Britain's Weirdest Railways

[Andy Worsfold]

Hi Guys, We had a great 'Bookazine' come in just before Christmas. Its been put together by Robin Jones and Mortons Media. Britain's Weirdest Railways.

It covers a wide range of subjects from Broad Gauge, Atmospheric,Welsh Narrow Gauge,Volks Electric Railway and loads more. Its exclusive to WHS and costs £7.99. Worth a go if you don't know what to spend that voucher on!

Kind Regards

Andy

 

[matthew]

juse about the weirdest railway i've ever been to, the Teifi Valley railway

 

[brianthesnail96]

juse about the weirdest railway i've ever been to, the Teifi Valley railway

That's not weird at all! Except for the fact the yard could be easily mistaken for a scrapyard it's an entirely normal 2ft ish gauge line...

My Dad helped build it!

 

[The Devonian]

In many cases it is not the railway that is unusual (don't particularly like the word 'weird') but the locos and stock. An unusual one in the South West of England was the Par Docks railway with the Peckett locos with a very short chimney. In fact many small industrial railways were unusual if not unique.

 

[JonathanJ]

Depends on the definition of 'Britain' you apply (and I'm going to ignore all the semantic/political/historical arguments here, hoping they're off-topic), but no list like this is even trying if it doesn't have the Listowel and Ballybunion on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lartigue_Monorail#The_Listowel_and_Ballybunion_Railway < Link To http://en.wikipedia.org/w...nd_Ballybunion_Railway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFeKmBa3olE  < Link To http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFeKmBa3olE (this is replica, think it's actually diesel powered)

Want to ship a cow to market without the wagon falling off the side of the track? Just put two calves in the other half of the wagon to balance it, and then they can balance each other on their way back. Somewhere I've got Don Boreham drawings of the locos and stock, and the thing is as nuts as it looks.

J.

Edited to add extra links below

PS : Just found that Marc Horowitz has made a working model. 'Solves' the 32/45mm gauge argument anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiB__3O3ly0&feature=related
http://www.sidestreet.info/locos/loco96.html

 

[brianthesnail96]

...the Par Docks railway with the Peckett locos with a very short chimney...

Bagnalls

Alfred and Judy, both now preserved (and operational I believe) on the Bodmin and Wenford.

 

[eye-kay]

Depends on the definition of 'Britain' you apply (and I'm going to ignore all the semantic/political/historical arguments here, hoping they're off-topic), but no list like this is even trying if it doesn't have the Listowel and Ballybunion on it.

I've just bought the bookzine on my way home tonight. Rest assured, the Listowel and Ballybunion is in it, along with such delights as the St.Michael's Mount railway, the Dungeness fish railways and many others.

Ian

 

[minimans]

...the Par Docks railway with the Peckett locos with a very short chimney...

Bagnalls

Alfred and Judy, both now preserved (and operational I believe) on the Bodmin and Wenford.

And Bagnall's to you to mate!!.......................

 

[Elmtree Line]

Ooh i like that :love:

 

[dunnyrail]

Depends on the definition of 'Britain' you apply (and I'm going to ignore all the semantic/political/historical arguments here, hoping they're off-topic), but no list like this is even trying if it doesn't have the Listowel and Ballybunion on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lartigue_Monorail#The_Listowel_and_Ballybunion_Railway < Link To http://en.wikipedia.org/w...nd_Ballybunion_Railway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFeKmBa3olE  < Link To http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFeKmBa3olE (this is replica, think it's actually diesel powered)

Want to ship a cow to market without the wagon falling off the side of the track? Just put two calves in the other half of the wagon to balance it, and then they can balance each other on their way back. Somewhere I've got Don Boreham drawings of the locos and stock, and the thing is as nuts as it looks.

J.

Edited to add extra links below

PS : Just found that Marc Horowitz has made a working model. 'Solves' the 32/45mm gauge argument anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiB__3O3ly0&feature=related
http://www.sidestreet.info/locos/loco96.html

Marc talks about his Lartigue line in his book on live steam, sadly a large amount of his track got destroyed by the Winter Snow (a Real hazard in Colorado) and I do not know if he has got round to rebuilding it yet. The locomotive is live steame built as a Likeness to the real things but without a tender. There was also a line built in France, but it never actually opened for public service I believe.
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

Re this thread, had forgotten the Patiala Steam tramway, though not Britain when it was built it was technically part of our Colonies (I think) so does it count. Anyhow if anyone can come up with something more weird than this, then go to the top of the class.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WUu0_MFNE&feature=related

What you have here is a single railed train with ONE set of Tractiuon Engine wheels on one side only. I would assume if such a thing existed in England today, all the little darlings would stand on one side in a effort to topple it over.
JonD
Note edited to spel the Railway Name correct as Patiala.

 

[brianthesnail96]

Ooh i like that :love:

Archangel made one yonks ago Keith- not particuarly accurate though! Think it might have been 32mm only too.

It's been modified rather a lot over the years anyway.

 

[The Devonian]

Guiding the thread back to "weird/quaint/unusual" railroads this one - The Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway - which I remember vaguely was a feature of the 1951 Festival of Britain. I recall, less vaguely, seeing an article in Railway Modeller, many years ago, of an OO or O guage model of this delightful anachronism. Someone may well remember both the FoB railway or the model better than I do.

 

[LTfan]

Yes - saw it - wasn't it in the Pleasure Gardens site at Battersea?

David

 

[New Haven Neil]

snip< In fact many small industrial railways were unusual if not unique.

Oh yus.... we likeses industrial oddities!

 

[KeithT]

Re this thread, had forgotten the Patnia Steam tramway, though not Britain when it was built it was technically part of our Colonies (I think) so does it count. Anyhow if anyone can come up with something more weird than this, then go to the top of the class.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WUu0_MFNE&feature=related

What you have here is a single railed train with ONE set of Tractiuon Engine wheels on one side only. I would assume if such a thing existed in England today, all the little darlings would stand on one side in a effort to topple it over.
JonD

That is straight out of an Emmett cartoon.

 

[trammayo]

I wonder if the book mentions the "Never stop" railway - turn of the previous century - think it was at an exhibition at Alexandra Palace. Carriages were powered by a continuous screw-like thread mounted between the rails - coarse thread outside the stations for speed and fine thread at the stations for slow speed allowing passengers to get off and on.

I also remember a narrow gauge chain operated (as opposed to cable) industrial railway at Birkby's Brickworks, Wyke, Bradford which operated until the 1970's. The trucks could be detached similar to the Bowes Incline.

Also there was the Kearney Tube Railway proposed for Leeds which had one ground level rail and one overhead rail (never got off the ground (or below it).
Mick

 

[LTfan]

Think that was at the British Empire Exhibition, at Wembley, 1924 & 1925.
There are a few film clips on the internet>

Cheers

David

And here's a map.

A larger map here:-

http://disused-rlys.fotopic.net/p49002875.html

 

[trammayo]

Thanks for that David - had a look at the map. My memory isn't what it used ti be (and probably never was) - I think an article appeared in Modern Tramway and the gist of it remained - only the details are missing!
Mick (from a minus 12 degrees in Mayo)

 

[dunnyrail]

Can anyone post a link to the Stop Railway at the Exhibition at Wembley, I used to clamber over bits of it my youth during the 50's as I lived in Wembley at the time. Alas no Vids in You Tube that I can find.

Alao another odity in Wales that I forgot:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o30FDVe92fY&NR=1

Enjoy this one, it is like a plate of jelly.
JonD