The Adventure Begins
Welcome to the wonderful Barle Valley Railway.
Breaking News
It gets windy on the Barle Valley!
A report from your roving reporter Chuffing Trumpington
It gets windy on the Barle Valley!
A report from your roving reporter Chuffing Trumpington
The chairman & managing director of the BVR Sir Wilebore Strangely - Brown has decided to modernise the BVR and save the planet with the introduction of wind power locomotion .
The BVR Aero-tram's ( Plateway Models 7/8 kit ) rolling chassis had it's first test run on the Woody Bay Garden Railway in December . All went well for the first circuit ,however by the second circuit speed had increased so much it was practically air born. Taking corners on two wheels it was luckily caught by Arthur Cole as it took off towards the L&B loco shed !!
No more runs until a suitable speed control is fitted .
The body is now completed and this morning the loco posed with a proud Sir Wilebore in a snowy BVR's Withypool yard .
There is no truth in the rumour the BVR wants to replace steam with wind!
Please enjoy some recently taken photographs of the Windmobile by courtesy of Chris
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The Pasty Express making good headway Jim Wild's 7/8ths conversion 'Firefly'
THE BARLE VALLEY RAILWAY 12" - 1'
Based on a proposed 8 1/2 mile 2' gauge railway to run from Dulverton in West Somerset through the valley of the River Barle to Withypool on Exmoor with a further 1 mile mineral extension to Blackland Iron Mine and a possible further extension to Wheal Eliza Copper Mine.
The route was surveyed in 1877, but the mines never prospered and the line never built .
The deposited plans are in the Somerset Record Office .
A number of mines in the area had short tramway systems including Blackland Mine which boasted a lengthy cable operated incline up to a roadside loading bay
By the 1920's all mining had ceased . Some sites were worked for a short period during WW2 .
THE BARLE VALLEY RAILWAY 7/8" Scale
The first garden line was built in 1977 to 16mm scale . Following a house move the new line was begun in 1985 .
Since 2000 it has gradually evolved into the present 7/8" scale line.
The 7/8" locos are a mixture of scratch built , Accucraft & Harvey Watkins creations . The rolling stock is a mixture kit & scratch built + some excellent 3D printed skips by Terry Bowden. The main buildings are constructed using Jigstones . The Cornish engine house is a casting by Terry Vanes .
The line is built around a rockery at a raised level and consists of a 70' circuit of Peco SM32 track with one passing loop and 9 storage sidings .
16mm is still run with a small collection of W&L , NWNG & P&H stock which is big enough not to look too out of place with the 7/8" buildings.
With thanks to Chris for these notes and cracking photos.
Based on a proposed 8 1/2 mile 2' gauge railway to run from Dulverton in West Somerset through the valley of the River Barle to Withypool on Exmoor with a further 1 mile mineral extension to Blackland Iron Mine and a possible further extension to Wheal Eliza Copper Mine.
The route was surveyed in 1877, but the mines never prospered and the line never built .
The deposited plans are in the Somerset Record Office .
A number of mines in the area had short tramway systems including Blackland Mine which boasted a lengthy cable operated incline up to a roadside loading bay
By the 1920's all mining had ceased . Some sites were worked for a short period during WW2 .
THE BARLE VALLEY RAILWAY 7/8" Scale
The first garden line was built in 1977 to 16mm scale . Following a house move the new line was begun in 1985 .
Since 2000 it has gradually evolved into the present 7/8" scale line.
The 7/8" locos are a mixture of scratch built , Accucraft & Harvey Watkins creations . The rolling stock is a mixture kit & scratch built + some excellent 3D printed skips by Terry Bowden. The main buildings are constructed using Jigstones . The Cornish engine house is a casting by Terry Vanes .
The line is built around a rockery at a raised level and consists of a 70' circuit of Peco SM32 track with one passing loop and 9 storage sidings .
16mm is still run with a small collection of W&L , NWNG & P&H stock which is big enough not to look too out of place with the 7/8" buildings.
With thanks to Chris for these notes and cracking photos.
A new photo from Chris showing the full extent of the Barle valley railway
Video from YouTube Courtesy Pete Chandler
I do hope that you agree, what a wonderfully evocative line this is! A true testament to its builder.
Thank you Chris for the excellent photos,
Thank you Chris for the excellent photos,
