Society Annual Outing:  Sunday June 28th  2009, to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, and Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre, Lifton.

Fifty-two members and friends headed south for our 2009 day visit by coach on 28th June, with a first stop at Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre, Lifton, in Devon to see an amazing array of traction engines, fairground heavy-haul commercial vehicles, fairground rides, Amusement machines and even ephemera such as old road signs.

Housed in three very large agricultural buildings, attached to a hilltop farm just off the A30 near Lifton, this venue provided something just that little bit different.

On arrival we were all treated to complementary tea, coffee and biscuits, courtesy of the Society, and then had a couple of hours to take a look around.

Arriving before eleven on a Sunday morning we, at first, had the site pretty much to ourselves. It is home to the National Fairgound Collection, including some vintage Fairground rides which are operated at the weekend, and it seemed quite surreal to see all the fairground amusements and rides silent in a large building with nobody around. Soon the generator was started and the large fairground Dodgem cars came to life. Some members (including the Chairman) relived their (mis-spent?) youth by having a go!

Our party explored the hands-on working displays and steam machinery, plus vintage vehicles and a vintage road sign collection. In one room the workings of a Compton Theatre Organ were demonstrated and explained to us!

After a quick lunch for some we rejoined our coach for the trip to Bodmin General Station, close to the town centre, and on arrival were given a guided tour of the new Signal box, which is nearing completion, plus engine and restoration sheds.

Great Western Motive power `on shed’ included 4200 class 2-8-0T 4247, Prairie 5552, Pannier Tank 6435, plus the uniquely styled twins `low profile‘ Bagnall industrial steam tank engines `Alfred' and `Judy' which used to work at the Port of Par. These were built with the cab the same height as the top of the tanks so that they could squeeze under the main line to access the Port sidings. For those with young children having an interest in Reverend Awdry’s `Thomas the Tank engine’ stories, these were the original locos which inspired him to create the twins `Bill’ and `Ben’!

The restoration shed meanwhile included `Crompton’ Class 33 Diesel 33110, a Hunslet  Austerity under rebuild, and the tender of NRM owned `Greyhound’ 120, the loco itself being under repair at the Flour Mill restoration shop in the Forest of Dean.  With time for some quick photos, and a brief look in the shop we then joined the 1455 departure, hauled by ex GWR Pannier Tank 4612.
The four coach train included a carriage reserved for our party, and also two newly outshopped carriages (an RMB and TSO), and headed for Bodmin Parkway station, joint with the main line. Here the loco ran round, and after viewing passing South West Trains Sprinter 158 881 which paused in the station we tackled the steep climb of nearly 1 in 40 back up to Bodmin General.

On the day, four lucky participants won footplate rides in a raffle, and those experiencing the steep gradients on journeys towards Bodmin General from Bodmin Parkway and Boscarne Junction enjoyed some spirited firing! Our driver for the afternoon was, incidentally, none other than the railway’s General Manager Richard Jones, who was well know to us from his former West Somerset Railway days, having given the Society a Slide show and presentation at our meeting back in March 2008.

The Railway had kindly arranged to run an additional train, just for the Society, so that we could visit the `other half’ of the line, to Boscarne Junction. On arrival the new Shelter was opened up for our inspection. Of note here is that, whereas Bodmin General is restored very much as a GWR station, with chocolate and cream signs, benches etc, Boscarne Jcn station is correctly restored as a Southern station with green the predominant colour. These days, the line finishes here, providing access to the Camel Trail cycle path which runs from Bodmin to  Padstow.

After an opportunity for some photographs, we headed back up the steep gradient to Bodmin General, where we joined our waiting coach for an uneventful journey home, avoiding traffic congestion on the M5 and arriving in Weston at around 2000.

Our thanks to Peter Carr for the advance trip planning and arrangements, and to Lionel for his dealings with the Railway to secure and arrange the package of extra features for our visit (shed and signal box visits, extra train and footplate rides) which together all helped to make it a very enjoyable and interesting day.

For the Bodmin visit pictures please follow this link and for Dingle Fairground this link