30-514: The Duffield Bank Railway was built by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood in the grounds of his house on a hillside overlooking Duffield, Derbyshire in 1874. Although the Ordnance Survey map circa 1880 does not show the railway itself, it does show two tunnels and two signal posts. However, the online map archive of the National Library of Scotland includes a map of 1914 from the 25 inches to
60-402: A Holtzapffel lathe , and in his late teenage, built a 4 in gauge model railway with a steam locomotive . Wanting something on which his younger siblings could ride, he went on to build a 9 in gauge locomotive and train, which gave him the experience for his later ventures. Initially schooled at Eton , in 1868, he went on to Trinity College, Cambridge , where he made friends with
90-432: A hidden box of treasure, and clues to help treasure hunters find it. Clues are scattered in the ancient woodland where real treasure was found in 1849. Santa experiences are held in a refurbished area of the carriage shed each year. There are two sections of 1-in-29 gradient, and two of 1 in 50, and very sharp curves in places, making it an interesting journey for visitors, and challenging for loco crews. In September 2011
120-520: A higher pressure. Because of the sharpness of the curves on his track, something he expected to be a feature of future constructions, he devised what he called his "radiating axles", foreshadowing the later Klien-Lindner and Luttermöller systems. The outside valvegear was similar to the Joy pattern, derived from Brown valve gear . A third engine "Muriel" was built to the same pattern as Ella, but eight-coupled and even larger. Although he regularly demonstrated
150-676: A newly seeded area suitable for marquee-type events, including wedding receptions. The railway opened every weekend through the winter of 2012/13 for the first time, using diesel loco "Jubilee" most of the time, with steam on most operating days from Easter, see website. Articles featuring the railway's "Estate Railway Experience" (where enthusiasts run the line as a Heywood style estate railway) appeared in editions of Miniature Railway magazine, Narrow Gauge World and Garden Railway in spring/ summer 2013, and Steam Railway magazine in December 2013. The railway regularly hold wedding receptions either in
180-408: A passing loop was commissioned at Rookwood, allowing a 20-minute-interval service at busy times. In 2012 a long siding was laid alongside the loop at Perrygrove. In early 2013, a short, steep spur off the above siding was laid at Perrygrove ("Wharf Road"). In summer 2013, the siding at Oakiron was relaid and a short spur laid off it. A siding was laid at Rookwood, off the passing loop, to allow access to
210-426: A round trip of 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) between four stations. Passengers can ride on the train to use activities including a Treetop Adventure, a covered picnic and play area at Foxy Hollow, an Indoor Village with secret passages, and a den-building area in the woods. The railway was inspired by the minimum gauge estate railways or British narrow gauge railways developed by Sir Arthur Heywood at
240-616: The Duffield Bank system was closed. Most of the stock was acquired for the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway which was in the process of gauge conversion . The Eaton Hall railway continued for a number of years, carrying timber and building materials around the estate, until it closed in 1947. None of Sir Arthur's lines now exist, but in recent years, enthusiasts such as the Heywood Collection, have recovered various items of interest. Of
270-556: The Eaton Hall Railway. One of his last acts was to present the Volunteer Training Corps with 50 rifles. He was unwell in the early part of 1916 and took a turn for the worse on 19 April during a visit to Duffield Bank where he died that afternoon, aged 66. Sir Arthur Heywood was buried at Denstone on 22 April 1916. The Heywood radiating axle locomotives could pass very tight curves by a special axle arrangement. This
300-883: The Reverend George Sumner, Rector of Alresford in Hampshire , and set up home at Duffield Bank, near Duffield, Derbyshire near Derby , the headquarters of the Midland Railway . Since many of the directors lived in Duffield, he soon developed an interest in Derby Works . He became aware of experiments by the Royal Engineers in building railways in warfare. These first experiments had been distinctly unsuccessful, as had previous attempts dating back several decades to build "portable railways" for agricultural use. Thus, at what
330-555: The end of the 19th century, including his pioneering Duffield Bank Railway and the later Eaton Hall Railway . Until mid 2014, based at Perrygrove were the Heywood Collection and associated replica vehicles built by James Waterfield, including the locomotive "Ursula" and the Duffield Bank Dining Carriage. These are now in private storage offsite. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Perrygrove Farm
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#1732884930431360-665: The family home of Dove Leys at Denstone in Staffordshire . Dove Leys looked over the valley where the North Staffordshire Railway from Rocester to Ashbourne ran. The family travelled by train to their relatives in Manchester and on holiday to Inveran in the Highland region of Scotland . Heywood developed a passion for the railway from an early age. He assisted his father in his hobby of ornamental metalwork , with
390-503: The fire box projecting below the barrel, the over-hang of the frame was equalized at each end, without the use of trailing wheels, since he wished to concentrate the weight on the driving wheels. It also, he felt, had a low first cost with relatively easy maintenance. Such a system had already been used by Ramsbottom for some shunting engines for the London and North Western Railway , and worked well for engines which spent time standing. Although
420-448: The foot series ( Derbyshire XLV.9 ) that shows the full extent of the railway. Sir Arthur wished to explore the possibilities of minimum gauge railways for mining, quarrying, agriculture etc. He believed that they would be relatively easy to build, and to move. He saw possibilities for military railways behind the lines carrying ammunition and supplies. Some other small railways had been built to 2 ft gauge, but he wished to use
450-406: The grate area was proportional to the boiler heating surface, the firebox volume was small, and it was difficult to maintain a head of steam for an extended run. Nevertheless, he felt the benefit outweighed the disadvantages on this type of engine and used it for his later locos. His next engine was an 0-6-0 T "Ella", a six-coupled tank engine, with a larger boiler and firebox, working at
480-662: The line remained in use for many years and was visited by many potential buyers, the only interest came from the Duke of Westminster for whom he built the Eaton Hall Railway . Sir Arthur also had a keen interest in campanology (bell ringing) and in 1891 he founded the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers . He often joined the ringers at Duffield St. Alkmunds church where he was a churchwarden and sidesman. In 1887 he augmented St. Alkmunds' ring of bells from eight to ten. He
510-494: The line to entrepreneurs and the military, the only person to take an interest was the Duke of Westminster who asked him to build a line at Eaton Hall in Cheshire . The first engine on this the Eaton Hall Railway , was "Katie", an 0-4-0 T but larger than Effie and using Brown/Heywood valve gear. Following this were two identical 0-6-0 T locomotives, "Shelagh" and "Ursula". Shortly after this, in 1916, Sir Arthur died, and
540-513: The local railway people, cadging lifts on the footplates of locos. He graduated in 1872 with a master's degree in Applied Science. The Heywood family originally made its fortune in the trans-Atlantic slavery trade, which operated in Liverpool, and as a landed gentleman, however, convention frowned on him developing an engineering career. In 1872 he married his cousin, Margaret Effie, daughter of
570-565: The locomotives, only "Muriel" survives in heavily modified form working on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway as "River Irt" claiming to be the oldest surviving narrow gauge loco. However, parts of "Ella" survive in the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway's 4-6-4 diesel locomotive "Shelagh of Eskdale". The line also is home to the remains of "Katie" (mainly the frames), which is currently being rebuilt. The Perrygrove Railway in Gloucestershire
600-410: The middle frame is so arranged that it can slide transversely. The three frames are connected together by articulated radiating gear, so that they act sympathetically, and, no matter how sharp the curve, each axle instantly assumes a position coincident with the radial lines of that curve, instead of remaining parallel to each other as in the ordinary construction, in which the wheels grind their way along
630-440: The minimum that he felt was practical. Having previously built a small railway of 9 in ( 229 mm ) gauge, he settled on 15 in ( 381 mm ). Duffield Bank is a fairly steep hillside to the east of the village. Over a period of about seven years, the track reached a distance of about one mile (1.6 km) long, with tunnels and some very sharp curves and steep gradients serving six stations. To demonstrate
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#1732884930431660-576: The road, where there was a coal store, and the house. His intention was to extend to Norbury railway goods yard, but Colonel Clowes who owned the land in between refused to give him wayleave. Sir Arthur then extended the line southwards to nearby Dove Cliff farm, which was part of his estate, and thence to Rocester station. However he was again unable to obtain wayleave from his other neighbour, Colonel Dawson. When World War I began in 1914, all three of his sons went on active service, as did many of his staff. Sir Arthur carried on, particularly with work on
690-467: The sides of the rails. The wear and tear of tires and rails is thus greatly reduced, because the flanges of the tires are always parallel with the rails." Perrygrove Railway Perrygrove Railway is a minimum-gauge railway of 15 in ( 381 mm ) gauge. It is located at Perrygrove Farm in the Forest of Dean , near Coleford , Gloucestershire , England. Trains travel at frequent intervals on
720-476: The track it aligned all axles exactly perpendicular to the track, so that the axes would meet in the centre point of the track's curve. The principle is similar to that of the radiating axles invented by James Cleminson of London for railway carriages, which "consists in mounting the axles with their axle boxes, guards, and springs in frames separate from the main under-frame of the carriage. The end frames have central pivots, around which they swivel freely, while
750-484: The versatility of such a line, he added both freight cars and passenger coaches, as well as a sleeping car with toilet and a diner with cooking compartment. The first engine was an 0-4-0 T "Effie" which was built simply to provide motive power for Sir Arthur's first experiments and did not represent a final design. Like his other locos, however, it used a boiler with a cylindrical "launch"-type firebox manufactured by Abbott and Company of Newark-on-Trent . Without
780-665: Was a board member of the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary and the president of the Infirmary in 1895. He was the chair of the Derbyshire police Standing Joint Committee for a number of years, High Sheriff of Derbyshire for 1899, a Justice of the Peace for Derbyshire and later for Staffordshire by virtue of his seat at Dove Leys. Sir Arthur's father died in 1897 and he inherited Dove Leys, where he began to build another railway between
810-458: Was built with Sir Arthur's work very much in mind. 52°58′59″N 1°28′31″W / 52.9830°N 1.4752°W / 52.9830; -1.4752 Sir Arthur Heywood, 3rd Baronet Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, 3rd Baronet (25 December 1849 – 19 April 1916) is best known today as the innovator of the fifteen inch minimum gauge railway , for estate use. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Percival Heywood and grew up in
840-481: Was first drawn by Arthur Heywood in 1877 and described in a book published in 1881, much earlier than the patent filings of the Klien-Lindner axle and Luttermöller axle . On steam locomotives with three axles the frame of the middle axis could move transversely to the left and right underneath the main frame of the locomotive. The frame was hinged to the two pivoted frames of the front and rear axle. In sharp curves of
870-585: Was known as the Duffield Bank Railway , Heywood developed what he called the " minimum gauge railway ". He settled on 15 in ( 381 mm ) as the optimum, his previous 9 in ( 229 mm ) line having proved to be too small to carry people in a stable manner. Built on a steep hillside, the line was an ideal testing ground and, to gain the adhesion for steep gradients and the ability to negotiate small radius curves, he built six-coupled locomotives with what he called his "radiating axle." Though
900-410: Was purchased by Michael and Frances Crofts in 1993. Construction of the railway commenced in 1993, and it opened on 1 August 1996. The railway welcomes day trippers, tourists and railway enthusiasts. The venue has picnic and play facilities outdoors and under cover, and an indoor village with secret passages, in addition to train rides. A treasure hunt is also offered: the railway supplies a key to open
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