moved to an apartment. It has a missing leg.

 

The other stuff includes references to my collection of vinyl records and CDs. That, like the trains, is to excess.  Much of this is English and other Folk-Rock or Electric Folk, and before that Blues. So you will see references to Richard Thompson (‘the greatest guitarist that you have never heard of’) and to obscure music.  Some of the best of this also genre comes from Canada (think Wainwright, Cohen, McGarrigle Sisters and The Band) as well as the UK. The Americans have stolen it of course, and call it Americana.  Despite being on the other side of the world, I have had the good fortune to see performances by Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention, Martha Wainwright and her Dad Loudon, Leonard Cohen, John Mayall, Muddy Waters BB King and other greats. I was at one of the concerts where Dylan was booed for playing electric, when his backing band was The Band.

 

Magpies – the Piping Shrike

The Magpies that feature are important. We South Australians have a special connection with Gould’s White-backed or Piping Crow-Shrike, a sub-species of the Australian Magpie that goes back to the beginnings of the South Australian colony.  The Australian Magpie is larger than the European one, are very intelligent and have a beautiful song with a gift for mimicry.  I have just fed my resident family of six.  John Gould, who identified the bird, was an associate of the explorer Charles Sturt (and of Charles Darwin) and the author of The Birds of Australia. 328 of the species described in that tome were new to science and named by Gould. Gould collected in the Adelaide Hills, the Murray Lands and Kangaroo Island, working with Sturt. 

 

The Piping Shrike is the emblematic bird that appears on South Australia's Flag, State Badge and Coat of Arms. By default it appears on South Australian Railways locomotives and some special carriages.

The Piping Shrike motif.

518095214_PipingShrikeEmblem.png.bccdf7b44a8ccfbb3a7a754644a4dc18.png

 

The Government edict (PC008) on the emblem notes:

‘In almost every backyard was the irrepressible magpie – resourceful, brave and daring in defending its nest and young ones and with a very sweet song…’

 

The males swoop during nesting.  But it is all about protecting their kids.  They just want to feel safe, and for their babies.  My guys have figured that I am not threat, and neither is my old cat.  This year the brought their offspring down to introduce them.  They are that smart.

 

I wrote a whole page on these guys but deleted much of it - I was way off track so figured that I should return to the railway.  But there is one thing about magpies that I have now put back, because there is an irony in all of this.  South Australians are called ‘Crow-eaters’.  Some of our early settlers, who lived up the road from here, ate magpies - they called them ‘Australian Pheasant’.  There is not much else that you can do when you are starving.  We have an Australian Football League team called ‘The Crows’. Actually we have several, now including a wonderful Women’s team. But there are no Crows in Adelaide except for the footy sides.  The crow-like birds here are Ravens. We also have Currawongs that look similar to crows with a bit of white trim.  But it is the Magpies that dominate.  They will see off the Ravens and the Currawongs every time.

 

Incidentally the birdlife around here in the Hills is superb.  We have a range of Honeyeaters, Finches, Pigeons, Galahs, Blue Wrens, Kookaburras, the Adelaide Rosellas and various other Parrots.  And Koalas.  I have seen a mother and Joey amble across my lawn and others wandering down the road.  The only downside is that in spring they get frisky and the noise is awful – the boys grunt and the girls squeal.

 

Now let’s get back to the railway.

 

A little bit of the South Australian Railways

 

Fal Vale is set firmly in the west of England.  But that does not mean that I have abandoned the railways that I grew up with.  There is a trickle of SAR RTR rolling stock now on the market and I am not immune. So here is a small selection. The train has been assembled on Baseboard #4 on (were it to have some scenery) will become the Gothers Branch tunnel.  Seems to have derailed!

 

A Random SAR Consist

987685189_IMG_3045clarified.jpg.9c2d3515ddeaf7fb5b9ba1fc5361f3f5.jpg

 

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The locomotive is the classic Adelaide suburban F Class tank from a local shop - the Orient Express.  The same that appears in the photograph of Hove station that I posted on 31 January of this year. This was typical of the trains that I rode to school with my mates and the girls from Methodist Ladies College.  The goods wagons are an open wagon used for carriage of grain, and several examples of what were known as billboard wagons. The 4-wheeler is from across the border in Victoria.  These are not private owner, but for a small fee they could be painted in the colours of the railways' customers.  The passenger cars are the country version of those at Hove. This particular set were ‘done up’ for the ‘Centenary Train’ of 1936, and carried the Piping Shrike logo, or will have when I put it on.

 

The final picture is the elegant S Class express passenger engine that I think was used on the Centenary Train and carried a large Piping Shrike for the occasion.  I suspect that the photo has been colourised, as I do not believe that any were painted green. They were usually black, and I saw one on the scrap line that had at one stage been blue.  There was a yellow one :(. Must ask John. Unfortunately all were scrapped :angry:.

S Class with Piping Shrike

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Edited by KymN
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Building a MODRATEC Interlocking

 

Some years ago (about 12) I built an interlocking frame using a MODRATEC kit.  This is the one that I mentioned earlier, covering the South Box area of the what was to be Fal Vale yard. The embryonic Fal Vale then went by the working title Stoke Hampton.  And I wrote an article/note about it, as I am wont to do. I sent a copy to Harold from MODRATEC, and he seemed quite grateful and suggested that Railway Modeller might be interested - for a while it was up on the MODRATEC Web site, but no longer.  I thought that it may be useful to share it here.  However, you need the MODRATEC Construction Manual to read in conjunction to fully make sense of what I have said, and you only get access to that when you buy a kit; nevertheless there may be enough here to offer a few clues as to the trickier bits. 

 

Incidentally Harold is presently looking to find a way to retire.

Getting past Step 11

 

This note offers some miscellaneous thoughts on building an interlocking from the parcel of brass bits that arrive in the post once you have done the work with SigScribe.  I found that Step 11 – fitting the levers – to be a bit of a psychological barrier, particularly since it carries a health warning!  It need not be – it’s actually quite straightforward, and that is the main theme of this note.  Wait until you get to the part where you fettle up the locking bars and tappets (Steps 14-17).  That is the really tedious and frustrating part, but it is worth it in the end. 

 

It’s a very satisfying result when this peculiar archaic piece of machinery works perfectly.  Mind you I think the pleasure is an acquired taste.  I showed it with pride to my daughter-in-law who just looked at me with a quizzical look that said ‘what the..?’

 

The Baseboard

 

First, you need to make up your mind as to how to mount your interlocking.  Rather than cutting a hole in the layout baseboard as the MODRATEC Construction Manual suggests, I used a separate frame, more or less as described by ‘Roger’ for Ken’s Crossing in the Manual  In my case I used selected 66mm by 12mm Meranti from the local hardware, cut and assembled square, glued and screwed per Roger’s suggestion.  I plan on mounting it in front of the layout baseboard on a cantilever projection.

 

I used mounting option 2 – saw cuts for the bearers – which is easy to do with the timber frame.  Make sure that the cuts are vertical.  The drawing of option 2 in the Manual is a little confusing since it seems to suggest an angle section in the baseboard, which of course is not what is needed.

Having a separate mounting frame is very useful at Step 11 (Fit Levers), since the frame can be used to support the assembly while it stands on its side.

 

Now for Step 11….

Step 11 – Fit Levers

 

The warning in the MODRATEC Construction Manual that ‘you need to be in a mood of patient concentration for this step’ is a little off-putting.  I am very good at procrastinating without having that to help! As it turned out, however, the step was surprisingly easy if the Construction Manual is followed.  Just don’t party too hard the night before … you need a steady hand!

 

Here’s a few tips:

You need a well-lit comfortable spot at which to work, uncluttered and clean – lost springs and little steel balls are hard to find among clutter!  My modelling bench was definitely not suitable, so I used a dining table under a skylight that had the more clinical characteristics.   I was a bit nervous of scratching the French Polish on the table so I put down an old bath towel.  I would recommend this in any case because it arrests miscreant springs and balls better than a hard surface.

Because I used a separate timber frame for my interlocking, rather than a hole in the baseboard, this was very handy to support the upturned assembly for this step.  All that was needed was a counterbalance to stop the whole lot falling forward.  A small timber off-cut and a bound volume of Railway Modeller served this purpose admirably.  See Figure 1.

 

Figure 1: Supporting the Assembly

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My tools for this stage are shown in Figure 2.  

 

Figure 2: Tools

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Xuron Rail Cutters are ideal for cutting the springs.  They are sharp, fit between the spring turns and give an absolutely clean cut. 

Using Tool 9 the insertion of the springs and balls was a doddle.  I discovered I had a tool that was spot on for the push rod function, but until now hasn’t been useful for much at all!  I think it is supposed to be a pin pusher-in, and is branded ‘Finkal-Watt-Aust’.  Put it through the hole in Tool 9 and into the blind hole in the Signal Lever to line the tool up before putting on the peg – that way the spring and ball will drop straight into the hole with no mucking about.  See Figure 3.  Just don’t slide Tool 9 too quickly and uncover the hole with the ball in.

 

Figure 3: Aligning Tool 9 with Push Rod

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With this Step 11 (and 12) compete, and final adjustments made, it is a very satisfying point in the assembly.  Figure 4 shows the Stoke Hampton assembly at this point.   I painted the levers before assembly – it seemed to be easier to do it then.  I only scratched one, easily touched up.

To complete the work just follow the excellent instructions that come with the kit.  The main thing to remember is to continue on methodically and carefully.  Measure and mark twice, file once is a good rule.

Figure 4: Step 11 Complete

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Finishing Off

To draw the Signal Diagram, I found that Microsoft PowerPoint, which comes as part of the Microsoft Office suite that is the industry standard for most major businesses, works very well.  Here’s my diagram:

 

Figure 5: Signal Diagram

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To finish the project I French Polished the casing to give it the feel of an antique instrument (I tend to French Polish anything that stands still in my house!).  Here’s a couple of pics. 

 

Figure 6:  Finished Interlocking Case

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2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

That all looks very familiar!

 

I'm sure it does.  I'm still not sure that I want to do it again... but maybe :lol_mini:

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12 hours ago, KymN said:

 

I'm sure it does.  I'm still not sure that I want to do it again... but maybe :lol_mini:

As you know, Kym, Porthmellyn Road signal box has 54 levers and I've recently ordered the 30-lever frame for St Enodoc. After that will come the combined Treloggan Junction/Pentowan Station frame, which will be another 54-lever monster (although simpler than PM as there won't be any conditional locking).

 

Wish me luck!

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6 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

It’s the wrong way round! :-)

(See Mid Cornwall Lines to understand the joke.)

 

I looked but am none the wiser :huh:

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10 hours ago, KymN said:

 

I looked but am none the wiser :huh:

Paul is alluding to the fact that, being a contrary so-and-so, I've built my lever frame with the interlocking at the back, tucked under the baseboard, rather than at the front. It saves space in the operating aisles but meant that I had to design the frame and interlocking back-to-front so that when I installed it lever 1 (in the Modratec sense) became lever 54 (as installed) and so on. The words masochism, self-flagellation and purgatory come to mind...

 

Edit: link to relevant post added.

Edited by St Enodoc
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9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Wish me luck!

Not luck; patience and forbearing in bucketloads.  And possibly extra vocabulary too.

Paul.

With apologies to Kym for derailing his thread.

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THE FAL VALE EXTENSION

 

We have just enjoyed a rich discussion in St Enodoc’s story of the Mid-Cornwall Railway of the long-lost branch of the Chacewater to Pentowan (AKA Newquay) line between Perranporth and Goonhavern Halt.  To this tale has been added the matters of hill forts and of military activity in the vicinity.  You need to go to the top of page 118  of Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00.

 

The backstory of Fal Vale parallels that of the Mid-Cornwall Lines in terms of geography at least, albeit in a parallel universe.  It would appear that there is more to it than just location however!.

 

Fal Vale was not shown on any map before the coming of the railway. It is still hard to find.  Without the North Cornwall Railway, Fal Vale was little more than a simple wharf on a connection from the L&SWR (earlier B&WR) link to Ruthern Bridge and the Cornwall Minerals Railway lines.  Practically it could be little more.   It was located on the edge of Goss Moor, just north of St Dennis. 

Goss Moor in more recent times 

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While there was little by the way of settlement near Fal Vale station, there was some industrial activity as well as the mines within a five mile radius, notably near Brighton Cross.  This industry, such as it was, was first developed with a prospect of a canal connection to Pentowan - the Retyn and East Wheal Rose scheme of the 1820s.  This was to build a canal from the River Gannel at Newquay to Retyn, near St Enoder, with branches to serve the Brighton industries and the East Wheal Rose lead and silver mine.  Work was commenced, but in the event only a short section was built between Brighton Cross and Retyn.  The local industries performed poorly in the absence of good transport, but their fortunes revived a little once a railway connection came.  Other industries, including treacle mining at Wheal Koll, were to follow.

 

The L&SWR line to Fal Vale utilised the the Ruthern Bridge branch alignment of the B&WR, then followed the valley through Withiel and St. Wenn before turning south, with a halt at Castle Downs to serve the Castle-an-Dinas Iron Age hillfort. Castle-an-Dinas, at the summit of Castle Downs near St Columb, is considered one of the most important hillforts in the southwest of Britain. It dates from around the 3rd to 2nd century BCE and traditionally was the hunting lodge (hunting seat) of King Arthur, from which he rode in the Tregoss Moor hunt.

Castle-an-Dinas

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The line then crossed the Cornish Minerals main line (later the Great Western Railway Par-Pentowan branch at the western end of Goss Moor.  The L&SWR ‘main line’ continued to Fal Vale Junction and beyond. 

 

Developments in the upper Fal Valley were prolific.  The South Western promoted both its main line and a branch, the latter to replace the tramway that served the Gothers China Clay works, and pushed on via a tunnel to Littlejohns, Dorothy and Dubbers works. All signs of this extension have, in modern times, been completely obliterated by the expanded china clay workings.  The main line crossed the Fal River valley at Treviscoe on a steel trestle, similar to that at Meldon.  A second L&SWR branch left the main line south of Treviscoe Junction to the little industrial area where the remnants of the partially built Retyn canal wharf remained.  The little yard was named Brighton (Cross) Wharf to reflect the nearby small hamlet of Brighton Cross. In later years the wharf was cleared to form a pleasant spot for fishing and limited navigation.

Modern Treviscoe 

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Meldon Viaduct

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The line was ultimately to go via minor stations at St Dennis and St Stephen to join the Great Western at Grampound Road, which marked the end of the South Western’s contiguous territory. A branch linked the line to the GWR line to the West of England China Clay mine and facilities at Drinnick.

You may recall that the wily William Richardson Roebuck was required to provide dual gauge between St Dennis and Drinnick under the terms of his Parliamentary approval for the Cornwall Minerals Railway.  He did so, but the third (broad gauge) rail was unusable.  The connection to Grampound Road of course did not occur until the late nineteenth century, in conjunction with the opening of the North Cornwall Railway and the standardisation of the Great Western’s Cornwall Railway to Truro and beyond – the last outpost of the broad gauge. The last broad gauge service left Paddington station on Friday, 20 May 1892; the following Monday, Penzance trains were standard gauge.

 

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brunel.jpg.99b21a6b7d8a57f547175ff53391e772.jpg A curse upon them all

 

This then is the resultant network around Fal Vale, albeit subject to resurvey as necessary:

 

Fal Vale L&SWR and Environs Network at its full extent

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THE GHOST TRAIN

 

Fal Vale of course has been shamefully neglected by geographers.  Recorded history of Fal Vale Junction is limited, but there are a few facts that may be gleaned from literature.  One is the notorious role that the Junction had at the time of World War I.  Across the Irish Sea, this was the time of the Easter Rising & foundation of the IRA from the Irish Volunteers. Pro-separatist sympathisers were supplying the rebels with weapons. Some were also Bosch sympathisers. 

 

In order to frighten away any possible observation of their illicit activity, they played upon the local legends of ghostly activity.  This was dramatised as The Ghost Train, written in 1923 by the English actor and playwright Arnold Ridley OBE – Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army.  Despite playing a conscientious objector in the TV show, he had seen active service in the First War, sustaining serious wounds in close-quarter battle in the trenches on the Somme. He was commissioned in the Second War as an intelligence officer and, after being discharged with ‘Shell Shock' - now known as PTSD - he served in the (real) Home Guard.

 

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The Ghost Train tells the story of Ted ‘olmes, onetime station master at Fal Vale, who suffered a fatal heart attack one night while attempting to prevent a passenger train destined for Truro being diverted onto the Gothers Branch, already occupied by a stalled china clay empties train. This was dramatised in the play as crashing off an open bridge.  The speeding train crashed, with all lives lost but that of the driver, Ben Isaacs.  Isaacs had lost his mind, wandering through the tunnel with his lamp, singing Rock of Ages to the hymn tune ‘Toplady’ by Thomas Hastings. Ever since, upon certain nights, the signal bell can be heard ringing, and a phantom train comes hurtling through the junction; and those that look upon it are doomed to die:

 

“Whatever it is, it never starts out at St Wenn, and it never runs into Truro.  If it be a natural thing – where do it come from... where do it go?" 

 

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It remains a very funny comedy drama, even today.  Well I think so. The quote above was, in the movie: “Whatever it is, it never starts out at Truro, and it never runs into St Anne’s. If it be a natural thing---where do it come from? Where do it go…?”

 

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The 1940s movie depicts Fal Vale Junction as a Great Western station; however, as this research shows, it was London and South Western.  Tommy Gander, a vaudeville comedian played by Arthur Askey, pulls the communication cord on a GWR express train to retrieve his hat, evidently in the vicinity of Dawlish.  As both Dawlish and Truro are on the GWR mainline it is somewhat implausible that the hapless passengers for Truro would need to transfer at an obscure minor station such as Fal Vale.  Were they travelling on the South Western such a connection is much more credible.  The reference to St Anne’s is no help – such a place does not appear to exist.  The closest is St Ann's Chapel, a hamlet in the parish of Calstock.

 

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The full movie is available free on several sites, including YouTube.  Try this if you have a spare hour and a half:

 

 

 

See ghosttrain.jpg.de424f71cb0ba8a886dd2c2a4741ef5a.jpg

 

 

Edited by KymN
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Time to move on methinks.  I can't think for a moment why I would need to stockpile toilet paper like so many panic buyers in Australia, but perhaps I should pop down to Orient Express (my local model shop) for a supply of track.  In the meantime a few things  that I have ordered from the UK seem to have been lost at sea.

 

I did pop out today for a few things to organise my 'Hobbies Room' so that I can finish the prep for the layout - still a bit to do.  I am increasingly not watching news and current affairs on the TV - too depressing.  British Railway Modellers of Australia is cancelling meetings.

All the best everyone.  Take Care.

Edited by KymN
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  • 2 weeks later...

The lost at sea goodies have finally appeared.  While Royal Mail + Australia Post allege that parcels should take 5 working days UK to Oz, this has never happened. I work on two weeks elapsed.  This time it was five elapsed weeks, no doubt due to virus-disrupted supply chains.

 

Mind you I should be more disciplined in what I collect.  It is a bit of a stretch to imagine that 1829 Liverpool and Manchester stock would be running in Cornwall in the 1950s. 

 

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You have it – I am now the proud owner of the nice Hornby Messrs Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ in its Tri-ang-themed box.  Here it is, along with some sundry related items, at Fal Vale.  Quite a remarkable model.  It is tiny - much smaller than the old Tri-ang tooled version.  The detail is exceptionally fine (and I assume breakable).  

It has now taken up residence in my display cabinet, along with some other ring-ins.  Compare the size of 00 scale Rocket with the H0 Pennsy T1 above it!  Even the Adams B4s make Rocket look small (and their steps keep falling off (!).

 

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I haven’t been totally idle over the last few days.  My ‘Hobbies Room’ AKA Garage and Railway space needed organisation, particularly to store a stash of timber off the floor and to get ladders and garden tools out of the way.

The big removal box marked ‘Baseboard Bits’ was finally opened after three years. I had totally forgotten what was in it. I found:

·         Timber for the extended baseboard legs;

·         The Modratec South Box interlocking;

·         Several yards of code 75 Streamline track, unused;

·         A stack of cork roadbed strips;

·         Two large packs of cork tiles;

·         A printers’ tray that slides under the baseboard to hold bibs ad bobs;

·         A lovely little antique display cabinet in need of repair; and

·         A box of assorted Streamline turnouts and track shorts in various states of repair (one still packaged), and an oval of Hornby track and a turnout from my son’s ‘Nellie’ train set c. 1980.

Well I never.  Life is full of little surprises.

 

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