Weston Park Miniature Railway August Bank Holiday 2021

Weston Park 7¼" gauge miniature railway is one of the longest and with its steep gradients and six coach trains one of the most challenging in England. A summer Fair was held in the Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend and friends of the railway brought their locomotives along to help out with the crowds. The line is a dog bone layout with the station near the middle. A token system is used to protect trains on the upper portion of the line. The video starts with locomotive preparation and ends with a blowdown and departure.

[@harrykingston3486]

Many happy memories of this line as a young child. Especially riding on Merlin the regular diesel loco that worked normal days. Thank you for bringing back these memories

[@micksavage]

You're welcome, the attraction of miniature railways for me links back to my childhood too.

[@locowerke]

Enjoyed that! Very nicely produced video, thanks for posting!!

[@micksavage]

Thank you for your kind comments.

[@TXM]

Very impressive 👍

[@ronaldfazekas6492]

MY GOD! That is incredible!--It was my dream when I was 10 to come across such a railway!

[@markfryer9880]

Nice! We have the 7 1/4 railway at Eltham. It was there when I was a kid in the 70s and it's still going strong. Mark from Melbourne Australia

[@micksavage]

Thanks Mark. I think the the Diamond Valley Railway at Eltham Park is a first class.

[@tracynation2820]

An excellent video. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.

[@micksavage]

Thank you very much!

[@patrickporter6536]

Nice!

[@micksavage]

Thanks Patrick, I'm glad you liked it.

[@jackminiaturetrains6627]

Great video mate

[@micksavage]

Thank you Jack, much appreciated. I like your railway!

[@dustpanandthebrush5293]

Fantastic chips mam plenty more

[@fukgoogle9505]

Great video. I have a narrow gauge railroad in Texas called the "Ye olde C&B Railroad" C&B stand for "Cock and Bull".

[@micksavage]

Thank you. I like the name of your railroad!

[@kailichttrager229]

Gauge: 43.815 (metric)

[@timothyboles6457]

interesting seeing the American style 2 foot locomotives there in England. beautiful paint on the one mogal. that's some really heavy rail used throughout the line, we don't see that on american live steam railroads, or larger scale

[@micksavage]

I have visited a fair number of miniature railroads in the USA and driven locos on a few. Narrow gauge locomotives are popular in the UK on many public hauling 7¼” gauge railways due to the need for heavy passenger hauling and often steep inclines, as at Weston Park. In addition, they are much more comfortable for the engineer to operate! Heavy duty rail lasts longer, reduces the need for lots of ties, and gives a smoother ride. The beautiful P & R #3 was built to its owner’s specifications by Cromar White Limited in North Wales.

[@imzachjones]

The two locomotives double heading at 8:06 in the video are just stunning. Do you know where I could learn more about them?

[@micksavage]

They are both 7¼" gauge replicas of two foot narrow gauge locomotives that operated in Main, USA. They are privately owned and were visiting the Weston Park railway.

[@carmium]

@@micksavage I also noted a Bridgton & Saco (sic) Railroad engine @ 3:28. Surprised to see three mini Maine two-footers in one English park! * the real name was Bridgton & Saco River Railroad

[@megamanx5760]

@@micksavage that would explain why I seeing locomotives that look more American

[@benforsey2937]

Where can I guy one?

[@jaberjay8597]

iv been here i live in shrewsbury

[@ianoliver3879]

NIce stuff - but there seems to be a peculiar glitch in your editing software. A six second freeze frame before most cuts. Or are my eyes even worse than I think?

[@ianoliver3879]

Sorry - six FRAME freeze!

[@micksavage]

Thanks. It is standard Microsoft video editor. There is a very short pause, I agree, but I don't think it's six seconds..

[@stephensmith799]

Was No.9 supplied from the USA?

[@micksavage]

Hi Stephen, it was built in England. All the locos you can see were built in the UK. Thanks for asking.

[@stephensmith799]

@@micksavage Thanks for the info👍

[@kostka4876]

It doesn't look like 7", everything looks more like at 10",how did they build everything so big on that Gauge? (Despite living in Germany, I'm actually pretty familiar with these small scale Railroads)

[@micksavage]

There is a tradition in the UK of building narrow gauge locos and standard gauge, both using 7¼" gauge track. Some represent two foot gauge, some three foot gauge locos. In the USA some standard gauge ( 4ft 8½") locomotives were even regauged to run on 3 ft gauge - massive engines on a small track. I used to attend the annual model engineering exhibitions in Sinsheim, Germany, so I'm aware that there is a much greater concentration on smaller making, very detailed standard gauge locos over there. The use of narrow gauge means you get the power for heavy passenger hauling, the comfort of driving while sitting in a proper seat, cheaper track and can use smaller radius curves. 10¼" or even 15" gauge are better for a miniature railway but the costs of building and installing escalate dramatically and are not something the majority of hobbyists could consider.

[@kostka4876]

@@micksavage I meant it more like : how is it possible not to derail constantly with this setup?

[@micksavage]

@@kostka4876 The centre of gravity of a loco and train is directly over the centre line of the rail so everything is balanced more or less equally between the rails whatever the size. Carriages have very low centre of gravity built in to counteract passengers' weight and movement. Also narrow gauge locos and rolling stock have wider wheels and deeper flanges than standard 7¼" gauge models. I hope that answers your question.

[@kostka4876]

@@micksavage pretty much answers it, tanks.

[@megamanx5760]

Little do the brits know that America has found oil in these engines

[@malcolmbryant1137]

Where abouts is this

[@micksavage]

Hi Malcolm, it's in the grounds of Weston Park stately home, Weston-under-Lizard, UK. www.westonrail.co.uk/Weston_Park_Railway.html

[@nicholas2198]

@@micksavage do they take visitors? I've been to the nearby echills wood railway before and this looks like a very nice place to go for a visit with my engine some time. Is it worthwhile messaging the website as it doesn't look like any events have been updated in a few years

[@micksavage]

@@nicholas2198 As far as I know there aren't any visitors' days planned in the way they used to be. Visiting locos nowadays are heavy haulers helping to keep the revenue earning trains running.

[@nicholas2198]

@@micksavage thanks, always worth sending a message I suppose if I'm having a weekend trip. Worst case I run at echills wood and just have a ride and look at Weston

[@dannygroom3327]

Wow that was boring!