Everything Goes at Devon Railway Centre – the perfect place for family fun!
THE Devon Railway Centre, based at GWR Cadeleigh station at Bickleigh, near Tiverton, held its annual Everything Goes event on September 24/25. All operational locomotives were pressed into service on its two lines, the 450-yard 7¼in gauge and 360-yard 2ft gauge.
It had been hoped that the 2ft gauge line would see the return to traffic of Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT No. 744 of 1912 No.14 Rebecca following a major overhaul, but it was not ready in time and was confined to the shed.
Both railways are out-and-back lines with balloon loops and had three locomotives each in operation. There are no volunteers as the centre is completely manned by paid staff, so all six locomotives were worked by just two driver/ guards.
Each locomotive ran in turn, going to the back of the queue in the run-round loop on return to the terminus. One then waited while the other two each headed the train, facing the opposite way to its previous working. The 2ft gauge trains departed every half hour.
The 2ft gauge line was operated with three Motor Rail Simplex 4wDMs, ostensibly all to a similar design but now looking different due to rebuilt bodywork in two cases. One was modified when in industrial use and the other for operation on pleasure lines.
The centre’s mainstay is No. 8877 of 1944 Ivor with a steam outline body in bright green. The usual standby locomotive, with no running identity as yet but previously named Eden (MR 20058 of 1949), has box-like bodywork dating from its peat works days before preservation. The other, Sir Tom (No. 40S273 of 1966), retains a more conventional Simplex style in blue livery, but with a lowered cab – precluding one driver from using it!
The three locomotives in use on the miniature railway were: Arthur (Cromar White ‘Hymek’ No. D7011), originally at Twycross Zoo and now running as a Bo-Bo battery-electric loco; 4wPH+T Milly (Pfeifferbahn No. 20 of 1993); and green and yellow Bo-BoPM Rio Grande (Arnold Bimpson, 1982), which appears only at such events.
A third railway at the centre is a 7¼in gauge coin-in-the-slot selfdrive for small children, with Toby the tram engine No. 7, a Parkside 4wBE. This family attraction has plenty of indoor and outdoor play areas with modern equipment and activities, including a railwaythemed soft play area in the old goods shed. However, there is also much of interest for the enthusiast. Six former BR Mk1 coaches, headed by former Bass brewery Baguley 0-4-0DM No. 3357 of 1952 Boris, are in the platforms of the restored station. The coaches contain a display of high-quality model railways, some with push-button controlled trains.
Furthermore, many historic and rare narrow gauge wagons are dotted around the site, which also has a model village and a tin mine, together with lots of gnomes on view alongside the railways. See www.devonrailwaycentre.co.uk for further details.