Bodmin (Generally)

History

Bodmin (Generally!) is based on the original Bodmin General in Cornwall. In its day it was, for its size, quite a busy terminus with lines coming in from Boscarne Junction, Wadebridge and Padstow to the North West and Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) in the South East. There was a small loco facility and a two road goods yard with a sizeable goods shed.

 

The terminus station opened on 27th May 1887 and became a junction on 3rd September 1888 and changed little up to the time of its closure to passenger traffic on 30th January 1967. Bodmin General, in its heyday, was kept quite busy with both passenger and goods traffic from the two routes, especially the through china clay workings each way where the loco had to run round its train before proceeding on the next leg of its journey.

The Layout

I wanted to build a Western Region layout based on a prototype station, preferably a small branch terminus, and after searching for a suitable track design I finally decided on Bodmin General around the late 1950s, early 1960s period. I have adapted the track plan to suit the board size and whilst I have tried to make the buildings as near to the prototype as I could, with my limited modeling skills, I soon realized that I would have to settle on buildings that are similar but not exactly prototypical – hence the name Bodmin (Generally!). I hope the purists will forgive me!

 

The base-boards are constructed of 9mm MDF on 2” x 1’’ softwood frames.  All trackwork is PECO Code 75 on a cork base and ballasted with "granite" chippings.  Points are controlled electrically with PECO point motors.

 

The station building is constructed using at least three Ratio station building kits suitably adapted whilst the signal box and goods shed are also slightly modified Ratio kits. The engine shed is scratch built using, in the main, Wills materials, as are the platform, retaining walls and the bridge, whilst Woodland Scenics materials have been used for the majority of the landscaping.

 

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