What will I see on my visit?

            For information on what will you will see Click Here

 

How long has the railway been here?

The miniature railway was originally established at Greywood House in Walton-on-Thames in 1946. This had to be vacated in 1965, and, after much hard work, we re-opened at our present location in Hardwick Lane, Chertsey, in 1968.

 

Who owns and runs the railway?

The railway itself is owned by the Ian Allan Group, the well-known publishing company, with the exception of most of the locomotives, which are owned by the members. All the staff you see operating and maintaining the railway are volunteers.

 

How often do you run?

We are open to the public every Sunday afternoon from the end of April/beginning of May, through to the end of October. Also, we open every Wednesday afternoon in August.

 

What are the opening times?

On Sundays, we sell the first tickets at 1.30pm and the last at 4.45pm. On Wednesdays these time are 1.00pm and 4.00pm. We then run until all passengers with tickets have had their rides

 

How many passengers do you carry?

In 2009 and 2010, we ran over 1,500 trains and carried nearly 16,000 passengers during the season. Each train will hold 12 people so that’s an average load factor of over 85%, something most airlines would be pleased with!

 

How many different rides are there?

There are two different journeys you can take, imaginatively called the Green and Red routes. The Green route is a continuous ride (barring any red signals) and the Red route involves a stop at Cockcrow Hill while the engine is turned round and re-attached to the other end of the train. Each route has its own queue so watch out for the coloured markers at the start of the queues!!

 

In addition, at the end of each day, we run a special train called the Gladesman, which has two engines and six coaches and runs over a combination of the two normal routes.

 

How long are these rides?

The Green route is 1 mile 272 yards (1850 metres) long and the Red is 1 mile 142 yards (1740 metres). Both take about 15 – 20 minutes. The Gladesman is 1 mile 1010 yards (2542 metres) and takes around 25 – 30 minutes.

 

How do I buy tickets for the Gladesman?

The Gladesman tickets are “reservation only” and can be purchased at any time during the afternoon. The Gladesman is usually the last train of the day and departs Hardwick station at around 16:30 on Sundays and 15:30 on Wednesdays. Seats are limited i.e. 24, so book early to avoid disappointment!

 

How many trains are there?

We currently have 27 locomotives, (25 steam, 1 diesels and 1 battery-electrics) and 30 coaches, made up of 3 South West Trains, 3 Pullman Brown, 3 Red, 15 Green, 2 pairs of green articulated and 2 ex Greywood Central (Limited use only).We also have a number of goods wagons, several of which are used to carry tools, ballast, rail etc during our winter maintenance.

 

On running days, there are usually six or seven engines in use at any one time. We try and run steam trains as much as possible but we can’t guarantee that your ride will always have a steam engine at its head. Also, breakdowns sometimes happen and we need to bring another engine into service very quickly. As it can take up to an hour to get a steam locomotive ready, we can use our diesel or electric locomotives as our emergency stand-bys.

 

What is the oldest engine at the railway?

The oldest locomotive we have is the North Eastern Railway R1 class 4-4-0 number 1239, which was built in 1913. She is currently undergoing a well-deserved overhaul before celebrating her centenary in 2013.

 

How many stations are there?

The main terminus is at Hardwick, where you get on and off (we don’t intentionally leave you stranded!). There is a major junction at Everglades, through which you will pass several times. We have another, smaller, terminus at Cockcrow Hill for Red route passengers and three small “halts” at Jungle Halt (watch out for the wild creatures), Allan Water and Green Lane. In addition we have three signal boxes, three bridges, two turntables, two level crossings, a viaduct and a tunnel.

 

Is it modelled on any particular railway company or region?

We don’t slavishly follow any particular company, however we do loosely follow the style of the old Southern Railway/Region, as you might expect, being located in Surrey. Many of our engines are modelled on their full-size Southern counterparts and our colour scheme and station signage are Southern. We also have a number of LMS engines as well as a variety of other types.

 

How fast do the trains go?

The maximum speed limit on the railway is 10 miles an hour, however, this is not appropriate over all sections of track and you will see small yellow numbers on posts around the railway which indicate speed limits over points etc. If you see a white “W”, this tells the driver to sound his whistle e.g. when leaving a station, approaching the tunnel etc to warn anyone who may be near the track.

 

What scale is the railway?

The railway is built to 1/8 scale, i.e. each foot on a full size engine is represented by 1½ inches on the GCR. The track is 7 ¼” gauge (the distance between the rails) whereas full size in the UK is 4’ 8 ½”.

 

What is the track made of?

The rails themselves are made from a hard-wearing aluminium alloy. The older parts of the track have oak sleepers, to which the rail is held by large mushroom-headed screws. These screws were put in, and their holes drilled, using a brace and bit, which was slow and very hard work. These days, we use sleepers made from black plastic (recycled carrier bags!) for all new track and for replacement of rotten wooden ones. They will last much longer than the old wooden ones, which will reduce the amount of track repairs in the future. The rail is now attached using roofing screws, put in with cordless drills. Much easier!