Small gauges in the Forest of Dean
Peter Pan, Pixie and Perrygrove
4 September 2004
It hardly seemed a year since
the last visit - nevertheless,
once again the day of the
annual open day at Alan Keef's
works near Ross-on-Wye
dawned bright and sunny. The
Perrygrove railway would be
open too - a special opening primarily for
enthusiasts.
First, the trip to Keef's. Although the "Steam Debut of
New Privately Owned Vertical Boiler Locomotive" was
listed on the web site, there was no sign of this
locomotive - however the much-travelled Kerr Stuart
"Wrens" Pixie (4260 of 1922) and Peter Pan (4256 of
1922) were in residence and in action alongside regular
vertical-boilered "Taffy", providing ample food for the
cameras.
There was more interest in the works - in particular,
the project to build a "Puffing Billy" replica, complete
with heavy wooden frames, plus boiler and various
castings for cylinders etc. Nearby were the frames of
Baldwin 4-6-0T no. 778 of 1917, described as a "DIY
locomotive kit"...
Link: Alan Keef Ltd
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
On now to the Perrygrove Railway, near Coleford,
which also provided an interesting surprise. "Spirit of
Adventure" had been joined by a replica of Heywood's
"Shelagh", built at Duffield Bank works 100 years ago.
Strangely, the very similar "Ursula", normally resident
at Perrygrove, was nowhere to be seen...
We took a ride, once again, in the superb Duffield
Bank dining car replica, before getting on with some
serious snapping and video recording (not to mention
blackberry-scoffing in-between trains)
Once again, an excellent day. If you're interested in
the smaller gauges, put them in your diary for next
year.
Link: The Perrygrove Railway
