Almond Valley Light Railway

Almond Valley Light Railway
Barclay diesel loco with passenger train at Heritage Centre Station. The line's loco shed is to the right.
Locale	Livingston, Scotland
Terminus	Heritage Cenre Station
Preserved operations
Operated by	Almond Valley Heritage Centre
Stations	2
Length	500m
Preserved gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1993
Preservation history
1993	Railway begins operating using second hand military equipment.
2006	Extension towards river almond proposed.

Almond Valley Light Railway
Legend Heritage Centre Station Farm access crossing Almondaugh Halt x20px Possible future extension

The Almond Valley Light Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway running at the Almond Valley Heritage Trust site at Livingston, Scotland. The railway operates at weekends between Easter and the end of September and daily during some school holiday periods. There are two stations, both with waiting shelters and run round loops. A small two-road loco shed is provided at the Heritage centre end of the line. There is a storage siding here also.

Locomotives

The line uses only internal combustion locomotives. It has never intended to use steam locomotives and therefore has no facilities for them. The railway is home to a number of electric locomotives (five battery, one overhead); however, these are not used. All of the battery locomotives are likely to require new batteries before being used again.

Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Livery	Notes/Current Status	Photo
Oakbank No.2	Baldwin	4wWE	1902	unknown	(black)	Worked at the Oakbank Oil Company on one of the first electric railways in Scotland. Museum exhibit inside heritage centre building. Fitted with trolley pole to collect current from the Oakbank System's overhead wires. On loan from National Museums of Scotland.	150px
Hunslet	Hunslet Engine Company	0-4-0DM	1940	2270	Green.	Worked at the RNAD Broughton Moor depot in Cumberland. Fitted with air braking. Occasionally used on passenger train.
	Greenwood	4wBE	1941	1698	Green.	Flameproof "steeple cab" battery electric. Worked at ROF Bishopton and ROF Bridgwater (fleet no.B3583). Has been cosmetically restored. Stored.
Barclay	Andrew Barclay	4wDM	1970	557	Blue.	ex-ICI explosives factories at Ardeer and Powfoot. Fitted with air braking. This locomotive is in full working order and usually operates the passenger train.
	Brook Victor	4wBE	1972	?	Yellow (weathered)	Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.18). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
	Brook Victor	4wBE	1972	612	Yellow (weathered)	Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.20). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
	Brook Victor	4wBE	1974	698	Yellow (weathered)	Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.38). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
	Brook Victor	4wBE	1974	700	Yellow (weathered)	Worked at ROF Bishopton (fleet no.42). Lightweight battery locomotive for moving explosive products around within the storage bunkers. These locos were referred to at Bishopton as "tractors". Stored.
Scruffy	Hunslet Engine Company	4wDM	1973	7330	Red	Stored. Worked at ROF Bishopton.
	Baguley-Drewry	4wDM	1980	3572	Yellow	Acquired in February 2004. Previously worked at the RNAD Dean Hill naval depot in Hampshire. Fitted with air braking. Undergoing overhaul.
Simplex	Motor Rail	4wDM	1981	40SPF522	Yellow (weathered)	Worked at ROF Bishopton and ROF Bridgwater. Latterly cannibalised for spares at Bishopton. Stored.

Rolling stock

The railway's passenger stock consists of three air braked coaches constructed on-site using ex-RNAD wagon underframes. An ex-RNAD all steel bogie brake van also forms part of the passenger train. In addition to this, the railway has a small selection of ex-RNAD wagons (two tank wagons, a covered van and an open wagon).

Track

The railway's 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge trackwork consists of flat-bottomed rail mounted using pandrol clips onto Costain concrete sleepers (wooden sleepers are used for pointwork). All track is ex-RNAD. There are some seven sets of points on the route, all of which are manually controlled by an adjacent lever.

Signalling

The railway operates on the "one engine in steam" principle and has no signals. A single line token is carried by the locomotive using the line.

See also

• British narrow gauge railways

External links

• Almond Valley Heritage Centre website
• Almond Valley Light Railway website