The Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway (BWLR) is located near the villages of Wormshill and

Bredgar Bredgar is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale, Kent, England. Location The village lies to the southwest of Sittingbourne on the road between Tunstall and Hollingbourne (previously the B2163). The M2 motorway crosses the parish. ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, just south of

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

. It 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 struct ...

about in length. The BWLR is a private line which has been built up as a hobby by a group of friends since the early 1970s. It is a fully operational line, operated to a high standard, with a station, engine sheds and workshops at Warren Wood station and a smaller station at the other end of the line, known as Stony Shaw. The line is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month and most Wednesdays throughout the summer to raise money to maintain and manage the collection. On event days a number of other attractions are on display including a model railway, a Dutch street organ, a

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

steam roller A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through ...

, a Victorian beam engine, an American fire department Ladder truck and a range of old tractors and cars. The Tearoom is open Wednesday thru Sunday (9:00 - 15:00) throughout the year offering a selection of teas, coffees, cakes, sandwiches snacks and lunches. In June 2011, the railway appeared briefly in a segment filmed for the BBC's ''

Saturday Kitchen ''Saturday Kitchen Live'' is a British cookery programme, that is broadcast live on BBC One every Saturday between 10.00am and 11.30am produced by Cactus TV. History 2002–2003 After a pilot hosted by Ainsley Harriott on 14 April 2001, the ...

'' programme which aired on 18 June 2011.

The Stations

* Warren Wood Station * Stony Shaw Station

Rolling stock

Operational steam locomotives

Steam locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration

Operational diesel locomotives

Diesel locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration

Locomotives no longer at the railway

Traction engines

The museum has four steam road locomotives in its collection; some are operational and steamed on open days and others are undergoing repair, restoration or overhaul.

Cars

Bean cars

The BWLR is home to a collection of

Bean cars Bean Cars was a brand of motor vehicles made in England by A Harper Sons & Bean, Ltd at factories in Dudley, Worcestershire, and Coseley, Staffordshire. The company began making cars in 1919 and diversified into light commercial vehicles in 192 ...

Other cars

Other exhibits

Other exhibits to be found at the BWLR include:

Beam engine

An 1870 beam engine built by Thomas Horn to a design by James Watt. One of two supplied to a waterworks at Ashford. Acquired in 1988 and restored to working order.

Twinning

The BWLR is twinned with the Chemin de Fer de La Valée de l'Ouche (CFVO),

Bligny-sur-Ouche Bligny-sur-Ouche (, literally ''Bligny on Ouche'') is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. History The history of Bligny is ancient. Its church is an interesting monument to visit (constructed within an old medieval ca ...

, Côte-d'Or,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

References

{{authority control Heritage railways in Kent 2 ft gauge railways in England Museums in the Borough of Maidstone Railway museums in England