Evesham Vale Light Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:        15"

Length:      1 mile overall

Opened:     2002

Location:   

View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map

Web:      http://www.evlr.co.uk/

Email:    enquiries@evlr.co.uk/

 

Date of visit:     12 April 2014

 

Key Facts

• The railway was built in 2002 and changed ownership in 2012, with most of the stock being transferred to the new owners.
• It is located at the Evesham Country Park and runs from its main station through the park and an orchard to return via a balloon loop.
• The railway possesses two steam locomotives presently in working order - Dougal, a Severn Lamb 0-6-0 and St. Egwin, an Exmoor 0-4-0. Another steam loco, Monty, an Exmoor 0-4-2, is currently being overhauled.
• It also has two diesel locomotives - Sludge, a Lister and Cromwell, a Ruston. 

Route

 

My Impressions

The main station for the railway is adjacent to the car park for the Country Park and looks very smart with two platforms, an overall roof, booking office, turntable and engine sheds. The buildings are painted cream and green to add to the atmosphere.

Our loco, 0-4-0 St Egwin was steaming quietly at the end of the main platform .....

 I made my way down the platform to take my seat in one of the neatly finished enclosed carriages......

..... and had a view of the other platform and an interesting pedal-powered vehicle standing on the intervening siding.

We then started our journey down the line.

After clearing the pointwork of the station ....

.... the loco picked-up speed and climbed towards the summit of the line.

The reverse-loop provided us with views across the Avon Valley ......

.... before we plunged into the tunnel.

When we emerged, we rounded the bend and pulled into Evesham Vale Station ......

.... where there was a five minute stop.

I decided to walk back beside the line to the main station. After watching the train traverse the pointwork for the balloon-loop.

I positioned myself further along the line to watch the passing trains, which run every half-hour.

 As the line is quite steeply graded, there is plenty of opportunity for the driver to give the locos a good work-out and for some satisfying lineside video shots.

A then spent a while watching shunting operations in the main station as St Egwin ran around her train.

And the line's other locos basked in the Spring sunshine.

After watching one more departure, I made my way back to the car park to resume my journey home.

 I found the Evesham Vale Light Railway to be well maintained and run with a great deal of care and attention by its staff. Its proximity to the attractions at the Country Park means that it must get a steady stream of appreciative visitors. Whilst most will be attracted by the opportunity to experience live steam in miniature form, it is also pays homage to the versatility of Heywood's vision in providing an industrious minimum gauge railway (see Minimum Gauge Railways Chronology)

Video

Brecon Mountain Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:      1' 11¾"

Length:      5 miles

Opened:     1980

Location:   

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Web:      http://www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk/homepage

Email:    enquiries@breconmountainrailway.co.uk

 

Date of visit:     10 April 2014

 

Key Facts

• The route follows part of the abandoned Brecon and Merthyr Railway which closed in 1964.
  
• The summit of the railway is at Torpantau which is 1313ft above sea level.
• Beyond Torpantau is the highest railway tunnel in the British Isles.
• Construction of the railway commenced in 1979 and the railway opened for service between Pant and Pontsticill in 1980.
• In 1995, the railway was extended by 1½ miles from Pontsticill to DolyGaer.
• In 2014, the railway was further extended to Torpantau, its present terminus.
• The railway passes the lower and upper Taf Fechan reservoirs on its route up the valley.
• The railway has rive steam locomotives - a 2-6-2 Baldwin (No. 1 - Santa Teresa), a 4-6-2 Baldwin (No. 2), a 2-6-2 Baldwin (No. 3 under construction), a 2-4-4 Forney (No. 4 under construction) and an 0-6-2 Arn Jung (Graf Schwerin - Lowitz)
• The line also possesses three small steam locomotives which are exhibited in the steam museum at Pontsticill: Sybil, an 0-4-0 quarry Hunslet; Pendyffryn, a De Winton vertical boilered locomotive and Redstone, a 2ft gauge replica of a 3ft gauge vertical boilered locomotive built in 1897
• The railway also has several diesel locomotives used for shunting (and emergency passenger duties - see below)

 

Route

 

My Impressions

The station building at Pant was quite prominent as we drove into the car park, as were the ventilation shafts of the former standard gauge railway which runs in a tunnel beneath the site.

We had reserved our tickets online previously and so picked them up at the booking office before climbing the ramp to the platform.

Before long, the train arrived, hauled by the railway's 0-6-0 diesel hydraulic locomotive - the usual Baldwin steam loco was undergoing repairs, having her brick arch replaced.

Before boarding, there was an opportunity to admire the locomotive which was built in the railway workshops and is reminiscent of Accucraft's 16mm scale model of a Baguley Drewery.

After running around the train and coupling up, ..........

...... we took our seats in the leading carriage.

Before long, the train departed winding its way along the hillside ......

.... towards the reservoirs at Pontsticill.

After passing the extensive storage sheds we passed through Pontsticill station without stopping ......

...... and made our way alongside the reservoir.

After passing the remnants of Dolygaer station which was the terminus for the line until this year, the railway started its climb up the side of the valley........

........ towards its new terminus, called Torpantau.

 

 The facilities at the station are presently minimal as the station has only recently been opened, however the views are quite spectacular and certainly helps justify the title for the railway. There was an opportunity to explore the locality while the loco ran round its train.

Ten minutes later we departed for the descent down the valley.

After passing Dolygae, which is now a Scout Camp .......

........ we arrived once more at Pontsticill, where we had a twenty minute break for a cup of tea and a Welsh Cake in the cafe.

There is also a small steam museum and a playground for the children. After re-boarding, we set off once more for our final destination. After passing the remains of the quarries, we followed the curve of the valley and pulled slowly back into Pant station, passing the workshop facilities .........

 ........ where much of the maintenance and construction of stock takes place.

After disembarking, there was an opportunity to admire some of the line's rolling stock .......

....... and view the workshops, where the line's steam locos were undergoing repair and construction.

There is a range of facilities at Pant Station, including a cafe and souvenir shop. After enquiring, I discovered that a guide to the railway is presently being prepared and will be available sometime during the coming year - in the meantime there is a fair amount of information and some archive photos of the railway and its standard gauge predecessor on the Railway's website.

Being located in the Brecon Beacons National Park, the railway is certainly very picturesque, even in early Spring. The recent extension to Torpantau adds a new dimension to the journey, providing a contrast to the waterside stage of the route lower down the valley. The railway is unique in the UK in amassing a collection of USA built locomotives and when they are all in service they should present an impressive spectacle as they power up newly opened steeper section of the railway. I hope to return when I will have a better opportunity to see them in action.

In the meantime, we were able to take a slight detour on our return journey and caught a fleeting glimpse of the railway's operational Baldwin as it departed Torpantau. A foretaste, maybe?

  Video

Progress Report 4

A fairly busy Spring and Summer has enabled me to reach the 50+ point in my quest - which means I am now about a quarter of the way through my plan to visit every one of the narrow gauge railways in the UK with a gauge of 12" or more.

In April, a trip to the South East of England saw me visiting:

Great Bush Railway

• The site of the Rye & Camber Tramway - a 3' gauge railway in East Sussex
• The Great Bush Railway - a 2' railway near Tunbridge Wells
• The Romney Hythe and Dymchurch - the world renowned 15" railway
• and, on the way home, The Blenheim Park Railway near Oxford

In May, there was a chance to visit some of railways in North Wales

• The Welsh Highland Railway

  

  The Corris Railway

• The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway 
• and the Corris Railway

There was also time for a return visit to

• The Ffestiniog Railway (for their 150th anniversary celebrations)

and also a quick trip to London enabled me to bag the

• London Funicular Railway near the Northern end of the Millennium Bridge

  

  The Hampton & Kempton Railway

• and the Hampton and Kempton Waterworks Railway on the weekend of its official opening

 and to attend one of the Open Days at the Duke of Westminster's estate near Chester to ride on

• The Eaton Railway which was significant in the history of minimum gauge railways in the UK
  

 In June, I visited an Open Day for the

• Statfold Barn Railway - which has an impressive collection of locomotives from around the world

and in August I paid a return visit to the

• Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

  

  Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway

and attended a Steam Festival at

• The Threlkeld Railway

In September I made a trip to see

• The Buxton Pavilion Gardens Railway
• and the Vale of Rheidol  Railway

and a return visit to London resulted in a trip to Brighton to travel on the

Vale of Rheidol

• Volks Electric Railway which was one of the world's first electric powered railways

plus a trip to Southend to visit the

• Southend Pier Railway
• and the Southend Cliff Lift

Lakeside Railway - Southport

To round off the year, I took a day trip to Southport where I bagged

• The Southport Lakeside Miniature Railway - another important railway in the history of UK miniature railways
• and the Southport Pier Tramway

Ffestiniog Railway

I must say, that the welcome I've received from the staff on all the railways I have visited has been exemplary, though I have found there is a tendency for there to be an inverse proportional relationship between the enthusiasm of welcome and the size of the railway system. However, this is no hard and fast rule because I must say I was extremely impressed by the quality of the show put on by the Ffestiniog Railway personnel for enthusiasts who turned out for their 150th anniversary celebration event in May. There were numerous well stage-managed photo opportunities and although the numbers visiting were impressively large, the staff maintained a cheerful disposition on both the FR and the Welsh Highland Railway.

So far, only one definite trip is planned so for for 2014, to the Isle of Man (in July) but I also hope to

Image: © Peter Killey - www.manxscenes.com

visit a few more railways in the London area when we take a short break down there in the Summer. We are also hoping to visit South Wales at some point to complete the itinerary for Welsh narrow gauge railways visits and maybe, if time permits, take a short break in Scotland to tick off all the Scottish narrow gauge railways. However, we might make a bigger trip in that direction in 2015 to encompass the railways along the North East coast as we progress Northwards.