Great Whipsnade Railway

Great Whipsnade Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1970 – present
Track gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Length	1½ miles
Headquarters	London

Locomotive No. 3 Conqueror

The Great Whipsnade Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge narrow gauge heritage railway that operates within the Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. Construction started in 1970 and the initial line opened on August 26 1970. The line provided rides within the animal enclosures and an additional attraction in its own right. Originally called the Whipsnade and Umfolozi Railway, it began as a short line running from near the children's zoo. It was later extended to form a loop through several paddocks.

The line was primarily equipped from the Bowater's Railway (now Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway) in Sittingbourne, Kent, which was the last steam-operated narrow gauge industrial railway in Britain.

Locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Works Number	Built	Notes
1	Chevalier	Manning Wardle	0-6-2 T	1877	1915	Built for the Chattenden and Upnor Railway, purchased for the Bowaters Paper Railway in 1950, worked the first passenger train at Whipsnade
2	Excelsior	Kerr Stuart	0-4-2 ST	1049	1908	Built new for the Bowaters Paper Railway, arrived at Whipsnade 1970
3	Conqueror	W.G.Bagnall	0-6-2 ST	2192	1922	Built new for the Bowaters Paper Railway, arrived at Whipsnade 1970. Sold 1994 to the Phylis Rampton Trust
4	Superior	Kerr Stuart	0-6-2 T	4034	1920	Built new for the Bowaters Paper Railway, arrived at Whipsnade 1970
9	Victor	John Fowler	6wDM	4160005	1951	Built for a failed groundnuts scheme in Africa, sold to British Portland Cement Co.'s works at Lower Penarth, Glamorgan. Sold to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1968, arrived at Whipsnade 1972.
9	Hector	John Fowler	6wDM	4160004	1951	Built for a failed groundnuts scheme in Africa, sold to British Portland Cement Co.'s works at Lower Penarth, Glamorgan. Sold to the Welsh Highland Railway in 1968, arrived at Whipsnade 1975.
10	Mr. Bill	Ruston Hornsby	4wDM	221625	1944	Built for the Broughton Moor military depot railway. Arrived at Whipsnade in 1992
		Ruston Hornsby	4wDM	435403	1961	Built for the Nettleton Top iron ore mines. Arrived at Whipsnade in 1970. Sold the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Railway 1972
		Motor Rail	4wDM	5060		Built as a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge locomotive for the London Brick Company. Arrived at Whipsnade in 1971. Sold in 1983 to Alan Keef

See also

• British narrow gauge railways

References

• Thomas, C.S. (1995). The Whipsnade & Umfolozi Railway and the Great Whipsnade Railway. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-478-4. 

External links

• Whipsnade Wild Animal Park website
• The Sittingbourne and Kemsley Railway website