There was plenty to look at outside of the model exhibits (that include a deputation from the West Sussex N Gauge Group in a different building from us.)

The museum has a short length of 2′ narrow gauge line in operation, with two locomotives from Welsh slate quarries.  I was very taken with ‘Jerry M’, as I remember it appearing as a drawing in the long lamented ‘Model Railway News’ sometimes in the 1960’s.  I was into narrow gauge then, and wondered how difficult it would be to scratch build a model in O-16.5 scale.

Also on shed was this little Plymouth shunter….

And a second steam locomotive….

The carriages are an interesting museum piece in themselves, coming from the Ramsgate Tunnel Railway.  Wikipedia tells me that….

The Tunnel Railway was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge underground railway in Ramsgate, Kent, England.  Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926, the section of line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour including a tunnel to the seafront at Ramsgate was abandoned. The narrow-gauge Tunnel Railway was opened within the disused tunnel in 1936 to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park.

Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line ran entirely underground. The line was built in less than three months, and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before being converted to a major air-raid shelter during World War II. After the war’s end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of British railways but remained in private hands.

Passenger numbers fell during the 1960s, and the line became economically unviable. Following a train crash in 1965, the owners closed the line at the end of September that year. The tunnel still exists, but no trace remains of either of the two stations.

Elsewhere there was plenty of steam, with stationary engines….

Traction engines and road rollers….

And large scale models of the traction engines….

Lots to look at and a most enjoyable weekend – if rather hard work!

Finally, here’s Allan’s video of the four trains running before I got there on Sunday – including the famous pink wagons!

And as I have (at last) worked out how to get files from Facebook to Youtube, here’s a little clip of the engines from a Swiss paddle steamer, from Allan & Ron’s holiday.