The 10 1/4 inch gauge Ropley Miniature Railway runs alongside the Mid Hants Railway ‘The Watercress Line’.
A previous line closed in August 2012 as the area needed to be redeveloped due to the arrival of the ‘Harry Potter’ footbridge from Kings Cross station. The line moved to the current site in December 2014 and first opened to the public in March 2015. The new line is about 170m long and there are plans to extend the line.
There is one station, Ropley High Level, which has a single track with two side platforms, one for arrivals and one for departures. There are plans to provide two more stations when the line is extended. At the far end of the line there is two road shed.
Trains were being hauled by a Santa Fe petrol hydraulic ‘Nevada’, which was built by Bimpson Miniature Railway in 1996. There is also a diesel electric on site called ‘Patricia’ and a 2-4-4 Tinkerbell under construction (which was located in one of the mainline sheds at Ropley).
The railway does not charge at the moment but does welcome donations.
Jonathan James
