Closure Notice
Sadly, the Wigwell Light Railway has gone the way of many other small agricultural and estate railways, with closure and dismantling. The land has been sold, and the new owner did not feel that they needed a railway to serve the needs of the estate.
The WLR performed it's function well for a number of years and saw regular use. The rest of this website will be left as a record of the WLR.
End of Closure Notice
The WLR was built to move agricultural produce between the patio and lawn at one end of the line, and the compost heap, vegetable patch and greenhouse at the other. The line has a single wagon, which is typically hand-trammed up the line and gravity-worked down. The line also sees occasional passenger traffic.
The line is inspired by the estate railways built by Sir Arthur Heywood, but to 10 1/4 inch gauge rather than 15 inch to reflect the somewhat smaller size of the estate served by the WLR compared to Duffield Bank and Eaton Hall.
The rail is 6lbs/yd supplied by The Miniature Railway Supply Co. welded to flat steel bar.
The line under construction.
Typical traffic on the line includes grass cuttings, shrub clippings, general agricultural waste and compost.
A quiet moment with the wagon stabled near the top of the line.
The WLR's sole wagon with a load of waste from shrub pruning in the front garden - note the removable seat for use by the brakesman.
Another view of the same load
The wagon can find itself stabled in a number of different places on the line, usually depending on it's last job at the time.
The wagon viewed from across the pond.
The wagon, carrying the remains of the Christmas tree, during snowy conditions in February 2009.
The wagon with a load of grass - the traffic for which the WLR was originally built. August 2009.
