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| Talyllyn at Brynglas |
Welcome to the Narrow Gauge Pleasure web site. This site is devoted to The
British Narrow Gauge Railways and what makes them worth visiting. If you want
an introduction to the subject carry on and read this page first. If all you
want is to find out about the railways or go straight to their own sites go to
The Railways page and proceed from there.
It is all too easy to dismiss the narrow gauge railways of Britain as
insignificant, and perhaps in a sense they are, however each surviving railway
represents a fascinating and unique piece of history with a well earned place
in our countryside. While our main line railways have been forced into dull
uniformity by the practicalities of being a part of a larger whole, their
smaller cousins retain their individuality, and with it their charm, which can
be a delight to young and old whether railway minded or casual visitor.
The variety that exists on our narrow gauge railways would be hard to
overstate. From the powerful locomotives of Wales built to haul heavy trains on
an arduous climb into the mountains to the scale model, main line in miniature,
offerings of the 15" gauge railways of England, the locomotives remain the
stars.
Equally inspiring is the country through which many of our surviving narrow
gauge railways run. Several of them were built to transport valuable minerals
from mines hidden high in the mountains to the sea through country so rugged
that a standard gauge line would have been impossible. This is why there are
three beautiful lines climbing from the coasts of Wales to remote spots high in the
spectacular Welsh hills.
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Narrow Gauge need not mean
Cramped or uncomfortable |
Some more recent railways were built by visionaries with a dream of combining
a miniature railway with a public service, this is how the Romney Hythe and
Dymchurch Railway came into being. This railway is unique in Britain in that
for much of its length it is double track and the narrow gauge locomotives,
each a miniature replica of a main line steam engine, flash past each other at
speed with their trains. Unusually most of this line is flat and straight as it
links the towns of Hythe and New Romney with a Holiday camp and then runs for
miles out into the strange shingle desert that is Dungeness.
There is yet another group of railways which capture the spirit of narrow gauge
rail while being of more modern origin, built specifically with the tourist in
mind. Some of these are run by volunteers just as dedicated as those preserving
systems that have been running for a century or more. This type of railway has
brought narrow gauge to parts of the country where it either never existed or
had completely disappeared. Don't dismiss modern lines as of no historical
interest as some have locomotives and rolling stock much older than the railways
themselves.
The narrow gauge has much to offer and it would be a shame to leave an area
boasting a narrow gauge railway without paying it a visit. I hope that you will
look around this site and share, at least for a minute or two, my enthusiasm
for the narrow gauge.