Dobwalls Adventure Park was a family-run visitor attraction in the village of Dobwalls, near Liskeard, Cornwall. Founded in 1970, by John Southern OBE, the park was one of Cornwall's top visitor attractions.
The park consisted of two miniature railway networks complemented by large play areas and recreational grounds, both indoors and outdoors, an award-winning art gallery and woodland walks.
The park closed at the end of the 2006 season for redevelopment work. In June 2007 it was announced that it would not reopen in its original form as an adventure park.[1]
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The main attraction in the park was the 7 1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge miniature railway networks. It was based on two very different American railroad routes, the Rio Grande Cumbres Pass line and the Sherman Hill route of the Union Pacific Railroad; passengers were whisked through tunnels, over bridges and trestles and into canyons.
The Rio Grande line was opened in 1970 and included a 1:25 (4%) gradient, the steepest climb anywhere in the world on a passenger-carrying miniature railway. The line wove in and out of a magnificent forest, recreating the wonders of the Colorado railroads.
The Union Pacific route was opened in 1979, due to the success of the Rio Grande system, and added another stunning miniature railway network to travel on. It was modelled closely on the real Union Pacific Sherman Hill line in Wyoming and had a ruling gradient was 1:66 (1.51%), a very steep hill for a 7 1⁄4 in (184 mm) railway.
In October 2006 it was announced that after over 25 years in operation, the Union Pacific railroad was to close. The last train over the rails, fittingly hauled by Big Boy, ran on October 29th 2006.
June 2007 saw the announcement that the remaining Rio Grande route would not reopen for the 2008 season, and would be replaced by a shorter simplified line.
Dobwalls was home to nine replicas of American giant locomotives, each now worth in excess of £50,000 .
The locomotives were as follows:
Steam Locomotives
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 No. X4008 "William Jeffers"
Union Pacific 4-8-2 No. 818 "Queen of Wyoming"
Union Pacific 4-8-2 No. 838 "Queen of Nebraska"
Rio Grande 2-8-2 No. 488 "General Palmer" (Sold separately, 2008, and due to depart the UK to Australia to Puffing Billy train steam theme park in Melbourne.)
Rio Grande 2-8-2 No. 498 "Otto Mears"
Freelance 2-6-2 No. 88 "David Curwen" (Sold in 2005 - this locomotives is now at the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway)
Diesel Locomotives
Union Pacific DDA40X Do-Do No.6908 "Centennial"
Rio Grande GP35 Bo-Bo No.3008 "Mathias Baldwin"
Santa Fe FP45 Co-Co No.5908 "Pioneer"
Amtrak E8 No. 248 "Spirit of America"
When the park closed in 2006, all the locomotives were made available for sale.
In early 2008, eight of the locomotives were sold to a gentleman in Dorset to run at Plowman's Railroad near Ferndown in Dorset.[2]The Dorset railway is no longer running.
The locomotives have been since been exported to Australia as part of a private project to build a seven and a quarter inch railroad next to the 'Puffing Billy Railway' in Australia.[3].
The park is now closed for major redevelopment which will include the construction of new holiday lodges, a new arts centre and various other adjustments designed to boost income to the park at a time when many theme parks are feeling the pinch of increasing competition and falling profits. The existing Go Kart track will also be demolished in the process. The Southern Gallery will remain until its new home is completed. It has also been announced that some of the play equipment would be removed during the redevelopment.[1]
Construction of the first phase of 15 uniquely designed holiday homes is nearing completion. For more information visit the Falcon Ridge link at the bottom of the page.
The Southern Gallery is still open at the Dobwalls site
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