Steam railway revivalists celebrate triple boost as 2020 season start approaches
ONE of London’s newest heritage steam railway projects has received a triple boost as it prepares for the launch of its 2020 season.
The Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway, which currently runs public rides on a 300-yard loop within the shadow of Kempton Steam Museum, has plans to reinstate 1½ miles of a former 2ft gauge line that ran down to a wharf on the Thames at Hampton in the west of the capital.
The 3½-mile line was opened by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1916 to transport 760 tons of coal a week required to power pumping engines in two large waterworks at each end of the line. It was worked throughout its 30-year existence by three identical Kerr Stuart 0-4-2Ts.
Modernisation of the waterworks, which continue to operate today, albeit not in the original buildings, led to the line’s closure in 1946, but the railway trackbed is protected in the local development plan and is now owned by Thames Water.
In 2003 enthusiasts founded the Metropolitan Water Board Railway Society with the aim of restoring part of the line, and after lengthy negotiations they and Thames Water signed a lease in March 2018 covering the trackbed from Kempton to Hyde’s Field, about halfway down the original 3½-mile line towards the Thames.
Expansion
The preservationists plan to build two stations on the line, firstly a temporary terminus close to Kempton Nature Reserve at Bunny Lane approximately halfway along their leased stretch, and ultimately a permanent terminus at Hyde’s Field.
Their delight at signing the lease two years ago has now been augmented by three recent major developments – a £25,000 award towards the construction of a carriage shed, the donation of a turntable, and the impending return to steam of their resident steam locomotive Darent.
The carriage shed award has been made by Heathrow Community Trust, and will make a significant contribution to the approximate £50,000 cost of constructing the building, which will contain two roads and be capable of housing three bogie coaches on each road.
Clearance of the site, located beside the loop, which is known as Hanworth Loop and has its own platform, is already well under way.
With planning permission having been granted, foundation work is due to start soon, and it is hoped the shed will be completed by the end of the year.
The 15ft turntable was donated by the London Museum of Water & Steam at Brentford, which has its own short 2ft gauge railway, and is expected to see use once the line’s extension is in operation. Included with the museum’s donations was a lifting gantry.
Barclay back for 2020
With the resumption just days away of public rides on Hanworth Loop, close to the original trackbed, volunteers are particularly delighted with the impending return of Darent, which has been out of action for an overhaul, including boiler work, for nearly two years.
Built to 2ft 6in gauge as an 0-4-0T by Andrew Barclay in 1903 (works No. 984) for Provan Gasworks in Glasgow, it arrived at the private Eynsford Light Railway near Dartford in 1999 where it was rebuilt, including being regauged to 2ft and converted to a saddle tank.
It was bought in 2014 by the late Elizabeth (‘Rick’) Scholefield, an active supporter of the Hampton & Kempton railway as both chairman and a volunteer, and her husband Jerry became the owner when she passed away in 2016. He has kept the saddle tank at the railway, where it became a popular regular until its withdrawal for overhaul in May 2018, and Jim Hewett, the railway’s track supervisor and newsletter editor, said it was hoped the little engine would be available from the start of the season on the weekend of March 21/22.
Much of the overhaul was carried out by the railway’s volunteers at the London Museum of Water & Steam, and Jerry said: “We owe the museum a huge debt of gratitude for hosting Darent’s extensive rebuild free of charge. We were given first-rate workshop space, use of any of their tools, plenty of advice, and extra volunteer help when needed.”
Jim told Heritage Railway that the railway had enough track to reach the temporary terminus at Bunny Lane, which he hoped would be operational within five years, while a further five years would be needed for the further extension to Hyde’s Field, although he added: “Both will depend on planning permission, volunteer availability, and of course finances.”