Mangapps ‘ ready for theoff’ says owner after £ 1 millionexpansion
MANGAPPS RailwayMuseumwill be “ready for the off” whenGovernment coronavirus rules allow, following the completion ofa£ 1million project that hassubstantially increased covered spacefor locomotives androlling stock, andthe construction ofathree- road 150ft- long carriage shed and afive- road 80ft extension to themuseumitself.
John Jolly, the owner of the working museum near Burnham- on- Crouch, in Essex, told Heritage Railway in midJune that all the new buildings were complete other than minor work in the 60ft extension to the engine shed.
“We now have sufficient secure covered space for all our locomotives and most historic and delicate vehicles, and the carriage shed and museum building is now full of rolling stock. We are also installing new museum displays, including many newly acquired items, and relaying the sidings serving the engine shed.”
The project, which was announced just a year ago and will propel the visitor attraction intoamajor player on the preservation scene, has also included improved public and disabled access and alterations to the layout of the museum’s three- quartermile standard- gauge line that will allowmore frequent trains for visitors.
Opening
“Wewill be ready for the off, whenever thatmaybe,” said 76- year- old John, one of the preservationmovement’smost ebullientpersonalitieswhoserailwayana collection housedwithinhisnewly extendedmuseumismuchadmired. “It’sall very exciting, or ratherwould be if only therewasany prospectofopening to visitors inthe near future.”
He added he had hoped to be able to reopen in August, and possibly even run Mangapps’crowd- pulling August Bank Holiday gala, but he is uncharacteristically downbeat about such a possibility. “Even though some relaxation of the closure order is expected in July, the gala looks likely to be so restricted that the risks and costs would probably outweigh the benefits.
“The problem is that we don’t know, and probably won’t until it’s too late.”
Looking even further ahead, John is anticipating the return by the end of the year of Brookfield, whose boiler is currently being restored at the North Norfolk Railway.
This ex- Admiralty 0- 6- 0PT was built byWGBagnall of Stafford ( works No. 2613) in 1940, was bought at auction by RichardMoore in 1983, and is a long- time resident at Mangapps.
On that seasonal subject, John said:“Unfortunately, we have no idea whether, or how, it will be possible to operate our Santa Specials under the ‘ new normal’, and less still whether steam operations will be practical under social distancing.”
Themuseum was founded by John and his wife June 31 years ago and named Mangapps Farm Railway, the name farmbeing dropped in 2001 as farming took a back seat and has now disappeared completely.
Fleet
It is knownwithinpreservations circles for its collection of ex- BRdieselswhich includes Class 31 Nos. 31105 ( ex- D5523) and31233 ( D5660), Class 47No. 47579 JamesNightall G. C., ( D1778), currently at theMid- Hants Railway, fiveClass 03 shunters andaClass 04.
Thereare also four industrial steam locomotives, three industrial diesels, and aselection of former BR multiple units andLondonTransportTube stock.
Other rolling stock includes more than 80 carriages and good wagons, the former including representatives of the GER, the oldest of which dates from 1864, LNER, LSWR, GNR, SECR, GWR and BR, and there’s even a 1981 Canadian Pacific Railway caboose.