Bodiam will make more history this Easter when it makes a holiday visit to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in Cornwall; this is believed to be the first incursion of one of this iconic class to the Duchy and it will be most interesting to discover how the engine copes with the formidable gradients. 

This is also the first time the engine has left K&ES metals since the major rebuild that culminated in its return to traffic at the hugely popular ATGAS event in May 2006.  Indeed, since preservation, it has only made one other appearance off the light railway – which was to Didcot in September/October 1984 as BR No.32670

The trip has been arranged with B&WR as a swap for their star attraction, Beattie Well Tank No.30587, which is lined-up for an inaugural journey to the K&ESR for the Open Weekend, 14th and 15th March.

Marketed as a Branch Line Weekend, the BWT will be joined in service by Bodiam and resident P-class No.753, which will celebrate its centenary next year.  A 45-minute frequency of trains is being promoted for each day, starting from 10.30am; for more details including purchase of tickets in advance on-line, please refer to the main K&ESR website

HN-15/12/2008