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 a fun museum and garden in Bressingham, England. It's near Diss in Norfolk. This special place has many old steam engines and vehicles. You can also ride on different train lines. It even has an exhibition about the TV show Dad's Army.

Exploring the Gardens
The Gallopers Carousel
Miniature Trains to Ride
- The Garden Railway
  - Garden Railway Locomotives
Narrow Gauge Railways
- The Fen Railway
- The Waveney Valley Railway
Standard Gauge Locomotives
Broad Gauge Steam Locomotives
Other Steam Vehicles
Dad's Army Collection
Images for kids
See also

Exploring the Gardens

A beautiful view of the gardens at Bressingham

The gardens at Bressingham Hall were started by a plant expert named Alan Bloom. He moved here in 1946. Alan was famous around the world for his knowledge of perennial plants. These are plants that live for more than two years. He designed the Dell Garden with its unique "island beds."

His son, Adrian Bloom, later created five more gardens. These gardens are designed to look interesting all year round. The Bloom family still owns and manages these gardens. The Dell Garden is now looked after by Alan Bloom's son-in-law, Jaime Blake.

Bressingham Steam Museum is a special charity. Alan Bloom wanted to make sure his amazing collection of steam engines would always stay together. He created a trust in 1971 to protect it. This means the collection is kept for everyone to learn from and enjoy.

The Gallopers Carousel

The Gallopers shining brightly during a special evening event.

The Gallopers are a very popular ride at Bressingham. This carousel was bought by Alan Bloom in 1967. It was built way back in 1897 by Frederick Savage in Kings Lynn. Imagine, it's over 125 years old!

The Gallopers used to be powered by a steam engine called "Victoria." Now, they run on electricity. A special fairground organ plays music while the carousel spins. This organ was made in 1954 from parts of two older organs.

Miniature Trains to Ride

Bressingham has a small loop of track for miniature trains. These tracks are for tiny trains that people can ride on. There's even a small steam locomotive called "Stafford."

The Garden Railway

This miniature railway is 10.25 inches wide. It takes passengers on a lovely ride through the Dell Garden. You get to see all the beautiful flower beds up close! The journey starts at a station inside the museum. Then, the train goes into the garden. At the end, the train turns around in a big loop before returning to the station.

Garden Railway Locomotives

Number and name	Builder	Type	Livery	Notes	Image
1 Alan Bloom	Bressingham Steam Museum	0-4-0ST	Blue	Built in 1995, just like the Garden Railway itself. Its design was inspired by a larger engine called George Sholto.

Narrow Gauge Railways

There are two narrow gauge railway lines at Bressingham. They take visitors on tours around the gardens.

The Fen Railway

The Fen Railway is a narrow gauge line, about 1 foot 11.5 inches wide. It was the second railway built at Bressingham, opening in 1966. This railway is about 2.5 miles long. It crosses another railway line and runs through pretty meadows.

Locomotives:

Number and name	Builder	Type	Livery	Notes
316 Gwynedd	Hunslet	0-4-0ST Penrhyn Quarry Hunslet	Lined Penrhyn Quarry Black	Built in 1883. This engine worked in a quarry for many years. It came to Bressingham in 1966 and is a regular on the Fen Railway. It had a big repair in 2017.
994 George Sholto	Hunslet	0-4-0ST Large Quarry Hunslet	Lined Green	Built in 1909. This engine also worked at Penrhyn Quarry. It was restored at Bressingham and started running in 1966. It's a very reliable engine. It was renamed Bill Harvey for a while, but its original name George Sholto was brought back in 2011.
2 Bevan	Bressingham	0-4-0T	Lined Green	Bevan arrived at Bressingham in 2007 as parts. The museum built the rest of the engine. It was finished in 2010. It often pulls trains on weekdays.
22120	Motor Rail Simplex	4wdDM	Brown	Built in 1964. This engine used to work for a water company. For a time, it was made to look like Toby the Tram Engine!
8911	Hunslet	4w DH Hunslet	Unlined Blue.	Built in 1980. This engine is used to pull passengers on the Fen Railway when it's not too busy.
9155 Bovis	Hunslet	4wBE	Lined Black	Built in 1971. This is a rare type of battery-powered electric engine. It is currently on display.

The Waveney Valley Railway

This is another miniature railway, 15 inches wide. It opened in 1973 and is about 1.5 miles long. It crosses the Fen Railway and runs next to a standard gauge line for a bit.

Locomotives:

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 arrived at Bressingham in 1973. It is currently on display in the Exhibition Hall.
1663 Männertreu	Krupp	4-6-2 Pacific	Lined dark Green	Built in 1937, also for a trade fair. It arrived at Bressingham in 1973. This engine is currently being repaired. You can see its parts on display while the work is being done.
St Christopher	Exmoor Steam Railway	2-6-2T	Lined Red	Built in 2001. This engine moved to Bressingham in 2011 and is now the main engine on the Waveney Valley Railway. It was repainted red in 2018.
D6353 Beaver	J. Brown	4wd-4wdDM	Green with full Yellow ends.	Built in 1998. This engine looks like a larger British Rail locomotive. It sometimes pulls passenger trains.
Ivor	Frezne Engineering	4w DH	Green	Built in 1979. This engine is used for work around the railway.

Standard Gauge Locomotives

These are larger, standard-sized railway engines.

Number and name	Builder	Type	Wheel arrangement	Year	Livery	Status	Notes
662 Martello	Brighton railway works	LB&SCR A1 Class	0-6-0T	1875	SR Lined Green	Operational	This engine is ready to run.
102 Granville	Nine Elms Locomotive Works	LSWR B4 class	0-4-0T	1893	Dark green	On static display	You can see this engine on display.
490	Stratford Works	GER Class T26	2-4-0	1894	GER Ultramarine Blue	On static display	This engine is on loan from the National Railway Museum.
87	Stratford Works	GER Class S56	0-6-0T	1904	GER Ultramarine Blue	On static display	This engine is also on loan from the National Railway Museum.
80	Robert Stephenson and Company	LT&SR 79 Class	4-4-2T	1909	LT&SR green	On static display	Another engine on loan from the National Railway Museum.
6841 William Francis	Beyer, Peacock and Company		0-4-0+0-4-0	1937	Brown, lined	On static display	This is the last remaining standard gauge Garratt engine in Britain.
25	Neilson and Company		0-4-0ST	1896	Green	On static display	This engine used to work at a gas factory.
1472 Bluebottle	Andrew Barclay		0-4-0F	1916		On static display
5865 Peer Gynt	Schichau-Werke	DB/NSB Class 52/63	2-10-0	1944	Black	On static display	This engine was stored in a tunnel in Norway for many years.
377 King Haakon VII	NOHAB	NSB Class 21c	2-6-0	1919	Green	On static display
92203 Black Prince	Swindon Works	BR Standard Class 9F	2-10-0	1959	Black	Stored awaiting overhaul	This engine is on loan from the North Norfolk Railway.

Broad Gauge Steam Locomotives

This section features a very wide railway engine.

Number and name	Builder	Type	Wheel arrangement	Year	Livery	Status	Notes	Image
1144	Lokomo	VR Class Tk3	2-8-0	1948	VR Dark Green	On static display. Plinthed.	This engine is on permanent display.

Other Steam Vehicles

Bressingham also has many other types of steam-powered vehicles.

Portable Steam Engines

Burrell No. 2363 of 1901: This portable engine is still working!
Youngs Portable of 1910: Made locally in Diss, it's now on display.
Tidman Centre Engine No. 1891 Victoria: This engine usually powers the Gallopers carousel. It is currently being repaired.
Merryweather Fire Engine no. 3702: An old fire engine.
Merryweather Fire Pump of 1914: A steam-powered fire pump.

Steam Rollers

Burrell No. 3962 Boxer of 1923: On display.
Burrell No. 3993 Buster of 1924: This one is still 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 one is still working!
Fowler Traction engine No. 6188 Beulah of 1890: On display.

Dad's Army Collection

The museum is also home to a special collection from the famous TV show Dad's Army. You can see a recreated High Street from the show's fictional town, Walmington-on-Sea. There's Lance Corporal Jones's butcher shop and Captain Mainwaring's bank office.

The collection includes vehicles used in the show and the 1971 Dad's Army film. You can see Jones's van and the dust cart from the movie. Also, Captain Mainwaring's Austin 8 staff car and the fire engine from different episodes are there. Even the steamroller "Boxer" and traction engine "Bertha" from other episodes are part of the display.