Pendon Museum Trust Ltd.
Long Wittenham
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 4QD
Tel: 01865 407365
Registered Charity No. 313614

All images and text
© Pendon Museum Trust.
The Dartmoor Scene


Pendon's Dartmoor scene represents the beginning of an imaginary Great Western branch line, straggling north-westwards from South Devon into Cornwall. The branch makes a junction with the GWR main line from Exeter to Plymouth where it runs high along the southern edge of Dartmoor. Appropriately the buildings at the lonely junction station of 'Pen Tor Road' recall those once standing at Ivybridge and Yelverton, themselves on the edge of the Moor.



Pendon's iconic "Long Goods" on the model timber trestle viaduct at Pendon, based on Brunel's magnificent Walkham viaduct.


Shortly after leaving the station, a long viaduct carries the branch across wild moorland scenery. Both Devon and Cornwall imposed remarkable engineering demands on the railway builders, and perhaps no feature made this more evident than the lofty and striking timber viaducts designed by Brunel to carry the rails across deep river valleys. Many were rebuilt with steel trusses, but a few survived into Pendon's chosen period of 1923-1939. A particularly fine example was that over the Walkham River near Tavistock; it was 1100 feet long and 132 feet above the river. Except for a slight curve at each end, and one less pier than the seventeen of the original, Pendon's model is a faithful representation of Brunel's design. As with the rest of the project, it is built to a scale of 4mm to the foot, and works out at l3ft 6in long. It is made mostly of balsa wood.



A Great Western train crossing the viaduct on the Dartmoor Scene above the famous pink sheep.


Behind the viaduct, the tors of Dartmoor recede into the distance while in the foreground, in the shadow of the trains passing overhead, is a small impoverished farm.



Pen Tor Road Station Footbridge


On the platform, in the unhurried atmosphere of a country branch line, a waiting passenger can be seen asking the station foreman the time of the next train. Two Western National buses stand in front of the station buildings in an area decorated with flower baskets and tropical palms, while in the small goods yard, coal wagons wait to be unloaded. Other details complete the picture of a country station in the 1930s, including typical notices warning against trespassing, and about not crossing the line, 'Except by Means of the Bridge'; sombre evergreens line the station approach in characteristic Great Western fashion.



A workman's train, hauled by a member of the 633 class heads out of Pendon Parva towards Porthkerrick


The Dartmoor scene is fully operational, and several different sequences of trains can be seen, with full commentary from a member of staff.



A Milk and Parcels train hauled by the straight framed "Bulldog" class member 3407 Madrass


 The Dartmoor Scene