One aspect of my interest in railways is an inexplicable affection for miniature railways. These have histories that can be as interesting a those of their full-size counterparts. In the United Kingdom there are many miniature lines - both public and private. Gauges fall generally into the categories of  7¼, 10¼, 12¼ and 15 inches, although one or two others are used occasionally. In the world of 7¼ inch gauge railways there is a very wide range of lines. This variation is well illustrated by the Great Cockrow Railway, the Moors Valley Railway and the Dobwalls Forest Railroad. Links to these and other lines (with pictures) can be found at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~stownsen/books/links.htm

Union Pacific Do-Do diesel "Centennial"

This page is dedicated to the 7¼ inch gauge Forest Railroad at Dobwalls in Cornwall, a system for which I had a particular weakness. Located just off the A38 near Liskeard, it was far more than a straightforward miniature railway - for one thing it was two lines which weaved in and out of each other in a fashion that initially could be quite bewildering. The trains followed spectacular routes taking them through cuttings, into tunnels and across bridges and embankments. However, there was far more to Dobwalls than the trains. Superb play equipment - both indoors and outdoors - kept the most active youngsters occupied for hours. In addition there were go-karts for older children (and grown-ups!) and self-drive cars for younger children. At the time of my last visit (2001) there was also an art gallery with the most wonderful wildlife paintings that you could ever imagine. I write this as no more than a very satisfied customer who visited Dobwalls with his family on many occasions over more years than I care to count!

Diesel-hauled trains passing the locomotive depot

In the 1970s the railway developed from the hobby of Cornish farmer John Southern to a full-scale tourist attraction. The need to pull heavily loaded trains up significant gradients meant that one eighth scale models of British locomotives (of the type used at the Great Cockcrow Railway, for example) were simply not strong enough. So it was decided to use American-style locomotives of various scales. They normally pulled eight bogie cars, and these trains regularly carried between forty and fifty people - quite some weight!

My son David was the only passenger on the train when this photograph was taken in 1990.

The locomotive fleet at Dobwalls grew over the years until there were six steamers and four diesels. The most spectacular was the 4-8-8-4, a model of one of the Union Pacific's enormous "Big Boy" engines. Despite visiting Dobwalls many times over the years, I  never saw the Big Boy working though it took its fair share of the work. That's Murphy's Law for you!

7¼'' gauge 4-8-8-4 Big Boy locomotive “William Jeffers” at Dobwalls

The full list of locomotives at Dobwalls was as follows:
Steam
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 #X4008 "William Jeffers"
Union Pacific 4-8-2 #818 "Queen of Wyoming"
Union Pacific 4-8-2 #838 "Queen of Nebraska"
Rio Grande 2-8-2 #488 "General Palmer"
Rio Grande 2-8-2 #498 "Otto Mears"
Freelance 2-6-2 #88 "David Curwen"
Diesel
Union Pacific DDA40X Do-Do #6908 "Centennial"
Rio Grande GP35 Bo-Bo #3008 "Mathias Baldwin"
Santa Fe FP45 Co-Co  #5908 "Pioneer"
Amtrak liveried Co-Co + Co-Co E8 twin unit #248/258 "Spirit of America"

Of these locomotives there was usually one steamer and one diesel operating on any given day. The two lines were based on routes of the Rio Grande and Union Pacific Railroads, and it was usual to use the locomotives of these companies on their own tracks.

Twin engines? Almost.  Rio Grande 2-8-2s #488 and #498

The 2-8-2 locomotives pictured above are actually models of K36 (#488) and K37 (#498) three foot gauge prototypes of the Denver and Rio Grande system. They were built to a scale of 2 inches to the foot (i.e. one sixth scale), compared to the scale of 1½ inches to the foot (i.e. one eighth scale) for a 7¼ inch gauge model of a standard gauge locomotive. In fact not all of the models of standard gauge locos at Dobwalls were built to one eighth scale either. For example, the diesel "Centennial" was built to 1.85 inches to the foot making for a truly impressive, if slightly overscale, model. This scale/gauge disproportion can be found elsewhere in the world of miniature railways - notably on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent (see link below) where one third scale engines run on approximately one quarter scale track.  The use of the word "model" to describe any of the Dobwalls fleet is, perhaps, rather misleading. As with their larger couterparts on the 15 inch gauge Romney line, each loco here was an impressive piece of engineering in its own right.

Santa Fe FP45 diesel #5908 "Pioneer"

As stated above the two routes at Dobwalls were to some extent interlaced, though each had its own character. In the old days you could buy a map of the routes - it took quite some effort to work out the routes on your first visit!  There were only two drawbacks to it that I discovered - it was not open all year round and it was a long way from my home in the East Midlands! However, Cornwall is a  truly wonderful county to visit, but please don't tell everyone! Now enjoy the rest of the pictures.

 

"General Palmer" emerges from one of the tunnels on the Rio Grande route

"Spirit of America" on a day off

"Queen of Nebraska", having unloaded her passengers and pulled forward , awaits her next turn of duty  - the year is 1988
 

Union Pacific diesel "Centennial" at the head of a well loaded train
 

"Mathias Baldwin" passes "Queen of Wyoming" on a rainy day in 1990
 

"Queen of Wyoming" still waiting for passengers in the rain

"General Palmer" (left) and "Otto Mears" (right) on the Rio Grande route

 

Santa Fe diesel "Pioneer" awaits departure on the Union Pacific route in 1991

More recently "Pioneer" has carried this bright red livery as seen outside the engine shed in 2001

Lastly we see freelance 2-6-2 "David Curwen" at rest outside the engine shed

The eagle-eyed reader will have noticed that the script above has been modified to the past tense. It was with great sadness that in the autumn of 2006 I reported here that the spectacular Union Pacific Sherman Hill route at Dobwalls saw the last ever train run over its rails on 29th October of that year to make way for a new development. At the time the Rio Grande route looked safe, but the Railway Magazine of July 2007 stated that this route too had run its last train. I understand that the track and stock are available for sale. Only time will tell what becomes of them.

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Click here for my Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway photo album
Click here for my Stapleford Miniature Railway photo album
Click here to return to my index

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(Page created 5th October 2001 - last modified 13th April 2008)

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