Standard Gauge Railway

The loco for the standard gauge railway is currently out of service requiring overhaul.  Therefore, the Standard Gauge Railway is not currently operational.  The following information is provided for reference only.  The signal box is open for viewing as normal.

The Standard Gauge Railway runs between the sawmill and the farm - a distance of approximately one third of a mile.  Passengers join the train at the station in the fairground, from where the train reverses downhill past the fairground to the sawmill.  After a brief pause to allow passengers to observe the happenings at the sawmill, the train starts the climb to the farm, passing the fairground on the right.  It then continues through the level crossing, past the signal box and narrow gauge station and over the dual gauge diamond crossing.  From here, passengers can see the Steam Crane, which may be operating as a demonstration.  The journey continues through a short stretch of woodland to the Steam Farm, where visitors may alight to see the farm machinery and animals.  After a short stop, the train returns to the fairground and prepares for the next trip.

	The locomotive used on the Standard Gauge Railway is Hawthorn Leslie Saddle Tank, Commander B, built in 1899.  She was purchased by the Admiralty for use in Chatham Dockyard and was originally named Newcastle.  After retirement from Chatham, she spend some years in scrapyards and came to Hollycombe in 1985, where she was restored to operational condition by volunteers.  The engine was renamed after Cdr. Baldock, the founder of the collection.
	The Grafton self-propelled rail crane was built in Bedford in 1956 for British Rail.  It was used at nine Elms to clear the ash pits, and after all the locomotives had left was also used as a shunting engine up until 27th October 1967.  The crane is now used for demonstrations, moving earth from one side of the track to the other, or loading hopper wagons from the narrow gauge railway.
	The signal box is a 20 lever frame box and is used to control signaling on both the Standard and Narrow Gauge railways.  There are also a number of early signaling instruments to be seen in the signal box.  Visitors are welcome to look in the box, and can see the signalman operating the signals.  The box was originally installed at Liphook by the LSWR in 1895 but became redundant when electric signaling was instituted in 1975.