Garden Railway Forum

Marquis DeCarabas:66277 wrote:All the information you need is in the photographs: getting the unnamed locations will help you immensely.

I think I have them...

Marquis DeCarabas:66277 wrote:

Aha! Metropolitan in the ecclesiastical sense. (Surely another forum member might have realised that? :-) ) After a bit of research, Photo B is Ebor and Photo D is Cantuar.

I wonder where that leaves us with the question?

Locations correct.

We're very nearly there....

One location did not have something all the others had or still have; that something can be gleaned from a location in this question....

OK, as this seems to have you all stumped..... Final clue

A= Tooting Broadway
B= York Minster, central tower
C= Tung Station, DHR
D= Canterbury Cathedral, Bell Harry tower.


One of these did not have a 2' gauge railway.

I would guess York didn't have a 2ft railway, the nearest one that I know of is the NRM

Yay! York Minster !!

I'd say Canterbury, as they may have used a NG railway at York when they did the last big restoration folowing the fire..................

MDLR:66602 wrote:I'd say Canterbury, as they may have used a NG railway at York when they did the last big restoration folowing the fire..................

MDLR has it!

Tooting Broadway, York and Tung have all used 2' gauge railways.

I told you the clues were all in the photographs or before your very eyes: the Darj is 2' dead which was there as a clue; Tooting and Tung both use the roundel, but that was a dead end: Tooting used a 2' contractors railway when the 1926 extension was built (as did most of the non CCE&H bits of the northern when the CSLR tunnels were enlarged.) You were then left with deciding between York (Ebor) and Canterbury (Cantuar) - look at my location - as I type this I'm looking out of my window across the cathedral precincts to Bell Harry.

If anyone's got a copy of (I think) 'Narrow Gauge Story' by Preston/Powell Hendry there is a short article in there about the contractors railway inside the Minster at York - up one of the transepts, rather than the nave. I can just about remember it as a nipper; so I don't think it was used after the last fire.

Cantuar is the odd one out - there may be a 16mm layout on top of the tower one day!

Oh, Gawd - I'll have a think about it...................

Although weren't rails laid into Canterbury Cathedral during WWII? I'm sure it was mentioned on an episode of Great British Railway Journeys, but I can't find any mention of it online. No idea what gauge it was though.

I seem to remember something about it.

AIUI, it wasn't actually in the building - the Cathedral Archives are shut for reroofing at the mo, so I can't check.

I'm fairly sure that it was just outside.

OK - an easier one. Where and (more importantly) Why??

Er, would it be a dual guage line where the 'common' rail is being
swapped from one side to t'other?

Statfold Barn Railway ?

Yes, but still I ask where and why did the common rail need to swap sides?

Sorry i edited my reply a bit late. Could be the platforms are on opposite sides one station to the next.

I believe it's because the country end of the railway is a return loop, and the inner rail has to swap sides to be on the right side for going back- if that makes sense...

OK - so we have joint winners - Invicta280 for where (eventually) and TommyDodd for why!

Fight amongst yourselves for the "honour" of setting the next question!

Go for it Tommydodd. I'd be scratching to think of a good one. I'm a bit out of my league among all the experts!

OK a quickie while Tommy Dodd is preparing his fiendishly difficult one.
(at the risk of two running at once)

a) a range of hills

b) a glass of stout

c) a N/G loco.

What's my name and what guage am I?