Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
The Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is a small railway museum and metre gauge railway near Wellingborough in Northants, England.
History
The area around Wellingborough was rich in iron ore. A quarry opened in Irchester around 1872 to extract the iron ore, which was mainly processed in the local iron works. Ironstone continued to be mined up until closure of the quarries in 1969.
In 1971 the Northamptonshire County Council opened the Irchester Country Park, which is located on the site of the former opencast ironstone quarries. The park has a network of walks, a visitors centre and a children's play area in a grass and woodland setting.The museum was set-up within the park in 1987, inside a purpose built building to the west of the original ironstone railway maintenance yard. Access to the museum is along a footpath which follows the line of the ironstone railway trackbed. There are over 40 items of narrow gauge railway rolling stock including four steam locomotives and six diesel locomotives. A 250-metre long demonstration track with a gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) has been laid in the park.[1] The original water tank has been recreated using a tank of similar design, complete with lettering matching the original, to show the visiting public how it would have looked .
Stock List
Identity | Other Number(s) |
Railway | Builder | Works Number |
Built | Wheel Arrangement |
Gauge | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAMBRAI | 4 | Loddington Ironstone Co., ex Chemin de Fer du Cambrésis | Corpet | 493 | 1888 | 0-6-0T C |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | 100px |
85 | 1 | Finedon Quarry near Wellingborough | Peckett | 1870 | 1934 | 0-6-0ST C |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | |
86 | 2 | Finedon Quarry near Wellingborough
This loco. is currently being retubed. |
Peckett | 1871 | 1934 | 0-6-0ST C |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | 100px |
87 | 3 | Peckett | 2029 | 1942 | 0-6-0ST C |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | ||
THE ROCK | 9 | Hunslet | 2419 | 1941 | 0-4-0DM B |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | ||
MILFORD | 10 ND 3645 |
Ruston & Hornsby | 211679 | 1941 | 4wDM B |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | 100px | |
ED 10 EDWARD CHARLES HAMPTON |
11 | British Railways | Ruston & Hornsby | 411322 | 1958 | 4wDM B |
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | [2] | |
LR 3084 | 14 | Motor Rail | 3797 | 1926 | 4wDM B |
3 ft (914 mm) | Rebuild of 1918 Motor Rail locomotive, works number 1363[2] | 100px | |
12 | Ruston & Hornsby | 281290 | 1949 | 0-6-0DM C |
3 ft (914 mm) | Away at Stanhope[2] | |||
5 | Ruston & Hornsby | 338439 | 1953 | 4wDMF B |
3 ft (914 mm) | [2] |
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. |
References
External links
- Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum - official site
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- Use dmy dates from August 2015
- Use British English from August 2015
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles that mention track gauge 1000 mm
- Articles that mention track gauge 914 mm
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Wellingborough
- Metre gauge railways
- Narrow gauge railways in the United Kingdom
- Railway museums in England
- United Kingdom museum stubs