Stapleford Miniature Railway is a one-fifth scale (10 1/4" gauge) railway with nearly two miles of track, and has a varied fleet of engines to cope with the long trains. They are only open to the public twice a year, and one of these events is this weekend (11-12 June 2011) followed by the August Bank Holiday (28-29 August 2011). This was filmed during an invitation only date, and the railway and surrounding land is private so please do not visit outside the public days. Anyway, to the fleet.
We start with East African Railways 2-8-4 number 3103 "Uganda". The newest locomotive at the SMR is based on a Tribal Class 31 from East Africa, and is fired by oil (kerosene) rather than coal like its metre-gauge counterparts.
The second locomotive is from America, to be precise the Nickel Plate Road (New York, Chicago and St Louis). This Berkshire 700 Super Power class locomotive number 752 is one of the most popular runners, and is one of the two American locomotives at the railway.
The third locomotive is a classic design of British steam engines, a Great Western Railway Saint class 4-6-0 number 2943 "Hampton Court". The Halls, Castles and Saints of the GWR all looked similar, but there are differences. This is one of the smallest locomotives at the SMR, but can still haul the long trains! It usually double-heads with LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 5565 "Victoria" but that locomotive is under overhaul at the moment.
The Saint is followed by Atlantic class 4-4-2 number 751 "John H Gretton". Formerly John of Gaunt, this loco was renamed after the previous Lord Gretton, who's wife and estate still own the railway and assets. Although small and with only 4 driving wheels it is a very powerful locomotive.
The final steam locomotive is the largest in the fleet, and is a giant of scale engineering, and is the second locomotive of American design. Niagara class 4-8-4 number 6019 must be seen to be appreciated. The standard gauge giants of steam were built for the New York Central railroad, and were mixed-purpose locomotives built to compete against the diesels which were rapidly taking over America and the world at the time.
The video finishes with a red tender (the start of a brand new Stirling Single locomotive) being shunted by Warship class diesel "The White Heron", which is mainly used as a works and shunting loco rather than in passenger service.
For more details on the railway and the fleet see www.fsmr.org.uk/
Next time will be a full trip around the huge line behind a variety of locomotives, subscribe to get it on your homepage!