Number 9 Winston Churchill approaching The Warren on a Hythe to Dungeness train
"As I left the gardens and walked back to the palace, I took the opportunity to study the miniature steam train. It ran over a decidedly modest piece of track in one corner of the grounds. The sight of fifty English people crouched on a little train in a cold grey drizzle waiting to be taken 200 yards and thinking they were having fun is not one that I shall forget in a hurry." These words were written by Bill Bryson in his 1995 book about Britain entitled "Notes from a Small Island". I have an inexplicable fascination for miniature railways, but I do know where he was coming from here. Like most things in life there are good, bad and indifferent. In these photo album web pages I have selected three miniature railways of different gauges that to my mind most definitely fall into the "good" category.
Miniature railways have histories that can be as interesting as those of their full-size counterparts. The long-defunct Surrey Borders and Camberley Railway definitely falls into this category. In the UK there are many miniature lines - both public and private. Gauges are generally 7¼, 10¼, 12¼ and 15 inches, although one or two others are used occasionally.Of all the miniature railways in the UK my absolute favourite is the RHDR in Kent. This 15 inch gauge line uses both steam and diesel traction, and runs for about 13 miles from Hythe to Dungeness - much of it double track as shown in the photos above and below.
Number 14 Captain Howey near DymchurchEven before I had visited it the line held a fascination for me. It might have been the photo taken of my parents on one of the locos two years before I was born, or maybe it was the jigsaw puzzle of a train at Hythe station that I received when I was about six years old.
My parents on a Romney locomotive at Hythe in 1952 - two years before my birthConceived and built in the 1920s, the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway really is a main line in miniature. However, it is anything but a toy. Its history is every bit as fascinating as those of full-size railways, and its fortunes have varied over the years. I would recommend that you read one or more of the histories published over the years about the line. Maybe then the Romney bug will bite you too!
The following photographs show some of the line's locomotives in action. I have put them in order of loco number, so they are in no geographical order.
They were all taken by me between 1994 and 2005.
..... and heading back towards New Romney having just passed The Pilot
Number 3 Southern Maid again, this time running light
near Dymchurch
Number 5 Hercules approaching The Warren from New Romney .....
..... and heading across Dungeness
Number 7 Typhoon leaving Hythe
Number 8 Hurricane at Dungeness .....
..... and east of Dymchurch heading towards Hythe
Number 9 Winston Churchill between Burmarsh Road and Dymchurch
.......
....... and approaching Dymchurch from Hythe
Back on Dungeness we see German-style Number 11 Black Prince enter
the loop
Number 11 Black Prince seen again at New Romney
Number 14 Captain Howey departs Dymchurch for Hythe
Number 12 John Southland and number 14 Captain Howey at
New Romney on a very wet day
Postscript:
As a harsh reminder that the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is no toy there have
been a number of fatal accidents on the line over its lifetime. These included level crossing
collisions in 2003 and 2005, which both claimed the lives of loco drivers. The line has thirteen
level crossings. Despite the accidents, motorists continued to ignore red warning lights at the
crossings, according to police. All of them were protected by lights but had no gates or barriers
until 2006, when work on installing barriers began at a cost of up to £90,000 for each one. The
first of these will be located at Botolph's Bridge, Battery Road and Burmash Road. It is hoped
that all of the crossings will have barriers in due course.Kevin Crouch died at Burmarsh Road crossing on 3rd August 2003
Suzanne Martin died at Battery Road crossing on 10th July 2005
