Barking Park Light Railway
Barking Park Light Railway, a miniature passenger railway, at a 7¼-inch gauge, 372 yards long in Barking Park near Barking in Essex. It opened in the early 1950s, originally consisting of three coaches hauled by a steam locomotive named "The Empress", running over a length of 9½-inch gauge track, from the main park entrance at Longbridge Road to a turntable at the boating lake. After being replaced by a sit-in diesel locomotive named "Little Nan", The Empress was eventually restored and re-gauged to 10¼ inches and is now running at the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway.
About halfway along the line, trains went through a gated level crossing. When trains were not running, the level crossing afforded access to the park from the adjacent Park Avenue, but this side entrance was eventually permanently closed and the level crossing removed.
The railway ran until 2005 when it was closed by the owner, who felt that it was no longer cost effective to maintain and repair the train; however, the railway has since been redeveloped by a father and son team who bought the line from the previous owner. It featured new trains, and new 7¼-inch gauge track, with wheelchair-friendly station access. The new train service ran a few times during 2008 but the official grand re-opening took place at Easter in 2009.
Outside links
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