Old Kiln Light Railway
The Old Kiln Light Railway is a narrow gauge railway at the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford, near Farnham, Surrey. It has a collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock including two steam locomotives. It operates on most weekends in the summer and occasionally certain midweek days during school half term.
History
Founded in the early 1970s as a heritage Wey Valley Light Railway, it was first located around a disused pumping station in Farnham. In 1982 the land was sold for housing and the track and equipment were moved to the Old Kiln Museum, now known as the Rural Life Centre. The line has since lengthened around the centre and a small stretch of track serves the museum's heritage timber yard demonstration area.Stations
The railway has four stations: Reeds Road, Old Kiln Halt, Oatlands and Mills Wood.Reeds Road was built in 2003 to replace a sleeper-built platform, is the south-western terminus, has a passenger waiting room, a run-round loop and a siding for storing rolling stock.
Old Kiln Halt is where the locomotive works and carriage sheds are located, along with further storage sidings. The platform at this station is currently not open for public use.
Oatlands was the far terminus of the line until extension to Mills Wood. It has a platform with a small waiting room with a stove. It is located behind the museum's playground and is sometimes used as the passenger boarding point during events. It was previously named "Waverley End Station".
Mills Wood is the other terminus of the line, on the north-east side of the Rural Life Centre. It has a waiting room partly built from the body of an old Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway passenger tram, a run-round loop and a branch connection to the woodyard. Passengers typically board trains here on normal running days.
Internal combustion locomotives
| Name | Builder | Works No | Built | Fuel | Whyte notation | Notes | Photograph |
| Altonia | Baguley | 1769 | 1928 | Diesel | Supplied new to the Lilleshall Abbey Woodland Railway. Moved to the Alton Towers Park Railway in 1952. Purchased for preservation by a private owner in 2002 and moved to Surrey. Sold in 2010, and then permanently loaned to the OKLR in 2012. | ||
| Motor Rail | 8981 | 1946 | Diesel | Midhurst Whites. Purchased by OKLR in 1986. Re-gauged from to. | |||
| Amey | Motor Rail | 7902 | 1939 | Diesel | Built in 1939 for ICI Murex Ltd. 1970s moved to Llanberis Lake Railway, laying cables for Dinorwig Power Station. 1980s to Brecon Mountain Railway. 1991 to Alan Keef Ltd hire fleet. 1996 to LEGOLAND Windsor. 2025 to OKLR | ||
| Bluey | Motor Rail | 9655 | 1951 | Diesel | Built in 1951 for R. Fielding & Son's Warbreck Hill Brickworks in Blackpool. Early 1960s sold to G.W Bungey before being sold on to J&A Jackson, Manchester. Saw use at J&A Jackson's Windmill Lane Brickworks & Bredbury Brickworks. Sold 1971 to Henry Oakland's Escrick Tile Works near York. 1981 entered preservation at North Ings Farm. Sold to OKLR in 1985. Sold 1986 to Stevington & Turvey Light Railway. Sold to OKLR November 2022, making it the only locomotive that has been at the railway twice. Currently undergoing a major rebuild. | ||
| Phoebe | Motor Rail | 8887 | 1944 | Diesel | Built in 1944 for the Ministry of Defence. It is unknown where it first worked, as locomotive movements between military bases during World War 2 were not recorded, however by 1952 Phoebe had been allocated to the British Army of the Rhine in Arsbeck, Germany. 1980 returned to England, moved to Shoeburynes Proof & Experimental Establishment in Essex. Finally moved to Lydd Ranges before being sold into preservation in 1987. Moved to OKLR 1990. | ||
| Eagle | Motor Rail | 5713 | 1936 | Diesel | Supplied to the Staveley Coal and Iron Company Campbell Brickyard. Moved to Stanton & Staveley Concrete Pipe works in Ilkeston in 1968. Purchased by Alan Keef, then sold to Brian Gent in 1980 and moved to the Wey Valley Railway. Moved to the OKLR in 1982. | ||
| Fido | Motor Rail | 5297 | 1931 | Petrol | Used at the Weydon Lane sand pits in Farnham. | ||
| Sandrock | Ruston & Hornsby | 177639 | 1936 | Diesel | Supplied to the County Borough of Derby. | ||
| Red Dwarf | Ruston & Hornsby | 181820 | 1936 | Diesel | Ex-Severn Trent Water Authority. | ||
| Susan | Ruston & Hornsby | 211609 | 1941 | Diesel | 4wDM | New to War Department and worked at various military locations, including Eastriggs, Portsmouth and Lydd Ranges. Gained name 'Susan' whilst in military service. Sold by MoD to short lived Stoke Place Railway in Buckinghamshire and dismantled in 1989. Bought by private owner and moved to OKLR in dismantled condition in 2021 and restored to running condition by 2023. | |
| Hibberd | 2528 | 1941 | Diesel | War Department, Ministry Of Defense, Liphook. | |||
| Stinker | Hudson Hunslet | 1944 | 1939 | Diesel | Supplied new in 1939 to Enfield Rolling Mills. 1976-1982 was used in the restoration of the Basingstoke Canal. | ||
| Champion | Hunslet | AD36 | 1971 | Diesel | Ex-Lydd Ranges in Kent. | ||
| Wey Valley | Hunslet | AD37 | 1971 | Diesel | Ex-Lydd Ranges in Kent. Rebuilt in 1988 by Andrew Barclay. | ||
| Weyfarer | Hunslet | AD38 | 1971 | Diesel | Ex-Lydd Ranges in Kent. | ||
| Liz | Wickham | 3031 | 1941 | Petrol | Rebuilt in 1973 by Jim Haytor from an unmanned target trolley with a single cylinder Petter engine. | ||
| Sue | Wickham | 2981 | 1941 | Petrol | Rebuilt by E.J. Stephens in 1977 from unmanned target trolley with an 850cc Reliant engine |