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PRESERVED & SPECIAL INTEREST |
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THE FAWLEY HILL RAILWAY, 2013 |
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This is a private railway constructed in the grounds of the home of Sir William McAlpine. It began in 1965 as a small railway collection, and has grown into a substantial layout with three stations. The long incline from the valley to the main station is probably the steepest of any standard gauge railway in the UK. Sir William has also collected substantial items of railway history, including huge pieces of masonry work, some of which are illustrated below. The railway is only open on a few days each year, and normally by arrangement with groups of transport enthusiasts and similar clubs and societies. The following photographs were taken on 2nd June 2013. |
The main station at Fawley Hill originated at Somersham, Cambridgeshire.
This building is believed to date from 1889.
The platform on the former Somersham Station, Passengers are conveyed in the brake van and an open wagon.
Train awaiting departure, filed with enthusiasts.
This locomotive was new in 1913, built by Hudswell Clarke
& Co, and delivered to Robert McAlpine & Sons.
Numbered 1026, it was rebuilt by the manufacturers in 1938. It was
transferred to Fawley Hill in 1965,
and thus has been in the McAlpine family for all of its 100 years.
The interior of the former Somersham Station, now filled with an assortment of railway memorabilia.
The
former Shobnall Maltings signal box is now at Fawley Hill. It is a Midland
Railway box, originally sited near Burton on Trent.
After it ceased operation in 1955 it was moved to Shobnall Maltings for the
brewers Bass. Closed in 1968, it was dismantled
and brought to Fawley
This footbridge came from Brading Station on the Isle of
Wight. It is thought to date from before 1900.
It was replaced at Brading by a new bridge in 2000, the original coming to
Fawley.
The span was reduced, and was erected, as above, in September 2001.
Locomotive 1026 returning from the Valley Line.
The incline is evident here, as locomotive 1026 hauls its passengers up to the station.
A pleasant scene as locomotive 1026 hauls passengers through
the grounds of Fawley Hill.
Various railway memorabilia is all around.
Former GWR station sign.
A Capital from the old Brackfriars Railway Bridge. The
bridge was built in 1864 and was demolished in the 1960s.
The four cast iron Capitals were left in place until the mid 1980s, when the two
on the north side were removed.
One of those is now at Fawley (above). The two south-side Capitals remain
in place in restored condition.
This Broad Street station (London) facade was removed in 1985
when the station was demolished for redevelopment.
These are arches from Waterloo Station, which were part of the
roadway from Westminster Bridge Road up to the station.
They were removed in 1991 when Waterloo was expanded for the Eurostar service
through the Channel Tunnel.
This facade is from the parcels depot at Cardiff Riverside Station.
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© Copyright M J Smith, 2013
No photographs to be reproduced elsewhere without permission.