Wythall miniature railway is a

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 ca ...

miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petro ...

in the grounds of

The Transport Museum, Wythall The Transport Museum, Wythall is a transport museum just outside Birmingham, at Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcestershire, England. The museum was originally run by the charity The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust (BaMMOT). BaMMOT was form ...

in England. It is operated and maintained by Elmdon Model Engineering Society (EMES)

Technical information

The track consists of , and gauges. The majority of passenger hauling is done by -inch gauge locomotives. However, smaller locomotives do often run successfully.

The club owns several locomotives : *-inch gauge 'Sandwell Lady'. A narrow gauge Hunslet type locomotive built by the members of the society. *-inch gauge Black 5, number 5241, built by a local engineer and donated to the society. *-inch gauge "Nigel", a Hercules class locomotive *-inch gauge "Nefyn", a narrow gauge Reemus class locomotive *-inch gauge petrol hydraulic locomotive. The track runs round the gardens of the transport museum and includes locomotive sheds, a station, a tunnel and a viaduct. The steepest climb on the line stretches from the viaduct to the tunnel with a 1 in 110 climb. The trip consists of two loops passing the station twice via a loop line. Nefyn at the station

History

Elmdon Model Engineering Society was formed by a group of Model Engineers in the early 1980s. The idea was to give an alternative to other clubs in the Greater

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

area. The first EMES track site was located close to Elmdon Airport. EMES members built the track and facilities along with battery powered club locomotive However, the Elmdon site did not work out. Visitors would part their cars too close to the tracks, stopping the trains. In addition, vandals tore up the track and stole a locomotive. EMES then made an agreement with the

Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's cleari ...

Railway centre, a Museum in

. EMES members laid out -inch gauge track at the site. As part of the agreement, EMES members performed maintenance chores there. However, over time disagreements arose between the two parties concerning the work obligations of the EMES members. EMES decided to seek a different site. EMES and Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust (BaMMOT) agreed to let EMES build a facility on a unused section of the Trust's Wythall facility. The Wythall track opened on 4 May 1998 EMES members pay an annual membership fee and donate labour to maintain the EMES track, locomotives and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

and maintain the site. They also run open day trains. EMES stages outside events at carnivals and other sites using a portable track.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wythall Steam Rail Wythall Transport Museum
Miniature railways in the United Kingdom