Call for Regular Service to Bodmin General

[whole diary]

[Andy]

Apparently, this week questions were raised in Parliament regarding the possibility of establishing regular services to Bodmin General and Okehampton in order to improve access to the rail network from North Cornwall, an area which was particularly hard-hit by the closures of the 60s.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/regular-passenger-service-run-Bodmin-General/story-19342069-detail/story.html#axzz2WvvnbMW2

I'm assuming the idea is to have some kind of shuttle between Bodmin General & Bodmin Road to serve commuters, running before & after the heritage service, as I imagine the cost/benefit ratio of altering the track layout at the east end of Bodmin Road to enable some sort of all-stations service direct from Bodmin General to Plymouth would make it unfeasible. 

[LiskeardRich]

The idiot of an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) wants to run main line services from London through Bodmin General. I could only wonder where the infrastructure for this is coming from!

[Andy]

The idiot of an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) wants to run main line services from London through Bodmin General. I could only wonder where the infrastructure for this is coming from!

Oh dear, so it's a cuckoo on a cloud eating pie in the sky!

[LiskeardRich]

Indeed, his pitch to local media was so ridiculous it was funny. The thing was none of them queried the lack of infrastructure.
He also wanted a new station "Okehampton Parkway" next to the A30 to serve the Bude area.

[chrisoates]

Indeed, his pitch to local media was so ridiculous it was funny. The thing was none of them queried the lack of infrastructure.
He also wanted a new station "Okehampton Parkway" next to the A30 to serve the Bude area.

If I remember correctly.
Approach BOD and cross over to the up - change ends and reverse in platform 2 - change ends and reverse across the ground frame  to the engine shed - change ends - set two manual points - reverse onto platform 3 - change ends, set manual points and continue to Bodmin General.
I don't think anything but a 153 or 150 will fit in the platform 3 engine shed spur.

[chrisoates]

Had a look today - the cross over is at Lostwithiel and you would only get a 153 across the ground frame into Parkway platform 3.

Looked at platform 3 which could be connected to the main line except for a few problems.

You would need two sets of points one of which would be on the road bridge - this would need a trap to protect the main line and whatever was derailed would end up in the river at the bottom of a steep embankment.
 

[rower40]

I'm assuming the idea is to have some kind of shuttle between Bodmin General & Bodmin Road to serve commuters, running before & after the heritage service, as I imagine the cost/benefit ratio of altering the track layout at the east end of Bodmin Road to enable some sort of all-stations service direct from Bodmin General to Plymouth would make it unfeasible. 

The exchange siding between Network Rail and Bodmin&Wenford infrastructure is long enough for a 2car unit; at the end of 2012, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) lent the B&W a class 150 for a day. As already stated, there's no crossover at Bodmin Parkway between the Down and Up lines, so trains using the exchange siding have to have come from Lostwithiel to get on to the B&W, and then go towards Liskeard when they get back onto NR^» (Network Rail - home page) metals.

The B&W signalling allows a train to be 'locked in' to the line between Bodmin General and Bodmin Parkway; so after the heritage operation has finished (normally about 1630 each day), a DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) could be shunted into the platform at Bodmin General and locked in.  It could then shuttle between General and Parkway as often as demand required, needing only a driver and a guard - i.e. Bodmin General signalbox would not necessarily need to be manned.  But this would prevent the B&W from running their occasional evening Dining and Murder Mystery trains.

[grahame]

The exchange siding between Network Rail and Bodmin&Wenford infrastructure is long enough for a 2car unit; at the end of 2012, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) lent the B&W a class 150 for a day ...

Welcome to the forum, Rower40 - and many thanks for filling us in on the infrastructure at Bodmin Parkway and the line through to Bodmin General.

As someone who doesn't know much anything about the specifics of Bodmin, I have to wonder at the practicality of transferring a 2 car dmu on and off the line on a regular basis under current infrastructure, in order to provide a morning / evening commuter service (to Plymouth?) and longer distance connections.  Of course, that's not to say that  the infrastructure couldn't be changed if the business case were there, or different operating arrangements made such as a more permanent residence (a la Stourbridge Town, Lymington, Cardiff Bay, etc)

[rower40]

I was assuming that it would be the Bodmin & Wenford's (heritage) DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) that would be used for the shuttle service.  In that way, the only shunting that needs to be done is at Bodmin General.

In order to unlock the points between the Exchange Siding and Bodmin Parkway platform 3, the shunter must have the Bodmin General to Bodmin Parkway train staff.  This is issued by the Bodmin General signalman (not signaller!).  Under present arrangements, this has to be taken to Bodmin General by road if the B&W is to take delivery of stock from the main line, or if a loco is to be brought up from the Parkway shed.

However, there's a plan for the B&W to build a signalbox at Bodmin Parkway; then a token could be taken out at either end (but only one at a time) for a movement to the other end, and any shunting at Parkway could be performed under control of a signalman there.  That signalman would liaise with the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) signaller at Lostwithiel for movements to/from the Exchange siding.

(I'm one of the volunteer signalmen at Bodmin General.  However, I live and work in Derby, and my association with the B&W is an accident of history!)

[trainer]

Good to have you on the forum, rower40.

Can you tell me if the B&W job titles remain gender specific because of the heritage nature of the operation, because there coincidentally happen to be no women in that specific department or because jobs are allocated as per some point in history?

[rower40]

Can you tell me if the B&W job titles remain gender specific because of the heritage nature of the operation, because there coincidentally happen to be no women in that specific department or because jobs are allocated as per some point in history?

The last of your three options.  In any event, the 'man' in Signalman, Fireman etc refers to their membership of the human race, not just the Y-chromosome-carrying half.  This means the job can't be re-assigned to a computer.

[Red Squirrel]

In any event, the 'man' in Signalman, Fireman etc refers to their membership of the human race, not just the Y-chromosome-carrying half

Well, no. NR^» (Network Rail - home page) employs signallers (human ones), not signalmen, because language is important. It is not good enough to say 'women shouldn't take offence' - some will, and some will feel excluded by the suffix -man. Are you happy to offend and exclude?

On a heritage railway I would expect signage to reflect the mores and norms of the period - but I would not expect its social attitudes and organisation to do so.

[LiskeardRich]

In any event, the 'man' in Signalman, Fireman etc refers to their membership of the human race, not just the Y-chromosome-carrying half

Well, no. NR^» (Network Rail - home page) employs signallers (human ones), not signalmen, because language is important. It is not good enough to say 'women shouldn't take offence' - some will, and some will feel excluded by the suffix -man. Are you happy to offend and exclude?

This is ridiculous. Postman, Fireman, policeman, boatman, are all long term traditional job titles.

[Red Squirrel]

This is ridiculous. Postman, Fireman, policeman, boatman, are all long term traditional job titles.

...that have been replaced by postal officer, firefighter, police officer etc.

No, I agree, it's rediculous, they'll be giving them the vote next! 

[Zoe]

Network Rail do still (or at least did until very recently) use the term "Pilotman" though.