Amberley Working Museum (Amberley, West Sussex)
Wide-ranging industrial heritage museum.  A 2-foot narrow gauge railway operates.  Mostly diesel traction, but steam operates on special days.
http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/
Specific Railway website: http://www.amberleynarrowgauge.co.uk/
My Photographs (2009)

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (Quainton Road Station, nr Aylesbury, Bucks)
http://www.bucksrailcentre.org/

Devon Railway Centre (2 foot gauge) (Bickleigh, near Tiverton, Devon) (½ mile long)
Also features a miniature railway (7¼ inch gauge, ½ mile long; and a standard gauge display at Bickleigh Station)
http://www.devonrailwaycentre.co.uk/

Didcot Railway Centre (Didcot, Oxfordshire) (line ¾ mile long)
http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/

East Anglian Railway Museum (Chappel and Wakes Colne Railway station, Colchester, Essex)
Steam and diesel working museum, with rides along the tracks within the complex on several days during each year.
http://www.earm.co.uk/

Elham Valley Railway Museum (near Folkestone, Kent)
http://www.elhamvalleylinetrust.org/

Seaton Tramway (Seaton, South Devon) (Gauge: 2 feet, 9 inches) (3½ miles long)
http://www.tram.co.uk/
My Photographs (1985)

Underground Railways and DLR

Electrifying London
History of London's (electric) Underground Railways.
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~gsgleaves/london1.htm

History of London Tube Maps (London Underground)
Scans of the tube maps issued from 1889 to 2002, with written details of changes on each edition.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/tube.html

Clive's Underground Line Guides (London Underground)
Detailed history of each line of the London Underground with route diagrams and other information.
http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/

London Railways.net
Useful, and detailed history of aspects of the London Underground.
http://www.londonrailways.net/

Preserved Stations and Infrastructures (See Note 2)

Axbridge Station (Axbridge, Somerset)
Now a community centre for the town.
http://www.onlineweb.com/railways/axbridge_station/axbridge_station.htm
My Photographs (2008)

Bideford Station (North Devon)
Preserved buildings with an information centre and some carriages on a short track.  Part of the Tarka Trail, which now extends along the former railway line of North Devon.
http://www.thenorthdevonfocus.co.uk/Bideford%20Station.htm

Breamore Station (Breamore, Hampshire)
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/breamore/index.shtml
My Photographs (2006)

Shillingstone Station Preservation Project (Dorset)
Currently undergoing restoration by a local trust.
http://www.shillingstone-station-project.co.uk/ OR http://www.shillingstone.addr.com/
My Photographs (2008)

Tintern Station (near Chepstow, Monmouthshire)
Now part of a recreation area, with a restaurant in the station building, an art gallery in the signal box, and with two carriages used as information and activity centres.  Owned by Monmouthshire Council.
http://www.urban75.org/photos/wales/tintern.html (Many old photos of the station)
http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/Monmouth/English/Environment_and_Planning/Countryside/Explore_the_Countryside/Sites/Old+Station+Tintern.htm
My Photographs (2008)

West Bay Station (Dorset).  
Now a café.
Photo and some history:  http://www.westbay.co.uk/bridport/railway.html

Individual Locomotives or Locomotive Types (also EMUs & DMUs)

Bulleid Society
Owns and restores Bulleid locomotives which are kept on the Bluebell Railway.
http://www.locos-in-profile.co.uk/Bulleid_Society/index.html

Class 56 Group
Group dedicated to the preservation of Class 56 diesel locomotives, fully withdrawn in 2004.
http://www.class56group.co.uk/

Class 442 ("Wessex" EMU)
Celebrating the Waterloo/Weymouth EMUs 1988-2007
http://www.class442.co.uk/

Dinmore Manor Locomotive Limited
Owners and restorers of locos 7820 and 3850 on the West Somerset Railway.
http://www.dinmoremanor.co.uk/

Electro-Diesel Locomotive Group
Dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of Class 73 Electro Diesel E6003 "Sir Herbert Walker".
The locomotive is currently on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway.
http://www.edlg.co.uk/
My Photographs

EPB Preservation Group (Electric Multiple Units) (operating on the East Kent Railway)
This group actively restores and operates ex-Southern electric multiple units on the East Kent Railway.
http://www.epbpg.co.uk/

Maunsell Locomotive Society
Estabished to restore steam engines that were designed by Richard Maunsell of the Southern Railway.  Their restored locos are kept on the Bluebell Railway.
http://www.maunsell.org/

Preserved Diesels
Comprehensive website about diesel locomotives owned by preservation groups in the UK.
http://preserved-diesels.co.uk/

South Devon Diesel Traction
Organisation formed to preserve, operate & hire out ex B.R. Diesel locomotives, based on the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh, Devon.
http://www.sddt.co.uk/

Southern Electric Group
Organisation for enthusiasts, historians, modellers and preservationists of the largest third rail electric railway system in the world.
http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/

 

Closed Railway Companies & Routes

Buntingford Branch Line (Hertfordshire)
"The Bunt" is a society dedicated to the history of the Buntingford Line, itself known by locals as "The Bunt".
http://www.thebunt.co.uk/

Ringwood to Christchurch Branch (Hampshire)
Useful information about this line which was an early branch line casualty, lasting just 73 years from 1862 to 1935.
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~rod99/pages/rail/ringwood-christchurch.htm

Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
Comprehensive photo library of the S&DJR infrastructure since closure of the line.
http://www.nevard.com/sdjr/

Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust (Washford, Somerset - on the WSR)
http://www.sdrt.org.uk/

Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway
Comprehensive site giving full details of this former Somerset railway, with many photos, past and present.
http://www.wcandpr.org.uk/

Weymouth Quay Branch Line
Information about this railway line through the streets of Weymouth, which was in use until the 1980s.
http://www.gearwheelsmag.co.uk/features/weymouthquayrailway.htm
My Photographs (1985) 

 

Closed Railway Stations

Closed Stations
A collection of private photographs from the 1980s to the present of closed stations and lines.
http://www.disusedrailways.co.uk/Closed%20Stations1.htm

Disused Stations
Details of more than 1000 closed stations, including photos.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/

 

Closed Underground Railway Stations

Disused Tube
Photo collection with plenty of useful historical and current information.
http://www.disusedtube.co.uk/

London's Abandoned Tube Stations
Details of all closed tube stations with many photographs
http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/

Underground History
Comprehensive review of all closed London tube stations with photographs
http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php

 

Railway History (Lines Open or Closed)

Forgotten Relics
Celebrating the great achievements in railway construction - viaducts, tunnels, etc. (Most items seem to be in the north, but some southern constructions are covered).
http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/

The Railway Archive
Free online archive of documents charting the development of Britain's railways
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/

 

Trailways along former Railway Tracks

Railway Ramblers
Organisation which arranges walks along disused railway lines and other historical transport routes.
http://www.railwayramblers.org.uk

Castleman Trail - Brockenhurst to Hamworthy (Hampshire/Dorset)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ron.strutt/rrcor2.html

Hayling Billy Trail (Hayling Island, Hampshire)
Footpath along the former Hayling Island Railway Line.
http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2646

Rodwell Trail (Weymouth, Dorset)
http://website.lineone.net/~wendyedwards/rodwelltrailcont.html

Strawberry Line (North Somerset)
http://www.thestrawberryline.co.uk/d/147/Yatton_to_Cheddar.html

Tarka Trail (North Devon)
Extensive foot and cycle path along  former railway lines of North Devon.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/tarkatrail.htm

 

Planned New Railways

Cross Rail (Berkshire-London-Essex)
The route will go from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west across the capital into Essex and Kent in the east. It will travel underground through the city centre between Paddington and east London in newly-constructed tunnels.
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/

 

Railway Clubs & Societies

Broad Gauge Society
Formed 1980 to promote research into, and the modelling of, the 7' 0¼" Broad Gauge Railways of Great Britain.
http://www.broadgauge.org.uk/

Engine Shed Society
Founded in 1986 for the study of British locomotive sheds and depots, both extinct and existing.
http://www.abrail.co.uk/ess.htm

Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust
http://www.hngrt.org.uk/

London Underground Railway Society
The LURS exists to study all aspects of London's underground railways - past, present and future.
http://www.lurs.org.uk/

Rother Valley Railway
Plans to connect the Kent & East Sussex Railway at Bodiam to the main line railway at Robertsbridge.
http://www.rvr.org.uk/

Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust (Washford, Somerset - on the WSR)
http://www.sdrt.org.uk/

South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society
"The Society was founded in 1973 to promote interest in the South Eastern and Chatham Railway , its two constituent railways (the London Chatham and Dover Railway and the South Eastern Railway) and successors".
http://www.southeasternandchathamrailway.org.uk/

Southern Electric Group
Organisation for enthusiasts, historians, modellers and preservationists of the largest third rail electric railway system in the world.
http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/

 

Reference Websites

Railway Vocbulary
Explanation of railway terms.
http://www.stationbuffet.co.uk/railwayvocab.html

 

 

Please send your suggested links and other comments to:  mjs@onlineweb.com

 

 

NOTES:

NOTE 1: GAUGE SIZES

Standard Gauge in the UK is 4ft 8½in  (1.435 mtrs)

Narrow Gauge is typically between 2 and 3 feet (approx 0.6 mtrs and 0.9 mtrs), although they can be wider or narrower

Miniature Railway Gauge is typically between 5 and 15 inches (127mm and 381mm), with 7¼ inches (185 mm) most common.  Some "miniature" railways have gauges of 18 or even 20 inches, which makes them almost narrow gauge railways.

The distinction between narrow gauge and miniature gauge can be very fluid, and often depends on how the owners wish to describe their railway.  Generally, such railways are listed here under Narrow Gauge or Miniature Railway headings according to the gauge sizes mentioned above.

For narrow gauge and miniature railways listed, the gauge size is given alongside each individual railway name.

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NOTE 2: PRESERVED STATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURES

This section only lists individual buildings which do not form part of an operating railway line, but now exist in isolation.  Such buildings will have been restored, or are in the process of being restored, and the public has or will have access, although this may be restricted in some cases.  Some of these buildings are now railway museums, or may be tourist information centres, community or leisure centres, or even restaurants.  Clearly, former stations that are now private homes are not listed, unless they are already the subject of a publicly-available website.

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My Railway Photographs

 

 

Please send your suggested links and other comments to:  mjs@onlineweb.com

© Copyright M J Smith, 2009
No photographs to be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

 

 

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