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File:BWLR2.jpg

Locomotive Bronhilde on woodland track near Warren Wood station

The Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway (BWLR) is located near the villages of Wormshill and Bredgar in Kent, just south of Sittingbourne. It is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway about three-quarters mile (1.2 km) in length.

The BWLR is a private line which has been built up as a hobby by a group of friends since the early 1970s. It is a fully operational line, operated to a high standard, with a station, engine sheds and workshops at Warren Wood station and a smaller station at the other end of the line, known as Stony Shaw.

The line is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month and most Wednesdays throughout the summer to raise money to maintain and manage the collection. On open days a number of other attractions are on display including a model railway, a Dutch street organ, a traction engine a steam roller, a Victorian beam engine, an American fire department Ladder truck and a range of old tractors and cars.

The Tearoom is open Wednesday thru Sunday (9:00 - 15:00) throughout the year offering a selection of teas, coffees, cakes, sandwiches snacks and lunches.

In June 2011, the railway appeared briefly in a segment filmed for the BBC's Saturday Kitchen programme which aired on 18 June 2011.

The Stations[]

  • Warren Wood Station
  • Stony Shaw Station

Rolling stock[]

Operational steam locomotives[]

Manufacturer Works number

and year

Wheel

arrangement

Number and

name

Notes Photo
Arnold Jung 3872/1931 0-6-0WT No. 2 Katie Used in sugar plantations in the Cameroons. Preserved in 1973 and acquired by the BWLR in 1980. Has flangeless centre driving wheels. File:KatieBWR1998.jpg
Hunslet Engine Co. 1429/1922 0-4-0ST No. 3 Lady Joan Used in north Wales slate quarries until 1967. Has been used at Woburn Abbey and Knebworth. Acquired by the BWLR in 1996. File:Hunslet 1429 of 1922.JPG
W.G. Bagnall 2088/1919 0-4-0ST No. 4 Armistice One of two locomotives used on the Birmingham, Tame and Rea District Drainage Board Railway Armistice, was preserved in 1961 and renamed Lady Luxborough. Acquired in 1991 by the BWLR and restored in 1992, regaining her original name. File:Bagnall 2088 of 1919.JPG
Orenstein & Koppel 5668/1912 0-4-0WT No. 6 Eigiau Ex Penrhyn Quarry Railway. Sold to Bressingham in 1963. Acquired by the BWLR in 1995. File:Orenstein & Koppel 5668 of 1912.JPG
Decauville 246/1897 0-4-2T No. 7 Victory Used at the Invicta Sugar Mill, Giru, Queensland, Australia. Sold in 1963 and used on a tourist railway. Acquired by the BWLR in 1984. File:Decauville 246 of 1897.JPG
Orenstein and Koppel 12722/1936 0-4-0WT No. 8 Helga Used at various construction sites in northern Germany until 1957. To UK in 1970 and used on the Brecon Mountain Railway. Acquired by the BWLR in 1999.
John Fowler & Co. 13573/1912 0-4-2T No, 10 Zambezi Originally built to (19+3⁄4 in) gauge. Used on Sena Estates railway, Mopeia, Mozambique, hauling sugar. Worked until 1965 then became derelict. To UK in 1998. regauged to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge. Steam test passed in 2009 and entered service in 2010. File:Zambezi10.jpg

Steam locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration[]

Manufacturer Works number

and year

Wheel

arrangement

Number and

name

Notes Photo
John Fowler & Co. 18800/1930 0-6-0WT No. 9 Limpopo Ex Sena Sugar Estates, No. 17. Used at sugar mill in Mopeia, Mozambique. Acquired by the BWLR in 1998 and restored to working order, entering service in 2003. File:Fowler 18800 0f 1930.JPG

Operational diesel locomotives[]

Manufacturer Works number

and year

Wheel Arrangement Number and

name

Notes Photo
Baguley-Drewry 3775/1983 4wDH No. 5 Bredgar Worked on the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) lines at MoD Milford Haven. Acquired in 1995 and regauged to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge. File:Baguley-Drewry 3775 of 1983.JPG
Andrew Barclay 765/1988 4wDM No. 14 Milstead MoD No. NG54, Ex RAF Chilmark.
Schöma 5239/1991 4wDM Jenny Used during the construction of the Channel Tunnel

Diesel locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration[]

Manufacturer Works number

and year

Wheel

arrangement

Number and name Notes Photo
Motor Rail 9869/1953 4wDM No. 12 Bicknor Supplied new to Great Ouse River Authority, Ely. In service until 1977. Acquired by the BWLR in 2010 from The Hop Farm Country Park, Beltring.
Motor Rail 7073/1936 4wPM No. 13 Lyne

Locomotives no longer at the railway[]

Manufacturer Works number and year Wheel Arrangement Number and name Notes Photo
L. Schwartzkopff 9124/1927 0-4-0WT No. 1 Bronhilde Used at the Norddeutsche Affinerie copper smelting works, Hamburg. Sold to Bressingham in 1976. Acquired in 1979, it was the first steam locomotive at the BWLR. Sold to Richmond Light Railway. File:Schwartzkopf 9124 of 1927.JPG
Henschel & Sohn 29582/1956 0-6-0WT No. 105 Siam Worked on a sugar plantation in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Has visited Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge. Sold to a railway in Latvia. File:Henschel 29582 of 1956.JPG
Hudswell Clarke DM1366/1965 0-6-0DM 15 Ex National Coal Board Harden Colliery and Seaham Colliery. Sold to South Tynedale Railway in 1990. To BWLR in 2006. File:Hudswell-Clarke DM1366 of 1965.JPG

Other exhibits[]

Other exhibits to be found at the BWLR include:

Beam engine[]

File:Thomas Horn Beam Engine.JPG

Beam engine

An 1870 beam engine built by Thomas Horn to a design by James Watt. One of two supplied to a waterworks at Ashford. Acquired in 1988 and restored to working order.

Twinning[]

The BWLR is twinned with the Chemin de Fer de La Valée de l'Ouche (CFVO), Bligny-sur-Ouche, Côte-d'Or, France.

Gallery[]

See also[]

  • British narrow gauge railways
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