🚂 Leighton Buzzard’s Narrow Gauge Railway
Leighton Buzzard is very lucky to host one of the country’s leading vintage steam train railways. Located at Pages Park, the Leighton Buzzard Railway offers a 90 minute roundtrip through the town’s rural and urban scenery, taking in parks, housing estates, steep hills and level crossings. It’s a fab operation, run for over 50 years by a dedicated team of volunteers who provide a warm welcome to visitors.
I took my nieces and nephews recently and they absolutely loved it (pics below!). It’s a fun and educational experience. The ride includes a stopover at the Stonehenge Works Station and a visit to the Engine Shed, both part of the museum exhibiting the railway’s industrial past. While I was there I took the time to chat to Charlie the Deputy Guards Manager, Ted the Engine Shed Show Director and some of the volunteers, about the railway and its fascinating history.
The railway’s origins are rooted in the local sand industry and the First World War. The area around Leighton Buzzard is studded with sandpits, with a concentration around Heath and Reach. The sand is of exceptional quality - in 1851 it was used to make the glass panes of the Crystal Palace and for decades was the standard for testing building industry products such as cement. It has even been exported to Egypt and Saudi Arabia!
In WW1 sand was crucial to the war effort, supplying munitions factories and their foundries. Sand was transported from local quarries by heavy steam lorries, which caused damage to the roads as demand soared and traffic increased. To protect themselves from the costs of repairing the roads, at the end of the war the quarry owners decided to build a narrow (2 ft) gauge railway connecting the northern quarries with main line at Dunstable, from where sand would be distributed throughout the country.
The railway opened in November 1919 and was initially operated by two steam trains, though when they realised that the soot was contaminating the sand, these were replaced in 1921 by petrol locomotives, and later by more efficient diesel versions. It would be another 47 years before a steam locomotive returned to the Leighton Buzzard light railway.
By the mid 1960s the sand industry had dwindled and the In 1968 a small group of railway enthusiasts obtained permission to run trains over the 3 mile railway at weekends. The public service began in 1968, hauled by the vertical boiler locomotive ‘Chaloner’, which started her life over 100 years ago as a ship’s boiler. Brought from North Wales she remains in the museum’s collection today, and is something of a national treasure.
Over the years, an impressive collection of working steam engines were brought to Leighton Buzzard to run the Narrow Gauge Railway, restored from previous lives around the country and from as far away as India, West Africa, South Africa, Spain and Portugal. Visitors get to view, and potentially take a ride with, Pixie, Elf, PC Allen and No.778.
It was so interesting to hear about the historical side to this wonderful attraction, and I really got a sense of the passion and dedication of the people that run it and make it such a great experience for visitors. We’ll definitely be going back and will look out for events such as famous children’s characters visiting the railway - next up are Bluey on 21 July and Paddington on 1 September. Do go and check it out if you haven’t already 😊
🌞 Summer family photo shoots
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If you’re ready to book, just reserve a slot in my online calendar, pay the session fee (£75) and I’ll be in touch to confirm details.
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📸 Want to take better pictures yourself?
As the adage goes, the best camera is the one you have on you. Our phones have made photographers of us all, recording our everyday experiences, holidays and fun times together. As a photographer it’s easy to get snobbish about phone cameras. For sure, they don’t have all the capabilities of a ‘proper’ camera. But they have many unique advantages, and some of my most precious pictures were taken with my phone. I’ve written a guide to taking better photos with your phone camera - just click below to get your free download.
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