Dobwalls Adventure Park
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Dobwalls Adventure Park was a family-run visitor attraction in the village of Dobwalls, near
Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. Founded in 1970 by John Southern, the park was one of Cornwall's top visitor attractions, consisting 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, but in June 2007 it was announced that it would not reopen in its original form as an adventure park.Bidding a tearful farewell to popular Adventure Park
Article on ThisisCornwall website
The redevelopment projects stalled, with the John Southern Gallery and new camping site closing. The administrators were called in and the site, complete with many of the original buildings and landscapes still in existence were put up for sale by sealed bid auction.


Miniature railway networks

The main attractions in the park were the gauge miniature railway networks that were based on two very different American railroad routes, the Rio Grande Cumbres Pass line and the Sherman Hill route of the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
; 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 on a passenger-carrying miniature railway. The line wove in and out of a forest, recreating the Colorado railroads. The Union Pacific route was opened in 1979, due to the success of the Rio Grande system, and added another miniature railway network to travel on. It was modelled closely on the real Union Pacific Sherman Hill line in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
and had a ruling gradient of 1:66 (1.51%), a very steep hill for a railway. In October 2006 it was announced that after over 25 years in operation, the Union Pacific railroad was to close. The last train ran on 29 October 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.


Locomotives

The locomotives were as follows: When the park closed in 2006 all the locomotives were made available for sale, and in early 2008 eight of them were sold to a gentleman in Dorset to run at
Plowman's Railroad Plowman's Railroad operates the collection of gauge American outline steam and diesel locomotives from the former Dobwalls Adventure Park and is located at Plowmans Garden Nursery & Plant Centre Ltd, West Parley, Ferndown, Dorset. The rolling s ...
near Ferndown in Dorset. The Dorset railway is no longer running and the locomotives have 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 The Puffing Billy Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne, Australia. The railway was one of the five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways which opened around the beg ...
' in Australia. As an update, the seven-and-a-quarter railway will not be built. The local council has denied it.


Redevelopment work

The park was closed for major redevelopment including 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 increasing competition and falling profits. The Go Kart track was due be demolished, and some of the play equipment removed. The Southern Gallery was due to remain until its new home is completed. Since then the land was available for sale in 2012.Dobwalls Adventure Park on the Market
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See also

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Ridable miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petrol ...
*
Diamond Valley Railway The Diamond Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railway located at Eltham Lower Park, Eltham, Victoria (a suburb of Melbourne, Australia). The railway operates a variety of live steam, battery electric and petrol/diesel powered locomotives. ...


References


External links

{{Ridable miniature railways in England Tourist attractions in Cornwall Defunct amusement parks in England Miniature railways in the United Kingdom 1970 establishments in England 2006 disestablishments in England Defunct amusement parks in the United Kingdom 7¼ in gauge railways in England