Transport
Delights |
Rudyard
Lake Steam Railway
A narrow gauge railway running alongside picturesque
Rudyard Lake using the route of an old branch line of the
North Staffordshire Railway. The lake itself is considered
to be one of the most romantic locations in England and
provided the inspiration for Mr. & Mrs. Kipling to name
their son, Rudyard.
The
lake was a popular tourist attraction in the Victorian and
Edwardian era and the construction of the branch line gave
a boost to tourist traffic in the early 20th century. Today
the lake is still a popular location for walking, fishing
and sailing and this wonderful little railway complements
it perfectly.
Website
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Rudyard
Lake Station |
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Rudyard
Lake Station |
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Diesel
Mordred at Rudyard Lake Station
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Departing Rudyard Lake Station |
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Running
along the old trackbed |
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End
of the line |
The
Bog Railway, West Offaly, Ireland
Website
This
railway provides a tour of more than 5 miles, through the
peat cutting area of the Blackwater Bog, on what is officially
known as the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway. The railway
was established to transport the peat to a local power station.
Peat cutting still takes place there on a huge industrial
scale but the adaptation of the railway to produce a tourist
attraction is a great example of diversification.
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The
Wells & Walsingham Light Railway
This
narrow gauge line runs along the trackbed of the original
standard gauge railway that ran from Wells to Fakenham.
The line was amongst the many casualties of the Beeching
cuts. However in 1982 part of the line was resurrected to
be used by the present narrow gauge railway. The railway
could not utilise the original stations at Wells and Walsingham
so the line is slightly foreshortened. The last picture
in this block shows the original Walsingham station which
has been converted for a novel use. It is now a Russian
Orthodox Church.
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The
Hythe Pier Railway
Jutting
out into Southampton Water, the pier leads to a ferry that
connects Hythe and Southampton.
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Transport
on the Isle of Man
The
Isle of Man is a delight for the transport enthusiast. The
Mountain Railway, electric and horse drawn trams, together
with a fully operational narrow-gauge steam railway all
present the visitor with a range of opportunities to experience
different transport systems and explore the island.
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Locomotive Loch on shed at Port Erin (above) and ready to depart
Port Erin with a train to Douglas (below). |
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| Snaefell
Mountain Railway (above) which connects with the Manx Electric
Railway at Laxey (below) |
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Llanberis
Lake Railway
A
scenic ride in the shadow of Snowdon
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Kyle
of Lochalsh Ferry
This ferry linked Kyle of Lochalsh on the
Scottish mainland with Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. It
was the main transport link with the island until replaced
by the Skye road bridge. This photo shows a vessel berthed
at Kyle of Lochalsh Station.
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Kyle
of Lochalsh Station
The end of the line for the picturesque route
from Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh.
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Fort
William to Mallaig
"The
Jacobite" is a steam operated service along the scenic
Fort William to Mallaig line. The line was constructed to
take advantage of the fishing industry at Mallaig. The route
traverses the magnificent Glenfinnan viaduct with views
of the Glenfinnan Monument at the head of Loch Shiel. The
monument commemorates the landing of Bonnie Prince Charlie
at that point to meet the clans prior to his ill-fated mission
to claim the crown.
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Wells
Beach Railway
A
narrow gauge line linking the town of Wells-Next-The-Sea
with the beach which is about a mile distance from the town
due to the build up of sand.
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