Bicton Woodland Railway

The Bicton Woodland Railway is a narrow gauge railway running in gardens in the grounds of Bicton House near Budleigh Salterton in Devon.

Bicton Woodland Railway
loco name: Sir Walter Raleigh
Overview
HeadquartersBudleigh Salterton
LocaleEngland
Dates of operation1963–Present
Technical
Track gauge18 in (457 mm)
Length1359 yards

The line was built in 1962 as a tourist attraction for visitors to the house. Most of the rolling stock was acquired from the Royal Arsenal Railway, Woolwich, with two locomotives, Woolwich and Carnegie coming from that source, as well as seven goods wagons which were reduced to their frames and converted to passenger carriages. It opened to passengers in 1963. Originally locomotives and carriages had royal blue livery.

Additional rolling stock was acquired from the RAF Fauld railway and the internal railway of the LNWR Wolverton works.

In 1998 the Bicton Gardens were put up for sale and the railway put into hiatus. The new owners sold the line's existing stock and in 2000 took delivery of a 5.5-tonne diesel-powered replica tank engine. The line's original equipment was purchased by the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills museum at Waltham Abbey.[1]

Locomotives
Number Name Builder Type Date Works number Notes
1 Woolwich Avonside Engine Company 0-4-0 T 1916 1748 ex-Royal Arsenal Railway. Now at the Statfold Barn Railway
2 Bicton Ruston and Hornsby 4w DM 1942 213839 Built for the War Department storage depot at Lion Brickworks, Scalford
3 Carnegie Hunslet 0-4-4-0 DM 1954 4524 ex-Royal Arsenal Railway. Now at the Statfold Barn Railway
4 Sir Walter Raleigh Alan Keef 0-4-0 DM (steam outline) 2000 61 Custom built. First driven by Pete Cuffley in 2000.
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See also
  • British narrow gauge railways

References
  1. Thomas, Cliff (2002). The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland. Atlantic Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-05-8.

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