Fancott Miniature Railway
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Legend
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270m |
Steaming Bay Junction |
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055m |
Station Junction |
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000m |
Fancott Station |
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About
The Fancott Miniature Railway (FMR)[1] is a 7¼ inch railway located in the gardens of the Fancott public house[2] in Fancott (near Toddington), Bedfordshire, England. The track is laid in an oval with a triangular junction giving access to the station and with a separate steaming bay inside the oval. The FMR is part of Britain's Great Little Railways.[3]
History
| 1975 | The Original 10 1⁄4 inch Fancott Light Railway was opened. The railway was operated by Mr E Harper. |
| 1986 | The Original line closed. |
| 1996 | A new railway was opened by Alexander James Wallman, the son of the pubs owner, A 7 1⁄4 inch railway was laid and operated by a Mr R Bennet and the resident locomotive at this time was an 040 Romulus Ffreddy (Which left in 2001). |
| 2000 | The railway was taken over by Mr R Stanbridge, who ran it with his son Matthew. |
| 2001 | The railway was removed once again, a new railway was to be laid and new engine sheds constructed, this was to be completed by early 2002. The engine shed and track bed was almost completed by the end of October 2001. |
| 2002 | 1000 yards of track was hand-built and points constructed in Bristol. 200 tons of 14mm stone was delivered, track beds and drainage were done and a level crossing was built for extra parking space. |
| 2003 | A steel foot bridge was installed to allow people over the railway. By this time the entire railway had been fenced off. |
| 2005 | The extra car park was closed and plans for a steaming bay and signal box were made. |
| 2007 | A point motor was added allowing the railway to run clockwise for the 1st time in 7 years. Staff at this time were, Ron the Manager and his crew Jim, Jack and Amy, with Matt helping out from time to time. |
| 2008 | Amy left the railway to pursue other goals, Ron then took on his youngest son Ashley.[4] This year also saw the introduction of full aspect colour lights on the FMR to be used when running many trains. |
| 2009 | The railway is currently a huge success, thanks to the devoted manager Ron Stanbridge with help from the crew and of course Paul and Janet Wallman the Pub owners. 2009 also introduced a new concept to the Fancott, with customers being able to book the railway. |
| 2010 | A new loop line has been installed so that both platforms 1 and 2 can be access when arriving in the station. |
| 2015 | On March 3 a fire breaks out destroying pub outbuildings, the railway shed, locomotives and carriages.[5] The railway reopened July 4 running with a borrowed locomotive (Nipa) and carriages from Swanley and Newbarn Railway. The locomotive and carriage sheds were rebuilt and all new track laid where the fire had spread. A 2nd locomotive (Dark Star) was bought shortly after the fire. |
References
External links
