The Statfold Barn Railway is a
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
based near
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Tamworth (, ) is a market town and borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and north, Lichfield to the north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River T ...
and partially in Warwickshire, England. Founded by engineering entrepreneur Graham Lee and his wife Carol at their farm-based home, they originally designed what is still termed the garden railway, in which Graham could run his trains and Carol could design an extensive English country garden around a lake.
Graham Lee chaired the family-owned
LH Group, with its main focus on railway engineering services. After LH Group acquired what remained of the
Hunslet Engine Company in 2005, Graham pursued the opportunity to acquire the last steam locomotive built by Hunslet. Commissioned in 1971, it had been ordered by
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
-based Robert Hudson & Co Ltd, who supplied and installed a complete railway system for the Trangkil sugar mill estate in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. As he pursued the Hunslet, Graham noticed a number of other interesting but defunct steam locomotives of European origin in Indonesia, and set about recovering these as well.
After
Wabtec acquired LH Group in 2012, Graham retained the rights to produce steam locomotives under the Hunslet name. He had produced the first new steam powered Hunslet in 2006, and also restored several locomotives in the collection. In 2017, Graham and Carol Lee gave the collection of over 100 locomotives and associated vehicles, equipment and ephemera to the newly formed ''Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum Trust'', to ensure the collection was retained and maintained at its current site.
Today the railway has an extensive workshop where locomotives are built and restored. The railway is not open to the public, but a number of "Enthusiasts' Days" are held each year and interested enthusiasts may apply for an invitation to one of these events.
History
Having acquired Statfold Farm near Tamworth, Staffordshire as their family home, engineer Graham Lee – who had worked his way up through family owned LH Group, and eventually became chairman – persuaded his wife Carol to build a
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
around their garden and lake.
Happy with the garden railway, it was not until LH Group acquired what remained of the Hunslet Engine Company in 2005, that Graham pursued the opportunity to acquire the last steam locomotive built by Hunslet (and the last steam locomotive to be built in the UK for industrial use). Commissioned in 1971 to an original
Kerr Stuart design, it had been ordered by Leeds-based Robert Hudson & Co, who supplied and installed a complete railway system for the Trangkil sugar mill estate in Indonesia. Negotiations were conducted via Hunslet's agent in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, and after visiting the site during negotiations and to supervise the loading of ''Trangkil No.4'', Graham noticed a number of other interesting but defunct steam locomotives of European origin in Indonesia, and set about recovering these as well. Pakis Baru and Sragi sugar mills had interesting locomotive fleets and two examples from German manufacturers were acquired from each.
As Indonesia's state environmental laws do not allow the export of scrap-metal, Trangkil No.4 together with five other locomotives Graham proposed to export back to the UK had to be shown in steam and moving. Whilst Trangkil No.4 was still 2 ft gauge, the other five locomotives were built to the more common European 2 ft 6inches gauge. Graham hence built with friends what is now term the mainline – in dual 2 ft and gauge – which runs around the outside in a basic oval shape of the original garden railway. Thus was formed the Statfold Barn Railway, and its core collection.
[
After Wabtec acquired LH Group in 2012, Graham retained the rights to produce steam locomotives under the Hunslet name. He had produced the first new steam powered Hunslet in 2006, and used the same facilities to restore items in the collection.][ In March 2010 some 51 locomotives were based on the Statfold Barn Railway, either operable or waiting for restoration or rebuild.
In 2017, Graham and Carol Lee gave the collection of over 100 locomotives and associated vehicles, equipment and ephemera to the newly formed ''Statfold Narrow Gauge Trust'', to ensure the collection was retained and maintained at its current site.
Today the railway has its own workshop where locomotives are restored and maintained. The 'Field Railway' is a gauge line approximately long with a " balloon loop" at one end with a station at the other end, originally with ]mixed gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
. There is a passing loop
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
halfway along the line which has a single platform 'Oak Tree Halt' and a siding heading off to storage facilities in the 'Grain Store' roundhouse. There is also a separate (but connected) loop line 'Garden Railway' of gauge round an ornamental lake. Alongside the core 2 ft and 2 ft 6 inch collection, the museum also displays locomotives of other gauges including , and , and other vehicles.
For the 2017 season, a narrow gauge tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
track was laid in concrete parallel to the level section of the Field Railway incorporating an mixed gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
rail line. The running shed had a triple gauge line leading down into the standard gauge storage sidings and then across the Field Railway where a short stub led into a field.
Statfold Engineering Ltd is a separate company operating on the same site operated by Graham Lee's grandson, Nick Noon. Established in 2017, it undertakes work for outside customers, mainly in the railway industry.
Rolling stock
Statfold Barn Railway Open Day (geograph 3397567).jpg, Statfold Barn Railway Open Day 2013
Statfold Barn Narrow Gauge Railway - geograph.org.uk - 564861.jpg, Dual gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
track in 2007. The 2 ft 6 in gauge rail has since been discontinued owing to the dominance of the 2 ft gauge.
Statfold Barn Railway (geograph 3906352).jpg, ''Marchlyn'' of Avonside
Avonside is an eastern suburb in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest suburbs of the city, with only Heathcote being older.
History
The suburb was named after Holy Trinity Avonside, which was built beside the Avon River in 18 ...
in front of ''Sybil Mary'' of Hunslet
Statfold Barn Railway - Isibutu and train (geograph 4529206).jpg, ''Isibutu'' of W. G. Bagnall
W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England which was founded in 1875 and operated
until it was taken over in 1962 by English Electric.
History
The company was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall. The majority ...
File:Statfold Barn Railway - in need of some attention! (geograph 3911792).jpg, Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
before restoration.
Statfold Barn Railway - oiling round (geograph 3908206).jpg, ''Harrogate'' of Peckett and Sons (built for Harrogate Gasworks Railway
Harrogate Gasworks Railway was an industrial railway in the town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The line was a narrow gauge railway that ran between Bilton Junction on the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, to the Harrogate Gas Company's (HGC) ...
)
Statfold Barn Railway - garden railway (geograph 4514234).jpg, Vertical Boilered ''Paddy'' (now named ''Howard'') on the Garden Railway
Statfold Barn Railway - the cavalcade (geograph 4165692).jpg, A cavalcade of steam locomotives
Steam locomotives
Diesel locomotives
Petrol locomotives
Compressed air locomotives
Electric locomotives
Railcars
Trams
Unpowered passenger stock
In May 2014 the railway obtained a rake of four passenger coaches, originally built in 1984 for the Thorpe Park theme park, and latterly used on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, narrow gauge railway and was slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, ...
. In 2019 it was donated a coach which originated with the Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
Tunnel Railway
The Tunnel Railway (also known as the Ramsgate Cliff Railway, the Ramsgate Tunnel Railway, the Ramsgate Underground Railway and the World Scenic Railway) was a Narrow gauge railway, narrow-gauge underground railway in Ramsgate, Kent, England. ...
of 1936.
References
External links
{{Commons category
Official website
* Videos of the railway on 2 June 2007 from YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
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Heritage railways in Staffordshire
Heritage railways in Warwickshire
2 ft gauge railways in England
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in England
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England
Narrow-gauge railway museums in the United Kingdom