Old Kiln Light Railway


The Old Kiln Light Railway is a narrow gauge railway located at the Rural Life Centre open-air museum in Tilford, near Farnham, Surrey. It has a collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock including two steam locomotives. It operates on Sundays and some Bank Holidays during the summer season.

History

Founded in the early 1970s as the "Wey Valley Light Railway", this line was located around a disused pumping station in Farnham. In 1982 the land was sold for redevelopment, and the railway track and equipment was relocated to the "Old Kiln Museum", now known as the "Rural Life Centre". The line has since extended around the perimeter of the museum 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. Reeds Road
Old Kiln Halt has a short platform and passenger shelter and is located near the old schoolroom at the Rural Life Centre. The locomotive works and carriage sheds are located here, along with further storage sidings.
Oatlands was the far terminus of the line until extension to Mills Wood. It is used for Santa Special trains and has a small waiting room with a stove. 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 although is not complete, a run-round loop and a connection to the woodyard operated by the Rustic Timber Group.

Steam locomotives

Internal combustion locomotives

NameBuilderWorks NoBuiltFuelWhyte notationNotesPhotograph
AltoniaBaguley17691928DieselSupplied 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 Rail89811946DieselMidhurst Whites. Purchased by OKLR in 1986.. Re-gauged from to
PhoebeMotor Rail88871944DieselEx-War Department
EagleMotor Rail57131936DieselSupplied to the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's 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. Fitted with Dorman 2RB Engine
FidoMotor Rail52971931PetrolUsed at the Weydon Lane sand pits in Farnham
SandrockRuston & Hornsby1776391936DieselSupplied to the County Borough of Derby. Under overhaul.
Red DwarfRuston & Hornsby1818201936DieselEx-Severn Trent Water Authority. Operational.
NordenRuston & Hornsby3921171956DieselContractor locomotive for Hadley Wood tunnelling scheme for British Rail. Worked on the Fayle's Tramway at Norden in Dorset. Currently on loan to Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum. Operational.
CorbiereHibberd25281941DieselWar Department, Ministry Of Defense, Liphook. Named 'Corbiere' after her previous owner. Now owned by a member of the OKLR.
Moësn/a1955DieselBuilt for a brickworks in Rumpst, Belgium. Privately owned by Dan Quine.. Returned from restoration to working order in 2017.
StinkerHudson Hunslet19441939DieselEx-Enfield Steel Rolling Mill.
Used in the Basingstoke Canal restoration. Operational.
ChampionHunsletAD361971DieselEx-Lydd Ranges in Kent
Wey valleyHunsletAD371971DieselEx-Lydd Ranges in Kent. Rebuilt in 1988 by Andrew Barclay.
WeyfarerHunsletAD381971DieselEx-Lydd Ranges in Kent
LizWickham30311941PetrolRebuilt in 1973 by Jim Haytor from an unmanned target trolley with a single cylinder Petter engine.
SueWickham29811941PetrolRebuilt by E.J. Stephens in 1977 from unmanned target trolley with a 850cc Reliant engine

Coaches

Wagons

Awards

The OKLR received the "Surrey Industrial History Group Conservation" award in 1994