Kerr's Miniature Railway

[Graham R]

I was sorry to see in today's (Dundee) Courier that the wee 10¼" railway at Arbroath is to shut down next month after 85 years, due to lack of custom. I used to look forward to a run on it as a bairn visiting Arbroath to see relatives, but I am as guilty as anyone in not taking my own kids more than once or twice, and not having stopped off for a look for years now.

 

Does anyone know more about the line's future ?

 

Graham

Edited August 10, 2020 by Graham R
Added link

[Torper]

I was sad too - there's a statement on the line's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KerrsMiniatureRailway/videos/3156216254468584/

 

Back in my childhood (rather a lot of years ago) it was great treat for my brother and I to travel over to Arbroath from Forfar for a ride on Kerr's Miniature Railway.  Back then it was busy, and traction was all steam, and in the mid 50s as many as 60,000 passengers rode the line in a single year.  It was only a short ride, but we loved it, with the added bonus of the ECML running alongside - invariably we'd see full size trains rush past while we were on the wee one, and the mainline drivers always used to give us a toot on the whistle.  Times have change rather dramatically since then - although the line is little changed save for the fact that steam is seldom used, passenger numbers last year were only 3,500.

 

As for the line's future, it seems likely that it'll be moved to new location under new ownership.  It appears that there have already been a number of expressions of interest.

 

Here's a picture of the line in busier days.

 

 

[mezzoman253]

Better late than never from the Beeb https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-54250044

 

Rob

[Torper]

The line is closed this weekend due to the weather, but next weekend (10th/11th October) will see the line's grand finale, with every available loco working.  Ironically, with all the publicity the line has received over the closure, it's been very busy over the last few weekends.

 

DT

[keefer]

So sad to hear this. We often stayed with relatives in Arbroath for our holidays and remember going on it a few times when i was young.

Always used to look for it on the way in on the train - when you saw the Red Lion & Elliot caravans on one side and Kerr's and Pleasureland on the other, you knew you were nearly there!

I presume the 08+vans in one of the pictures will be heading for the Metal Box factory at Elliot?

(c) Kerr's Miniature Railway

Edited October 3, 2020 by keefer

[tigerburnie]

I was talking to John last year, it is a shame but he felt it was the best thing to do and of course this year due to covid they've been hit even harder, my Grandkids will miss it for sure.

[keefer]

It was extra sad to read that apart from the obvious problem of falling numbers using the railway, there was the ever-present problem of vandalism over the years - aided no doubt by its relatively isolated location

[Torper]

Does anyone know whetver happened to the stock of Kerr's miniature railway, or if indeed it may still have a future?  I understand that in March 2021 Angus Council put the kibosh on a proposal by owner John Kerr to move the railway to a new location in Arbroath.  That same month John Kerr and his colleague Peter Bryant bought the Scarborough North Bay railway, which they now run together with the Cleethorpes Coast Light railway which they have owned sonce 2015.  Like the Arbroath railway the Cleethorpes line is 15" gauge, but it does not appear to be using any of the Arbroath stock, and the Scarborough line is 20".  Meanwhile, the Kerr's Miniature Railway website is still extant, and while no mention is made of the railway having closed the site is marked as ©2023 which suggests that someone may still be looking after it.

[JeremyC]

On 19/01/2023 at 13:19, Torper said:

........

Meanwhile, the Kerr's Miniature Railway website is still extant, and while no mention is made of the railway having closed the site is marked as ©2023 which suggests that someone may still be looking after it.

The year being correct doesn't necessarily mean the site is being looked after as the date can be updated automatically by using a 'Script' on the page.

 

e.g.

date_default_timezone_set("Europe/London");
                        echo date("Y");

Edited February 3, 2023 by JeremyC