Amberley Museum

In a nutshell

Gauge:          2' (610mm)

Length:      500 yd (460m)

Opened:     1982

 Location:   New Barn Road, 
                    Amberley, 
                    Near Arundel, 
                    West Sussex, 
                    BN18 9LT

Web:      https://www.amberleynarrowgauge.co.uk/

Email:    office@amberleymuseum.co.uk

Tel:         01798 831370     

 

Date of visit:     25 June 2026

 

Key Facts

• The railway is based at Amberley Museum, in Amberley, West Sussex.
• The museum is located in what was formerly a 36 acre chalk quarry.  
• It currently has 45 locomotives - five steam powered (only one of which is in service), 29 internal combustion and four battery electric locos.
• It also has around 80 items of rolling stock, mostly goods wagons
• Its collection ranges from 18 in (457 mm) gauge to 5 ft 3 in (1600 mm) gauge
• The site also houses a collection of Southdown buses, located in a reconstructed 1920s Southdown bus garage.
• The site also boasts a "Connected Earth" telecommunications exhibition, an Electricity Hall, a machine shop, a wheelwright's shop, a vintage wireless and communications exhibition including an amateur radio station, a reconstruction of Ockenden's Ironmonger's shop from Littlehampton, a timber yard and steam crane, a reconstructed 1930s village garage, the Paviors Hall of Road Making with a display of road construction techniques from Roman to contemporary, a cycle exhibition, a railway hall of exhibits (mostly from industrial railways), 'Billingshurst' Signal Box, a contractors' monorail, a rural telephone exchange, the Arundel Gin Building housing a lead working and plumbing display, a late 19th century brickyard drying shed, a 1930s roadside (Fairmile) Café,  the Dover Cottage Pump House and water pumping display, a stationary engine shed, a typical 1950s fire station, a toll bridge hut,  a working print shop, a cobbler's shop, and the Hall of Tools, with associated demonstrations by the Tools and Trades History Society
• In addition, periodically there are demonstrations of woodturning, broom-making, walking stick-making and the work of a blacksmith and potters
• On site there is also the quarry tunnel, which appeared as Mainstrike Mine in the James Bond film A View to a Kill

  

Route

 

My Impressions

I visited on what was one of the hottest days of the year and so spent most of the time trying to find shade. Fortunately, the site of the museum has plenty of trees and some of the buildings were cool inside.

Being a fan of industrial archaeology, I found plenty to capture my interest on the site but, after a few enquiries as to how long the trains would be running, I decided I needed to get my train rides in early before the heat of the day defeated them.

A Hunslet diesel loco was sitting by the platform with a couple of small bogie coaches in tow, and so I boarded. The trains were supposed to be running every half hour, but it was quickly established that, because of the weather, they would run as and when they were needed.

The route meandered along one side of the former quarry, steadily gaining height as the train progressed.

 We stopped briefly at the intermediate station at Brockham, ......

 

........before pressing on past the tunnel (featured in a James Bond movie) and past a collection of sheds housing the railway's collection of locomotives and stock.

We passed over some fairly complex pointwork and ran alongside a section of dual gauge track before eventually arriving at the furthermost terminus of the line, Cragside.

 After touring the Railway Hall ......

 ...... and viewing some of the many exhibits, and also trying out many of the hand-on exhibits in the Electricity Centre, ......

....... I reboarded the train for the return trip.

After a refreshing cuppa and a cake in the site's café, I had another wander around some of the exhibits. There were no live demonstrations of crafts as it was mid-week outside the school holidays, but it was clear that there was likely to be a good range of fascinating displays of expertise and talent on offer.

Source: Wikimedia

I spent only around three hours at the museum, but I could easily have filled a whole day - particularly when displays of craftwork were scheduled. However, the extreme heat (c36C) defeated me, and I was forced to seek refuge in my air-conditioned car.

The site is well laid out and most of the displays have been well curated and made accessible for a range of interests and ages. Even on the wettest of days, there are plenty of indoor exhibits to pass the time.

To my mind, the entrance fee is extremely good value, given the range of what is on offer.

Video

London Museum of Steam and Water - Waterworks Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:         2'

Length:      400 yards

Opened:     2009

Location:    

Green Dragon Lane,
Brentford,
Middlesex,
TW8 0EN

 

Web:        http://www.waterandsteam.org.uk/our-engines/waterworks-railway
                 www.facebook.com/waterandsteam
                 www.twitter.com/waterandsteam

Email:     learning@waterandsteam.org.uk
Tel:           020 8568 4757  

 

Date of visit:     6 September 2014

 

Key Facts

• The railway is situated on the site of the Kew Bridge Water Works which was opened in 1838 with Boulton & Watt and  Maudlsay, Sons & Field beam engines to pump the water
• The museum has a collection of ten pumping engines of various sizes and vintages, including the  world's largest working beam engine built in 1846
• The museum was refurbished in 2013 and includes an impressive array of interactive educational exhibits designed to inform children and adults about the workings of steam engines and waterworks
• This company did not operate its own internal railway system but when it opened as a museum, a 2' narrow gauge railway was built to represent the type of railway which could be found in other waterworks. Waterworks railways were used to transport coal for the pumping engines and sand for the filter beds
• The railway has two locomotives; a replica Wren locomotive, Thomas Wicksteed, built by Hunslet in 2009 and a 1957 three cylinder internal combustion Lister railmotor, 'Alister'.
•  The railway usually runs at weekends when the pumping engines are also in steam - see calendar for more details - http://www.waterandsteam.org.uk/Events/Calendar
•  The is a cafe on site which serves a selection of hot food and snacks.

 

Route

 

My Impressions

I travelled overland by train from Waterloo to Kew Bridge station and took the short walk around the corner to the museum (see above Google Map). The museum is easily recognisable by the Victorian standpipe tower which dominates the skyline.

The building from the outside didn't look particularly inspiring,

but passing inside, through the pleasantly appointed cafe and bookshop.....

 ...... I immediately encountered the museum's collection of working pumping engines.

 I passed quickly through the main hall to make my way outside to find the museum's 2' narrow gauge railway. The train was waiting at the platform with the line's 3 cylinder Lister locomotive, Alister coupled up the the railway's open carriage and ready to depart.

 At the other end of the train, the railway's Hunslet-built Wren class locomotive, Thomas Wicksteed, was quietly steaming.

 I boarded the train and we departed.

 We chugged around to the rear of the museum and came to a halt.

 Within a short while. Thomas Wicksteed, chuffed around after us and pulled up to couple to the coach.

 The driver then opened the regulator and the train set out for the return journey.

We steamed back around the rear of the museum and cruised back beside the platform where we disembarked and had an opportunity to admire the locomotives.

The replica Wren locomotive, constructed in 2009, is a masterpiece of small scale engineering.

 Its anatomy is readily accessible. I was particularly interested in the functioning of the injector as this was something I was representing on a 16mm scale model locomotive I was constructing at the time. The driver was happy to not only explain how it worked but to demonstrate its operation which was especially helpful.

 Since my visits to the Apedale Valley Light Railway and more recently to Steeple Grange, I have become increasingly captivated by small industrial narrow gauge internal combustion locomotives. Lister locomotives have been constructed since 1926 and this particular model was built in 1957. I was interested in seeing how the design had changed over the years, since the earliest model.

Having sated my appetite for narrow gauge rail travel, I turned my attention to the other exhibits in the museum. As a former primary school teacher, I was particularly interested in how the museum's exhibits were presented for a younger audience - and I was not disappointed. As them museum depicts the relationship between water and steam, there is an instant appeal for children which the museum appears to have exploited to the full. In the outdoor area beside the railway, there was a play area where children (and their parents, of course) can play and experiment with water - pumping it, damming it, re-directing it.

 Behind this area is a water is the Hindley Water Wheel which was constructed in 1902 to pump water from the River Frome to the Duke of Somerset's estate. It was interesting to see how water power was being used to pump water.

Inside the museum, four of its steam engines were functioning at various intervals during the day.

The Easton and Amos Engine (1863) was quite different to the museum's large Cornish beam engines by having one end of its beam connected to a crank to produce rotary motion rather than the reciprocating motion needed for pumping. This engine came from the Cliftonville Pumping Station in Northampton where it drove a set of pumps from an extension to the crank shaft.

The Hathorn Davey Triple Expansion Engine (1910) shows how steam powered pumping engines developed in the early 20th century. The three cylinders are inverted and placed in a line directly over the crankshaft in much the same way as a modern car engine. It came from a pumping station in Newmarket and was in motion throughout my visit.

The Waddon engine was built by James Simpson & Company in Pimlico in 1910. The high and low pressure cylinders are horizontal with a flywheel between them.

The last engine which I saw functioning during my visit was the The James Kay engine or Dancers End engine, as it came from the Rothschild Dancer's End Estate near Tring. It was used to pump water from a well. The engine was built in 1867 by James Kay of Bury. The engine differs from all the other engines in the museum as it has two high pressure cylinders, each connected to its own beam and crank with a common flywheel. It's though that this engine was originally used in a textile mill and was later converted to pump water.

As the museum hosts the world's largest operating steam engine, I took some time to view the enormous engines which are housed there.

Although they weren't operational on the day I visited, there was plenty of information and video screens showing how the machines worked.

The operational 90 inch Engine was built in 1846 by Sandys, Carne & Vivian of Copperhouse Foundry, Hayle, Cornwall and was the first engine built in Cornwall specially for waterworks duty.

The 100 inch engine was built by Harvey & Co of Hayle in 1869, and is the largest surviving single cylinder beam engine in the world. When it was running it was synchronised with the 90 inch engine. It was used until 1958, when the chimney stack became unsafe and was demolished and the boilers decommissioned.

 Before leaving, I quickly toured the other exhibits which seemed extremely well organised, providing visitors with plenty of hands-on experience.

Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into how the exhibits are organised to ensure they are informative and motivating for both adult and child audiences.

I think it's still true to say that children enjoy paling with water. And from my observations, it would seem their parents have just as much interest and enthusiasm to participate in the activities.

I would imagine that children of all ages would be fascinated by many of the features in this museum. And, of course, there is the added bonus of a working narrow gauge railway!

Video

[In preparation] 

Statfold Barn Railway

In a nutshell

Gauges:        7¼", 10¼", 2', 2'6", 4'8½"

Length:         Garden Railway (7¼", 10¼", 2') - ¼ mile
                       Field Railway (2', 2'6") - 1½ miles

Opened:     2002

 

Location:    

View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map

Web:      http://www.statfoldbarnrailway.co.uk/index.php

Email:   http://www.statfoldbarnrailway.co.uk/contact.php

 

Date of visit:     1 June 2013

 

Key Facts

• The Garden Railway was the original line built around 2002 by Graham Lee and his wife and the subsequent developments arose out of the need to find a 2' gauge steam locomotive to run on it.
• With Graham's acquisition of Andrew Barclay's and the Hunslet Engine Company in 2004, the facilities developed at Statfold Barn to now include a fully equipped engineering workshop and an extensive collection of locomotives - including the Hunslet Museum of locomotives and artefacts.
• In addition to the operational narrow gauge locomotives from various parts of world there are several locos awaiting restoration.
• The original Garden Railway is still in operation, with triple gauge tracks  (7¼", 10¼", 2').
• The 1½ mile long dual gauge (2' and 2'6") Field Railway runs from the main terminus beside the engine sheds past further storage sheds located at Oak Tree Halt about half way along the line to a balloon loop at the end of the railway.
• There is also another more recent 2' gauge railway which runs parallel with the Field Railway as far as Oak Tree Halt. This railway is embedded in a concrete road for most of its length. 
• The Statfold Barn Railway is privately owned but has three open days during the year for which members of the public can apply in advance for tickets by post.
• On Open Days all the workshops and sheds are open to the public with unlimited rides on the three railways which run a continuous shuttle service throughout the day.
• Refreshments are provided in the form of large burger and hot potato vans located under cover in one of the farm buildings
• There are usually book stalls and other railway traders' stands on Open Days.

Route

My Impressions

On arrival, several noticeboards on the driveway reminded us that the Open Days are by invitation only, which can be obtained in advance via a form on the Railway's website. We were directed to a large field used as a car park which filled to well over half its capacity through the day.

The buildings immediately adjacent to the car park house the collection of operational locos, plus traction engines and the railway workshops which boast an impressive array of engineering machinery sufficient to not only maintain and restore but also to build replica steam locos (three have been built to date).

In addition there was a shed and a shelter for traders selling books and railwayana.

After admiring the static exhibits, and inevitably buying more books to add to the collection, we got our bearings and passed through the main loco shed .......

...... and set up base camp on the green between the main station and the loco shed. This provided an opportunity to take a closer look at the locos as they waited on the shed roads for their turn to haul trains on the mainline.

Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 Lautoka Mill No 19

0-6-0PT Corpet 439 Minas De Aller

 There is quite a stiff climb from the mainline up to the loco shed which provides an opportunity to see and hear the locos in full steam.  I noticed several keen loco-spotters with notepads in hand jotting down the details of each loco as it came and went.

Hunslet 0-4-0 Statfold and Krauss 0-4-2T Sragi No. 1

 The main station for the Field Railway has two platforms and, by crossing a footbridge, the platform for the recently added two foot gauge line can be accessed.

Eventually, after watching a few trains come and go, I hopped aboard one of the trains and made my way down the line. First, the train crossed the branch to the loco sheds, crossed the standard gauge line and then passed the junction for the original Garden Railway.

About half way along the Field Railway, we passed through Oak Tree Halt, where the Up train was waiting on the loop and another train simmered on the parallel 2' gauge railway.

 After exchanging tokens, we made out way out into the fields towards the balloon loop which marks the end of the line.

....where another train was waiting to take the line back to the main site. I decided to leave the train here and get a few lineside shots as I strolled back up the line. After taking a photo of my train and its loco .......

 

.... I watched the loco which would haul the train back up the line couple up.

I also took a moment to admire the quality of the trackwork which on the main Field Railway is dual gauge (2' and 2'6") for its entire length.

As I meandered back along the line I got a shot of the next train, steaming its way down the line towards the balloon loop.

and then watched my own train on its return journey up the line.

I then found a comfortable position beside the line on a slight incline which gave an opportunity to film some trains steaming up the bank with their regulators open. Here I caught my train loco on her return journey with another train.

...... followed after a short while by the line's Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT, Bronllwyd in her Surrey County Council livery, piloting the line's O&K 0-6-0TT former Sragi Sugar Mills loco No. 14 on a goods train.

There was considerable activity going on at Oak Tree Halt ......

.... where I paused for a while to see the goods train returning ......

.... before taking a slight diversion to view the carriage shed, where more of the line's fleet are stored ........

...... including some Hunslets in various stages of restoration.

 .... and various other locos, such as this Porter, which look badly in need of considerable TLC.

 Strolling alongside the line between Oak Tree Halt and the main terminus there were many vantage points for photos, one of which afforded an opportunity to see the Land Rover railmotor

and the last Hunslet loco to be built at the Jack Lane works, Trangkil No. 4 on a mixed train.......

 ..... and 2'6" gauge 0-4-0 Pakis Baru No.1 on a double header with articulated 0-4-4-0T Pakis Baru No. 5.

 Hardly a moment goes by without another train steaming into view. This time it was 0-4-2T Hunslet Josephine.

Before making my way back to the terminus and 'base camp', I spent a while in the garden, watching the train chug its way round the Garden Railway, which is indeed in a very fine setting.

Considering the engine shed is only about ten years old, it has been lovingly constructed in the style of the period when narrow gauge railways were becoming established.

 We then decided to partake of some refreshment in the barn where the queues for food had died down but the range of grub was in no way diminished.

 The level of activity on the railway during the Open Day is very impressive. It looked as if every working loco was in steam and rostered on a rolling basis to strut its stuff on the railway. As a consequence, there was always something happening and something to see. For narrow gauge locomotive enthusiasts it would be difficult to find a more captivating and interesting venue. If I was giving railway events rankings, this would have to come somewhere near the top of the list.

Video Virtual Visit