Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Narrow Gauge World

“No mention of the massive role the UK played in global rail development by exporting narrow gauge to the world…” Not long after I first took the hot seat of this illustrious publication in 2009, I started getting sent particularly superb sets of pictures each July. Combining dramatic Cumbrian scenery with true industrial grit they always screamed for use on the cover or centre-spread, and I soon learnt they were taken at the annual Gala and photo charter day of a not too well-known mining museum called Threlkeld. It seemed impossible to go there without coming away with excellent images. I resolved to visit Threlkeld but was constantly thwarted by clashes with my then ‘other job’ in motorsport journalism. Once we nearly made it – my wife agreed to a…

The private Richmond Light Railway in Kent will stage a second event for the first time in September following the success of the 2ft gauge line’s latest Charity Steam Fair on 9th August. Tickets for the highly regarded annual event sold out in less than seven days, raising more than £3000 for the Riding for the Disabled Association. Visitors who secured tickets were able to enjoy five of the line’s locomotives on trains – Bagnall 0-4-0ST ‘Pixie’, Hunslet 0-4-0STs ‘Elin’ and ‘Sybil’, Decauville 0-4-0T ‘Lily’ and Couillet 0-4-0T ‘Chuquitanata’. The action included double-headed workings and a slate train demonstration. Vertical boiler 0-4-0 ‘Leary’ offered Driver for a Fiver workings in the engine shed road and at the end of the day ventured out onto the main line with a slate…

Diana tour heads for finale The tour of Phil Mason’s Kerr, Stuart 0-4-0T ‘Diana’ will continue into September. After starring at Gala events at Threlkeld (above) in July and on the West Lancs Light Railway in August, the loco will appear at the Leighton Buzzard Railway Gala on 6th-7th September, its final runs before the expiry of its boiler ticket at the end of October. £42k boosts Threlkeld Threlkeld Museum has been awarded a £42,000 grant from Cumberland Council towards its new museum building project. With other grants and donations already received, reported in NGW192, work can start on the next stage of the build. Anyone interested in contributing to the project can obtain information from quarryrailway@gmail.com Parts shortage stops diesel Plans for Mitsubishi diesel DL-34 from the Alishan Forest…

The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway has sold Kerr, Stuart 0-4-2T ‘Bonnie Dundee’ and 0-2-2 vertical boiler loco ‘Flower of the Forest’ to the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway (CCLR). The announcement caused disquiet among some R&ER members, who accused the railway’s owners of asset-stripping, despite both engines having been based at Cleethorpes for some time. Bonnie Dundee, originally a 2ft gauge loco built in 1900 for Dundee gasworks, last worked on the R&ER in 2005 and re-entered service at the CCLR in 2021 following an overhaul. Flower of the Forest, a tram-style loco, was built by the R&ER for Arbroath enthusiast Ian Fraser in 1987 and returned to the line after his death in 1992. Used primarily at Thomas weekends and Galas, it was transferred to the CCLR in 2016. The…

CZECHIA Narrow gauge industrial railways are becoming increasingly rare in Europe and so the recent closure of the 790mm gauge system at Vítkovice steel works near Ostrava in eastern Moravia is a considerable loss (reports Keith Chester). This railway ceased working in June after 145 years of locomotive operations. Its first four engines were delivered by Floridsdorf in 1880 and over the years some 50 steam locos, all 0-4-0Ts reflecting the sharp curvature of the internal railway, are recorded as working there. The last steam loco disappeared in the 1970s, replaced by 11 four-wheel diesel hydraulics of type DH200 designed and manufactured at the machinery factory at Martin in Slovakia between 1970 and 1973; a further five were erected at Vítkovice itself in 1981-84. The photos show Vítkovice no II (Floridsdorf…

After my second visit to Syria in 2007, described in NGW195, I moved on down the Hejaz Railway to Jordan. In the days of the Ottoman Empire the distinction between the two countries didn’t exist and there was just one railway administration, but more than 70 years later the railway in Jordan seemed to have acquired a distinct character. British-mandated rule in Jordan and Palestine began in 1922, and a year later limited self-government in Jordan was granted to Emir Abdullah. His family has ruled the country ever since, and he became the king when full independence was achieved in 1946. The present King Abdullah II is his great-grandson. The British handed over responsibility for the railway to the Emir in 1924, but in practice it was run as a…

Books can change your life. As a young enthusiast in the 1960s the local library was my only source of information on the narrow gauge railways I had visited on holiday. One title I borrowed was Pat Whitehouse’s On the Narrow Gauge, a book containing a lot of interestingmaterial on Wales and Ireland. But it also ranged far more widely and for the first time my eyes were opened to lines beyond the British Isles. The introduction it gave me to European routes quickly developed into a lifelong fascination with narrow gauge around the world. “It could run for little more than five months of the year…” One of the railways covered was Switzerland’s metre gauge rack-and-adhesion Furka-Oberalp-Bahn (FO), a line remarkable enough to have featured in English-language publications…

Peco’s latest addition to its burgeoning range of 009 scale items are a pair of starter train packs, inspired by the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway and based on the various items of L&B stock the manufacturer already offers. The two packs both take as their centre piece the ‘Exmoor Pony’, the fictional version of the Ffestiniog Railway England 0-4-0ST marketed by Peco and Kato, and wearing a Southern Railway livery. This is combined with the L&B all-third and brake-composite bogie carriages in Southern livery, or a ‘freight pack’ containing a four-wheeled open wagon and van, a bogie wagon and a brake van, again all with Southern Railway lettering. The passenger pack carries the fictitious image a bit further as the carriages are finished in malachite green, a colour not used…

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A quartet of locomotives represented the A narrow gauge at what was considered the major event of ‘Railway 200’, marking the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Ffestiniog Railway England 0-4-0ST ‘Prince’, Statfold NG Trust Hunslet 0-4-ST ‘Trangkil No.4’, and the 15-inch pairing of Heywood 0-4-0T ‘Katie’ from Ravenglass Railway Museum and Perrygrove Railway Exmoor 0-6-2T ‘Anne’, all ran at ‘The Greatest Gathering’, held at the Derby works of rail rolling stock manufacturer Alstom between 1st and 3rd August. The locos formed part of an extravaganza featuring more than 140 steam, diesel and electric locos and rolling stock, including standard gauge steam ranging from the original Stockton & Darlington ‘Locomotion No.1’ to a 9F 2-10-0 and featuring famed locos such as A1 Pacific ‘Tornado’, A2…

Just as this issue of NGW was closing for press the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust announced the results of its member consultation on options for the future extension of the line. The consultation followed the rejection in May by the Exmoor National Park Planning Authority of the Trust’s application to extend its 0.9-mile long running line by a further 0.6-mile, from its current limit of operations at Killington Lane to Cricket Field Lane, just short of Parracombe village. Planners threw out the application on the grounds of causing harm to the scenic beauty and character of the national park, to the Parracombe conservation area and listed buildings within it. The consultation amongst Trust members presented six options for the way forward and 97 per cent of respondents voted against…

The oldest surviving Isle of Man Railway bogie carriage has returned to the island after being sold by the Vale of Rheidol Railway to the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association (IoMSRSA). The sale of carriage F6, built in 1876 by Brown, Marshalls in Birmingham as part of the original order for the Manx line, forms part of the continuing clearance of the late Peter Rampton’s ‘Collection X’ from its Surrey home, which is being vacated by the VoR, today the collection’s custodian. F6 was withdrawn in the 1970s but saved from scrapping in November 1974 when Rampton and fellow enthusiast Nigel Bowman negotiated a deal with the scrap dealer to acquire several historic carriages including two Cleminson vehicles. Carriage F68 has since been restored and is displayed in…

The Talyllyn Railway has reached the first target of its ‘75 Appeal’ to raise match funding for the mid-Wales line’s major ‘Preserving our Past, Building Our Future’ redevelopment project. Launched in March last year and detailed in NGW183, the project proposes major enhancements at Tywyn Wharf and Pendre, including additional volunteer accommodation and a new engineering works and carriage maintenance facilities, as well as building links with the local community and other groups. The Appeal, named in recognition that 2026 will mark the 75th anniversary of the Talyllyn as the world’s first preserved railway, had an initial target of £500,000 to be raised over five years, but this milestone has now been passed in donations and pledges in just over a year. However, the costs of the redevelopment are now…

The Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway reported a record attendance for its Summer Steam Festival on 12th-13th July, which saw Exmoor Steam Railway-built 0-6-2T ‘Anne’ visiting from the Perrygrove Railway ahead of its appearance at The Greatest Gathering in Derby (see page 6). The loco was reunited at Cleethorpes with the 1973-built Severn Lamb steam-outline loco ‘Königswinter’ – now named after the German town twinned with Cleethorpes, the loco last worked with Anne on a line at Longleat Safari Park when they were known respectively as ‘Ceawlin’ and ‘John Hayton’. The weekend saw the CCLR’s 2-6-2 Sandy River locomotive no 24, built at Fairbourne in 1990 and recently overhauled by John Fowler Engineering in Bouth, Cumbria, officially named ‘Lucy-Lou’ by Heather Matthews-Gallagher, daughter of the late Geoff Matthews, a former British…

FRANCE The Museum of French Steam Tramways and Secondary Railways has run a steam-hauled test train along the 1.7-kilometre extension to its metre-gauge running line, to determine the amount of water locos will require when they begin operating the longer services. The line operated the train, hauled by the 1909-built Corpet-Louvet 0-6-0T No.75, on 14th June, with a full rake of seven empty passenger carriages, the weight equivalent to a typical operating set of six vehicles when full with passengers. “On the outward journey, as there was no siding, the ELCH diesel locotractor pulled the train, with the locomotive coupled to the train,” MTVS spokesman Olivier Janneau told NGW. “On the return journey, the steam engine pulled the train, 5km uphill and 1.6km downhill. A second outward journey was made…

The 19th Historik Mobil took place in Saxony, GERMANY on 1st-3rd August (reports Dominic Emery), the major part of the event involving the 750mm gauge Zittauer Schmalspurbahn. The line had five different trains in action during the Saturday and Sunday of the railway Gala, with the promoted highlight the lengthened Saxon State Railways historical train of restored original carriages with added four-wheelers 121K, 107K and double carriage 8K/25K. The platform of the narrow gauge station in Zittau was very full on Saturday morning, a special train of more enthusiasts arriving just before the nine-carriage train including buffet car and accompanying brake/parcels van, which was pulled into the platform by VII K no 99 1749-3. The locomotive uncoupled and went forward to the engine shed. Waiting in the run-round loop to take…

In a country with more than its fair share of magnificent palaces and splendid fortresses, Gwalior stands out. Located on a solitary rocky hill in the central Indian plain, it’s a complex of temples, palaces and (almost impregnable) fortifications, from where rich and powerful dynasties controlled a large, independent principality. Nine-year-old Madhorao Scindia became Maharajah of Gwalior in 1886 and is today known as a progressive and modernising ruler of his state. He was also something of a railway enthusiast: in the early 1890s, whilst still a teenager, he laid a short private 2ft gauge line in the grounds of his Jai Vilas Palace. In 1895 the original small Brush 0-4-2T was supplemented by a Kerr, Stuart 4-4-0. The line continued to grow, eventually reaching a length of about 23.5km…

At NGW we particularly like to see model layouts that are accurate recreations of the real thing, especially lost lines, and our regular correspondent Phil Barnes knows that, so on his various travels around the heritage railway scene of the southeast he keeps his eyes open. Phil recently sent us a set of pictures of this 009, 4mm to the foot scale layout which he reckoned was making its debut at an event held at the standard gauge Bluebell Railway. In fact the layout, built by Nigel Smith and Peter Binns, has been around a while, appearing at a host of shows over the years. Any student of the mid-Wales 2ft4¼in tramway that closed in 1935 will instantly recognise Glyn Ceiriog station, the western passenger terminus of the railway from…

In this issue’s modelling pages we highlight just what’s out there for modellers wanting to recreate the Glyn Valley Tramway in 009, 4mm to the foot scale and now well-known manufacturer Dapol is adding to the selection with a new range of laser-cut card kits. In doing so the manufacturer is reviving a very old brand name in model railways, Kitmaster – long ago used on a range of various plastic kits of model railway and accessories that were later marketed under the Airfix banner. The new range will be called Kitmaster Genesis and initially includes kits for two buildings at the GVT’s Glyn Ceiriog terminus – the station building and the one structure that still remains at the site, the loco shed. Also in the initial range are a…

When the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (RER) entered the preservation era in 1961 its new owners inherited a fairly basic terminus at Ravenglass. There was a handful of wooden buildings flanking five tracks that led to a turntable, all open to the elements. Although redevelopment started almost immediately, it took many years before the station became the high quality and much more weatherproof facility familiar to visitors today. One of the earliest changes was the conversion of the open-fronted shelter on the current platform 1 into a much-needed tea bar. Many enthusiasts will have fond memories of an interior décor that included a large composite black and white aerial photo of the RER route and a ceiling completely covered with railway tea towels. Equally importantly, new toilets were also constructed.…

The Talyllyn Railway has enjoyed unprecedented levels of success with its fifth ‘Awdry Extravaganza’ event, held from 18th-20th July and celebrating the life and legacy of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine. The TR has never run typical Thomas the Tank Engine weekends like several other heritage railways, as Awdry was one of the line’s earliest volunteers and his stories of the narrow gauge Skarloey Railway on the Isle of Sodor based directly on his experiences on the Welsh line. After joining the Preservation Society Awdry first visited the TR with his family in 1952. He became a volunteer guard on the trains, leading to the first Skarloey Railway book Four Little Engines, published in 1955. Several more titles followed. For the event the Talyllyn loco…

The Darnall Locomotive and Railway Heritage Trust has been making major progress on several of its restoration projects. Set up by enthusiast Maddie Dolby with the intention of preserving 2ft gauge items either rejected by other collections or in danger of deterioration, the Trust is currently restoring three significant steam locomotives along with diesel and diesel-electric locos and several items of rolling stock. As well as former South African Railways NG15 2-8-2 ‘Kalahari’ no 120, under restoration at the DLRHT’s base in Sheffield (NGW191), the Trust is restoring Orenstein & Koppel 0-6-0T no 740, built for the Matheran Hill Railway in India and once resident at the Leighton Buzzard Railway, and O&K ‘Luttermoller’ 0-10-0T ‘Nellie’, which ran at a sugar plantation in Argentina. Work on Nellie has been underway at…

The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum in Maine, USA has seen its first locomotive with a separate tender running on its 3.5-mile long 2ft gauge line since 1931. Porter 0-4-0 no 11 (6976/1925) was loaned to the line by the Maine Locomotive & Machine Works, which is located adjacent to the WWF’s running line at Alna, at the end of July to work ‘Lavender Pickin’ trains to SeaLyon Farm on the WWF’s route. The WWF is currently building its own no 11, a reconstruction of the 1907-built Forney 0-4-4T no 7 scrapped in 1937 after damage in a workshop fire. A $120,000 fundraising target for 2025 had already by mid August been exceeded by $15,000.…

The annual Steam Gala at the Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum, on the edge of the Lake District, has become renowned for the interesting roster of visiting locomotives it attracts each year and this year’s event, held between 25th and 27th July, was no different. While previously consisting of a pre-bookable photo charter on the Friday and the Gala over the weekend, this year’s event extended the Gala to all three days, and joining the museum’s resident Bagnall 0-4-0ST ‘Sir Tom’ (2135/1925) were a contrasting trio of visiting engines. Fellow Bagnall 0-4-0ST ‘Woto’ (2133/1924) for many years owned by Patrick Keef but now resident at the Amerton Railway, was enjoying another reunion with Sir Tom, as both engines once worked on the British Insulated Callender’s Cables factory in Erith, Kent…

Half a century ago, the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway began a new era. Early on 7th August 1975, the cargo ship ‘Idiomeneus’ docked at Liverpool with a deck load of four bogie carriages and a 2-6-2T steam locomotive – the mid-Wales 2ft 6in gauge line had imported an entire train from West Africa. To be more accurate the stock had been repatriated – the four passenger vehicles were all products of the Gloucester Carriage & Wagon Company, the locomotive had been built by Hunslet in Leeds, but all five had spent their then short working lives on the 311-mile long Government Railway in Sierra Leone. Such transportation across 3000 miles was not something to faze the Welshpool team – despite having operated as a preserved line for just 12…

There is something special about the Shay locomotive, possibly a lot to do with the sheer oddity of the things – articulated locomotives like no other with vertically mounted banks of cylinders between the trucks with a flailing series of rods and cogs transmitting the power. Certainly when your editor made his first visit to Taiwan in December 2019, a highlight was seeing one of the Alishan Forest Railway’s Shays, admittedly only in light steam moving around Chiayi station. So the launch of a new Shay from G-scale veterans LGB is significant – not in this case one of the Alishan ones (I would be seriously tempted by one of those – Ed) but one that has spent its entire working life in the country of its birth, the USA.…

Talyllyn inspiration in 16mm scale ◼ Not every modeller in the garden railway scale of 16mm wants to go the live-steam route, as just like their full-size counterparts small steam locomotives are attention-heavy. For such exponents, this new battery-powered release from Boot Lane Works may well be of interest as ‘turn on and go’ motive power. Based firmly on the Talyllyn Railway’s Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT ‘Douglas’ and launched at the Welsh line’s recent Anything Goes Gala, ‘Simba’ is a CAD-designed model employing 3D printing and laser-cutting. Measuring 236mm long by 81mm wide with a 64mm wheelbase, the kit is available for 32mm gauge only. Everything required to make the loco is included in the kit apart from paint and glue. Power comes from a 3 to 6-volt motor with four…

Fairbourne memories I have greatly enjoyed the recent I coverage of the (old) Fairbourne railway in NGW, and it was the destination of an annual family outing, to the seaside, from the Midlands 60 or more years ago. Nostalgia-wise, although it was always fascinating to make a journey on the 15-inch line, most days we chose seemed to be either when it was miserable weather, or only a diesel loco was in use, or of course both; steam was a rarity, whether ‘Sian’, ‘Katie’ or ‘Ernest. W. Twining’. I looked out some old photos and was surprised to find a splendid postcard of ‘Prince Charles’, a loco that I think was only there for a couple of seasons, according to Boyd’s Narrow Gauge in Mid-Wales, possibly before Sian or Katie,…

From 30 years ago Bromyard & Linton Light Railway, Hereford & Worcester (2ft gauge) Two Ruston & Hornsby locomotives have been promised for display at the next Open Day at the railway. The pair, known as ‘Pearl’ (RH 432648) and ‘Janet’ (RH 504546) are both type LB locos formerly used at the last loco-worked private mine in south Wales – Parc Level Colliery at Pen Rhiw Fawr, Ystalafera and currently in store at a private location in South Wales. The Open Day is to be held on Sunday 24th September from 11am to 5pm. Various locos will be on display and demonstration goods and skip trains will operate throughout the day. (NGN, September 1995) The news story included a picture from this line’s previous open day with a train running…