Amberley Museum Railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Amberley Museum Railway Collection

Bagnall 0-4-0ST 'Peter' and a passenger train nears Brockham Station
Overview
Dates of operation	1982–present
Technical
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Length	500 yd (460 m)
Other
Website	Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre Rail Group website

The Amberley Museum Railway is a fun narrow gauge railway located at Amberley Museum in Amberley, West Sussex. It uses a special track width of 2 ft (610 mm). The museum has a huge collection of different engines and railway cars. These range from very small 18 in (457 mm) tracks to much wider 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) tracks. You can ride passenger trains at the museum. These trains are pulled by steam engines, diesel engines, or even battery-powered electric engines!

History of the Railway

Before the Museum Started

Before Amberley Museum was built, this area was a chalk quarry owned by Pepper & Sons. The quarry had its own railway system. This railway used a standard track width, like many bigger trains. It connected to the main London, Brighton & South Coast Railway at Amberley station.

Over the years, Pepper & Sons used different types of engines. These included steam engines made by Marshall and Aveling & Porter. They also had a petrol (gasoline) engine called a Hibberd Planet. When the quarry closed in the late 1960s, the railway tracks were removed.

How the Railway Began at the Museum

When Amberley Museum first opened in the late 1970s, people wanted to create a small industrial railway. This railway would show what typical narrow gauge trains used in factories or mines looked like.

The very first engine to arrive was a Hibberd Simplex 1980. It came from a sewage works in Apuldram. In 1982, a company called Thakeham Tiles, which was nearby, gave their entire railway system to the museum. This included two Hudson Hunslet engines, several wagons, and some track. They were getting a new conveyor system, so they didn't need their railway anymore. The museum had to remove everything over just one weekend! They managed to do it.

Today, some of the Thakeham track is still used on parts of the line where passengers don't go. One of their engines, Hunslet 3653, is also still in use. The other, Hudson Hunslet 2208, is kept for spare parts. Also in 1982, the Brockham Railway Museum in Surrey closed. They moved all their trains and equipment to Amberley. This big collection, which included several steam engines, inspired the museum to make the railway bigger and carry passengers.

Growing the Collection

From 1982 to 1984, a new railway line was built at Amberley. It ran along one side of the old quarry pit, connecting Amberley and Brockham stations. The first train on this new line was pulled by an engine named 'Polar Bear'.

In the 1980s, diesel engines like Hudson Hunslet 3097 and 'Blue Star' were often used for passenger trains. Later, a new engine, Motor Rail Simplex 11001, became very important. In the mid-1980s, a steam engine called Decauville 0-4-0WT 'Barbouilleur' started working. After 'Polar Bear' needed a new boiler around 1987, 'Barbouilleur' was the only steam engine available until 1993. 'Polar Bear' returned with its new boiler in 1993, and 'Peter' joined it that same year.

More Expansion

The railway continued to grow in the 2000s. In the early 2000s, it was decided that a large World War I steam engine, Baldwin 778 Lion, needed a new home. It was too big for the sharp turns at Amberley. So, it moved to the Leighton Buzzard railway, where it is now used.

In 2003, a new building for the Amberley railway was opened. This building was paid for with lottery money. It's used to show off the trains and also as a shed for the passenger carriages. Before this, the carriages were stored outside and got damaged. A new shed for the engines was also built, opening in 2005. This shed is a special place for working on and restoring the steam engines. It also has charging stations for the battery-electric engines.

In 2006, another steam engine arrived: Bagnall 2091 Wendy. The railway line was made longer in the 2000s. The extension around the top of the quarry pit to the new Cragside station opened in mid-2007. In 2008, a diesel engine, Hunslet 8969 No. 12, became the main non-steam engine for passenger trains. The steam engine collection grew again in 2009 when Quarry Hunslet 542 Cloister arrived. However, both Wendy and Cloister left Amberley in 2012.

The Line Today

The main railway line starts at Amberley station, which is near the museum entrance. It runs along the side of the old quarry pit, past the De Witt lime kilns, to Brockham station. Brockham is currently the only station in the middle of the line.

From Brockham, the line curves around the top of the pit. It passes the engine shed and ends at Cragside station, which is across the pit from Brockham. The industrial lines, which don't carry passengers, connect to the main line at Brockham station. At Amberley station, there's a siding (a short track) that goes into the woodyard, but it's not used very often.

Brockham station has a small siding on Platform 2. It also has an old ticket office from Hove station. There's also the Betchworth Hall shed, which is used to restore the engine 'Townsend Hook'. Eventually, this shed will become a museum to display items from the Dorking Greystone Lime Co.

The railway has a special Gala Weekend every year on the second weekend of July. They also have two Industrial Trains Days in April and October.

Locomotives

This section lists the engines at Amberley Museum Railway. Engines marked 'In occasional use' are usually only run during special railway events. They might be on display or stored in one of the sheds. Locos marked 'Air Fitted/Piped' can pull passenger trains because they have special air brakes.

Steam Locomotives

These are engines that use steam to move.

Name	Builder	Year Built	Status	Notes	Image
Polar Bear	W.G. Bagnall	1905	In use	This engine is 'Air fitted', meaning it can pull passenger trains.
Peter	W.G. Bagnall	1917	In use	Was built for a wider track, then changed to 2 ft (610 mm) in 1919. It is 'Air fitted'.
Barbouilleur	Decauville	1947	Static display	Waiting for major repairs. It is privately owned and 'Air fitted'.
Townsend Hook	Fletcher Jennings	1880	Static display
23	Wm. Spence	1920	Static display	This engine used to work at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin.

Internal Combustion Locomotives

These engines use fuel like petrol or diesel to run.

Name	Builder	Year Built	Status	Notes	Image
T0001	Baguley-Drewry	1980	In occasional use.	This engine is privately owned and 'Air fitted'.
Peldon	Fowler	1936	Awaiting repair.	This engine is 'Air fitted'.
-	Hibberd	1936	In occasional use.
-	Hudson	1932	On static display.
-	Hudswell Clarke	1948	Undergoing cosmetic restoration.
Blue Star	Hudson Hunslet	Unknown	In use.	This engine is 'Air fitted'.
No.12	Hunslet	1980	In use.	This engine is 'Air fitted'.
-	Lister	1949	In occasional use.	This engine is privately owned.
Redland	Orenstein & Koppel	1937	In occasional use.
Monty	Orenstein & Koppel	1936	In occasional use.
The Major	Orenstein & Koppel	1937	In occasional use.
'The Breadbin'	Motor Rail	1918	In occasional use.
Ibstock	Motor Rail	1956	In use.	This engine is 'Air fitted'.
WD904	D Wickham & Co	1943	In occasional use.	This engine is privately owned and 'Air piped'.

Battery-Electric Locomotives

These engines run on electricity from batteries.

Builder	Year Built	Status	Notes	Image
Brush Traction	1917	Operational, occasional use.	This engine is privately owned.
English Electric	1931	Static Display.	This engine used to work on the Post Office Railway in London.
Wingrove & Rogers	1953	Operational.	This engine is 'Air piped'.
Wingrove & Rogers	1953	Operational.
Wingrove & Rogers	1979	Operational.

Passenger Stock

The museum has several types of passenger coaches for you to ride in:

• One RAF Fauld coach. This coach was restored in 2007. It can run by itself or with the Lydd or Penrhyn coaches.
• Two Lydd coaches. These came from the Lydd Ranges in Kent. They can run together or with the Fauld coach.
• Two Penrhyn Quarry Railway coaches. These are open-top coaches. They need to run with another coach that has brakes, like the Fauld or a Lydd coach.
• Four Groudle Glen Railway coaches. These usually run with the 'Polar Bear' engine. They can also be pulled by some other diesel and steam engines.
• Wickham trolley 3404. This was originally a trailer for another trolley. Now it's set up to run with the battery engine 4998.
• One Thorpe Park coach. This coach was built by Alan Keef. It's currently just the body frame, and new wheels (bogies) will be ordered for it.

Gallery

• 

  'Polar Bear' at Amberley station.

• 

  'Polar Bear' with replica Groudle Glen carriages.

• 

  'Polar Bear' at Cragside.

• 

  'Peter' and its passenger train at Brockham.

• 

  'Jenny' at Amberley.

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  'Jenny' moves around the train at Cragside.

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  'Susan' at Amberley.

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  'Susan' and 'Jenny' pulling a train together at Brockham.

• 

  A Wickham trolley.