So it's time for another period UK route suggestion that I've had on my mind. Last time, we covered West Coastway 1988-1989: Southampton & Eastleigh to Portsmouth & Havant, which is seemingly going quite well with a lot of you on this forum, so it's a good thing I already another suggestion up my sleeve here. Now for this one, we are staying in the same sort of area that West Coastway was set (somewhere down in the south of England) but with two major differences. Firstly, we are heading much further west and secondly, for this route time-period, we are going way, way, way back, to the 1950's. Yes, for the first time on this forum, I am doing a steam route suggestion. So far, the steam routes we have been getting have been set in the north of the country, so I thought it would be about time to have a steam route set in the different part of the country, and while I did have a thread where people could post what steam route they would like in see in TSW, I thought this one deserved it's own thread, mainly because it's a route close to my heart. While it might not be local to me, it is a route I have been to in real life, as I have walked along the last leg of it at the western end of this particular route, which should serve as a clue as to what it could, as it's a route that no longer exists. Also, while Liverpool-Crewe was a racetrack style route focusing on large stations and a (supposedly) busy main line, and Peak Forest is a slower style route with smaller stations, but still doubled track for most of the way, the route I have for you is a lot more rural, a lot slower and mostly singled tracked for a lot of the way, with an exception being around one of the endpoints. So without further ado, let's dive into this route, which I have currently titled the Camel Valley Line, running from Padstow to Halwill Junction, set between 1955 & 1959. Background Like I've already said, I don't live anywhere near this route, but it is somewhere I have explored in real life. You see, I've been to Padstow 3 times in the last 4 years on holiday, and one of things we have down every time we go there is walk along part of the Camel Trail between Padstow & Wadebridge. This would usually walking there and then getting the bus back to Padstow (or to Wadebridge and then walking back to Padstow during the second time I was there). It is a nice walk by the way, even though it's mostly through deep cuttings or overgrown foliage, but you still get decent views across the River Camel estuary, not the mention the old railway bridge that you encounter on the outskirts of Padstow. Even if you don't walk the whole way to Wadebridge from Padstow, it's certainly something worth checking out while in the area. But back on subject, having walked this route three times now, knowing that's it's along an abandoned railway line, this got me thinking 'Could this serve as a basis for a decent TSW route? Would this even work as one? And would anyone actually be interested in it? ...and eventually, I decided to give it a try. Of course we can't just do the section between Wadebridge and Padstow, as that's just too short and would barely be worth anything. So looking beyond Wadebridge, we have two options here. We could head in the direction of Bodmin and on towards the China Clay Quarries at Wenfordbridge. Maybe even including the line the Bodmin Parkway (then known as Bodmin Road) via Bodmin General (which is now part of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway). That might have been interesting, but I decided to go in a different direction, to head along the old North Cornwall route to Halwill Junction. This I thought had a lot more potential, as this line was part of the Atlantic Coast Express route from London. Plus, unlike the other option, which part of it is still operating as a heritage railway, this route is completely gone from existence (except for one small part, kinda. But we'll get to that later). For now though, let's dive into the map of what this route would look like. Map of the Whole Route Section around Padstow, Wadebridge & St Kew Highway Section between Port Isaac Road & Delabole Section around Launceston Section around Halwill Junction Want to see the full map? Then click on the link here. So to go through the stats here, this is a pretty straight-forward A to B route that is 49.8 Miles (80.1 km) in total, with no other branches as far as I could tell.. But there are also 13 stations, 1 engine shed at Launceston and 2 sidings at Port Isaac Road & Delabole which these areas also have an extra 0.5 Miles (0.9 Km) worth of trackage around them. There could have been more than this in terms of engine sheds and yards, I definitely know that there was an engine shed at Wadebridge potentially, but I wasn't able to find enough information about where they were specifically to put them on the map for now. The first thing to note here is, like I've already mention, everything you see on the map is long gone from existence. The vast majority of the route between Halwill & Wadebridge closed in 1966, with the section going on to Padstow being served by Bodmin bound trains for another year before closed for passenger traffic. Wadebridge however did continue to see freight trains, mainly those serving Delabole Quarry, all the way until 1978, and after some special railtour runs along the route that year, the line was pretty much torn up, leaving only a few hints today that there ever was a railway here at all. There is still a small section heading west out of Launceston as part of the Steam Railway, but that's a 2-foot narrow-gauge railway, compared to the standard gauge line it would have been in it's heyday. Because of this, I decided for this map to also show some of the other lines coming off the route as thin lines (mainly the ones around Wadebridge, the GWR line at Launceston and the line going towards Bodmin from Wadebridge) just to give you a better idea as to where these lines would have gone back in the day of this railway's existence, which for that time-period, would be around the later half of the 1950's (1955-1959), during the beginning of this routes decline. But going into the route itself, it might seem like this is just a simple A to B route, but it's actually much more interesting than that. Beginning at Halwill Junction (which is actually in Devon), the route actually starts by heading north out of the station, before taking a great big u-turn in order to head southwest, bound for Padstow. The route mainly goes downhill for the most part, with the exception of a climb from Launceston up to the routes summit at Otterham, located 860 feet (262.1 metres) above sea level, with gradients along the route varying from between 1 in 73 & 1 in 82. But more noticeably than the gradients, you will notice on the map that the route is constantly twisting and turning as it winds it way through the Camel Valley. This is because the route was built along the contours of the valley, rather than cutting through it, which would have been more costly at the time. This route is also, for most part, a single-tracked branch line and quite slow, with the maximum permitted speed on this route being 55 mph (89 kph). As a result, despite being less than 50 miles long, you won't be finishing this route in a hurry. From having looked at timetables from around this routes time-period, a typical end-to-end journey would take on average around an hour and a half to even up to 2 hours. This is due to the aforementioned slow speeds and the fact that services stop an every station along the route, with the exception of a few faster express services (including the Atlantic Coast Express) and a handful services that start and finish at Launceston. On the subject of the timetable, there would also be very few services on this route. Again going by what I was able to find, the number of passenger services that would available to drive on this route would be 16 (9 heading westbound & 7 heading eastbound). That number though does include services that run on a Saturday and does not include shunting services, the turning around phase at Padstow and also any freight services that might have run on this route back then. But you know what? I don't any of this would detract from the route at all. If anything, this route isn't about the vast amount of services running on it, the high speeds you will be driving these trains at, or anything like that. This route is really about two things for me. Firstly, it is a great mix of being both challenging and relaxing. It's challenging because you will be either climbing or descending steep gradients while constantly twisting and turning you're way through the Cornish countryside. But while you'll be on your toes for most of the way, you won't be rushing to get to your final destination, which will allow you to take time and really enjoy the experience of driving down this route. This leads to the other big factor, which is the fact that this is a very scenic route. For most of the way, the route travels through some really picturesque Cornish countryside. There's even a chance you might just get to see Bodmin Moor around the middle portion, even if it's more of a scenic backdrop. But arguably the most scenic part is the last portion between Wadebridge & Padstow, the bit that I've walked along in real life. This is because you'll be running alongside the Camel estuary for the whole duration, and would even feature the routes iconic point, the Little Petherick Creek Bridge on the approach to Padstow. This whole area could serve as a big test for TSW to see whether it would possible to do this whole area justice, I even wonder could we even try to simulate the rising tides here, but that might be a stretch too far. But taking all of this into account, on top of adding a late 1950's steam-era vibe, you have a route that, while relatively quite traffic wise, could have a lot of charm, character and beauty, while offering unique challenges along the way. Taking a pause from talking for a bit, let's now dive into some real life images of the route! Pictures of the route in real life As a quick disclaimer, some of these images might not be exactly from the 1955-1959 time period, but rather from somewhere around that time. It's just being able to find what I could online. Available Locos With a route as scenic as this one, we now need some locos to go along side it. For this section, I'm going to be a bit more ambitious here and have this route come with not one, but two brand new steam engines. This is because this is what we had with our first steam route, Liverpool-Crewe, and I general feel like this format could work well with early TSW's steam routes. Plus, both of these locos would offer a slightly different experience compared to the steam engines we currently have now. Maybe having two new engines is a bit of a stretch here, but let's give it a try shall well? SECR N Class 2-6-0 We start off with a mixed-traffic style of loco, something that we don't really have in TSW yet. This class of loco was first designed in 1914, but due to the WW1, production of these locos didn't start until 1917. 80 of these locos were built in three batches up until 1934. the SECR (South Eastern & Chatham Railway) built the first batch of 16, with a prototype being built in 1917 and then a further 15 between 1920 & 1923, then a further 50 were built in 1924 by Royal Arsenal, Woolwich as part of a proposed nationalisation scheme and then that didn't happen, they were then purchased by the newly formed Southern Railways, who would later go on to built an additional 15 of them between 1932 & 1934. They were used across the then SECR network, which continuing after the 1923 grouping into Southern Railways. After successful trials in 1924 on a pair of them between London & Guildford, the Woolwich batch of locos were allocation to the western part of the Southern region and eventually found their way to this route, working on portions of the Atlantic Coast Express west of Exeter. They are similar in design to the U classes that followed them in 1928, but have slightly smaller driving wheels at 5ft 6in diameter, compared to the 6ft diameter of the U Classes. All of them would eventually be withdrawn and scrapped by 1966, but one (31874) has survived into preservation, although it's currently undergoing a long-term overhaul, having last works in 1998. I would like to think that this loco will be doing the majority of the work on this route. Handling many of the passenger services, as well as a few freight operations here and there, if such a thing ever happened on this route. But it won't be alone on this route, which leads us too... LSWR T9 Class 'Greyhound' 4-4-0 So supporting the N Class is something quite a bit older in design. 66 of these locos were built between 1899 & 1901, which would make this the first TSW loco to date from 1800s (as well as TSW's oldest loco overall). They were initially built for express passenger work across the south west of England. They were given the nickname 'Greyhounds', due to their reliability and the fact they were capable of speeds up 80mph, even in their old age. Speaking of which, by this routes time-period, these locos were already being withdrawn, having been moved down to this area on lighter duties, which thanks to their light axle loadings and short frame lengths, were found to be well suited for the tight curves of this part of the Southern Network. All of them were eventually withdraw by 1961, but one was kept around for an extra two years for a extra two years working ordinary services, as well as some specials, before finally being properly withdrawn in 1963. This last one was also the one that sine survived in preservation, numbered 30120, and has since toured many heritage railways across the UK, but is right now stored awaiting overhaul at the Swanage Railway (also the same home as the aforementioned surviving N Class, 31874, and my local heritage railway funnily enough). Back on subject here though, on this route, these locos world work more on passenger services than be a general purpose, mixed-traffic loco like the N Class would. But considering this loco is a lot less powerful than the N Class, it would certainly offer a different and possibly more challenging experience trying to conquer driving this loco on this route. Now we have the loco's here, we now need some rolling stock to go alongside them, and luckily here, this route would come with a vast variety of it. This rolling stock selection would include... SR Maunsell Coaches (Was a toss up between this & Bulleid's for the coaching stock, but leaned more this way as it seemed to be slightly more prevalent on this route at the time). BR Mk1 Coaches (Would still appear in a more minor role, this time in BR Green livery). SR CCT Utility Van BR Standard Cattle Wagon On top of all this, some of the wagons from past steam routes, such as the 16t Mineral Wagon, Standard Van & 20t Brake Van, would also be present and available with the route, although with modifications to better fit in with this route. One last thing worth mentioning here, even though the route wouldn't have any layers from existing routes (as nothing else we currently have would be able to layer into this route), both the N Class & T9 locos would also appear as AI around Halwill Junction, operating some of the other services heading towards either Okehampton & Exeter in the east or Bude, Bideford & Barnstable in the west. Continues on the next page...
Future Loco Add-Ons This admittedly, is a tough section as, while there is decent loco add-on potential here, it has to add new services to this route, and I personally feel like the majority of the decent ones here would just simply sub into what's already available. But that doesn't mean that there aren't any that would add new services. I have for you two possible add-ons that could both add new services, as well as new driving experience to route, one is a small tank engine, and the other is a large express passenger loco. LSWR 0298 Class 'Beattie Well Tank' 2-4-0WT So starting with the small tank engine, 85 of these were built between 1862 & 1875. Originally, they were used for passenger services in the suburbs of London, but after more powerful locos came in, they were either converted to tender engines, withdrawn completely, or were moved further down south. Three of these locos would eventually find work on the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway by 1895, due the fact that they were able to navigate the sharp corners of the freight line that carried China Clay from Wenfordbridge down to the main line. The three locos were finally withdrawn by 1962, of which, two of them survived into preservation, with one of them (30587) even being based on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, around were these locos would have operated. Since this route is set around the time these locos were still operating, I think it makes sense to put them in as a loco add-on. But they would only be working around the Wadebridge-Padstow area of the route. The services they would be operating are small passenger services between the two stations, coming to/from Bodmin North, but they would operating shunting duties around the Wadebridge area, along with coming with a 5-plank China-Clay wagon, to add some extra flavour to this add-on. SR Unrebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific Class 4-6-2 This is an interesting one, and it's more than just the loco itself. You see, with the two Atlantic Coast Express runs on this route (one in each direction) should I just have it be hauled by one of the two loco available with this route? Or should I just save them for this loco? I personally feel like this loco would be more suitable for these services than either the N class or the T9, but then again, the amount of services it would be adding would only be a handful. Maybe with a loco with such scale of prevalence as this one, you could go off and make a route with this loco as it's main attraction, and then it layer back into this one, but I'm not entirely sure on that one. You can decided for yourselves about how you implement this one into this route. But as for the loco itself, does it really need any introduction? Built as a lighter alternative to the Merchant Navies, 110 of these were built between 1945 and 1950. They are more commonly know under either West Country or the Battle of Britain Classes of locomotives, with the former being named after west country towns and the later being named after various RAF subjects from the Battle of Britain, such as Squadrons, Airfields, Commanders & Aircraft. While they are primarily an express passenger locomotive, they were adapted to work on some freight duties. These locos are easily recognisable from the air-smoothed casing, which gave them the nickname 'Spam Cans'. The loco also had a chain-driven valve gear and was one the first steam locomotives built with a steel firebox and used welding techniques during construction, to allow them to easily built during post-war times. Due to issues encountered with the class, particularly with the chain-driven valve gear, 60 of them were rebuilt between 1955 & 1961, with 50 remaining in unrebuilt condition due to the advent of the 1955 modernisation plan. They lasted right up until the end of southern steam on July 9th 1967, with amazingly, 20 of them surviving in preservation, with 10 of them being unrebuilt condition. Regardless of whether this loco comes as a loco add-on for this route, or comes with another route and layers into this one, it would add a new driving experience to the route, with the ability to drive a much more powerful loco up and down the undulating, steep gradients that this route provides. Probably with much more ease compared to either the N Class or the T9, even with the possibility of pulling a much heavier load than those locos could ever handle. I would put in some Bulleid coaches to go alongside the loco, which would really help stand the services these locos do out from the regular ones already available. Conclusion Maybe for some, this is not the most interesting route to make. Yes it's a decent length, but it's far from the busiest, you're mostly going down single-tracked lines for the entire duration and it's quite a slow route, so why bother making this route? Well like we've going through here, you get to explore a route that is completely lost to time, it offers a good mix of being both challenging from the steep gradients to the constant twisting nature of the route, and relaxing considering that, you won't be in any rush to finish the route, along you to enjoy the scenery that this route provides, some of which provide intriguing challenges for TSW to try and conquer. Then there's the two new steam engines that could come with the route, both with their own driving experiences, along with two stand-out loco add-ons that can further enhance the experience here. But most importantly, the big selling point here is that this route would offer a steam experience that it's just another route set in the LMS Midland/Northern Region of the UK. Don't get me wrong, I do like both of the steam routes we've had so far, but I feel like they are way too similar to each other. I mean, despite the fact it's a different style of route to the first steam route (Scenic double tracked line through rolling hills compared to the racetrack style of Liverpool-Crewe), Peak Forest's rolling stock is basically a copy-paste of LPC's with two new additions (despite the fact that route's new loco, the LMS 4F, isn't used much in service mode outside of shunting and banking services). So I feel like, if we are going to have more steam routes in future, then I feel like we need to move away from the area that the like of LPC & Peak Forest were set in, and try and explore either other parts of the UK or even take steam to the other core countries TSW focuses on, even if it requires more to be put in than a typical TSW route would do, and I feel like a route like this, could be seen as a decent starting point. There might be busier and more interesting routes out there, but what this routes lacks of those aspects, it makes up in terms of charm, character and beauty, as well as a truly unique route for TSW. As always, if you have any ideas for this route, or you feel like there's something that can be done differently here, then feel free to let me know in the replies down below. That's all from me, and I'll see you all next time. Image Sources http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/p/padstow/index7.shtml https://www.padstowmuseum.co.uk/railway.html http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/p/padstow/index5.shtml http://disused-stations.org.uk/w/wadebridge/index.shtml http://disused-stations.org.uk/w/wadebridge/index1.shtml https://www.portisaacheritage.co.uk/piscesarchives/port-isaac-road-station/ http://www.delabole2020.uk/the-train-now-standing/ https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3390163 http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/halwill/index00.shtml https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/br-n-class-31815--382172718370016053/ https://sremg.org.uk/steam/t9class.shtml https://sremg.org.uk/coach/maunsell.shtml https://sremg.org.uk/coach/brmk1.shtml https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/rit...reading-list-and-gallery--563301865900654056/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/48142355477 https://www.flickr.com/photos/iron-duke/8353967819 https://collection.sciencemuseumgro...itish-railways-china-clay-wagon-railway-wagon https://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/carrev6_bull.html
Great suggestion mate, I must admit I am not a fan of Southern steam locos (bar the Bullieds) but this would be a wonderful route in a rather nice area of the country. It would have a great atmosphere if it was made.
This is a really great suggestion. I would definitely buy this route. It would be a shame if DTG doesn't make this route for TSW3
Would absolutely love to see this. There is a lovely freeware version being built for TSC. This is the sort of route which would have been better as the first TSW steam route, you don't need masses of stock, it is scenic, with a variety of traffic. The timetable could have been pretty much replicated in full. The Atlantic Coast express would have only been a portion, probably a two coach set, four at the most therefore wouldn't have need a large engine and I think the T9's were regularly used on it. Unrebuilt Bullied pacifics were seen on the line a lot so would definitely be a suitable DLC. An Adams 02 would also be a very useful engine for the route especially if the Bodmin North branch was ever added. I don't know how regularly the Beattie Well Tanks worked passenger trains on the Bodmin North branch, they only survived so long as they were ideal for the sharp curved on the Wenford Bridge china clay branch, later replaced by 13xx Panniers.
