by Mark Found

Yet again, another railway I've been desperate to see for years. There always seems to be at least one photo of it in railway magazine, and, as a fan of industrial scenery, the sight of a small tank engine struggling up an incline with some coal trucks has always intrigued me.

I think you know you're onto a good thing when you ring up to sort the shoot out, and they offer to open the railway especially for you, as indeed did happen in this case. Steve Turner et al, thank you very much!

As it happened, The Foxfield Railway turned out to be so much more than we could ever have hoped for. I defy anyone to show me a better collection of industrial locos, and no one can beat a 1 in 19 incline!

Originally we'd planned a five minute piece about the line, but such was the enthusiasm shown by Steve, David and Lofty it proved hard not to get swept along, and so we've ended up with two pieces and it could have been more. Mind you, these boys do know what they're doing - anyone who manages to get a near enough half million quid from the lottery fund isn't buggering about!

The ambitions of the railway aren't small - what they've already achieved and are planning to do in the future are schemes on grand scales, and yet, oddly, this still feels like a small railway, and not like one of the big boys at all. It's much better for it, there's a real welcome from everyone, and the collection of locos in the yard is superb.

Any lover of railways should make the effort to get to the Foxfield - photographers already do. Steve, one of our hosts for the day, was telling us that one year there had been quite a fall of snow overnight, but they decided to run a train. A photographer turned up having ridden on his motorcycle from some suitably far away place, and then lay down in the snow to get pictures of the engines struggling up the bank. Now, that's dedication for you, but I bet the photograph was superb.

Oh, and one last thing. For a measly ten pounds you can become a member of the railway. Put in a bit of graft, help out around the place, get involved, and eventually you'll get on the footplate. Now, a footplate ride, on an industrial locomotive, up a 1 in 19 - that has got to be a bargain, hasn't it?

Trainspotting.links (will open in a new window)

Foxfield Railway
basic site, but don't let that put you off, it tells you what you need to know.
Industrial Railway Society
get a kick out of this sort of stuff? Might be worth signing up for this lot.