Exmoor Steam Railway


The Exmoor Steam Railway is a narrow gauge steam railway and locomotive manufacturer, located at Bratton Fleming in North Devon.

gauge

The railway was built by the Stirland family and first opened as a tourist attraction in August 1990. At this time the railway ran in a circuit from the main station at Exmoor Central, trains descending on a large embankment before climbing back up through a spiral tunnel. In 1996 a new station was opened at Cape of Good Hope, which changed the line to an "end-to-end" layout. At the end of the 2001 season, the decision was taken to close the railway to the public and concentrate on building new steam locomotives and associated equipment. The railway remains in full working order, and work started in the winter 2008/9 on extending the railway. By mid-2010 an additional of track had been brought into use, with a very steep ascending and descending ruling gradients of 1 in 28.

gauge

During the 1990s, a number of gauge Beyer Garratt articulated locomotives from South Africa arrived on site and were displayed. One locomotive was sold to the Welsh Highland Railway in 2006, whilst another has been under long-term restoration. Over the winter 2008/9 work started on constructing around of gauge railway to run the Garratts on.

Locomotives

Engineering works

Since the railway opened, there has been a large workshop on site, which was used to build all the locomotives and equipment used on the railway. In 2001, the decision was taken to close the railway as a tourist attraction and concentrate on the manufacture of miniature and narrow gauge railway equipment.
Exmoor Steam Railway builds several new steam locomotives a year, as well as rolling stock and also advise on the setup and expansion of miniature and narrow gauge railways. Exmoor is a member of Britain's Great Little Railways and has supplied locomotives to many other members who operate public miniature and narrow gauge railways.

Locomotives Constructed

IdentityWorks NumberTypeGaugeYear BuiltOperatorStatusNotesImage-
Cricor1999Dibleys Nurseries Railway-
Phalaenopsis2008Mortocombe Miniature Railway-
John-Remy1991Beale Railway-
George2010Poole Park Railway-
Samastipur now named Jools1999Beer Heights Light RailwayMajor rebuild by B.H.L.R completed in 2018-
Yeo Valley1901990Withdrawn from service and dismantled-
Excalibur293 regauged from 1993Rudyard Lake Steam RailwayFormerly River Churnet-
SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE2951993Perrygrove Railway-
7 Merlin2961998Rudyard Lake Steam Railway-
Pendragon297 regauged from 1994Rudyard Lake Steam RailwayOriginally Ashorne-
Denzil2991995Exmoor Steam Railway-
MONTY3001996Evesham Vale Light RailwayOriginally named Markeaton Lady at Markeaton Park Light Railway-
SANDY3011996Wotton Light Railway-
Dennis now named Ruby3021997 Lappa Valley Steam Railway-
Jane3072000Pugneys light Railway--
Jean3092000Barnards Miniature Railway-
Billy May3102000Woodseaves Miniature RailwayPrivately Owned-
ST.CHRISTOPHER3112001Bressingham-
ST EGWIN3122003Evesham Vale Light Railway-
Amy Louise3142003Barnards Miniature Railway
ROSEMARY3152001Exbury Gardens-
NAOMI3162002Exbury Gardens-
THE DUCHESS OF DIFFLIN3172003Difflin Lake railway-
Pulborough3192004South Downs Light Railway-
DAME ANN3202004Wales West Light Railway-
ANNE3232004Perrygrove RailwayFormerly John Hayton-
8 King Arthur3242005Rudyard Lake Steam Railway-
Black Beauty3252009-
MARILOO3262008Exbury Gardens-
Lorna Doone330Exmoor Steam Railway-
Peggy3342007South Downs Light Railway-
Jeremy3392010Barnards Miniature Railway-
ARUN3412015South Downs Light Railway-