Almond Valley Light Railway

The Almond Valley Light Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway running at the Almond Valley Heritage Trust site at Livingston, Scotland. The railway operates at weekends between Easter and the end of September and daily during some school holiday periods. There are two stations, both with waiting shelters and run round loops. A small two-road loco shed is provided at the heritage centre end of the line. There is a storage siding here also.

Almond Valley Light Railway
Barclay diesel loco with passenger train at Livingston Mill Station. The line's loco shed is to the right.
LocaleLivingston, Scotland
TerminusLivingston Mill Station
Preserved operations
Operated byAlmond Valley Heritage Centre
Stations2
Length500m
Preserved gauge2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Commercial history
Opened1993
Preservation history
1993Railway begins operating using second hand military equipment
2006Extension towards river almond proposed
Almond Valley
Light Railway
 Livingston Mill
Farm access crossing
 Almondhaugh
Possible future extension

Locomotives

The line uses only internal combustion locomotives. It has never intended to use steam locomotives and therefore has no facilities for them. The railway is home to a number of electric locomotives (five battery, one overhead); however, these are not used. All of the battery locomotives are likely to require new batteries before being used again.[1]

Name Builder Type Date Works number Livery Notes/Current Status Photo
Oakbank No.2 Baldwin 4w OE 1049 1902 unknown Worked at the Oakbank Oil Company on one of the first electric railways in Scotland. Museum exhibit inside heritage centre building. Fitted with trolley pole to collect current from the Oakbank System's overhead wires. On loan from National Museums of Scotland.
Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company 0-4-0 DM 1049 1940 2270 Worked at the RNAD Broughton Moor depot in Cumberland. Fitted with air braking. Occasionally used on passenger train.
Greenwood 4w BE 1049 1941 1698 Flameproof "steeple cab" battery electric. Worked at ROF Bishopton and ROF Bridgwater (fleet no.B3583). Has been cosmetically restored. Stored.
Barclay Andrew Barclay 4w DM 1970 557 Blue. ex-ICI explosives factories at Ardeer and Powfoot. Fitted with air braking. This locomotive is in full working order and usually operates the passenger train.
Brook Victor 4w BE 1972 ? Yellow (weathered) Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.18). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
Brook Victor 4w BE 1972 612 Yellow (weathered) Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.20). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
Brook Victor 4w BE 1974 698 Yellow (weathered) Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.38). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
Brook Victor 4w BE 1974 700 Yellow (weathered) Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.42). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
Scruffy Hunslet Engine Company 4w DM 1973 7330 Red Stored. Worked at ROF Bishopton.
Baguley-Drewry 4w DM 1980 3572 Yellow Acquired in February 2004. Previously worked at the RNAD Dean Hill naval depot in Hampshire. Fitted with air braking. Undergoing overhaul.
Simplex Motor Rail 4w DM 1981 40SPF522 Yellow (weathered) Worked at ROF Bishopton and ROF Bridgwater. Latterly cannibalised for spares at Bishopton. Stored.

Rolling stock

The railway's passenger stock consists of three air braked coaches constructed on-site using ex-RNAD wagon underframes. An ex-RNAD all steel bogie brake van also forms part of the passenger train. In addition to this, the railway has a small selection of ex-RNAD wagons (two tank wagons, a covered van and an open wagon).

Track

The railway's 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge trackwork consists of flat-bottomed rail mounted using pandrol clips onto Costain concrete sleepers (wooden sleepers are used for pointwork). All track is ex-RNAD. There are some seven sets of points on the route, all of which are manually controlled by an adjacent lever.

Signalling

The railway operates on the "one engine in steam" principle and has no signals. A single line token is carried by the locomotive using the line.

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See also
  • British narrow gauge railways

References
  1. Butcher, Alan C. Railways Restored. Ian Allan, 2006, p. 167.

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