Cornish Model Railway

Class 25 on Cornish Model Railway

Cornish Model Railway is a model railway based around the area of Tregonning Hill in Cornwall. It has been in the building ProgresS for AbOUT five years. It is a home based railway and does not make any money or profit. Lately the layout has made great and vast progress and a website has been created to show everyone the progress of the railway and layout.

The layout is not a transportable one which goes to Model Railway Exhibitions it is a permanent layout which stays at home. The railway is set in modern times 1990's to the Present day and is themed around the area of Tregonning Hill in Cornwall. Tregonning Hill was the first place where china clay was discovered by William Cookworthy.

It is a 'OO' gauge layout and most of the engines and rolling STOCK are fairly modern. The locomotives that are bought only tend to be ones that can be, or were, found in Cornwall and the South West. The most recent engine that was purchased was the First Great Western 57602 'Restormel Castle'. This is one of the engines that operates the night riveara sleeper service to London Paddington from Penzance. Soon after purchasing First Great Western 57602, Hornby Mk II First Great Western 'Fag Packet' carriages where added to the train to develop the Sleeper Service.

Website

The New logo for Cornish Model Railway

Because the progress of the model railway was so huge it was thought that designing and creating a website to show people the progress was an excellent idea. The domain name: http://www.cornishmodelrailway.co.uk was bought in April 2007. This first website was built in Microsoft Publisher but the website didn't look that professional. Then in May 2007 a massive site rebuild in WYSIWYG Web Builder meant that the site had brand new features including, Photo Galleries, Contact Forms, Email Newsletter Subscription, Flash, Drop Down Menus and Link Submission Form. The new website is much more user friendly and a great way to show and inform people of the latest developments of the model railway. Along with the rebuild of the site Cornish Model Railway changed the look of the 'corporate image'! Even though not a company, a new logo was designed and website layout looks more professional and modern.

What the Future Holds for the Model Railway

The main China Clay yard on the layout (Tregonning Depot) is nearing completion. However there are plans underway for a brand new housing and shopping development in the main village area. Three of the main sidings, will be torn up to make way for the new development. Work is estimated to start around Autumn 2008. As any modeller knows no model railway is ever complete there is nearly always something you can add or take away which will improve it. For the moment who knows what the future holds for the layout but at this time there is too much work to be getting on with than to worry about future plans.

See also

  • Cornwall - Lots of General Information about Cornwall and heritage.
  • China Clay - More information about China Clay
  • Helston Railway Preservation Company Information on the aim to restore the branch line.