Sanday Light Railway

The Sanday Light Railway was a privately owned ridable miniature railway situated in Braeswick, on the island of Sanday, Orkney, Scotland.

The Sanday Light Railway in 2002

The railway was of 7 1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge. Construction began in 2000 and the line closed at the end of 2006. It was the most northerly passenger carrying railway in the British Isles, and although it was primarily the owner's hobby it did achieve the status of a tourist attraction and local curiosity.

The railway sometimes ran one of its two steam locomotives, a 2-4-2 and a 2-4-0, but more often one of three petrol locomotives. The railway also owned a number of items of rolling stock, including a very rare Cromar White first-class carriage.[1]

Although trains had been operating occasionally in some form beforehand,[2] the railway was officially opened to the public in August 2006 by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies[3] just a few months before its closure, which was variously attributed to the owner being unable to keep his promise to hold Sir Peter's civil partnership ceremony there [4] or unreasonable demands placed upon the railway's operators by local council officials.

As at 2008 the owner was taking legal action against a number of organisations[5] over perceived discrimination and misconduct by those organisations, in relation to the railway, its associated tea-rooms and the abortive civil partnership ceremony.

References
  1. Julia Welstead (4 March 2006). "Do the Locomotion with Charlie". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
  2. Sandra Towrie (21 October 2005). "From Heat And Dust To Sanday Shores". Times Educational Supplement. p. 8.
  3. Mike Merritt (4 September 2006). "Hell's Angel has one track mind". Daily Mail.
  4. David Lister (6 January 2007). "Gay marriage of a royal master hits the buffers". The Times. Retrieved 28 January 2007.(subscription required)
  5. "Sanday Light Railway". Archived from the original on 3 April 2008.

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