Name: The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway
Rating: 5.0

The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway

Station Road, Leadhills, Biggar, South Lanarkshire ML12 6XS, UK

1-99 Years

Paid

Description

Welcome to The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway, Scotland’s Premier Narrow Gauge Railway & Britain’s Highest Adhesion Railway. Take a ride with our diesel engines along 0.75 miles of track through the Lowther Hills. Passing the mine workings at Glengonnar on a trip to the county boundary.

There is always something for everyone at Leadhills Railway, and active volunteers are welcome any time throughout the year. Training will be provided for all volunteers as required by the duties that they wish to perform and you always have the option to spend as much or as little time volunteering as you wish. We would love to see you at Leadhills.

Prices starts from £7.50 for adults, £3.50 for Child and £18.00 for Family. If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.

Features

Paid
Host birthday parties: No

Features

Diesel Engines: Luce Diesel Locomotive No4, Built by Ruston and Hornsby Limited in Lincoln as works number 7002/0467/6 and delivered new to Edmund Nuttall Ltd, Leith in September 1966. Luce was originally built to a similar specification as Little Clyde but was rebuilt with a larger cab and air brakes fitted. It weighs four and a half tonnes (4500kg) and is seven feet six inches long ( approximately 2.3m), five feet six inches wide (1.8m) and is eight feet six inches high (2.6m).
Steam Engines: In the shed is one narrow gauge steam locomotive: No 9 Charlotte, an Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT (OK6335/13). Purchased by a member in 1994 and imported from Belgium, the loco has been in store since. It is however, unlikely that this steam loco will be restored to working order in the near future.
Signalling & Track: The signalling at Leadhills has developed over a number of stages. The points at the north (yard) end of the Down Loop had originally been hand worked. The points at the south (Glengonnar) end required to be fitted with a facing point lock (FPL) because they are on a part of the line used by loaded passenger trains. The FPL originally only locked these points in the ‘normal’ position, i.e. set for the Platform Line. As an interim arrangement, by 1992 the points and FPL were worked from a two-lever ground frame which was released by the train staff. The hand points giving access to the single line from the engine shed and yard area were fitted with an Annett’s lock in 1994. To release the points, the train staff had to be inserted in the lock and turned, then a slide drawn across. The staff could only be removed from the lock once the points and the slide were returned to the normal position.