SR West Country Class No. 34016 Bodmin

21C116 Bodmin is a Southern Railway West Country class 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive that has been preserved. It is presently undergoing a mainline standard overhaul at the Carnforth Motive Power Depot.
==Career==
21C116 was built in November 1945 at the SR's Brighton Works and in August 1946 the engine was named Bodmin by the namesakes then town mayor (the name Bodmin coming from the name of a cornish town in Cornwall).
Outshopped in Southern Railway malachite green with the number 21C116, the engine upon entering service in 1945 was based at Exmouth Junction for the duration of it's days working for the Southern Railway and for the first few years working for British Railways. Following it's ownership change to British Railways the engine was repainted into BR Brunswick Green with the early British Railways crest (cycling lion) and recieved the number 34016. The engines duties during it's time at Exmouth Junction included hauling the "Devon Belle" from Exeter and Ilfracombe alongside other express passenger trains from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton and Bere Alston.
34016 was to be transferred to Ramsgate, Kent in February 1958 but before changing sheds the engine was taken to Eastleigh Works and rebuilt to it's present shape. The rebuild included removal of it's air smoothed casing which was replaced by conventional boiler cladding, the chain driven valve gear was replaced by modified Walschaerts valve gear fitted both outside as well as between the frames. Rebuilding of 34016 plus other members of the light pacific class removed a large number of maintenance problems for the class but retained excellent features from the original design including the Bulleid Firth Brown wheels. The costs of repairs we're also reduced by 60% and the coal consimption was reduced by 8.4%. The engines weight however increased due to the Walschaerts valve gear and meant they we're prohibited from certain routes. (One hundred and ten light pacific's we're built & 34016 was one of the sixty engines to be rebuilt before the programme was dropped in 1960).
Upon returning to service in April 1958 after being in Eastleigh Works for 40 days, the engine was allocated to Ramsgate shed. Another change of shed took place thirteen months later and the engine was transferred to Bricklayers Arms from May 1959. A final shed transfer took place in May 1961 when 34016 was relocated to Eastleigh for the locomotives final years in service. The engine was used on trains between London Waterloo and Southampton Docks alongside express's to Weymouth.
===Naming===
Bodmin was named after the town of Bodmin in Cornwall and of the sixty-six "West Country" light pacifics to be built, 34016 was one of thirty "West Country" light pacifics to carry a coat of arms during it's service days.
==Withdrawal and preservation==
With the decline of steam operations on the Southern region by the 1960's, 34016 was withdrawn from service in June 1964 and was sold then towed by rail to Barry Scrapyard.
The engine remained at Woodham Brothers scrapyard until July 1972 when the engine was purchased by John Bunch and left the yard for preservation in July of the same year. 34016 was moved to Quainton Road near Aylesbury, now part of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, before moving to the Mid-Hants Railway in 1976 for restoration to working order from it's scrapyard condition. 
==Return to Steam & Mainline Service==
Following three years of restoration work Bodmin returned to service on the Mid Hants Railway after restoration in 1979. The restoration had taken some 30,000 man hours and earned a special mention in the annual awards of the Association of Railway Preservation Societies. For a large number of years the engine remained as a regular performer on the railway until it's withdrawal from traffic in 1999 for a heavy general overhaul following expiry of it's boiler certificate. 
The Mid Hants Railway which had now started to operate it's "Green Train" railtours wanted to use 34016 on their railtours and following the expiry of fellow MHR resident's boiler ticket was to take over from the MHR's BR Standard class 5 4-6-0 number 73096 (this engine also being owned by Bodmin's owner John Bunch). 34016 was to replace 73096 on the railways "Daylight Railtours" programme which was to include a railtour from Alton to Bridgnorth on 1st April 2000. The engine wasn't finished intime with the MHR replacing it with fellow MHR resident SR U Class 2-6-0 number 31625 (a 3rd engine owned by John Bunch), following the U-Boat's failure and with 34016 still not finished the tour had to be hauled by Ian Riley's LMS Black 5 4-6-0 number 45407. Bodmin was eventually completed later in 2000 and was certified to operate on the mainline hauling railtours which included Steam Dreams "Cathedrals Express" until 2001.
The engines boiler ticket eventually expired in 2009 and was placed into storage to await it's turn for overhaul, due to a loan agreement between the MHR and complications with it's owner John Bunch the engine was to remain on the railway until 2014 when the loan agreement expired. Following this Bodmin plus John Bunch's other engines (31625, 31806 & 73096 would be relocated from the MHR). 
Bodmin was moved dead by rail behind a diesel from the Mid Hants Railway to Southall MPD on Wed 25 June 2014. The locomotive was to then be moved from Southall MPD to Steamtown, Carnforth to undergo a mainline standard overhaul (the depot now no longer being a museum and open to the public, now being the headquarters of West Coast Railways). The locomotive departed Southall behind a diesel on Thu 10 July 2014 at 10:30am but the move had to be terminated in Rugby due to a hot axlebox on 34016, a resheduled move on the same day saw 34016 still in tow behind a diesel left Rugby at 8:30pm but following another hot axlebox on 34016 the move had to be terminated at Stafford on the same day. 
The move also included a BR MK1 coach which was to be used on a railtour hauled by fellow Carnforth based steam engine 5972 Olton Hall/Hogwarts Castle on a railtour. The coach however wouldn't arrive at Carnforth until after the empty coaching stock for "The Wizards Express" on Sat 12 July so had to be attached to the train at Carnforth alongside 5972 Olton Hall/Hogwarts Castle for it's journey to York. 34016 remained at Stafford until just before 1am on Sat 12 July and running overnight at reduced speed between two diesels arrived in Carnforth around 6:26am.
As of May 2024, still owned by John Bunch the engine is undergoing it's mainline standard overhaul at Carnforth with the intention of having the engine take over from Chris Beet's LMS "Jubilee" class 4-6-0 number 45690 Leander following the expiry of the engines mainline certificate in October 2023 and boiler certificate in May 2024. The engine is expected to return to traffic in late 2024/early 2025 as part of Carnforth's pool of mainline certified engines alongside fellow southern railway classmate 34067 Tangmere & merchant navy 35018 British India Line.
==Trivia==
* The engines nameplates were temporarily fitted to fellow Carnforth based resident, Southern Railway rebuilt "Merchant Navy" number 35018 British India Line in 2017. This being as an attempt to trick rail enthusiasts into believing that Bodmin had undergone it's overhaul and was back in traffic. They we're later removed and 35018 had it's own merchant navy style British India Line nameplates fitted after testing was completed and the engine had been painted into it's authentic BR Lined Green from plain black.
* The engine when first completed in 1945 ran with a 4,500 gallon Bulleid tender, which was swapped with another 4,500 gallon example in 1946. When rebuilt into it's present shape it was paired with a 5,500 gallon Bulleid tender and the engine has run with this type of tender for the remainder of it's working career with British Railways and into preservation the engine still runs with a 5,500 gallon Bulleid tender.
* The engine presently wear's red backed nameplates plus it's coat of arms above the nameplates.
* Claim to fame whilst at Ramsgate, 'Bodmin' was selected to haul a special for the Italian President from Dover to London Victoria on the 13 May 1958.
==External links==
Category:Preserved locomotives
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Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
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