Confessions of a Narrow-Minded Enthusiast

Presenter: Colin Brading

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

Colin has spoken to us before; this time his presentation was about narrow gauge. He focused on the smaller end of the topic – 15” gauge and below, leaving the larger stuff to a future occasion.

There was certainly a wealth of material. Some railways were intended for industrial use, including agricultural, whilst others were used by the military. There were private owners who had them as a hobby running around large gardens or estates. Many originated as attractions in zoos or at seaside resorts. There were also temporary systems at exhibitions, etc. Some have long gone, such as a favourite of mine the Forrest near Liskeard; but there are notable examples of systems that have proved durable and sustainable, such as the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch.

Pioneers were Heywood and Henry Greenly (1876-1947); the latter gave up full-size work in order to design locomotives and whole systems in miniature. Although some have fallen by the wayside, there are some new lines. A good proportion of these are either open to the public and count as part of the public transport system as well as being tourist attractions. Many more are open to the public at certain times. Greenly worked with WJ Bassett-Lowke to provide motive power for the RHDR, where1/4 scale is appropriate for 15” gauge. However the opportunity was taken to go “over-scale” to build 1/3 scale and gain a considerable increase in power and enable driver and passengers to sit-in rather than sit-on. There was a great deal of cross-fertilisation with locos and rolling stock moving between systems and notables from the ‘big world’ such as Sir Nigel Gresley were to be seen with Greenly.

This is only a brief summary of a lengthy presentation of a large subject. One of those present nicely caught the mood by opining that Colin’s show had “broadened his mind”.