Fawley Hill Railway

Fawley Hill Railway is a privately owned heritage railway on the Fawley Hill estate of the late Sir William McAlpine at Fawley in Buckinghamshire, England. An acknowledged railway enthusiast as well as a director of the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine, McAlpine returned to Hayes depot during the Beeching Axe to find that the company's Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No.31 was for sale for £100. He purchased the locomotive, and moved it to Fawley Hill. This marked the start in 1965 of the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Fawley Hill Railway, a private railway which now runs to over a mile long, combining the steepest gradient at 1:13 on a British railway, and includes: The Great Eastern Railway Somersham railway station Midland Railway signal box from Shobnall Maltings, near Burton upon Trent The footbridge from Brading on the Isle of Wight, Bridge No 25, where it spanned the Ryde Pier to Shanklin line A carved pediment from Broad Street railway station The platform shelter from Bourne End railway station Fawley Signal Box (formerly a Shunters' Cabin from Upwell Street Wharf, Sheffield) Inverernie Station Shelter (formally at Thrapston on the Kettering-Cambridge line) In addition, the estate surrounding the railway line is adorned with several prominent architectural features which McAlpine acquired – although these were received mostly as donations; these include the original Wembley Stadium Twin Towers flagpoles, some early cast-iron bridge parapets, and several arched structures from prominent London locations. Apart from the resident steam engine, No.31 (away for boiler overhaul in 2024/5), an ex-British Rail Class 03 diesel-mechanical shunter (D2120) is operational on the line together with two Hibberd 0-4-0 Planet diesel-mechanical industrial locomotives. Fawley Hill Railway holds open days on a limited number of weekends during the summer months. These are known as Invitation Days and are strictly ticket-only events for which prospective visitors…