Alderney Railway
{{Short description|Railway in Alderney, Channel Islands, UK}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox rail line
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| name = Alderney Railway
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| image = Alderney Train.JPG
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| caption = Vulcan Drewry 0-4-0 diesel locomotive Elizabeth with former London Underground 1959 Stock carriages
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| locale = Alderney
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| open = 1847
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| event1label = British Admiralty
| event1 = 1854–1923
| event2label = Channel Islands Granite Co Ltd
| event2 = 1923–1940
| event3label = Alderney Railway Co Ltd
| event3 = 1980–present
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| linelength_mi = 3
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| tracklength_mi = 2
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| old_gauge = {{RailGauge|600mm}} (1940-45)
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| website = https://www.alderneyrailway.gg/
| map = {{Alderney Railway}}
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The Alderney Railway on Alderney is the only railway in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the only working railway in the Channel Islands. (There is a standard gauge railway at the Pallot Heritage Steam Museum in Jersey, but this provides no actual transport link, only pleasure rides.) The Alderney Railway opened in 1847 and runs for about {{convert|2|mi}}, mostly following a coastal route, from Braye Road to Mannez Quarry and Lighthouse.
The railway is run by volunteers and usually operates during summer weekends and bank holidays.
History
The railway was built by the British Government in the 1840s and opened in 1847. Its original purpose was to carry stone from the eastern end of the island to build the breakwater and the Victorian era forts.
Queen Victoria used the railway on three Royal visits to Alderney. On the first visit with Prince Albert on 8 August 1854, the Royal couple rode on a horse-drawn railway tender.
There are two stations on the line: {{rws|Mannez Quarry}} and {{rws|Braye Road}}.
Rolling stock
=British Admiralty (1854–1923)=
(The railway was, presumably, owned by some other department of the British Government from 1847 to 1854)
| class="wikitable" |
| Name
! Date built ! Builder ! Works {{abbr|No.|number}} ! Wheels ! Cylinders ! Notes ! Withdrawn |
|---|
| Veteran
| 1847 | ? | ? | {{whyte|0-6-0}} | Inside | arr. 1847 | ? |
| Fairfield
| 1847 | ? | ? | {{whyte|0-6-0}} | Inside | arr. 1847 | ? |
| Waverley
| ? | Henry Hughes of Loughborough{{cite web|url=http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/52/Alderney.htm|title=Alderney Breakwater|website=Irsociety.co.uk|accessdate=4 December 2017}} | ? | {{whyte|0-4-0|ST}} | Outside | - | 1889 |
| Bee
| ? | ? | ? | {{whyte|0-6-0|T}} | ? | - | ? |
| Spider
| ? | ? | ? | {{whyte|0-6-0|T}} | ? | - | ? |
| Gillingham
| ? | ? | {{whyte|0-6-0|T|G}} | ? | arr. 1893 | 1893 |
| No.1
| 1880 | 231 | {{whyte|0-6-0|ST}} | Inside | arr. 1893 | 1923 |
| No.2
| 1898 | 696 | {{whyte|0-4-0|ST}} | Outside | arr. 1904 | 1923 |
=Channel Islands Granite Co Ltd (1923–1940)=
This company took over the railway in 1923, together with locomotives No.1 and No.2. No.1 was returned to England and replaced by Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST Nitro.
=German occupation (1940–1945)=
No.2 and Nitro were commandeered by the Germans and are believed to have been shipped to Cherbourg in 1943 or 1944. The Germans lifted part of the standard gauge line and replaced it with a 600 mm gauge line,{{cite web |title=Railway History |url=https://www.alderneyrailway.gg/railway-history |website=Alderney Railway |access-date=15 September 2021 |language=en}} worked by two Feldbahn 0-4-0 diesel locomotives.
= British Home Office (1945–50s)=
The line was restored to standard gauge in 1947–1949 and the following stock was used:
- Sentinel {{whyte|4w|VBT}} Molly, in service from 1947, withdrawn 1958. May have been converted to a mobile sand-blaster, which was still extant in 1980.{{cite web|url=http://johnlawontherails.fotopic.net/p36243626.html|title=(Photo) Sentinel 4wVBT converted to a mobile sand-blaster (1980)|website=Johnlawontherails.fotopic.net|accessdate=4 December 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626154819/http://johnlawontherails.fotopic.net/p36243626.html|archivedate=26 June 2010}} Scrapped in 2024.{{citation needed |date=March 2024}}
- Cowans Sheldon steam crane
- Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 diesel Molly II
- Wickhams Type 27A trolleys
=Alderney Railway Co Ltd (1980–present)=
File:Braye Road Stn.JPG stock stabled at Braye Road station]]
- Bagnall {{whyte|0-4-0|ST}} J.T. Daly, steam engine built in 1931, in service 1982 until 1996 when sold to the Pallot Heritage Steam Museum, Jersey
- London Underground 1938 Stock from Bakerloo and Northern lines, badly rusted and returned to UK in 2000 as spares.
- Former London Underground 1959 Stock cars nos. 1044 and 1045,{{cite journal|title=Enthusiasts visit Alderney Railway|journal=The Railway Magazine|page=80|date=October 2008|issue=1290|issn=0033-8923}}From Morden to Mannez Rail issue 597 30 July 2008 page 75
- A Vulcan Drewry 0-4-0 diesel locomotive no. D100 Elizabeth, bought in 1985.{{cite web |url=https://www.alderneyrailway.gg/alderney-railway-society |title=Alderney Railway Society|publisher=Alderney Railway Society |access-date=10 January 2021}}
- A Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 diesel Molly II
- Six Wickham rail cars.
Molly II is currently awaiting modification to her coupler system, so she can haul the London Underground stock. However, this cannot happen at the moment{{when|date=July 2019}} because she is not yet owned by the Alderney Railway company.{{fact|date=July 2019}}
Sheds to house the engines and railway stock were built at Mannez quarry in 1997 and 2008
Notes
- arr. = date arrived on Alderney
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Railways of the Channel Islands, A Pictorial Survey compiled by C Judge, published by The Oakwood Press 1992, {{ISBN|0-85361-432-6}}
External links
- [http://www.alderneyrailway.gg/ Alderney Railway official website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050109153933/http://www.sbrobinson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Alderney.html A fan's website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100625222802/http://johnlawontherails.fotopic.net/c1141112.html Photographs of Channel Islands railways (including Alderney)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120904062844/http://www.railmagazine.com/archive/#/2008/104/35 Rail 608 31 December 2008 magazine pages 68–69 feature on the Alderney Railway]
- [http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/52/Alderney.htm The Alderney Breakwater by M. Swift a detailed account in THE INDUSTRIAL RAILWAY RECORD No. 52 – pages 170–173 FEBRUARY 1974 issue]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaHvDeJ9yqA The Tube Train That Runs In the Channel Islands] Video of a journey on the line in 2021
{{Heritage railways in the Channel Islands}}
{{Alderney topics |state=collapsed}}
{{coord|49.718|-2.200|display=title|region:GB_scale:10000}}
Category:Railway lines in the Channel Islands
Category:Heritage railways in the Channel Islands
Category:Transport in Alderney
Category:Standard-gauge railways in the Channel Islands
Category:Transport in Guernsey