West of Exeter Route

[Kevin99]

Hello All

I have not been on the forum for some time but browsing today I was very interested in the LSWR Salisbury Exeter Line by Maddog 989 and the Yeovil back from the past by Acorn Computer. I was just walking on part of the Yeovil route last weekend now part of a country park.

I have been building a Southern route myself for sometime now in fact since early Railsim days and have recently started to QA the route. My main concern is that there seems to be a lack of Southern Steam locomotives for Railworks which I find a pain. At present I have written some 20 Basic scenarios to QA the route. I might say that this is a big job beyond my expectations, however, the point I make Is that I have had to use non Southern steam on the route although Riddles 264Ts, Ivatt 260 and 262T were used in the later days. The only correct locomotive for the route is a BB/WC Light Pacfic. I also have used LMS 2P 440 as a T9 and Fowler 060s for N and U Class. 9Fs are rebuilt BB/WC to be used on the Main line only and the LMS 044T tanks for M7 Jintys for Beattie Welltanks.

My question is are there any plans to build more Southern steam locomotives? The Salisbury and Exeter as well as the Yeovil lines must have the same trouble.

I was going to add some screen shots of my route but either my computer fails to up load or I hav'nt a clue what I'm doing can anybody advise?

I have written a brief description of the route which may be of Interest and intend to issue the completed system later this year QA permitting

West of Exeter "The Route"

The route has been developed to replicate the lines of the Southern Railway, West of Exeter. There are some 250 miles of track starting at Pinhoe and running through to Ilfracombe, Padstow, Bude, Bodmin, Callington,Wenfordbridge and Torrington. All the lines are in rural areas except those in Exeter and Plymouth. The main line is double tracked throughout as is the Ilfracombe Branch All other routes are single tracked with passing points at stations.

Focus Time Period:

I have set the time of the route from the end of WW2 to the mid 1960s. The lines were busy in the immediate post war period with a gradual decline and collapse in the mid 1960s. When the majority of the route was closed by Dr Beeching. The route became part of the British Railways Southern Region on the 1948 nationalisation of the railways. It was later transferred to Western Region and then back to the Southern. There was a wide range of locomotives in use during the period mostly ex Southern Railway T9, M7, 02, N class 260 and West Country / Battle of Britain Light Pacific’s rebuilt and in original form. Later on Ex London Midland & Scottish Railway Ivatt 262T and 260 tender engines were in common use along with a number of small British Railways standard tanks. In the Western Region control Collet 060s and a mixture ex Great Western Railway tank engines.

I started building the route at Halwill Junction and originaly only intended to go to Bude but it got out of hand.

The Elements of the Route

The Main Line (Pinhoe to Plymouth Friary) 65 Miles

Starting at Pinhoe for Exeter Central we have the main line to Plymouth. On leaving Exeter Central the line falls away at 1/37 through St David’s Tunnel where there is a mandatory stop at St David’s on GWR metals. At Cowley Bridge junction the London & South Western Railway main line diverges to the left. The line continues to rise as you pass Okehampton and Meldon Quarry to Prewley summit just west of the quarry at 296 meters. The line the falls all the way to Plymouth where the London & South Western Railway had a joint station at North Road and the main Southern Railway terminus was at Plymouth Friary. The main intermediate stations are Crediton, Okehampton where passengers changed for the North Cornwall line and Bude. At the Plymouth end of the route the main passenger traffic is focused on Tavistock and Bere Alston for Callington. There is only one tunnel on this section that is at Shillamill which is located between Tavistock North and Bere Alston Junction.

Plymouth Goods Lines Including Turnchapel Station and Wharf 7 Miles

In the Plymouth area the Southern Railway and its predecessor the London & South Western Railway had a number of dock lines which have been included in the route. The only local passenger line was from Friary station to Turnchapel via Oreston. There are several docks at Turnchapel. The main docks for general merchandise was Cattewater with a smaller facility at Sutton Wharf adjacent to Friary station and accessed via a short tunnel. The main ocean liner docks is at Stonehouse Pool.

The North Cornwall Line (Meldon Junction to Padstow) 58 Miles

The North Cornwall Line diverges from the Main Exeter Plymouth Line at Meldon Junction just short of Prewley Summit. The route is single tracked throughout with passing places at all the stations on the Route. The main stations are Halwill Junction, Launceston, Wadebridge and Padstow. The route is in a falling grade to Halwill Junction, where after turning sharply to the south west it picks up the valley of the River Carey after a short distance. The river is followed until we reach Launceston where the Southern Railway station is adjacent to the Great Western Railway Plymouth line (Which we see at Lydford Junction and Tavistock). Launceston has a main station, goods yards and an interchange with the Great Western Railway which was built during WW2 to divert trains to the Plymouth Area. The summit on this section is near Otterham Station at 261 meters. The main industry is quarrying situated at Delabole. There is a tunnel a Trellil situated a few hundred yards west of Port Isaac Road Station.


The Bude Branch (Halwill Junction to Bude Station and Quay) 18 Miles

The branch leaves Halwill for the Dunsland Cross halt and then to Holsworthy where it crosses two viaducts. Holsworthy was the terminus of the Bude branch for a number of years until the final extension was completed to Bude Station and Quay. The only other station is Whitstone and Bridgerule where during WW2 there was a major ammunition dump. As with the other North Devon and Cornwall lines there was considerable holiday traffic. Bude wharf generated sand traffic for the farms where this product was used to improve the land.


North Devon Main Line (Coleford Junction, Barnstaple Junction to Torrington) 41 Miles

The route leaves the Plymouth Main Line at Coleford Junction. The line is double tracked from Coleford Junction to Copplestone where it changes to single track as far as Umberleigh where it reverts to double track all the way to Barnstaple Junction where there are a number of private sidings and a large public siding as well as the Barnstaple locomotive depot. The route follows the valleys of the Rivers Exe and Taw throughout. All the single track section stations have passing loops. The Great Western Railway Taunton Barnstaple line joins the route at Barnstaple Junction. Apart from Holiday traffic to Ilfracombe, Pit props were made at the Chapelton Works, Furniture and a large Abattoir at Barnstaple. The LSWR received consent by Parliament to double this single track section in 1906 but the powers were never taken up. From Barnstaple Junction to Torrington the line follows the Taw and Torridge rivers passing Fremington power station Fremington Quay and Bideford. Holiday traffic was centered on Instow and Bideford. Clay traffic used the line from Torrington to Bideford and Fremington.

Ilfracombe Branch ( Barnstaple Junction to Ilfracombe) 15 miles

The Ilfracombe Branch leaves Barnstaple Junction Station and crosses the River Taw by an iron bridge this is the main structure on the route. On leaving the bridge you enter Barnstaple Town Station once the interchange with the Lynton and Barnstaple narrow gauge railway which was owned by the Southern Railway but lifted before WW2. The line follows the Taw estuary passing the RAF Base at Chivenor sidings for RAF and Public traffic are just by the station. The route carries on to Braunton where there are extensive goods yards situated just before the station. After the Station there is a small locomotive shed for the Bankers used on the stiff incline 1/74 rising to 1/40 for 5 miles to Mortehoe and Woolacombe Station. Mortehoe summit (187 Meters) is just after the station where all goods trains have to lock down brakes for the decent as steep as 1/36 to Ilfracombe Station. Bankers are used on this route for the ascent and descent as appropriate and there is a short siding at Mortehoe station to accommodate a locomotive.

North Devon Line (Torrington to Halwill Junction) 20 miles

The North Devon line follows the route of the Marland Quarry light Railway (Narrow Gauge) built to move clay from the Marland Works to the LSWR Rail head at Torrington. This line was converted to standard gauge and extended to Halwill Junction by Colonel Stevens just before grouping. The LSWR purchased the line which became part of the Southern Railway. There was little traffic except clay from Marland Works and Meeth clay pits most of which went to Bideford or Fremington Quays for shipment. When you leave Torrington for Halwill the line crosses the Marland viaduct and immediately starts to climb at 1/40 to Yarde Summit (138 Meters). After passing the summit the line drops again at 1/40 to the entry to Marland clay pits and then to Petrockstow Station from where the line meanders through the Devon countryside to Halwill Junction where it has its own platform.

Wenfordbridge Mineral Line (Wadebridge to Delank Incline) 13 Miles

For the purposes of this narrative the Wadebridge to Delank Incline I have included in the same section. From Wadebridge Station the line runs parallel with the North Cornwall Line to Wadebridge Junction (which is a meeting of lines rather than a physical junction) The route follows the River Camel to Grogley Halt and Junction (for the Ruthern Branch) to the Boscarne interchange platform) The platform was used to drop or pick up passengers to intermediate stations to Wadebridge as the Great Western Railway service for Bodmin Town to Wadebridge were not allowed to stop at these points. From the Boscarne about 10 miles to Delank and the clay dries at Wenfordbridge bridge and Tresarret. At Pencarrow woods there is a water point mainly used by the Beattie Well Tanks used on this line for many years.

East Cornwall Mineral Railway (Bere Alston to Callington (Kelly Bray)) 9 Miles

The Route was built as a 3 ft 6 inch gauge system running from Callington to Calstock where the materials mined around Kit Hill was transferred by inclined plane to boat at the Calstock Quay. In 1906 the line was converted to standard gauge and came into the ownership of the Plymouth Devonport & South West Junction Railway and then to the Southern Railway. On leaving Bere Alston Station the line falls to Calstock Viaduct where there is a 10 mph speed restriction. On leaving the viaduct you are faced with a upgrade to Gunnislake which is the main station on the route. The line then passes to the north of Kit Hill to Callington (Kelly Bray). The company had powers to extend the line further to the west but these powers were not taken up.

Ruthern Branch 2 miles

The short branch to Ruthern was built for goods traffic only serving the copper and tin mines in the area. The branch diverged from the main line at Grogley for the short run to the siding. The branch was lifted just before the time period of my route but added for completeness


Boscarne Interchange to Bodmin North and Town (GWR) 4 miles

The short routes from Bodmin (Town and North) meet at Boscarne Interchange. The exit to North Station is steeply graded and has 1 intermediate station and small siding located at Dunmere Hawkes Mill you face a gradient of 1/50 to the station passing the Bodmin prison just before the station. The route to Bodmin Town is Great Western Railway metals and is an easy run again built for completeness.

Lydford Junction to Tavistock (GWR) 7 Miles

There are two adjacent stations at Lydford and a reasonable sized goods yard which was jointly owned by the Southern Railway and Great Western Railway and a junction with the Great Western Railway Launceston line. The Great Western Railway ran services from Launceston to Plymouth via Lydford and the two routes run parallel from Lydford to Tavistock.

Main Locomotive Depots

Exmouth Junction Southern Railway Code EXJ 72A
Bude BUD Sub Shed Exmouth Junction
Callington LCN Sub Shed Exmouth Junction
Okehampton OKE Sub Shed Exmouth Junction
Barnstaple Junction BPL
Ilfracombe ILF Sub Shed Barnstaple Junction
Torrington TOR Sub Shed Barnstaple Junction
Wadebridge WAD 72F

[Kevin99]

Hello Again,

Just to say I pressed the submit button befort I managed to include the screenshots, the process seems to be an utter mystery to me. Sorry.

Kevin99

[johny]

You've certainly got further than I have, I just have a short section from Fatherford viaduct to Meldon Junction. How did you model Meldon viaduct? I modelled it ages ago for RS, the model comprises just one of the sections to the correct dimensions which has to be copied five times to obtain the curvature and full span. I can let you have a copy if you so require.



John

[Kariban]

I have seen a rendered T9 around - some time ago - and I just bought a book on one. A Woolworth would be the ideal thing for this area but I've not seen any sign of one of those - not a glamorous thing to build I guess. No sign of a M7 or even a GWR 43xx either.

Very much looking forward to seeing this, as the Devon parts at least are all around where I grew up. I have been giving thought to doing the Barnstaple/Meeth/Meldon lines in the 70s, but other than missing a lot of track that's not really all that different.

[johny]

My grandfather was a driver at Okehampton, 1930s/early 50s, he drove mainly on the North Cornwall, and always referred to Woolworths and Drummonds, with the result that when in adult life I heard references to T9 and N class I wondered what on earth they were.

John

[Kariban]

Always used to love listening to North Devon railwaymen when I was a little boy back before they turned the Barnstaple line into a siding, they always seemed so tranquil even when they were talking about battling across Dartmoor or up the bank to Ilfracombe in a storm! but the whole area is pretty sleepy. Somewhere on youtube is a wonderfully narrated series about the North Devon lines.

N class is interesting, a combination of a 43xx with some midland bits. Long-lasting too.

[longbow]

No sign of a M7

Maybe someday...

[Kariban]

Oh!

I guess I'll start looking out for N-class drawings while I'm browsing...

[Kevin99]

Hello All,

Thanks for your interest in my route, I will have a further look at utube, On thing I found on my travels was a book by JH Russell which is a pictorial record of all Southern Steam I think which includes several drawings of each type including N and N1 with all the relevant dimensions. If these would be of interest I can copy and Email over.

When I can get the upload to work I intend to put the screenshots on the forum.

All the best

Kevin99

[maddog989]

Nice choice of route! you've definitely got a lot of work you've set yourself! I'd imagine you've already got it but the LSWR then and now book by Mac Hawkins is an excellent reference material, showing how things have changed so allowing you to get a good idea of how to lay things out using modern reference points. I would offer to email my route so far to you, but it's really quite barren, and i've stopped work on it untill TS2012 is released, and it's really not that good so probably wouldn't help you.

[Kevin99]

Hello All,

Hello All

Just got my Internet back today. I note Maddogs post re Max Hawkins book I have this which was a good find. My inspiration for the route in the first place was that I lived in Bude for some years and spent some time looking at the remaining infrastructure of the route in Devon and Cornwall. I have been a railfan since is was very young and can remember pre nationalisation steam. At the time I was living in south Manchester and spent all my time out following railways wherever I could.

I retired some time ago and I was given a copy of MSTS and after that I was hooked.

I have also stopped work until the new version of Railworks comes out in September.


Regards

Kevin99

[Kevin99]

Hello All,

Hope there are three screenshots attached just found out that this is another limit.

I will organise some more shortly

Kevin99

A Riddles Standard Class 4 has an easy run down the Taw towards Bideford

Preparing to leave Plymouth Friary for Turnchapel

West of Exeter the Route

[drewbs2968]

This is a stunning amount of route that you are taking on Kevin and I wish you every success with it!

[BristolCastle]

Good start, good luck for finishing it