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![]() Recent News and News Archive |
![]() Locomotive Stock List - |
![]() Gala Weekends . |
![]() History of the Collection |
![]() Polar Bear 100 Isle of Man 2005 |
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Railway Gala Weekend - 13/14 July 2013. Polar Bear's refit is almost complete. An official relaunch will take place during our July Gala Weekend and it is hoped that as many as possible of the people who donated towards the restoration of the loco will be able to join us. There are still places available on our popular Footplate Experience Courses - see below. Get in touch if you are interested. |
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Want to drive a steam train?
Then why not book in for
The Amberley Footplate Experience and fulfil your fantasies (well, within reason!).
The current availability of places on the course is as follows. As you can see, there are only a few left.
Sunday 5 May 2013 (Fully booked)
Click here
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not such an icy future.
Polar Bear, from the Groudle Glen Railway on the Isle of Man, is a firm favourite with all the Museum's visitors, especially the younger generation, and is probably the locomotive most associated with Amberley. As noted above, work on Polar Bear's refit continues and she is beginning to look like Polar Bear again instead of a bag of bits. The money generously donated by a number of people has yielded the result we wanted. At the moment, apart from a severe amount of stress when we tried to fit the smoke box cladding and chimney, everything has fitted back where it should. A new coat of bright yellow paint is being applied. The red and black bits will get done as well.
The livery lining on the cab front ...
... and the side panels has been completed by our signwriter, Terry Smith. He'll be back to do the name on the tanksides in the new year.
John Stanton (back to camera) and Rod Devaney prepare Polar Bear for the hydraulic test.
This was carried out on Tuesday 16 April and involved filling the boiler with water and pumping up the pressure to 1½ times normal (maximum) working pressure (we run at 120 p.s.i.). Keep pumping Rod, we need more than that!
The gauge says it all.
In the meantime, Terry Smith had been back to sign-write the tank sides.
And, oh yes, we had a caption competition amongst the railway volunteers ...
... this was the winner.
Thanks to John Stanton, Jack Slaughter for the photos and Roger for the caption.
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The Way We Were
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Brockham 1982 |
1982-85 |
1988 |
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1989 |
1991-92 |
![]() 1993 |
These links will take you to a series of slideshows of the Museum's railway as it was when we were all a lot younger!
The chronology should be about right but if you spot any glaring errors or inconsistencies, then please let us know.
Thanks to Richard Cossey for the loan of the photographs from the Brockham Museum, the 1982-85 and 1988 sections.
And there's this .....
... on the Amberley Museum Narrow Gauge Railway
We are always happy to welcome new volunteers to Amberley, not just on the railway but generally.
Ideally new volunteers should already be 2 foot gauge, like the one illustrated, but our workshop
facilities have the means to regauge suitable candidates if necessary - even from standard gauge!
Contact information is given at the foot of this page.
Click here to find out!
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We regret that the stock book is currently out of stock. You may find one on Ebay - or even in your local second-hand book store. |
Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Trust (HNGRT) (owners of Wendy)
Twyford Waterworks Trust
Moseley Railway Trust
Narrow Gauge Railway Society (NGRS)
Industrial Railway Society (IRS)
East Anglia Transport Museum (EATMS) Carlton Colville
Triang Minic Narrowgauge Railway Society
Railway & Canal Historical Society
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Formerly "The Railway Webring" |
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