“...the Estate had a time-expired railway and needed a manager...”

work part-time for the Longleat Railway,helping Les Anderson at busy times. In 1975,Anderson fell out with the Longleat Estate over the terms of the leasing agreement,sold back most of the equipment,and departed with Muffin,with the ambitious aim of establishing a narrow gauge railway on the former Lyme Regis branch in Dorset.This venture ended in complete disaster. The Estate had a time-expired railway,and needed a manager with the expertise to get things running again.The obvious choice was John Hayton,still a reluctant veterinary sales rep;a man who knew the line and was familiar with railway operating procedure. Starting this new job in 1976,John was back on the railway,and he set to work with enthusiasm. The first task was to relay the entire line.In place of the simple end-to-end layout, the new alignment was built in the form of a loop,turning north from the station and falling rapidly across open fields below the lake dam,before climbing at a steep but

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Miniature Railway 1 The aim is to evoke scenes reminiscent of the real thing,something the Longleat Railway does very well.John Hayton pulls out of Longleat Central with the first train of the day,26th April 2006

manageable gradient of 1:50,turning sharply across a ridge between two valleys and emerging,as if by magic beside the lake.The return run was mostly on the water’s edge, where passengers could catch glimpses of sea lions and hippopotami before turning back through the woods and rejoining the original alignment to the station. Now over 1.7km (a mile) long,the Longleat Railway rapidly became a popular attraction and with sound financial backing from the Longleat Estate,was gradually improved.The first big construction was a smart three-road engine shed and workshop. With proper facilities,the line was better placed to build and repair rolling stock,and in 1984 an attractive new railcar was built,in a style broadly similar to the standard gauge Leyland-bodied railcars of the time.Named Lenka,this interesting machine was powered by a 3-cylinder Deutz diesel engine and had 12 seats for quiet or wet days out of season, but could also pull up to six carriages when required,the limiting factor being the length of the platforms and poor adhesion on the steep gradients,rather than lack of power. Once Lenka had proved herself,the maroon railcar was sold. In 1988 during the construction of new visitor attractions and other works,the track

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Miniature Railway 1