Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway

Locomotive Bronhilde on woodland track near Warren Wood station

The Bredgar & 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 half one-half mile (0.8 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.^[1] 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 throughout the summer to raise money for various charities. On open days, a number of other attractions are on display including: a model railway, a Showman's road locomotive, a traction engine and a steam roller.

In June 2011, the railway appeared briefly in a segment filmed for the BBC's Saturday Kitchen programme which aired on 18 June 2011.^[2]

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
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, the first steam locomotive at the Bredgar and Wormshill.[3]
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. Preserved in 1961 and renamed Lady Luxborough. Acquired in 1991 by Bredgar and Wormshill and restored in 1992, regaining her original name.[3]
Orenstein & Koppel	5668/1912	0-4-0WT	No. 6 Eigiau	Ex Penrhyn Quarry Railway. Sold to Bressingham in 1963. Acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 1995.[3]
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 Bredgar and Wormshill in 1984.[3]
Hunslet Engine Co.	1429/1922	0-4-0ST	Lady Joan	Used in north Wales slate quarries until 1967. Has been used at Woburn Abbey and Knebworth. Acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 1996.[3]
John Fowler & Co.	13573/1912	0-4-2T	No. 10 Zambezi	Originally built to 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) gauge. Used on Sena Estates railway, Mopeia, Mozambique, hauling sugar.[4] Worked until 1965 then became derelict.[5] To UK in 1998, regauged to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge.[4] Steam test passed in 2009 and expected to enter service in 2010.[5]

2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in) gauge locomotives

Manufacturer	Works number and year	Wheel arrangement	Number and name	Notes	Photo
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.[3] Completely overhauled, the locomotive is currently (June 2009) offered for sale in excellent condition.

Steam locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration

Manufacturer	Works number and year	Wheel arrangement	Number and name	Notes	Photo
Arne Jung	3872/1931	0-6-0WT	No. 2 Katie	Used in sugar plantations in the Cameroons. Preserved in 1973 and acquired by the Bredgar and Wormshill in 1980. Has flangeless centre driving wheels.[3]
Orenstein and Koppel	12722/1936	0-4-0WT	No. 8	Used at various construction sites in northern Germany until 1957. To UK in 1970 and used on the Brecon Mountain Railway. Acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 1999.[3]
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 Bredgar and Wormshill in 1998 and restored to working order, entering service in 2003.[6]

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) metre gauge lines at MoD Milford Haven. Acquired in 1995 and regauged to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge.[3]

Diesel locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration

Manufacturer	Works number and year	Wheel arrangement	Number and name	Notes	Photo
Hudswell Clarke	DM1366/1965	0-6-0	15	Ex National Coal Board Harden Colliery and Seaham Colliery. Sold to South Tynedale Railway in 1990. To Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway in 2006.[7] As of November 2010 undergoing a major rebuild.[8]
Motor Rail	9869/1953	4wDM		Supplied new to Great Ouse River Authority, Ely. In service until 1977. Acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 2010 from The Hop Farm Country Park, Beltring.[9]

Traction engines

The museum has four steam road locomotives in the collection; some are operational and steamed on open days and others are undergoing repair, restoration or overhaul.

Manufacturer	Works number and year	Registration number and name	Notes	Photo
Garrett	33305/1918	HT 7112 The Mighty Atom	Road locomotive built for the Ministry of Munitions and used in France during World War I. Sold as war surplus and converted to a showman's engine. Preserved since 1964, acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 2002. Operational and used on open days.[10]
Garrett	33442/1919	BL 9009	Agricultural engine used at Hartford Manor, Faringdon until 1943, then at Witney until 1950. Relegated to heating a greenhouse at Brize Norton until preserved in 1964. Has been named King of the Road and Caroline in preservation but did not carry a name during its working life. Acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 1988. Operational and used on open days.[10]
Ruston & Hornsby	115023/1922	XM 6373	Steam roller new to Henry Woodham, Catford in 1922. Used on road repairs until the 1950s. Preserved in 1978 and acquired by Bredgar and Wormshill in 1988. Operational and used on open days.[10]
Burrell	2551/1903		Steam roller exported to Magdeburg, Germany in 1903. To Belgium by 1921, where it worked until 1957. Undergoing restoration.[10]

Cars

Bean cars

The Bredgar and Wormshill railway is home to a collection of Bean cars.^[11]

Model	Power	Year built	Registration number	Notes	Photo
Model 6 Tourer	14 HP	1923	SV9172	Exported to Australia in 1923, re-imported in 2001.[11]
Model 2	11.9 horsepower (8.9 kW)	1922	ME5904	Under restoration as of May 2015 .[11]
Model 2	11.9 horsepower (8.9 kW)	1923	BU2789	One of the most original Bean cars in preservation. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Model 3	14 horsepower (10 kW)	1925	PE2445	Converted to a pick-up in the early 1930s. Restored to five seat tourer in 1974. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Model 4	12 horsepower (8.9 kW)	1925	XW8431	Used by a funeral director as a following car. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Model 4	12 horsepower (8.9 kW)	1926	FD3435	Car has original body, which has four identical doors. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Model 6		1927	SV8671	Exported new to Australia. Fitted with a body made locally in Adelaide. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Omnibus		1929	UL1771	Body by Birch Bros, Kentish Town on a Bean 1½ Ton chassis. Used as a caravan 1941 - 1966, bought for preservation in 1966 and restored 1988 - 1991. This vehicle left the collection 2012.[11]
Model 11		1930	FG6161	Built on a 1½ Ton chassis. Spent its working life in Wooler, Northumberland. Bought for preservation in 1970 and restored 1990 - 2000. This car left the collection 2012.[11]
Pick-up Truck		1926		This vehicle left the collection 2012.
Van			XM7525	This vehicle left the collection 2012.

Other cars

Manufacturer	Model	Year built	Registration number	Notes	Photo
Rolls Royce	Phantom I	1928	YX4095

Other exhibits

Other exhibits to be found at the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway include:

Beam engine

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.^[12]

Twinning

The Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway is twinned with the Chemin de Fer de La Valée de l'Ouche (CFVO), Bligny-sur-Ouche, Côte-d'Or, France.^[13][14]

See also

• British narrow gauge railways

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway.

Coordinates: 51°17′50″N 0°40′58″E / 51.297128°N 0.682891°E / 51.297128; 0.682891