The Wales West Light Railway is a 1.6-kilometre (1 mi)

narrow gauge 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 structu ...

tourist railway in

Silverhill, Alabama Silverhill is a town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 706. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area. Geography Silverhill is located in southern Baldwin County at 30°32'42.95 ...

owned by Ann and Ken Zadnichek. It is built to simulate a Welsh narrow gauge railway. The railway and associated

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

host over 30,000 visitors annually.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

''Dame Ann''

''Dame Ann'' is an 11,700-pound

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built by

Exmoor Steam Railway The Exmoor Steam Railway is a narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge steam railway and locomotive manufacturer, located at Bratton Fleming in North Devon. gauge The railway was built by the Stirland family and first opened as a tourist attractio ...

Bratton Fleming Bratton Fleming is a large village, civil parish and former manor near Barnstaple, in Devon, England. It lies a few miles west of Exmoor. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Challacombe, Brayford, Stoke River ...

, England. Her steam trials were completed at the

Launceston Steam Railway The Launceston Steam Railway is a narrow gauge railway, in Cornwall, England. The railway operates from the town of Launceston to Newmills, where there is a farm park; it is long. The railway is built on the trackbed of the former standar ...

in Cornwall. She was delivered to the Wales West Light Railway in 2004. ''Dame Ann'' is based on the

Penrhyn Port Class The Penrhyn Port Class was a class of three narrow gauge steam locomotives built for the Penrhyn Quarry Railway (PQR). These locomotives were built by the Hunslet Engine Company between 1883 and 1885 and supplied specifically to work at Port Pen ...

locomotive built by

Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & S ...

in the 19th century. At the time of her construction, she was the first Port Class Hunslet engine built in 83 years.

''Gareth''

''Gareth'' is a Simplex 40S

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

built by British locomotive-building company

Motor Rail Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, originally based in Lewes, Sussex, they moved in 1916 to Bedford. In 1987 loco manufacture ceased, and the business line sold to Alan Keef Ltd of Ross-on-Wye, who continue to provide spar ...

in the mid 1960s. The two thousand pound locomotive was purchased from

Alan Keef Alan Keef Ltd is a British narrow gauge railway engineering company which manufactures, overhauls, and deals in narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and associated equipment. The Limited Company was formed in 1975 at Cote, Bampton, Oxon, ...

Ltd for use in the construction of the Wales West Light Railway. ''Gareth'' originally featured steam out-line body and had been used to pull a single car train in Scotland. His new owners replaced the steam out-line body with a body modeled after the Simplex-type diesels produced by Alan Keef in the 1980s.

Passenger cars

Passenger cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

on the Wales West Light Railway are

replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

s based on plans dating to the 19th century. They are built of wood over steel frames with wheels imported from England, and are equipped with modern air brakes.

7.5-inch railway

Wales West Light Railway also operates a shorter 7.5" gauge miniature ridable railway.

References

External links

Wales West WebsiteVideo on YoutubeMore information on the Motor Rail Simplex 40S
{{authority control Heritage railroads in Alabama Narrow gauge railroads in Alabama 2 ft gauge railways in the United States 7½ in gauge railways in the United States Transportation in Baldwin County, Alabama Museums in Baldwin County, Alabama Railroad museums in Alabama Railway lines opened in 2004 Railway services introduced in 2004 Tourist attractions in Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County, Alabama Narrow gauge steam locomotives of the United States