Bressingham Steam and Gardens Facts for Kids

This page is about the steam museum and gardens in Norfolk. For the Norfolk village, see Bressingham.

The gallopers at Bressingham

Bressingham Steam & Gardens is an exciting steam museum and beautiful gardens in Norfolk, England. It's near a town called Diss. This amazing place has lots of cool things to see and do!

You can ride on different kinds of old trains here. There are also many types of steam engines and vehicles. Plus, Bressingham is home to a special Dad's Army exhibition. It's a great spot for a fun day out!

Explore the Gardens
The Gallopers Fun Ride
Ride the Narrow Gauge Trains
Standard Gauge Steam Locomotives
Other Steam Vehicles
Dad's Army Collection
Images for kids
See also

Explore the Gardens

A lovely view of the gardens at Bressingham

The gardens at Bressingham were started by a famous plant expert named Alan Bloom. He moved here in 1946. Alan was known all over the world for his knowledge of hardy perennial plants. These are plants that come back year after year!

He created the famous Dell Garden at Bressingham. His son, Adrian Bloom, later added five more gardens. These new gardens were designed to look great all year round. Adrian still helps manage the Bressingham Gardens today.

The Bressingham Steam Museum is a special charity. Alan Bloom wanted to make sure his collection of steam engines would always be safe. He set up a trust in 1971 to keep everything together. This way, the collection could be enjoyed by everyone for many years.

The Gallopers Fun Ride

The Gallopers shining bright during a special evening event.

The Gallopers are a fantastic carousel ride at Bressingham. Alan Bloom bought them in 1967. These beautiful horses were built way back in 1897! They were made by Frederick Savage in Kings Lynn.

The Gallopers used to be powered by a steam engine. Now, they run on electricity. A special fairground organ plays music while you ride. It was made from two organs in 1954! The Gallopers are a real highlight for many visitors.

Ride the Narrow Gauge Trains

There are three different railway lines at Bressingham. They take visitors on fun rides around the gardens and museum.

The Garden Railway

This is a small, miniature railway. It runs right through the beautiful Dell Garden. This means you get amazing views of all the plants!

The train ride starts at a station inside the museum. It then goes into the Dell Garden. At the end, the train turns around in a big loop. Then it heads back to the station. The railway uses a steam locomotive named Alan Bloom. It was built in 1995, just for this railway!

The Fen Railway

The Fen Railway is a narrow gauge railway. It was the second railway built at Bressingham. It first opened in 1966. This railway is about 2.5 miles (4 km) long.

It travels through pretty meadows. It also runs past some old plant nurseries. The Fen Railway is a great way to see more of the Bressingham site.

Here are some of the locomotives you might see on the Fen Railway:

Number and name	Builder	Type	Livery	Notes
316 Gwynedd	Hunslet	0-4-0ST	Lined Penrhyn Quarry Black	Built in 1883. It worked at Penrhyn Quarry for many years. Gwynedd arrived at Bressingham in 1966. It's a regular train on the Fen Railway.
994 George Sholto	Hunslet	0-4-0ST	Lined Green	Built in 1909. This train also worked at Penrhyn Quarry. It was restored at Bressingham in 1966. George Sholto is a very reliable train for passengers.
2 Bevan	Bressingham	0-4-0T	Lined Green	Bevan arrived at Bressingham in 2007 as parts. The museum built the rest of the locomotive! It was finished in 2010.
22120	Motor Rail Simplex	4wdDM	Brown	Built in 1964. This train used to look like Toby the Tram Engine! It is now on display in the Exhibition Hall.
8911	Hunslet	4w DH	Unlined Blue	Built in 1980. This locomotive is working. It often pulls passenger trains during quieter times.
9155 Bovis	Hunslet	4wBE	Lined Black	Built in 1971. This is a rare electric locomotive. It is used for moving things around the workshop.

The Waveney Valley Railway

This is another miniature railway. It opened in 1973 and is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. It crosses the Fen Railway at one point.

Here are some of the locomotives on the Waveney Valley Railway:

Number and name	Builder	Type	Livery	Notes
1662 Rosenkavalier	Krupp	4-6-2 Pacific	Lined light Green	Built in 1937 for a trade fair. It came to Bressingham in 1973. This train is now on display in the Exhibition Hall.
1663 Männertreu	Krupp	4-6-2 Pacific	Lined dark Green	Built in 1937, also for the trade fair. It arrived at Bressingham in 1973. This train is currently being worked on.
St Christopher	Exmoor Steam Railway	2-6-2T	Lined Red	Built in 2001. This locomotive moved to Bressingham in 2011. It is the main train used on the Waveney Valley Railway.
D6353 Beaver	J. Brown	4wd-4wdDM	Green with full Yellow ends	Built in 1998. This train is working. It sometimes pulls passenger trains.
Ivor	Frezne Engineering	4w DH	Green	Built in 1979. This train is working. It is used for jobs around the railway.

Standard Gauge Steam Locomotives

Bressingham also has a collection of larger, standard gauge steam locomotives. These are trains that would have run on the main railway lines.

Here are some of them:

Number and name	Builder	Type	Year	Livery	Status	Notes
662 Martello		LB&SCR A1 Class	1875	SR Lined Green	Working
102 Granville		LSWR B4 class	1893	Dark green	On display
490		GER Class T26	1894	GER Ultramarine Blue	On display	On loan from the National Railway Museum
25			1896	Green	On display	It worked at Beckton Gas Works.
87		GER Class S56	1904	GER Ultramarine Blue	On display	On loan from the National Railway Museum
80		LT&SR 79 Class	1909	LT&SR green	On display	On loan from the National Railway Museum
377 King Haakon VII		NSB Class 21c	1919		Waiting for repairs
6841 William Francis			1937		On display	This is the last working Garratt steam engine in Britain.
7070 Millfield	Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns		1942	Blue	Stored
5865 Peer Gynt		DB/NSB Class 52/63	1944	black	On display	This train was found in a caved-in tunnel!

Other Steam Vehicles

Bressingham has many other cool steam-powered vehicles.

Portable Steam Engines

Burrell No. 2363 of 1901: This portable engine is working.
Youngs Portable of 1910: Made locally in Diss, it's on display.
Tidman Centre Engine No. 1891 Victoria: This engine is usually found in the middle of the Gallopers ride.
Merryweather Fire Engine no. 3702: A historic fire engine.
Merryweather Fire Pump of 1914: An old fire pump.

Steam Rollers

Burrell No. 3962 Boxer of 1923: On display.
Burrell No. 3993 Buster of 1924: This steam roller is working.
Robey 4 ton Tandem Steam Roller No. 42520 Barkis of 1925: On display.

Steam Tractors and Traction Engines

Garrett 5 ton Steam Tractor No. 34641 Bunty of 1924: On display.
Burrell Traction engine No. 3112 Bertha of 1909: On display.
Foster Traction engine No. 2821 Beryl of 1903: This engine is being restored.
Fowler Traction engine No. 6188 Beulah of 1890: On display.

Dad's Army Collection

Bressingham is also home to the national Dad's Army collection! This is a famous British TV show. You can see vintage vehicles from the show here.

The vehicles are set up like a street from the fictional town of Walmington-on-Sea. You can see Lance-Corporal Jones' butcher shop and Private Frazer's undertaker's shop. There's even Captain Mainwaring's bank office!

The collection includes Jones' van and the dust cart from the 1971 Dad's Army film. You can also see Mainwaring's car and the old fire engine used in the show. The steam roller 'Boxer' and traction engine 'Bertha' also appeared in episodes.