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.

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The Old Kiln Light Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:        2'

Length:      ½ mile (0.8km)

Opened:     1982 (at present site) 1971 (as Wey Valley Light Railway)

Location:   Old Kiln Light Railway
                    Rural Life Living Museum
                    Reeds Road
                    Tilford
                    Farnham
                    GU10 2DL

Web:          https://oklr.org/

Email:         info@oklr.org

Date of visit:     21 June 2026

Key Facts

• Located at the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford, near Farnham in Surrey.
• It was originally founded in the early 1970s as the 150 yard long Wey Valley Light Railway which ran around the grounds of the Moor Park Venture Scout Unit.
• The track and equipment were moved to the Old Kiln Museum, now known as the Rural Life Centre in 1982 when the land at the original site was sold for housing.
• The line has since lengthened around the centre
• A small stretch of track serves the museum's heritage timber yard demonstration area
• The railway has two steam locomotives and currently a third is on loan from the Moors Valley Railway
• It also has sixteen internal combustion powered locomotives and an other on loan
• It has six coaches and around a dozen wagons, mostly former RNAD or RAF stock.
• It is run by a team of dedicated volunteers and received the "Surrey Industrial History Group Conservation" award in 1994
• It has four stations: Reeds Road, Old Kiln Halt, Oatlands and Mills Wood 

Route

My Impressions

The 21 June 2026 was one of the hottest days of the year and so when we arrived, we made immediately for the café and sat with a soft drink under the trees.

Source: Simon Burchell

 After a brief tour of the museum we settled down to watch the Berkshire Bedlam Morris Dancers who were staging a performance for visitors. The railway had suspended the running of trains while the morris dancers were performing. The quality of the morris dancing was superb - a series of Fieldtown dances some of which were very complex.

 While the dancers were resting, I was able to grab a quick train ride, down and back up the line. I was the only passenger.

 The dancing resumed and then a few more train rides were organised, one of which was a special train for the morris side and their families.

The line travels around three sides of the site, mostly through woodland ......

........ and then between a campsite and the edge of the museum grounds. 

There are extensive workshops and sheds housing most of the railway's collection of stock which can be glimpsed through the open doorways as the train passes by.

 The two through stations are request stops, but most of the passengers were content to travel from one end of the line to the other.

The staff were very friendly and informative, willing to answer questions and demonstrate their knowledge of the railway and its stock.

 Unfortunately, there were only sandwiches and cakes available in the café during our visit as the cook was on holiday, but I understand there is usually a fairly comprehensive menu of hot meals available in addition to hot beverages and cold drinks.

 The exhibits around the site are interesting and well laid out. Often there are demonstrations of, for example, blacksmithing. It would be advisable to check what events are planned before making a visit.

Source: https://www.visitsoutheastengland.com

 There are play areas for children and plenty of places undercover and outside for picnics.

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North Ings Farm Museum

 In a nutshell

Gauge:          2 foot (610cm)

Length:        600 yards (548m)

Opened:       1972 (Private railway) - 1990 (Public railway)

Location:    

Fen Rd, 
Dorrington, 
Ruskington, 
Lincoln 
LN4 3QB

Web:      https://northingsfarmmuseum.co.uk/

Email:    https://northingsfarmmuseum.co.uk/contact-us/

Tel.:        01526 833100

Date of visit:     3rd July 2022

Key Facts

• The railway was first established in 1972 to provide transportation for the farm's chicken and egg production facilities
• By 1981, poultry farming on the site had ceased and the railway and collecting agricultural equipment became a hobby
• In 1990, the local council suggested that the museum's collection of artefacts should be opened to the public
• The railway has eight industrial diesel locomotives and two further locos on loan from the Talyllyn Railway's Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
• There is also a freelance vertical boilered steam locomotive which is currently out of action awaiting a new boiler
• The three passenger coaches were acquired from the Abbey Light Railway after its closure in 2012
• The signal box, which is prominent on the site, was acquired from Holmes Yard at Lincoln, where it was used as a paraffin store. The lever frame inside the box is from  Skellingthorpe near Lincoln.
• The farm site is a treasure trove of farming and construction machinery and industrial narrow gauge wagons
• The museum opens on the first Sunday of each month from April to October.
• The modest entrance fee allows you to roam freely over the site and have unlimited rides on the railway.
• Hot and cold drinks and biscuits and confectionary are available

Route

My Impressions

After Google maps navigated me down various narrow winding lanes I had very little idea of where I was. Fortunately, there was a reassuring sign at the end of a farm track informing me that I had arrived and, furthermore, that the museum was open.

There was a pleasing air of informality about the museum with the owners and volunteers clutching mugs of tea, discussing the relative merits of dog clutches and the intricacies of gearboxes, or demonstrating and explaining the exhibits to visitors.

I was invited to wander the sheds and the grounds at my leisure. I started with the sheds, wherein were stored an impressive array of industrial locos .....

...... tractors of various vintages ......

..... and a lightweight Commer truck.

The grounds proved equally intriguing, with a vast array of industrial narrow gauge wagons and locos in various states and stages of renovation.

After a chat with the staff who were keen and well informed to answer any questions I posed, I took a ride on the train.

After curving round beside the signal box, the train made a descent .......

..... to the nether regions of the site.

We wound our way through the lush undergrowth ....

.... passing by the lake and then made a 1:35 climb back up towards the main part of the museum

......  and passed through the station (Pear Tree Junction), .....

before repeating the journey and then arriving back at the start.

I spent a very pleasant morning at the Museum and gained considerable knowledge of industrial locomotives and the history of the museum from the well informed and helpful staff who were in attendance.

I can thoroughly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area on the first Sunday of a summer month. It's far more interesting than an impersonal, regimented and formalised railway museum. Particularly if you want to get down to the nitty gritty of how these things work.

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Bicton Woodland Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:         18" (457 mm)

Length:        1359 yards (¾ mile - 1242m) - 1½ mile journey out and back

Opened:       1963

Location:    

 

Bicton Park
East Budleigh
Budleigh Salterton
Exeter Devon
EX9 7BJ

Web:      https://www.bictongardens.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=62_72

Email:    https://www.bictongardens.co.uk/index.php?route=information/contact  
Tel.:       01395 568465 
 

Date of visit:     28 September 2018

 

Key Facts

• The original 1963 trackplan included the station and a return loop through the Pinetum. The extension to the Hermitage was added in 1976.
• The original rolling stock for the railway came from the Royal Arsenal Railway in Woolwich which, as it was 18" gauge, dictated the track gauge for the Bicton Woodland Railway.
• The original locomotives were Woolwich (an Avonside 0-4-0T steam loco built in 1915), Bicton (an 0-4-0 Ruston Hornsby diesel built in 1942) and Carnegie (a Hunslet 0-4-0 0-4-0 articulated diesel loco built in 1954).
• Another diesel loco joined the fleet in 1974 - a Ruston Hornsby 0-4-0 which was renamed Budley.
• Seven goods wagons were also acquired from the Royal Arsenal and were subsequently converted into passenger carriages. Additional rolling stock was acquired from RAF Fauld and the Wolverton railway works which had 18" railways.
• In 2000, three locomotives and much of the rolling stock was sold to the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey and a new locomotive was commissioned from Alan Keef Ltd. - an 0-4-0 steam outline diesel locomotive called Sir Walter Raleigh. 
• Four new carriages were also purchased from Alan Keef and Bicton was refurbished to match the steam outline appearance of Sir Walter Raleigh.
• The journey lasts about 25 minutes
• There is a well stocked restaurant and shop at in the gardens and plenty to see

Route

 

My Impressions

After paying my entrance fee to the gardens and passing through the shop and acknowledging the whereabouts of the toilets and restaurant, I made my way to the station. There was already a small queue of people awaiting the train's departure which, at this time of year, was every hour.

I showed my ticket and boarded the train, choosing the tail-end compartment in the last carriage.

With a toot, the Alan Keef diesel powered, steam outline loco pulled out. We very quickly entered a slightly wooded area on the banks of the dam which had been built for the ornamental lake.

Passing over the dam, we had a good view of Bicton House standing above the lake.

We then negotiated a triangular wye junction, .......

...... before heading out through the trees of the Pinetum.

At intervals, the driver tooted the whistle to alert us to points of interest printed on a card which we were loaned at the beginning of the journey.

At the furthermost end of the Pinetum, the track curved around and back on itself to give us an alternative perspective on the gardens.

The grounds are extremely well tended and clearly laid out. One day I must return and explore everything more thoroughly; this was a flying visit to give time to travel on the nearby Seaton Tramway in the afternoon.

We headed back towards the triangular junction ........

.... crossing over the junction for the loop, and then .......

...... taking the other branch at the wye junction.

We headed up the side of the lake towards the Hermitage, ........

..... where the line terminates with a loop.

Our loco (Sir Walter Raleigh - who was born nearby) ran round the train, .......

...... and then we set off once more.

We took the left-hand branch of the wye, .......

...... to cross the dam once more.

..... and then pulled back into the station.

I spent a short while watching the loco run round the train .........

chatting with the driver and snapping the older rolling stock, which dates from the time when the railway acquired its stock from the Woolwich Arsenal Railway.

I then made my way back to the car park and thence on to Seaton.

As can be seen from the photos and video, the railway is well established and follows an interesting route through the grounds. There is plenty more to see; not just the gardens and the house, but also a museum housing artefacts from the locality.

Given more time, I would have explored further, so it looks as if I will have to make a return visit - something I will look forward to doing.

Video