Fawley Hill Railway is a privately owned heritage railway on the Fawley Hill estate of the late Sir William McAlpine at Fawley in Buckinghamshire, England.
An acknowledged railway enthusiast as well as a director of the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine, McAlpine returned to Hayes depot during the Beeching Axe to find that the company's Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No.31 was for sale for £100. He purchased the locomotive, and moved it to Fawley Hill. [1] This marked the start in 1965 of the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Fawley Hill Railway, a private railway which now runs to over a mile long, combining the steepest gradient at 1:13 on a British railway, and includes: [2] [3]
In addition, the perimeter of the railway line is adorned with several prominent architectural features which McAlpine acquired – although these were received mostly as donations; these include the original Wembley Stadium Twin Towers flagpoles, some early cast-iron bridge parapets, and several arched structures from prominent London locations.
Apart from the resident steam engine, No.31 (away for boiler overhaul in 2024), an ex-British Rail Class 03 diesel-mechanical shunter (D2120) is operational on the line together with two Hibberd 0-4-0 Planet diesel-mechanical industrial locomotives.
Entrance to Fawley Hill Railway is by invitation only on select days, usually during the summer period. The railway, together with McAlpine's extensive private railway museum, is operated and maintained on behalf of Fawley Hill by volunteers from Fawley Museum Society.
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a 22.75-mile (36.6 km) heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset Council. The railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc, which is supported and minority-owned by the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) charitable trust and the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT). WSR operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England, named after the company that originally built this stretch of railway. It runs for 8.25 miles (13.28 km) between the town of Loughborough and a new terminus in the north of Leicester. It has period signalling, locomotives and rolling stock.
The British Rail Class 03 locomotive was, together with the similar Class 04, one of British Railways' most successful 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. 230 were built at Doncaster and Swindon works between 1957 and 1962, and were numbered D2000–D2199 and D2370–D2399. D2370 and D2371 were used as departmental locomotives and originally numbered 91 and 92 respectively.
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The Hong Kong Railway Museum is a railway museum in Tai Po, Hong Kong. It is now under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department. Opened on 20 December 1985, it is located at the site where the old Tai Po Market railway station was built in 1913. Admission to the museum is free.
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The Swanley New Barn Railway is a 7+1⁄4 in gauge railway located in Swanley Park, Swanley, Kent, United Kingdom. It is signalled throughout with the signals being controlled from New Barn Station which also serves as a terminus.
Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. The original site of the works was located in the 'V' between the Great Eastern Main Line and the Stratford to Lea Bridge route and in the early years was also the home of Stratford Locomotive Depot. The final part of the works closed in 1991.
Sir William Hepburn McAlpine, 6th Baronet, was a British businessman who was director of the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine.
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