The Berkshire Cambridge Society visited Fawley Hill Museum on an open day on the 4th June 2017 on one of the four annual slots available for community groups to visit and ride on Sir William McAlpine’s private railway on his estate at Fawley, Oxfordshire. A life-long railway buff, Sir William has over the years amassed an extraordinary collection of redundant railway artefacts and memorabilia and now has his own station, engines (steam and diesel), rolling stock and 1.25 miles of track. There are about 12 trips a day and each trip takes about 15 minutes. Visitors are free to travel as often as they wish. There is also a magnificent carousel, which was working, a museum, a model railway and an animal sanctuary.
We rode the Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No.31 and the Class 03 0-6-0 diesel locomotive, no D2120, on its first official passenger outing. All great stuff.