I joined the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers
in 1994, having seen the Kent Area Group's portable layout at an exhibition
in South East London. I was inspired by one of Hugh Saunder's coal fired
Darjeeling locos that was pulling a short train round their circuit.
In October '94, six yards of track was laid at the top of the garden,
near the pond - marking the start of what was then named the "Woodland
Railway". The track was Tenmille brass bullhead rail with plastic
sleepers. The same week, I purchased a black Mamod from Mike Chaney,
which I named Black Princess. This was the perfect introduction to
garden railways.
During the Winter of ‘94/5, I constructed a new six yard lengths
of railway in the middle section of the garden. This formed the oldest
section of the railway. This section also included ‘Forest
Halt’. Forest Halt was rebuilt in 1997 and again in 1998. In
1999 it was renamed ‘Burwarton’. The building was a wooden
Brandbright kit and remained outside all year round. At the end of
1999, the station also received internal lighting.
The first section of the new line from Burwarton to the arch was opened in Easter 1995. The full circuit opened in 1996 (note the circuit was then very different and much shorter than what it was at the end). At the end of the year, the line was temporarily closed for major rebuilding. 1997 was spent reconstructing the main circuit with particular attention to the back section of the loop. The railway reopened in the summer of 1998. The new line featured a number of embankments and for the first time was properly ballasted.
The second locomotive came from J D Models of Luton in
summer 1996 in the form of a red battery powered Hunslet diesel. This
locomotive was named ‘Sheldon’ after a local kid my mum knew.
In 1998, the locomotive was sold to a railway in Sticklepath, near Oakhampton,
Devon. The following year, the boy it was named after died in a car accident.
The Mamod named ‘Black Princess’ was also sold in early 1998.
In 1997, ‘Cobolt’ was purchased from Salem in South Wales.
The name was supposed to read ‘Cobalt’ - reflecting its
colour. However, following a communication error (I spelt it wrong),
the name plates were printed as 'Cobolt’. It stuck. Cobolt unfortunately
came with a string of problems and in the summer of 1998, it too was
sold.
In February a small battery powered Alan Keef diesel was constructed
in the railway’s 'own works' (kitchen table). This locomotive
trundled round the railway till it closed and too was sold.
In 1999, 'Snapper Halt' was constructed and opened on an existing stretch
of line. Snapper survived until the summer of 2002 when that section
was realigned. A new station was then built on an adjacent site
and named 'Nantmor'.
Llanfair station (at the end of the garden) gained its name from Llanfair-yn-Neubwll,
Wales, but not really for any particular reason. Work started in 1997
on the construction and it quickly became the biggest station on the
line. Finishing off this station pretty much remained on the 'to-do'
list until the line closed.
In spring 1999, ‘Katie’ arrived on the railway. This loco was from Roundhouse Engineering and came from the second batch of this class produced. It was only the second loco of its class to receive the 'Britomart' style livery (nowadays they're two a penny!)
In September 1999, construction began on a new coal fired Hunslet steam locomotive 'Linda', an adaptation of the Ffestiniog design. Initial work was done in the railway's 'own works', then through 2000 and 2001 work continued at the workshop of Coopercraft Ltd. So far the chassis and eccentrics are complete forming a rolling chassis, and thats where it now rests (in a box in my cupboard for when I retire I guess!)
During 2000, major work was undertaken in the garden. The railway was
extended beyond Llanfair, taken behind the fruit bushes and connected
back up with the mainline. This was a major turning point in the railway's
history, as from this point the track length was doubled. As part of
these works, a new steaming bay and inspection pit was constructed.
I'm very grateful to Tony Brown for his help throughout the summer of
2000 and to date on this project, without him what was done most certainly
could not have been acheived.
The year 2000 was ended with the railway's first winter open day. This
was a great success and became a popular established event.
In 2001, the railway was approached by Mark Found from the Discovery Channel for the possibility of featuring in a new TV series named 'Garden Railway'. The Woodland Rly footage was filmed over a few days in late April. During these days, the most ambitious project yet was to be undertaken. Two sections of the railway were removed and a completely new line was constructed into a cutting, running under the former return loop. The work was filmed in a mini-'Ground Force' style, and was most definitely a race against the clock. The project was finished in time and the new track layout can now be seen on the railway's map web page.
In 2002 I purchased a Pearse Genesis locomotive from George
Mckie in Hooe, Plymouth. It is
a wonderful locomotive and he has looked after it well. Like the Katie,
it runs beautifully.
A new passenger diesel was also added to the 'fleet' in Autumn 2002.
Built by John Turner of J D Models, it was a model of the Baguley 150hp
diesels used in the Sugar Cane fields of Australia. The loco utilises
an Essel chassis, so was pretty powerful and able to pull lengthy trains.
On Sunday 2nd January 2005, the railway held its last open day after its final very successful season. 2005 saw three separate major open days and the event on 2nd January was a great finish to ten years of operation. Loads of steam trains and plenty of hot food, everyone had a good time!
The railway was then mothballed until 2006. The track and infrastructure remained beneath soil and leaves. The station building at Burwarton appeared to have gone. The track was lifted in 2007 and gradually dispersed to other railways for further use.
The locomotives and rolling stock were mostly sold, however Sir James
Cameron still remains (as well as my box of Hunslet chassis), and SJC
still sees occasional use around Devon and Somerset.
