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Seaside & Holiday Island Narrow Gauge


Nearholmer
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Lovely railway, just sad I missed seeing it in its original electric mode by a mere seventy years! It was hugely important as an early example of railway electrification.

 

Thinking about Ireland, the re-opened section of the T&D gets pretty close to the sea, as did the Bord na Mona railway at Bangor Erris - I'm sure the sea is in the background of photos I took at the latter.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Nearholmer
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On 13/02/2021 at 18:06, Nearholmer said:

"Sandy Shores" by Jamie Warren, was the layout I was trying to recall, rather similar to Neil's "Little Point". Can't find images on-line but definitely one to look out for.


Many thanks for the feature! (Even if you spelled my name incorrectly. ;) Don't worry, it happens all the time!)
There's something special about the mix of the seaside and railways, and whilst I've never been fortunate enough to experience a seaside railway for myself, I can't think of a more pleasing thing to model. Most narrow gauge lines tend to be miniature railways as has been mentioned in this thread, but to be perfectly honest I don't think it hurts to "imagineer" a full-scale narrow gauge railway. That's what I did with Sandy Shores, as I wanted a bit of everything! That includes sand dunes, tatty wooden structures, an ornate lighthouse, a 2ft gauge railway etc etc. My ultimate goal was to produce a dreamlike hot summer seaside holiday, that I could experience all-year round. Like you hinted at in your original post, the summery seaside is the perfect escape! For me it was less about finding a prototype railway, and more about inspirational locations like Dungeness, Spurn Head, and Studland.

Without wishing to overstay my welcome, you can find my layout:

And you're right to notice that I was also inspired by Neil's layout Little Point. It's the air of laid-back remote life that I love especially, along with the muted, sunbleached colours.

 

I'll leave with one photo that I think conjures up exactly the seaside atmosphere I had in mind when I first designed Sandy Shores:

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All the best,
Jamie

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4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Although miniature, as opposed to NG, railways are not really "my thing", this one deserves a mention, because its gauge was so large, at 18". It had a pretty big (one third or half full-size?) Sentinel 4W VBTG, but I can't find a picture of that on the internet. 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trainsandstuff/19607960541

 

I believe that loco (or the remains of it) still exist somewhere?

 

Stewart

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On 13/02/2021 at 16:09, Tim V said:

Fairbourne in 1997. Check out that sunshine!

Fairbourne miniature Railway May 1997 K64 S20- (5).jpg

The sun does shine here from time to time.

The Fairbourne railway began as a horse drawn tramway built by McDougal's (of self raising flour fame) Property company, to haul bricks from a brickworks alongside the Cambrian railway to build housing for his planned upmarket seaside resort.  His plans, which would have included a promenade and pier, plus much more villa housing on a grid street pattern, never came to fruition, but for a while, after the building works stopped, the line was operated as a horse drawn tramway to the ferry across to Barmouth, which had run since mediaeval times, originally run by monks in Barmouth and which also carried the mail across the Mawddach.  Eventually it became the 15" gauge miniature railway before being re-gauged by a new owner in the 1980s to the current just over 12" gauge with half-scale replica narrow gauge locos.

It's been an integral part of the village for over 100 years, helping first to construct parts of it, then becoming a visitor attraction in it's own right

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43 minutes ago, Johann Marsbar said:

Lakeside Minature Railway in Southport during 1986.....

 

86-300a.JPG.1e24bf4fc4e050fd50b2b6708c65e713.JPG

 

86-301a.JPG.55b5a969b959f9cff62a095d389f8b8a.JPG

 

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Are these the same type of loco as the one at Saltburn which I believe is a generator in the tender and a traction motor on the loco?

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The three locos on the Festival of Britain line were built by Harry Barlow, who owned the Southport railway, with superstructures to Rowland Emmets design, on 4-6-2 chassis, diesel electric powered using war surplus gear. They went to Southport after 1951, and at least one was used for the streamliners shown above.

 

memories?? Summer of 1948 we were able to have a week at the seaside, first time I’d seen the sea, first time we’d had a holiday as a family, at Rhyl on the North Wales Coast. West end of the prom there’s the pleasure park with a large boating lake overlooking the Voryd estuary, with the Rhyl Miniature Railway circling it. Any spare pocket money went on rides round that. Bassett Lowke 4-4-2 if I remember right, so Kevin will approve of that.

96476473-FE77-4918-B12D-036E1DB47DC8.jpeg.b6c4ee50cd54257ef1ecae82e991699c.jpeg

 

A year or two later, off to Wales again, this time summer camp with the scouts, at a farm on the shoulder of a hill overlooking Fairbourne. The big treat was trips to Barmouth, down to the Fairbourne Railway terminus, run on the line, then over the estuary on the ferry boat. The star of the line was “Count Louis”, named after Zyborowski, with the tragic RHDR connection, but as I’ve put one B-L 4-4-2 on, mention the other workhorses on the line, two Lister 0-4-0s, “Gwril” and “Whippit Quick”

AD896170-CA4B-4FCD-835E-2A4701354927.jpeg.5769c9cec61a59bfec69bf9917fb524c.jpeg

Edited by Northroader
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Excellent!

 

The Listers are one of the few "off the shelf" industrial NG designs that is really easy to adjust down to 15" gauge. On Rustons, typical 20hp+ Simplexes, and most of the others, it is awkward, and at least some of the few 15" gauged Simplexes sit off-centre to the track, because of the way the gearbox is situated in the frame; the Ruston gearbox may prevent it completely, I'm not sure, but I certainly don't remember seeing a 15"ga R&H.

 

Within view of the sea if you stretched your neck, but definitely not a seaside line, was a 15" gauge setup at Bird Paradise, Hayle, Cornwall, and that had a nicely arranged Lister called, IIRC, "Cockatoo"., which I think might have been built new for them, rather than being an ex-industrial. May still be there for all I know.

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Also, must mention this excellent magazine. https://fr.1001mags.com/magazine/voie-libre

 

France is, as I keep saying, the real home of proper beach NG, rather than miniature, railways, and quite a few people build models inspired by them. Edition 82 was almost entirely devoted to the Cap Ferret line, models and prototype, for instance.

 

 

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Britain's second longest pier* also had a tramway

 

image.png.ddd2fabb81508290a01d1cf6688fc1b7.png

 

It ceased operating in 1939 and, owing to the fact that the Royal Engineers had blown two gaps in the pier in 1940 so that it couldn't be used by German invaders, never re-opened after the war, even though the gaps were restored and the pier reopened for pedestrians (and fishermen).

 

The tramcar was powered by batteries, though it is said that sail power was initially used, as this rather fanciful drawing shows

image.png.933b2d1ac0aec72d4ca8980533c333e9.png

 

The wind did once blow the tramcar off the pier and into the sea. I think this was when it was parked up and not while it had passengers on board

 

image.png.e315ae60adde9cab8cc3fa40006ef717.png

 

The pier also has a small place in cinema history as it featured in the opening sequence of Ken Russell's first film.

 

*) I am of course talking of Herne Bay pier. Lancastrians insist Southport pier was longer but of course I'm not having that. It would be like admitting the GWR was a finer railway than the SE&CR     xD

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38 minutes ago, whart57 said:

Lancastrians insist Southport pier was longer but of course I'm not having that.

 

But it did over the years have 3 railways: 3’ 6”, then 2’ (miniature outline), then 3’ 6” again (battery this time, now apparently withdrawn due to concerns about weight on the pier). Hythe also has a pier railway, 2’ with third rail. There are several cliff railways but a lot of these are broad gauge.

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11 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:


I’d thought about it, and it seems to on some counts, but it almost feels too serious to me, lacking in the sort of relaxed informality that characterises a seaside holiday.

Mind you that could be said of the Southend Pier railway. It seems more functional than fun as do the Hastings cliff lifts.

Have we had the Great Orme tramway? I think that if a railway is a tourist attraction at the seaside it should count. Some of the continental ones shown above clearly are 'transport' not just for amusement. 

Edited by phil_sutters
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There used to be a Tri-ang Minic railway at Swanpool Beach in Falmouth. Ran in a figure-of-eight, if I recall correctly.

 

I remember a rather nice miniature railway at Felixstowe too.

 

Surprised nobody's mentioned the North Bay Railway in Scarborough yet.

Edited by St Enodoc
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6 minutes ago, Andy Kirkham said:

Do we know anything about the loco(s)? The one in the picture looks to me as if it might be a Manning, Wardle.

There was no mention of what locos were used on either of the two websites I learnt about it from

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